cannot understand. Every idea of his is forced, before presenting itself to the world, to put on some queer, out-of-theway garb; and it not unfrequently happens that this garb has the effect of disguising it so effectually, that we cannot tell what it is intended for at all. Nevertheless, the little work is not without merit. It evinces considerable power of language, and a great deal of good feeling and good sense.

Mrs. Phillipson's new book, which we have been ungallant enough to place last, is a decided improvement upon "Lonely Hours." We disapprove, on principle, of the prevailing rage for publishing, and very much regret that ladies and gentle men will not be content to keep their poetry, as they do their other accomplishments, for the amusement of themselves and their friends: but we must do Mrs. Phillipson the justice to say that her book is much better worth general attention than the greater number of those which are sent out to claim it. Her versification is always easy and elegant, and her descriptions of nature-both of animate and inanimate nature-often very sweet and faithful. "Eva," which, as the title-page indicates, is the only long poem in the volume, and which is clearly the only one in the composition of which there has been any elaboration, is, beyond comparison, the best thing Mrs. Phillipson has written, which confirms the opinion we had previously formed that a great many of the faults of her poetry arise from haste and negligence. Many of the passages in the "Eva" are really beautiful; and indeed, altogether, it is a very happy and pleasing production. No one, we feel sure, will read it without interest.

Sermons on Texts from the Gospels and Epistles for particular Sundays.By the Rev. JOHN HAMPDEN GURNEY. (London: Rivingtons.) The highest praise we can give this volume is, that it contains just the kind of sermons we would like to hear every Sunday,-plain discourses; eloquent, because they are earnest, and on subjects that cannot fail to interest the hearers. We hope Mr. Gurney will publish some more of the same kind.

Ages of Christendom before the Reformation. By JOHN STOUGHTON. (London: Jackson and Walford.)-Mr. Stoughton has performed a good service in bringing before his readers-for they are his congregation-this interesting volume of lectures on "Eccles astical History," delivered before the Congregational Union. In these he traces the rise and growth of the

Church and Church polity through successive ages, and viewed through a Congregational medium, but, on the whole, treated very fairly. We should like to see that portion more fully worked out where the synagogue is referred to as having in its economy influenced many matters connected with worship in the early Church.

A Manual of Religion, and of the History of the Christian Church. Translated from the German of KARL GOTTLIEB BRETSCHNEIDER. (London: Longman and Co.)-That this work was useful in Germany there can be no doubt, nor have we any that it would have been useful here thirty years ago; but since 1824, the year in which it was written, there have been so many changes in Church parties and religious sects, that the information then collected is almost useless now-especially as so many works may now be had much more suitable for use in English schools.

Ancient Collects and other Prayers for the Use of the Clergy and Laity; selected from various rituals. By the Rev. WILLIAM BRIGHT. (Oxford and London: J. H. and J. Parker.)-Mr. Bright has compiled a useful little volume, which contains many prayers which, if not actually used by the clergy, will be suggestive of devotion; indeed this appears to be the real use of the work, for the language of some of the Collects is hardly adapted for use in the present day.

Scripture Record of the Life and Character of the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of our Lord. (Oxford: J. H. and J. Parker.)

This work is a puzzle to us. One hundred and thirty-three pages of closely printed matter devoted to the history of the Blessed Virgin, about whom so little is designedly said in Holy Scripture. Our first impression was that it was written by some Romanist; but so far from this being the case, it is rather ultra-Protestant in its tone. Why it was written, or for what purpose, we cannot tell.

Reflections on Church-Music. For the consideration of Church-goers in general. By Carl Engel. (London: Scheurman and Co.)-In these Reflections the essential qualities of church-music are discussed, together with the kinds of music and musical instruments suitable for congregational use, with suggestions for further improvement in this important branch of public service. It is a suggestive work, deserving the attention of all who are interested in seeing improvements made in our public services.

Bedfordshire.-Sir George Robert Osborn, of Chicksand Priory, Bart.

