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If we consult the Rubric prefixed to the Office for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion, we may observe, that the Curate is expressly enjoined not to suffer "any one who is an open and notorious liver to presume to come to the Lord's table, until he hath declared himself to have truly repented and amended his former naughty life, that the congregation may thereby be satisfied, which before were offended." Provided, "that every Minister so repelling any, as is specified in this Rubric, shall be obliged to give an account of the same to the Ordinary within fourteen days after at the farthest."

Thus saith the Rubric, whereby it evidently appears, that the command given to the Curate, or offi. ciating Minister, is of an imperative nature. To any Minister whatever, the rejection of a person from his appearing at the Lord's table must be distressing, and truly painful to his feelings. But there are some cases, particularly those of murder, in which the Minister finds himself involved in much difficulty; for his humanity and compassion for the condemned criminal will induce him not to refuse the Holy Sacrament to him, previous to his falling a victim to the violated and offended laws of his country. But can the murderer be said to be filled with contrition and truly penitent, merely by confessing his guilt, and acknowledging the justice of his sentence? Very little reliance is surely to be placed on the sincerity of this man's repentance. On the contrary, I am of opinion, that it may more properly be called attrition, arising from the dread of punishment only. But would not the Minister, without being unjustly charged with want of feeling and bumanity, be fully justified, and act a conscientious part, if he refuses to administer the Holy Sacrament to the wretched murderer, unless he discloses the whole of the horrid

transaction in which he was concerned, and deliver up the names of all his wicked associates, so that they may be detected and brought to justice? However, should the worthy Clergyman be involved in doubt how to act consistently with his duty, and his own conscience, would it not be prudent, would it not shew that he was commendably cautious, in hesitating to administer the Holy Sacrament till he had time to consult with his Diocesan on this important subject? I think, that his mind would then be more at ease, and that he would tread on safer and surer ground.

By many condemned criminals, I am afraid, that the Holy Sacrament is by them taken under the Roman Catholic idea of a passport into heaven, and that it will inspire them with manly fortitude at the awful and agonizing moment of their execution. If credit is to be given to reports in our public papers of the behaviour of some criminals of late, it is evident that they made no full confession of their guilt. Their chief object seems to have been to act the part of hardened bravery, and shew a courage more worthy of a better cause; and in this, I am sorry to think, they are frequently confirmed and strengthened by the delusive advice and consolation of the enthusiast and evangelical preacher. I remain respectfully,

Sir,

Your humble Servant,

CANDIDUS.

To the Editor of the Remembrancer. SIR,

I HAVE lately had the good fortune to see the copy of Henry the VIII.'s Book on the Seven Sacraments, presented by the King to Archbishop Cranmer, containing his name "Thomas Cantuarien," and marginal notes in the Archbishop's own hand-writing. These latter are

curious, as they shew the workings the work to which those notes I of his mind at that early period on have transcribed refer. The title the subject of transubstantiation. of the book is I have extracted the passages of

(Among the marginal notes in the Abp's handwriting are the following.)

* deside

rams. id ex scripturis.

Q.?

+ tēps nate trāsubstationis.

ASSERTIO SEPTEM SA

cramentorum aduersus Martin.
Lutheru, ædita ab inuictis-
simo Angliæ et Fran.
cia rege, et do. Hy-
bernia Henri -
co eius no-
minis

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M.D.XXI. quarto Idus Julij.
Cum priuilegio a rege indulto.

(4to. pp. 156.)

At pa. 33. (the words in Italics are marked by the
Archbishop.)

-"Idem potuit, et in Apostolorum Actis contingere, ubi
nec beatus Petrus alloquens populum, et illis Christi fidem
insinuans, ausus est adhuc aperte quicquam, de eius diuinitate
dicere, ita abdita, et populis dubia mysteria non temere pro-
ferebat. At Christus apostolos suos, quos tam diu sua
doctrina formauerat, ipso sacramenti instituendi principio,
docere non dubitauit, panis uinique non amplius restare sub-
stantiam, sed manente utriusq: specie, utrunq: tamen, et
panem, et uinum, in corpus et sanguinem suum esse cõuersum”.
Quod tam aperte docuit, ut plane mirandum, sit exortu quenq:
postea, qui rem tam claram, rursus uocaret in dubium.
Quomodo enim potuisset apertius dicere, nihil illic remanere
panis, q: quum dixit. Hoc est corpus meu."

At pa. 35.

"NAM Q. LUTHERUS AIT HANC + fidem transubstantiationis, iam intra trecentos annos proximos esse natum, quum prius a Christo plus annis mille ducentis ecclesia recte creddiderit, nec interim de transubstantiatione tam portentoso (ut ait ille) uocabulo, mentio unq: ulla sit facta, si de uocabulo tantum litiget, nemo erit, opinor, illi molestus, ut credat transubstantiationem, modo credat panem sic esse conuersum in carnem, et uinum in sanguinem, ut nihil, neq: panis remaneat, neq: wini, præter speciem, quod ipsum uno uerbo uolunt, qui+vbi vbu dei cunque ponunt transubstantiationem. At istud, postq: ecclesia quod uerum esse decreuit, etiam, si nunc primum decerneret: tamen, si ueteres non credidere contrarium, q: q: de ea re nung: ante quisquam cogitasset, cur non obtemperaret Lutherus, ecclesiæ totius præsenti decreto: persuasus, id nunc tantum reuelatum ecclesiæ, quod ante latuisset? Spiritus enim, sicut, ubi uult spirat, ita spirat, quando uult,” REMEMBRANCER, No. 63. U

fidē

faciat huius rei.

