God shall lift up thy head.

Through waves, through clouds and storms,
He gently clears thy way;

Wait thou his time; so shall the night
Soon end in joyous day.

He every where hath sway,
And all things serve his might;
His every act pure blessing is,
His path, unsullied light.
When He makes bear his arm,
What shall his work withstand?
When He his people's cause defends,
Who, who shall stay his hand?
Leave to his sovereign sway,
To choose, and to command;
With wonder filled, thou then shalt own,
How wise, how strong his hand.
Thou comprehend'st him not;
Yet earth and heaven tell,
God sits as sovereign on the throne,
He ruleth all things well.

• Thou seest our weakness, Lord;
Our hearts are known to Thee;
O, lift thou up the sinking hand,
Confirm the feeble knee!

Let us, in life and death,
Boldly thy truth declare;

And publish, with our latest breath,
Thy love and guardian care.'

These fine stanzas are from the Moravian Hymn-book, and there are other examples of equal worth from the same collection. The last section of the volume contains about a hundred "original hymns' by Mr. Montgomery himself, and a more interesting series of compositions will not be found in the pages of the most highly favoured among the writers of sacred poetry. They are not overloaded with epithet and ornament, though there is enough of decoration to give colour to the thought and feeling. Evangelical simplicity and devotional sentiment are, however, their distinguishing characteristics; and with Mr. M.'s pure taste it could not be otherwise, since nothing can betray greater infirmity of judgement than the sacrifice to the imagination, of that which concerns the heart. The following is an average specimen.

Thou, God, art a consuming fire;
Yet mortals may find grace,

From toil and tumult to retire,

And meet Thee face to face.

Though "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord!"
Seraph to seraph sings;

And angel-choirs, with one accord,
Worship, with veiling wings;-

Though earth thy footstool, heaven thy throne,
Thy way amidst the sea;

Thy path deep floods, thy steps unknown,

Thy counsels mystery ;—

Yet wilt thou look on him who lies

A suppliant at thy feet;

And hearken to the feeblest cries

That reach the mercy-seat.

Between the Cherubim of old
Thy glory was expressed;

But God, through Christ, we now behold
In flesh made manifest.

Through Him who all our sickness felt,
Who all our sorrows bare ;
Through Him in whom thy fulness dwelt,
We offer up our prayer.

Touched with a feeling of our woes,
Jesus our High Priest stands;

All our infirmities he knows;

Our souls are in his hands.

He bears them up with strength divine,
When at thy feet we fall:

Lord, cause thy face on us to shine;

Hear us-on Thee we call.'

On the whole, we feel ourselves under much obligation to Mr. Montgomery for this volume, both as an excellent manual of devotion, and a collection of delightful poetry. It is decidedly of a higher order than any other book of the kind that we are acquainted with; compiled under the guidance of better canons of selection, and printed, as far as our recollections serve, without any of that affectation of editorship and alteration which has so frequently annoyed us. There are several hymns of antique character, and remarkable for the raciness. and vigour which such compositions frequently exhibit, that are new to us; and there is an admirable instance of the effect of judicious adaptation, in a hymn formed by the selection of five stanzas from one of Merrick's psalms consisting of seventeen. The collection is divided into five parts. I. Scripture subjects.-2. Prayer and Praise.-3. Special Occasions.-4. Miscellaneous Ilymns.-5. Original Ilymus. The Introduc

• tory Essay' is full of instruction and interest; the extract that we have given will sufficiently illustrate its general character. If the volume meet with a reception in any degree proportioned to its merits, it must become extensively popular.

We would by all means recommend the immediate expulsion of the marvellous attempt at graphic embellishment that fronts the title.

Art. VII. Naval Records : or the Chronicles of the Line of Battle

Ships of the Royal Navy, from its First Establishment in the Reign of Henry VIII. Part I. Foolscap 8vo. pp. 334. Price 8s.

London, 1824. THE glaring discrepancies that are so unceasingly and so

bewilderingly encountered in historical reading, have sometimes tempted us to the wish that all national records were restricted to the simple statement of dates and results, unless the commentary could be so ample and minute as to afford all requisite means of examination and adjustment. Prejudice, pride, and interest have a strange influence on the organs of reception and communication, and men of veracity will not only unconsciously throw over their narratives the colour of their feelings, but will actually contemplate the same occurrence with different eyes in the precise ratio of their personal concern in the event. In all cases, it is desirable to be made acquainted with the truth ; but it becomes of incalculable importance when the public weal is so deeply at stake, as in the conduct and issue of military operations. Has a battle been lost ?-we can only ascertain the causes of the disaster by a minute and unvarnished detail of all the circumstances connected with the plans and arrangements of the general, and with the quality and numbers of his troops. Does the tide of victory turn against England in her career of naval triumph ?it is of the last necessity that an accurate knowledge be obtained of all the facts which bear upon the inquiry, whether our failures have been the effect of relaxed discipline, erroneous system, inferior strength, or disastrous casualty. In this respect, the researches of Mr. James have been of the highest utility. If he has stripped our successes against the French navy, of the glare which incomplete statements had given them, he has abated the mortification and dismay which our reverses in the maritime war with America, were calculated to produce. If, in the former instance, his statements rebuked presumptuous exultation, in the latter, they offered a fair and reasonable counteraction of all tendency to despondency in the

apprehension of disgrace. That his strictures were productive of irritation, and, in one instance, of lamentable disaster, may be a subject of grief, but cannot invalidate either their force or their propriety.