Berkshire.-Richard Benyon, of Englefieldpark, Reading, Esq

Bucks.-Philip Wroughton, of Ibstone, Esq. Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire.-Sir John Henry Pelly, of Warnham-court, Horsham, Sussex, Bart.

Cumberland.-Charles Fetherstonhaugh, of Staffield-hall, Esq.

Cheshire.-William Atkinson, of Ashton Hayes, near Kelsall, Esq.

Cornwall-Sir Henry Onslow, of Hengar, Bart. Derbyshire.-William Hatfield de Rodes, of Barlborough-castle, Esq.

Devon.-Sir Massey Lopes, of Maristow, Bart. Dorsetshire.-Hastings Nathaniel Middleton, of Bradford Peverell, near Dorchester, Esq. Durham.-William Beckwith, of Silksworthhouse, Esq.

Esser. John Francis Wright, of Kelvedonhall, Esq.

Gloucestershire.-Richard Rogers Coxwell Rogers, of Dowdeswell, near Cheltenham, Esq. Hereford.-Robert Biddulph, of Ledbury, Esq. Hertfordshire.-William Reid, of the Node, Codicote, Esq.

Kent.-John Savage, of St. Leonard's, West Malling, Esq..

Leicestershire.--Edward Chatterton Middleton, of Loughborough, Esq.

Lincolnshire.-George Knollis Jarvis, of Doddington-hall, Esq.

Monmouthshire.-Thomas Gratrex, of Court St. Lawrence, Esq.

Norfolk.-Andrew Fountaine, of Narford, Esq. Northamptonshire.-William Harcourt Isham Macworth Dolben, of Finedon-hall, Esq.

Northumberland.-William Henry Charlton, of Hesleyside, Esq.

Nottinghamshire.-Richard Milward, of Thurgarton Priory, Esq.

Oxfordshire.-The Right Hon. Charles Henry, Viscount Dillon, of Dytchley.

Rutlandshire.-Ayscough Smith, of Braun

ston, Esq.

Shropshire.-Sir William Curtis, of Cainhamcourt, Bart. Somersetshire.-Sir Arthur Hallam Elton, of Staffordshire.-The Hon. Edward Swynfen

Clevedon-court, Bart.

Jervis, of Little Aston, near Lichfield.

Hampshire. -William Charles Humphrys, of Elm-lodge, Burlesdon, near Southampton, Esq. Suffolk.-John George Weller Poley, of Boxtedhall, Esq.

Surrey.-John Labouchere, of Broom-hall, Dorking, Esq.

Sussex.-Richard Curteis Pomfret, of Rye,

Esq.

fraith, Esq.

Merionethshire.-John Nanney, of Maesyneuadd, Esq.

Pembrokeshire.-Sir John James Hamilton, of Fishguard, Bart. Radnor.-Francis Evelyn, of Corton, Esq. FEB. 3.

Parliament was opened on Tuesday by Royal Commission. The Lords Commissioners were the Duke of Argyll, Earl Spenser (Lord Steward), Earl of Harrowby, Lord Stanley of Alderley, and the Lord Chancellor who read

THE QUEEN'S SPEECH. "My Lords and Gentlemen,

"We are commanded to assure you that Her Majesty has great satisfaction in recurring again to the advice and assistance of her Parliament.

"We are commanded by Her Majesty to inform you that difficulties which arose in regard to some of the provisions of the Treaty of Paris delayed the complete execution of the stipulations of that treaty. Those difficulties have been overcome in a satisfactory manner, and the intentions of the treaty have been fully maintained.

"An insurrectionary movement which took place in September last in the Swiss canton of Neufchatel, for the purpose o

re-establishing in that canton the authority of the King of Prussia as Prince of Neufchatel, led to serious differences between His Prussian Majesty and the Swiss Confederation, threatening at one time to disturb the general peace of Europe.