This curious Copy appears to have been formerly in the possession of the Scarborough family, from the name" Lumley" on the title-page. It was afterwards for many years in the library of the late Mr. Bindley, at whose sale it was purchased for Mr. Watson Taylor. The book is now in the possession of Messrs. Rivingtons and Cochran.

Your obedient Servant,

I. H.

To the Editor of the Remembrancer. SIR,

I WISH to submit a few queries, through your excellent Miscellany, to some learned Civilian, whose answers will be a great benefit to many Incumbents.

to

1. Does an estate of land, annexed a benefice by Queen Anne's bounty, become legally the glebe of that parish?

2. If it be a glebe (properly so called) can the Incumbent, being a Vicar, claim of the Impropriator an exemption from tithes?

3. If he be entitled to exemption from tithes for such lands, situated within his own parish-can he extend the same claims to lands annexed to his benefice by Queen Anne's bounty, situate in another parish?

4. If the above queries are answered in the affirmative, may the act of paying tithes for the same hitherto, be set up as a custom to bar his claim of exemption? Your's,

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defray the expenses of Counsel's opinion. P. M.

The poor-rate on tithes, being separate from that on the land, from whom must the overseer recover the rate?

If it be agreed, that the Farmer shall pay the rates on the tithes, and he afterwards refuse to do so, can the Parson recover the rates of the Farmer; and if so, by what process?

Feb. 20, 1824.

To the Editor of the Remembrancer. SIR,

AN original letter of the pious John Wesley has accidentally fallen into

hands it is written in a very my tremulous hand; so much so, indeed, that in the two spaces left blank, the words in the original are quite illegible. It was addressed to one of his favourite preachers, who has now attained a very advanced period of life in constant adherence to the dying exhortation of his earthly "Master and Brother," (as he calls Mr. Wesley) by a regular monthly participation in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and indeed by his attention to all the services and ordinances of the Church of England. The letter is as follows

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On Reading Profane History. By the “ ever-memorable" John Hales. "In perusal of history, first, provide you some writers in chronology, and cosmography. For if you be ignorant of the times and places, when and where the things you read were done, it cannot chuse but breed confusion in your reading, and make you many times grossly to slip and mistake in your discourse. When therefore you set to your book, have by you Helvicus his Chronology; and a map of the country in which you are con versant; and repair unto them to acquaint you with time and place, when, and where you are. If you be versing the antient histories, then provide you Ptolomy's Maps, or Ortelius his Conatus Geographici: if the latter, then some of the modern charts.

"As for method of reading history, note, that there are in story two things especially considerable. First, the order of the story itself: and Secondly, moral, or statical observations, for common life and practice.

"For the latter of these, there needs no method in reading; all the method is in digesting your reading, by bringing it into heads, or comimon places, or indices, or the like. For in this kind, read what books, and in what order ye list, it matters not; so your notes may be in some such order as may be useful for you. For the former, that is the course and order of the story; the order of reading ought to be the same with the order of the things themselves; what was first done, that is to be read in the first place; what was next, in the next place, and so forward; the succession and order of time and reading being the same. This if you mean to observe exactly (which I think it is not so necessary for you to do) you must range your authors according to the times, wherein the things they writ were acted, and in the same order read them.

، But before you come to read the acts of any people: as those that intend to go to bowls, will first see and view the ground upon which they are to play; so it shall not be amiss for you, first to take a general view of that ground, which you mean more particularly to traverse, by reading some short epitome. So, ere you read the Roman story, (for that way you mean your studies shall bend) first, read

have escaped the research of Mr. Southey, as he gives the 1st of Feb. as the date of the last letter written by Wesley. See Southey's Life of Wesley, vol. ii. p. 561.

carefully L. Florus, who briefly continues the story from Romulus till Augustus shut the temple of Janus: and if you would yet go lower, add then unto Florus, Eutropius his Breviarium; who from the same point brings the story unto Jovianus the Emperor. This will give you a general taste of your business, and add light unto particular authors.

“ This done, then take Livy in hand. Now because Livy is very much broken and imperfect, and parts of him lost; it may be questioned, whether were better to read Livy throughout, baulking his imperfections, before you meddle with any other? or when you come to any imperfection, to leave him, and supply his wants by intercalation of some other author, and so resume him into your hands again, toties quoties? For answer, were it your purpose exactly to observe the course of the story, it were not amiss where Livy fails you, before you go to his next books, to supply the defect out of some other authors: but since this is not that you principally intend, but some other thing; and again, because variety of authors may trouble you, it will be better for you to read Livy throughout, without interruption. When you have gone him through, then, if you please, you may look back, and take a view of his imperfections, and supply them out of some other authors, partly Latin, as Justin, Sallust, Cæsar's Conimentaries, Hirtius, Velleius Paterculus: partly Greek, as Polybius, Plutarch, Dionysius, Halicarnasseus, Appianus, Alexandrinus, Dion Cassius: out of which authors you may reasonably supply whatsoever is wanting in Livy.