These observations are so far applicable to the small volume in our hands, as that it contains little more than a brief summary of the history of the different line of battle ships now in the British navy, including the successive individuals which have borne the same name, from its first regular establishment down to the present time. It is not ill done; though an exceedingly wordy preface, chiefly relating to the most eligible system of giving names to ships of war, does not tend to awaken favourable anticipations. Neither can we altogether understand the advantage of prefixing to each article, a rather lengthy exposé of the meaning, historical, geographical, mythological, or lexigographical, of the nominal distinctions actually existing. The narrative, however, given in explanation of the name of the Armada 74, is written with spirit.

'It was on the ever memorable 21st day of July, 1588, that the Lord High Admiral, with his flag flying in the RoYAL ARK, had first succeeded in gaining a favourable position to windward, for attacking the enemy; and it was the DEFIANCE armed sloop that had the honour of firing the first broadside against the INVINCIBLE ARMADA. This was on the 21st of July, and from that time till the 26th of the same month, similar attacks were renewed on every practicable occasion; during which the superior skill and daring courage of the English seamen, in their fierce combats with such gigantic opponents, became every day more decisive, and had called on the Lord High Admiral for the exercise of one of the noblest prerogatives of his high office; by which the Lords Thomas Howard and Sheffield, with the captains John Hawkins and Martin Frobisher, had been knighted by him at sea, as an honourable testimony of their gallant achievements. In the mean time, the enemy, with a loss of some ships, and more of martial confidence, had arrived at the anchorage off Calais, where they expected to be joined by the Duke of Parma; and the Lord High Admiral had, on his part, formed a junction off Dover, with the fleet of reserve under Sir William Winter. By these last, on the night of the 28th, it was resolved to spread consternation among the enemy; and eight fire-ships, under the command of Captains Young and Prowse, were sent down among them, with such alarming effects, that the greater part of the Spanish ships slipped their cables and put hastily to sea; many endeavoured, on the following day, to reach Gravelines, where they were attacked and broken through by the divisions under Drake and Hawkins, aided by the approach of the grand fleet. Thus dispersed and discomfited, express after express was sent from Calais to the Duke of Parma, urging an immediate junction of his force, that they might proceed to the Thames. But the Duke of Parma was blocked up by an English

squadron, and replied by requesting for himself immediate relief. In this distressing dilemma, dreading a second attack from the English fire-ships, and finding the Lord High Admiral, with one hundred and forty ships, was boldly pressing down upon him, the Duke made an ineffectual attempt to gain time by retreating back a certain distance to the westward; for hard gales from the north-west speedily stopped his progress that way, and most alarmingly forced his large ships down towards the shoally coast of Zealand; but relieved from this situation of imminent danger, by a sudden shifting of the wind to the south-west, he immediately called a council of war, in which it was finally resolved, that as the Duke of Parma could not join them, and the English were every moment increasing in numbers and boldness, the object of the ARMADA was completely unattainable, and no choice remained for them but retreating NORTH ABOUT, back to the country from whence they came. No sooner was this mortifying resolution made known, than it was put in execution ; and the whole sea became covered with the carcasses of mules and other animals, thrown overboard as unnecessary consumers of provisions, or useless incumbrances. Under these circumstances, the English fleet pursued them as far as the Frith of Forth, and then abandoning them to their fate, returned to their country covered with glory, Thus far, man liad done, and nobly done, his part ; the Invincible Armada had advanced through the Channel, and had been signally defeated by com. paratively a force of frigates, and the glory of England was complete. But now the awful God of storms and tempests rose, and with his dreadful arm scattered this mighty host through all the hidden shoals and rocks of a perilous navigation ; so that of one hundred and thirtytwo large ships of war, brought out by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, scarcely sixty returned to Spain, covering the land with universal mourning.

• How much the lofty-minded Elizabeth, at this juncture, felt indebted to the unparalleled services of her navy, may be inferred from the lasting confidence she placed in the Lord High Admiral; to whom, in the decline of her life, she entrusted alone the charge of suppressing the insurrection of Essex ; and of whom she was always

“ he was born to serve and save his country.” To the ARMADA, under the special blessing of Providence, we owe the triumphant adoption of Alfred's illustrious policy, and with it the ever forcible conviction, that the cheapest and best defence of our island is the dominion of the seas.'

The various particulars connected with the services of the different vessels, seem to have been collected with sufficient care, and are stated in an interesting way. The following history of the Canada 74, may be taken as a fair specimen.

• On the 17th day of September, in the vear of our Lord 1759, the fleet under Vice-Admiral Saunders, with the army which went out under Major-General Wolf, had completed the reduction of Quebec, after a great battle fought on the plains of Abraham, where the gala lant Wolf fell in the arms of victory.

heard to say,