"But Her Majesty commands us to inform you that, in concert with her august ally the Emperor of the French, she is endeavouring to bring about an amicable settlement of the matters in dispute, and Her Majesty entertains a confident expectation that an honourable and satisfactory arrangement will be concluded.

"In consequence of certain discussions which took place during the Conferences at Paris, and which are recorded in the protocols that were laid before you, Her Majesty and the Emperor of the French caused communications to be made to the Government of the King of the Two Sicilies, for the purpose of inducing him to adopt a course of policy calculated to avert dangers which might disturb that peace which had been so recently restored to Europe.

"Her Majesty commands us to inform you that the manner in which those friendly communications were received by His Sicilian Majesty was such as to lead Her Majesty and the Emperor of the French to discontinue their diplomatic relations with His Sicilian Majesty, and they have, accordingly, withdrawn their missions from the Court of Naples.

"Her Majesty has directed that papers relating to this subject shall be laid before you.

"Her Majesty commands us to inform you that she has been engaged in negociations with the Government of the United States, and also with the Government of Honduras, which she trusts will be successful in removing all cause of misunderstanding with respect to Central America.

"Her Majesty has concluded a treaty of friendship and commerce with Siam, which will be laid before you.

"Her Majesty commands us to express to you her regret that the conduct of the Persian Government has led to hostilities between Her Majesty and the Shah of Persia. The Persian Government, in defiance of repeated warnings, and in violation of its engagements, has besieged and captured the important city of Herat. "We are commanded by Her Majesty to inform you that a British naval and military force despatched from Bombay has taken possession of the Island of Karrack and of the town of Bushire, with a view to induce the Shah to accede to the just demands of Her Majesty's Government. Her Majesty has seen with satis

faction that the naval and military forces employed on this occasion have displayed their accustomed gallantry and spirit.

"Her Majesty commands us to inform you that acts of violence, insults to the British flag, and infractions of treaty rights, committed by the local Chinese authorities at Canton, and a pertinacious refusal of redress, have rendered it necessary for Her Majesty's officers in China to have recourse to measures of force to obtain satisfaction.

"Those measures had, up to the date of the last accounts, been taken with great forbearance, but with signal success as regards the conflict to which they had led.

"We are commanded to inform you that Her Majesty trusts that the Government of Pekin will see the propriety of affording the satisfaction demanded, and of faithfully fulfilling its treaty engagements.

"Gentlemen of the House of Commons, "Her Majesty has directed the estimates for the ensuing year to be laid before you.

"They have been prepared with every attention to economy, and with a due regard to the efficient performance of the public service at home and abroad.

My Lords and Gentlemen,

"Her Majesty commands us to inform you that bills will be submitted to your consideration for the consolidation and the amendment of important portions of the law; and her Majesty doubts not that you will give your earnest attention to matters so deeply affecting the interests of all classes of her subjects.

"Her Majesty commands us to recommend to your consideration the expediency of renewing for a further period the privileges of the Bank of England, the conditions imposed on the issue of bank notes in the United Kingdom, and the state of the law relating to joint-stock banks.

"Her Majes y commands us to express the gratification which it affords her to witness the general well-being and contentment of her people, and to find that, notwithstanding the sacrifices unavoidably attendant upon such a war as that which has lately terminated, the resources of the country remain unimpaired, and its productive industry continues unchecked in its course of progressive development.

"Her Majesty commits with confidence the great interests of the country to your wisdom and care, and she fervently prays that the blessing of Almighty God may attend your deliberations, and prosper your councils for the advancement of the wel

fare and happiness of her loyal and faithful people."

As it is quite impossible to give any. thing like an adequate report of the proceedings, we purpose pursuing the same plan as that adopted in our last volume, of giving a summary at the end of the session.

FEB. 4.

Convocation. This morning both Houses of the Convocation of the Province of Canterbury assembled at Westminster. The Archbishop of Canterbury presided in the upper house.

