fome few luxuries, but then her "humble wishes never learnt to ftray." It was her fole pride to nourish with tenderness her infants; to have a clean hearth, a fparkling fire, and at church to appear decent. Oh! hateful ambition, was it not for thee we fhould all of us travel placidly through the valley of life; war would ceafe to devaftate, and angelic peace wanton on the plain.

INSTANCE OF BENEVOLENCE.

TWO boats set out from Dover in stormy weather to affift a veffel in distress: one, containing three failors, was overfet; one of the failors funk immediately to the bottom, the others were struggling for life. When a rope was thrown to one of them from the men in the other boat, he refufed it, crying out, "Fling it to Tom, he is now ready to fiak, and I can last fometime longer." They did fo, Tom was drawn into the boat; and then the rope was flung to the generous tar, just in time to fave him from being drowned.

A CAUTION TO CELIA,

A YOUNG girl, who had a crowd of profaic and poetical fuiters, once telling an intelligent man who had long paid his addreffes to her, that her other admirers praised her much more than be did, he fent her the following Stanzas:

You've been told that your bofom's like snow,
But that's for the fake of the jeft;
'Tis as cold, fays the languishing beau,
With a figh as his accents expreft.

Though your eyes are as dim as a whiting's
To rubies they're furely compar'd,
But to Waller, and other men's writings,
You'll find the bard has repair'd.

Then take this Advice.

When Strephon writes encomiums on your eyes, Look in your glafs!-you'll be convinc'd be lies; If chance he makes extempore's on your hair, Bid him read Cowley, and be'll find them there; And if he writes" in flames I do expire"Be sure you put his verses in the fire,

CHARACTERS

*Y JOHN STURGES, LL. D. PREBENDARY OF

WINCHESTER.

[From Reflections on the Principles and
Institutions of Popery.]

WYCKLIFF

LED the way to the Englif reformation, and by his opinions and writings began to difpel the darknefs in which the religion of his ountry was involved. His name became of courfe, odious in the highest degree to the partifans of the doctrines and jurifdiction of the Roman fee: all his opinions adverse to these we re formally condemned, and the council of Conftance executed a fort of impotent vengeance on him, by ordering his bones to be dug up many years after his death, and burnt. Nothing is more natural, than to fuppofe, that there might be fome mixture of what was exceptionable among thefe opinions, confidering

the early period in which he lived, the unim proved state of all religious and ufeful learning, and the newness of the ground on which he ftood against fuch a hoft of formidable adverfaries. But the vigour of his mind, in feizing the great principles on which the reformation in its maturer state proceeded, and the courage with which he dared at that time to maintain them, placed him in the highest rank of merit among the reformers, and intitle him to the respect and gratitude of all proteftant pofterity.

LUTHER.

It required a degree of perfeverance and intrepidity not less than that which Luther posfeffed, to make him engage in the arduous con. teft, to fupport him through its continuance, and finally to give him fuch fuccefs in it, as to carry off from the allegiance of Rome, either under his own immediate standard, or that of the allies connected with him by a common caufe, fo large a proportion of her fubjects. For to him must be in a great measure attri

buted all the branches of the reformation, which spread over the different parts of Europe, after he had firft planted it in Germany. A wonderful atchievement this for a private German monk; and an inftance, among many others, with what inconfiderable and appparently inadequate inftruments the most important purposes of Providence are accomplished. Luther was in his manners and writings coarse, prefuming, and impetuous; but these were qualities allied to those which alone made him capable of supporting well the extraordinary character in which he appeared. I have always been ftruck with his tranflating the whole Bible into German, which is a claffical book in that language, and has, I believe, as a translation, maintained high credit down to latter times, as a fingular proof of learning and ability. Whoever will confider the difficulty of one man's executing such a work at a period, when the knowledge of the original languages was rare, and the affiftances of facred criticifm and literature (which have been fince fo much multiplied) were inconfiderable and scanty, will be probably inclined to agree with me in this opinion.