appears that he had known, and been a ship-mate of the old woman's son Reuben, and after he has spoken of him and of his death, of his own escape, his captivity and final re. turn, in tone of deep despondence, and desolation of spirit, she tells to him the story of her own afflictious. But when, in the course of it, it appears that the sweet child before them is the orphan child of Reuben, the anxious and fearful father bursts from his disguise, and falls upon the neck of his mother, and folds his daughter to his arms. He had never seen his child, had heard of her birth, and never known her fate; and had returned to his home, after years of absence, with the deep wish in his heart to find her alive, and doubting whether the child before him was his own, yet too painfully anxious to dare to ask the question explicitly. Few of our readers but must have been in situations to feel something of this, in kind, though not in degree. Wordsworth's exquisite poem of the Two Brothers, is founded on the same weakness of the human heart-we talk of the misery of suspence, yet, when the moment of certainty is come, when our hands are on the curtain, and we may draw it aside at pleasure, we tremble to make the disco. very, we have recourse to devices of all kinds; perhaps we shrink back into the very uncertainty that appeared but a moment before so painful to us.

Here, however, the discovery is one of pure delight, pure in kind, though chastened by the recollection of all the preceding calamities they have undergone. The old woman has descended from competence and plenty to a lowly cottage; she stands alone bereft of her husband, all those of her own generation, and of all her children and descendants, but Reuben and his daughter. Reuben has no one on earth to cling to but his mother and his child; and for many years he has been the sport of peril and sor

of

row-such people, if they have any hearts, cannot be merry and thoughtless, but they may be very happy. This is the scene and state things with which the poem closes ; we will present it to our readers, and leave it without a comment, for it needs none.

"A black-bird in that sunny nook
Hangs in his wicker cage-but look
What youthful form is her's, whose care
Has newly hung the fav'rite there?
Tis Agnes-Hark that peal of bells,
It's Sabbath invitation swells,
And forth they come, the happy three,
The reunited family.

The son leads on with cautious pace
His old blind parent, in whose face
Age-worn and care-worn though it be,
The bright reflexion you may see
Of new-born happiness-and she
With restless joy who bounds along,
Beginning oft the oft check'd song.
(Check'd by remembrance of the day)
A moment then, less wildly gay,
She moves demurely on her way,
Clasping her new-found father's hand.
But who can silence at command
The soaring sky-lark's rapturous strain?
The mountain roe-buck who can rein?
Agnes' gay spirit bursts again
Discretion's bounds-a cob-web chain-
And off she starts in frolic glee,

Like fawn from short restraint set free.
Go happy child-thy present joys
No painful retrospect annoys.
But they who follow thee, look back
On long afflictions gloomy track,
Where many they have lov'd right dear
Are left behind-if they were here
Is all its language: gratefully
Thought whispers-but a low-breath'd sigh
To the Lord's Temple they repair,
To pour out thanks and praises there
For present blessings for past pain,
Not dull oblivion to obtain,
But resignation—and to find
That holy calm, that peace of mind
By which e'en here on earth is given
A foretaste of the joys of Heaven."

Six Lectures on the Penitential Psalms. By the Rev. Edward Berens. 12mo. pp. 74. 1s. 6d. boards. Rivingtons, 1823.

WE noticed the publication of these

Lectures in our last Number, and begged to defer our consideration of them to the present. They are written in the same plain and easy style that forms the charm and recommendation of Mr. Berens' former publications; and will be read with equal pleasure and edification. A Lecture is allotted to each Psalm: the occasion of the Psalm, as far as it can be gathered with any certainty, is first stated; the verses are successively explained and enforced, and the whole is summed up in each case with an appropriate admonitory conclusion. The folThe following extract, from the fifty-first Psalm, will put our readers in sufficient possession of the plan adopted;

"15. Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord; and my mouth shall shew thy praise.

"16. For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it thee; but thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.

"The sacrifices of the Jewish ritual were prescribed by God himself, and could not be neglected without disobedience to his authority. In themselves, however, they were weak and ineffectual; they were appointed principally, if not entirely, for legal defilements, not for such crying sins as those of which David had been guilty. 'It was not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take away sin*; and these sacrifices derived whatever virtue they possessed from the divine appointment, and from their being designed to prefigure, to shadow forth, the great sacrifice of the death of Christ. Certainly God delighted not in burnt-offerings, though instituted by himself, so much as he delighted in genuine and sincere repentance.

"17. The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, shalt thou not despise.

"Humility and contrition of soul are placed by our Lord himself, in the very front of the beatitudes, in the Sermon on the Mount; Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are they that mourn.' And twice is it declared by the prophet Isaiah, 'To this man will I look, saith the Lord, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my wordt."