The Bishop of Chichester presented an address from a large body of the clergy, setting forth the evils arising from a compulsory use of the burial service in cases of persons dying in mortal sin. A long discussion ensued, and all the bishops agreed that they would, to the extent of their power, shelter the clergy whose consciences would not allow them to express the words of Christian hope in cases of persons who died in notorious impenitence. Archdeacon Denison's case was brought incidentally before the house, but it was generally admitted that it ought not to be discussed. Some other matters having been discussed, their lordships adjourned.

In the lower house the Dean of Bristol presided, and many miscellaneous matters were discussed.

Sunderland.-Remains of the Ancient Boundary of the Town Moor.-A few days ago, the workmen engaged in excavating for sewers, found, about seven yards on the south side of St. John's Chapel, Sunderland, a row of stumps of trees, four feet below the present surface, which had been raised upon the original one by means of ballast and rubbish. The memories of the old inhabitants were taxed regarding the trees, but no trace of them could be found within their recollection. The attention of a well-known local antiquarian was drawn to the matter, who gave the following solution of the question: That it appeared from the evidence of William Ettrick, Esq., of Silksworth, collector of customs at the port of Sunderland, given in a law-suit respecting the Town Moor in 1732, that the moor was then divided by hedges, with three divisions, named the Town Moor, Coney Warren, and Intack; but that within his remembrance it was one undivided common. It appears from other evidence that one of the duties of the "Grassmen," who were generally two or three of the defunct body of freemen and stallingers, was anciently "to look after the hedges." The stumps of the trees found are supposed to have been in the

hedge that divided the "Coney Warren" from "Lee's Close," upon part of which St. John's Chapel stands. This close in 1634 was the property of Mr. Edward Lee, of Monkwearmouth Hall, a common councilman of Sunderland, under Bishop Morton's charter. It was afterwards the property of Marshall Robinson, Esq., of Sunderland, (father of Marshall Fowler, Esq., of Preston Hall,) who freely gave the site of St. John's Chapel.

Clapton. Fossils and Sea-beach at Upper Clapton.-In excavating for the sewers on the new London-road now forming to shorten the distance from central Essex and the Leabridge-road to the metropolis, the workmen have, at a depth of about twenty feet, dug into a bed of seasand, containing numerous shells, both univalves and bivalves, of supposed extinct species, commingled with what appears to be drift wood in large pieces, now quite black, thus evidencing that at some period of our world's history, the seashore reached to Upper Clapton. The site of this discovery is not far from where Clapton-gate formerly stood.

The Roman Catholic Church in the United Kingdom.-The official journal of Rome publishes a statistical account of the condition of the Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain, from which it appears that there are in England 730 churches and chapels, and 164 in Scotland, being 45 more than last year. The number of bishops and priests is 1,162, being 20 more than last year. There are 23 religious communities for males in England, but none in Scotland; 100 religious communities for females in England, and six in Scotland. Last year there were only 18 male communities, and 91 female. The catholic hierarchy of the empire is set down at one archbishop and 12 bishops for England, four archbishops and 26 bishops for Ireland, and six archbishops and 46 bishops for the colonies. Ten catholic colleges in England and one in Scotland are stated to be devoted to the education of youth, as well as upwards of forty schools for young ladies, chiefly directed by nuns.

Gretna-green is winning-post in the races of love no longer. On the first of January this year its marriages ceased to be valid, by an act of parliament passed last session, unless the parties wedded conform to conditions impossible to fugitives from England. It has filled a place in domestic history sufficiently important to justify a few parting words from the "Caledonian Mercury," in whose columns some of its earliest love-matches were chronicled. The immediate causes which led to fugitive marriages at Gretna-green,

and on other parts of the Scottish borders adjoining England, 103 years ago, are not generally known.