"Having thus brought the story to the change of the empire, you must now begin another course; and first you must take in hand Suetonius Tranquillus, who being carefully perused, your way lies open to the reading of our politicians great apostle Tacitus. Now the same infelicity hath befallen him, which before I noted in Livy: for as this, so that is very imperfect, and broken, a great part both of his Annals and Histories being lost. And as I counselled you for Livy, so do I for Tacitus, that you read him throughout, without intermingling any other author; and having gone him through, in what you shall see him imperfect, Dion Cassius, or his epitomizer Xiphiline, will help you out: though by reason of your fore-reading of Suetonius, you shall find yourself, for a good part of the story, furnished before-hand.

"And thus are you come to the reign of Nerva, where Suetonius and Tacitus

ended; hitherto to come is a reasonable task for you yet.

"If you shall desire to know the state and story afterward till Constantine's death, and the division of the Empire, or farther, to the fall of the Western Empire, let me understand your mind, and I will satisfy you.

"For the editions of those authors hitherto mentioned; your choice is best of those, whom either Lipsius, or Gruterus, or Causabon have set forth though if you be careful to buy fair books, you can scarcely chuse amiss; your Greek authors, if you list not to trouble yourself with the language, you shall easily find in Latin sufficient for your use. Only Plutarch, whatever the matter is, hath no luck to the Latin, and therefore I would advise you either to read him in French or in English. But as for Tacitus, the chief cock in the court-basket, it is but meet you take special good advice in reading of him: Lipsius, Savile, Pichena, and others, have taken great pains with him in emaculating the text, in settling the reading, opening the customs, expounding the story, &c. and therefore you must needs have recourse unto them; yet this is only critical, and not courtly learning Tacitus for your use requires other kind of comments. For since he is a concise, dense, and by repute a very oraculous writer, almost in every line pointing at some state-maxim: it had been a good employment for some good wit, to have expounded, proved, exemplified at large, what he doth for the most part only but intimate. Something our age hath attempted in this kind, though to little purpose. Gruterus hath collected certain places here and there, collected out of him: and Scipio Ammirati hath glossed him in some places according to the shallowness of the new Italian wits. But Anibal Scotus, groom of the chamber to Sixtus Quintus, hath desperately gone through him all, whom I would wish you to look upon, not for any great good you shall reap by him (for he is the worst that ever I read) only you shall see by that which he hath with great infelicity attempted, what kind of comment it is, which if it were well performed, would be very acceptable to us.

"From the order of reading, we come to the excerpta, and to such things as we observe and gather in our reading. Here are two things to be marked: First, the matters and things which we collect; Secondly, the manner of observing, ga thering, registering them in our paperbooks for our speedy use.

"To omit all that which belongs to the style and language wherein your author writes, in which I suppose you mean not much to trouble yourself; matters observable in history may be all ranked under three heads; First, there is the story itself, which usually we gather by epitomizing it. Secondly, there are miscellanea, such as are the names and genealogies of men; descriptions of cities, hills, rivers, woods, &c. customs, offices, magistrates, prodigies; certain quaint obser. vations, as who was the first Dictator? when the Romans first began to use shipping? or to coin gold? what manner of mouey the antients used? their manner of war and military instruments? and an infinite multitude of the like nature. Thirdly, there are moralia.

"For the first, you need not trouble yourself about it, it is already done to your hand. For there is almost no story of note, whereof there is not some epitome, as good as any you can frame of your own. Indeed, if you did intend any exact knowledge of history, it were good you did this yourself, though it were actum agere: because what we do ourselves, sticks best in our memories, and is most for our use. But since your aim is at something else, you may spare your own, and make use of others labours. The se cond head is pleasant, but is merely critical and scholastical, and so the less pertinent to you, and therefore I shall not need to speak any more of it. The third, which I called morals, is that Penelope which you must woo; under this I com prehend all moral sentences and common places, all notable examples of justice, of religion, &c. apothegms, Vafre el simulanter dicta et facia; civil stratagems and plots to bring ends about: censures upon men's persons and actions: considerations upon men's natures and dispositions: all things that may serve for proof or disproof, illustration or amplification of any moral place: considerations of the circumstances of actions, the reasons why they prove successful; or their errors, if they prove unfortunate; as in the second Punic war, why Hannibal still prevailed by hastening his actions; Fabius, on the contrary, by delay. And this indeed is one of the special profits that comes by history. And therefore I have always thought Polybius (might we have him perfect) one of the best that ever wrote story. For whereas other historians content themselves to touch und point at the true reasons of events in civil business; Polybius, when he hath historically set down an action worthy conside

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