* Heb. x. 4. + Isa. Ixvi. 2. lvii. 15. REMEMBRANCER, NO. 62.

"The Psalmist, however, is not so en. tirely engrossed by his own case, and his own personal need of the divine mercy, as welfare. In other places he shews the to be rendered unmindful of the public warm interest which he took in the prosperity of his people. O pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces And thus in the Psalm before us, after his earnest supplications for mercy and forgiveness, and for spiritual aid to himself in particular, he subjoins a petition for the welfare and happiness of his country. In like manner should we, actuated by a spirit of Christian patriotism, raise our voice to God in prayer and supplication, friends and relations merely, but also for not for ourselves alone, not for our own

the prosperity of our countrymen in general, for the well-being and godly ordering

of the church and nation to which we belong.

"18. O be favourable and gracious unto Sion; build thou the walls of Jeru

salem.

19. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, with the burnt-offerings and oblations; then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar.

"When the hearts of his worshippers are properly disposed by penitence and contrition, then especially is God wellpleased with the performance of external ordinances, with the public exercise of the offices of religion.

"Let us endeavour, my friends, to cultivate in ourselves that spirit of humility and penitence, which are so forcibly expressed in this beautiful Psalm. Let us fervently beseech God to wash us thoroughly from our wickedness, and to cleanse us from our sin,' by the atoning blood of his dear Son; and to create in us a new heart, and to renew a right spirit within us,' by the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost. And let us shew the truth of our repentance, and the sincerity of our prayers, by steadily endeavouring for the time to come to persevere in all righteousness and godliness of living, and relying on divine aid to amend our lives according to his holy word." P. 36.

We have met with but one passage in which we could wish an alteration, or rather addition; it is rather unguarded, as it appears to us in its present form, and has a

Q

*Ps. cxxii. 6,7,

tendency to increase that unfavourable feeling already entertained against the imprecatory portions of the Psalms.

"Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake, and for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

12. And of thy goodness slay mine enemies, and destroy all them that vex my soul; for I am thy servant." P. 72.

On this Mr. Berens thus comments:

"In this concluding verse, the Psalmist renews his petitions for deliverance from his enemies, and enforces his prayer by pleading the consideration of the divine goodness, and the relation which he himself bore to God.

"Slay mine enemies, and destroy all them that vex my soul. We, it is to be hoped (he continues) have no enemies among men; and if we unhappily have enemies, we should pray, not for their punishment, or destruction, but for their reformation and forgiveness; should pray, as we do in the Litany, that God would be pleased to forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their

hearts.'" P. 72.

Now without entering into the grammatical peculiarities of the Hebrew, we could wish to have had it remarked, that the passage might, with equal propriety, be rendered, "Thou shalt slay mine enemies," David might argue this from the known temporal justice of God; his enemies were the enemies of God, and religion; whereas David was God's servant, ready to do his will. "As for the ungodly, he says, on another occasion, they shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall consume as the fat of lambs; yea, even as the smoke they shall consume away."

David, again, was a prophet; and might in these words predict that vengeance which subsequently fell on Saul and Absalom.

Again, we may consider him in the light of a king, praying for the destruction of men who were the enemies of his crown and the peace of his kingdom. This is the view

Vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord." Between these several opinions we do not pretend to decide: we only think that there is too marked a contrast between the words of David and the admonition given, and given justly, to the Christian; we could wish to have some qualifying explanation thrown in to set the words of David in a more favourable light, without weakening the just warning to the Christian to pray for his enemies, and forgive, as he hopes himself to be forgiven.

We subjoin, with pleasure, the remainder of Mr. Berens' comment.

"But we have, all much cause to pray that God would slay our spiritual enemies; that he would mortify, would kill those sins, those corrupt passions and evil affections, and those sinful lusts, which vex our souls; and which, if they are suffered to prevail, to gain the upper hand, may ruin our souls for ever. We should implore this succour as being God's servants,-for I am thy servant. We all profess and call ourselves his servants; and indeed he has the best and clearest right to consider us as such. For not only did he create us, but he hath also purchased, has bought us, with the blood of his own Son. While we thus profess to be, and feel that we ought to be, the servants of God, let us take care, my friends, that we be his servants in reality; let us take heed, and let us earnestly pray for his grace and assistance, that neither the world, nor the flesh, nor the devil, neither our own lusts, our own

passions, er our own wills, may draw us off from the service which we owe to our heavenly Master. Let us endeavour to live like the servants of righteousness, let

Ms endeavour more and more to be made

free from sin, and to be the true servants of God; so that through the aid of his Spirit, and the merits and atonement of his Son, we may have our fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life-for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ

our Lord".

We cannot take leave of Mr.

Rom. vi. 22, 23.