In the summer of 1753, a young lady at Ranelagh-gardens, in London, became acquainted with a handsome young gentleman. They danced together on another day; they met at the same place, and again danced. He was a very handsome young fellow, and the lady was beautiful and wealthy, as well as high-born. She was sister to the two leading statesmen of England-Mr. Pelham, the Prime Minister, and the Duke of Newcastle, who had been Secretary of State. Her lover was a notorious highwayman, Jack Freeland by name, with many other aliases. He, professing to be a gentleman of fortune, proposed marriage, to which she assented. From reasons suggested about family objections on both sides, they agreed to repair to "the Fleet," to be wedded. At the bottom of Fleet-street, in London, matrimonial visitors in that day entered the region of touters, who accosted couples with such addresses as "Married, Sir ?" "Wish to be married, ma'am ?" And by rival touters who asserted, "His parson be no good-only a cove what made shoes; get married with mine; mine is a regular hordained parson." Perhaps a third assertion that, "Them fellows' parsons be no good: get married respectable; shew you in no time to a real Oxford and Cambridge professor." Following those persons up narrow passages in Ludgate-hill, the couples were married for such fees as private bargain regulated, in dingy upstairs rooms of taverns; or going into the Fleet prison, were united there by clerical prisoners, who found the place too lucrative and pleasant as a lodging to make them anxious about paying their debts to get out. Those prisoners, like some other of the "Fleet parsons"-indeed it was from the prison that the term "Fleet marriages" arose-had also their touters stationed in the adjoining streets to bring them customers. Miss Pelham and her gallant highwayman were conducted to Fleet prison. But a gentleman happened to observe them who knew both. To save the lady he caused the robberbridegroom to be arrested, and carried the tidings to the Prime Minister, her brother. The case led to much discussion. In the heat of offended dignity, the Pelhams caused Lord Chancellor Hardwicke to introduce a bill for the better regulation and solemnising of marriage. It passed hastily through both houses of parliament, and became law. Except in the case of Jews and Quakers, it required all parties to be married by a regularly ordained clergyman

of the Church, and only after a due proclamation of banns. On the 17th of March, 1835, Dr. Lushington, in the House of Commons, stated his history and principle of the marriage law of England thus" By the ancient law of this country, as to marriages, a marriage was good if celebrated in the presence of two witnesses, though without the intervention of a priest. But then came the decision of the council of Trent; and in consequence, the question was reduced to this state-that a marriage by civil contract was valid. But there was this extraordinary anomaly in the law, that the practice of some of our civil courts required, in certain instances and for some purposes, that the marriage should be celebrated in a particular form. It turned out that a marriage by civil contract was valid for some purposes, while for others-such as the descent of the real property to the heirs of the marriage-it was invalid. Thus, a man in the presence of a witness, accepting a woman for his wife, per verba de præsenti, the marriage was valid, as I have said, for some purposes, but for others to make it valid it was necessary that it should be celebrated in facie ecclesia. This was the state of the law till the passing of the Marriage Act in 1754."

The marriage-law of Scotland does not exact that there should be a religious ceremony, nor even the presence of a clergyman, though the religious habits of the people prefer both. To be valid, the Scotch law requires only that the marriage contract shall be witnessed. When the Fleet was closed against lovers in 1754, those impatient of parental control, and possessed of means to defray travelling expenses, repaired to Scotland. Edinburgh, for a time, supplied their wants; the last, we believe, who carried on a traffic in runaway weddings here was Joseph Robertson, who, some years ago, died miserably of hunger in London. But it was on the line of the borders adjoining England that those weddings abounded. At Lamberton-toll, the nearest Scottish ground to Berwick, the business has for many years been done for a very low price. After the erection of the suspension-bridge, six miles above Berwick, marriages were performed there. A "Sheen Brig" wedding has been a common occurrence both to Northumberland and Berwickshire lovers for the last thirty years. At Coldstream also those marriages have been common. But it was at Gretna-green and Sark toll-bar, and Springfield, nine miles from Carlisle, that the "high-fly" runaways from England tied their nuptial knots in greatest number. All the space between Car