Berens, without repeating the hope, that he will not suffer his pen to remain idle, where so much is to be done, and can be done so effectually by himself. We know that he will not. These are not times for any man to be asleep at his post. Every talent must now be called into action, for we have need of all. We can only assure Mr. Berens, that the oftener we meet with him, the greater will be our pleasure; and the greater, we are assured, the benefit accruing to the public.

WE insert the following case, as important to the Clergy, on a point on which applications, we believe, are frequently made to them. At the same time we cannot but observe, that it is much to be regretted, that some mode is not promulgated by authority, by which evidence as to the time of birth may be easily and satisfactorily procured. The most important questions in our courts of justice often turn upon this point, and they most commonly arise at a time when all the ordinary modes of proving the fact, either no longer exist, or when they are no longer to be depended on. Surely it might be possible to contrive some mode of registration, which being adopted at the moment when the facts were fresh in the recollections of the witnesses, might have a permanent credibility. Perhaps it would not be a bad measure to empower the Clergy, in all cases where required by the parents, to administer at baptism an oath to the mother, or nurse, or some one present at the birth, as to the time of the birth, and to make the answer part of the baptismal regis

ter.

WIHEN V. LAW.

The question was as to the age of the defendant.

On the part of the defendant, to prove bis infancy at a particular time, the regis ter of his christening was produced, from in the year 1807; but the entry also stated which it appeared that he was christened

that he was born in the year 1799.

Judge Bayley was of opinion, that the entry relating to the time of his birth was not evidence of the fact; it did not appear upon whose information the entry had been made, and the clergyman who made the entry had no authority to make inquiry concerning the time of birth, or to

make any entry concerning it in the regis

ter.

The jury found for the plaintiff; and in the ensuing term Marryatt moved for a new trial, contending that, at all events, the entry was evidence to confirm the statement of the mother, who had been examined as a witness for the defendant at the trial.

But the Court were of opinion, that the entry was not evidence to prove the age of the party; it was nothing more than something told to the clergyman at the time of the christening, concerning which he had not power by law to make an entry in the register. He had neither the authority nor the means of making an entry. If it had appeared that the entry had been made by the direction of the mother, it might, perhaps, if required, have been

read in evidence, for the purpose of confirming her testimony; but even then it would have amounted to nothing more than a mere deciaration by her as to the age of her son, made at a time when there was no motive on her part to misrepresent his age.-Rule refused.

THE KING v. RADFORD.

THIS man was tried at the Devon Summer Assizes for murder; and had in fact made a confession to the Clergyman of his parish. The Clergyman was called as a witness, and stated that he had gone to the prisoner when he was in custody on the charge at a public-house in the village; that he put every one out of the room but the constable, and then addressed the prisoner, saying, that he did not come to him out of idle curiosity, or with any wish

to induce him to make a confession: that

he dwelt with him on the heinousness of the crime charged on him, and the denunciations of Scripture against it. He was then going on to state what the prisoner had said to him, but Mr. Justice Best interposed, and asked him, if he had previously warned the prisoner, that what he should say would be hereafter used as evidence against him. He answered in the negative, and the Judge thereupon refused to hear the statement. He thought that a confidence had been created, and an impression made on the prisoner's mind, by this sort of address from one standing in the relation of spiritual adviser and friend, which would throw him off his guard, and that no previous warning under such circumstances having been given, such a confession could not be considered purely voluntary.

We report this case, because we think it of great importance, and that great practical benefits may flow from its becoming well known and acted upon. All our readers who have been in the habit of attending courts of criminal justice, must have seen the great, perhaps

the excessive, scrupulousness with which the confessions of criminals are allowed to be given in evidence against them. We are not now to discuss whether the Judges have done right in carrying this so far as it has been carried, but there can be no doubt that the decision above reported is within the principle of the decided cases on the subject, and entirely sanctioned by them. We think the decision, also, may be made very useful. If a clergyman finds one of his parishioners charged with an offence, especially the weighty crime of murder, he is naturally anxious to visit him, to rouse his mind to proper reflections, to advise and comfort him; but his exertions are restrained, and the intercourse between the parties cannot be confidential, so long as it is apprehended that what passes be. tween them may hereafter be detailed against the prisoner on his trial.

Whereas, if it be once understood that the intercourse is privileged and confidential, the minds of both are relieved; the minister does not fear to encourage the prisoner to the most unreserved com

munications, and the prisoner has no scruple in making them to the minister, any more than to his attorney; at the same time that he makes them with ten times the profit to his most important interests. Perhaps there are few moments when a more powerful impression may be made by a minister known to, and respected by the criminal;

but then the most entire confidence must subsist between them-without some such decision as this, no such confidence can exist, with it it may.