Edward Lively, Regius professor of Hebrew at Cambridge, exceeded by none of that age in oriental learning. He died during the progress of the work.

Lawrence Chaderton, afterwards master of Emanuel College, Cambridge. He was well acquainted with the Greek and Hebrew languages, and a diligent student of the Rabbinical writings.

John Reinolds, president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. We are told that he "was most prodigiously seen in all kinds of learning, most excellent in all tongues, a living library, and a third university;" and that "the memory, the reading, of that man were near to a miracle." He, like Professor Lively, did not live till the translation was completed.

Henry Savil, afterwards Sir Henry Savil, provost of Eton, a most learned man, the editor of St. Chry

sostom.

John Bois, one of the first Greek scholars of that age. Adrian Saravia, who had been the bosom friend of Whitgift and Hooker.

These were some of the persons to whom this important trust was committed. If our children have been taught to honour those great captains who have led our armies to victory over foreign foes, much more should they learn properly to esteem these venerable men, warriors in a more holy cause, chosen champions beneath the banner of the cross, who not merely themselves wielded the sword of the Spirit, but have put it into our hands, a weapon prepared and fitted for our use, with which we may, after their example, in the strength of the Highest, overcome the powers of dark

The translators, when selected, were divided into six classes. At Westminster, a body of ten had assigned to them the portion of the Bible from Genesis to the Second Book of Kings inclusive. Eight were to assemble at Cambridge, and finish the rest of the historical books, and to the end of the Song of Solomon. At Oxford, seven were to undertake the Prophets, being the remainder of the Old Testament. The Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the book of Revelation, were apportioned to another body of eight, who also met at Oxford. The rest of the New Testament was assigned to a fifth company of seven, at Westminster. And, lastly, seven at Cambridge were to translate the books called Apocrypha. The rules laid down by the king, to these different companies, were as follow:

1. The ordinary Bible read in the church, commonly called the Bishops' Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the truth of the original will permit.

2. The names of the prophets and the holy writers, with the other names in the text, to be retained, as near as may be, accordingly as they are vulgarly used. 3. The old ecclesiastical words to be kept, as the word "church" not to be translated "congregation."

4. When any word hath divers significations, that to be kept which hath been most commonly used by the most eminent fathers, being agreeable to the propriety of the place, and the analogy of faith.

5. The division of the chapters to be altered either not at all, or as little as may be, if necessity so require. 6. No marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the explanation of the Hebrew or Greek words which cannot, without some circumlocution, so briefly and fitly be expressed in the text.

7. Such quotations of places to be marginally set down as shall serve for the fit references of one Scripture to another.

8. Every particular man of each company to take the same chapter or chapters, and, having translated or amended them severally by himself where he thinks good, all to meet together, to confer what they have done, and agree for their part what shall stand.

9. As any one company hath despatched any one book in this manner, they shall send it to the rest, to be considered of, seriously and judiciously; for his majesty is very careful on this point.

10. If any company, upon the review of the book so sent, shall doubt or differ upon any places, to send them word thereof, to note the places, and therewithal to send their reasons; to which, if they consent not, the difference to be compounded at the general meeting, which is to be of the chief persons of each company, at the end of the work.

11. When any place of special obscurity is doubted of, letters to be directed by authority, to send to any learned in the land, for his judgment on such a place.

12. Letters to be sent from every bishop to the rest of his clergy, admonishing them of this translation in hand, and to move and charge as many as, being skilful in the tongues, have taken pains in that kind, to send their particular observations to the company, either at Westminster, Cambridge, or Oxford, according as it was directed before in the king's letter to the archbishop.

13. The directors in each company to be the deans of Westminster and Chester for Westminster, and the king's professors in Hebrew and Greek in the two universities.

14. These translations to be used, when they agree better with the text than the Bishops' Bible, viz. Tindale's, Coverdale's, Mathewe's, Whitchurch's, Geneva.

15. Besides the said directors before mentioned, three or four of the most ancient and grave divines in either of the universities, not employed in translating, to be assigned by the vice-chancellor, upon conference with the rest of the heads, to be overseers of the translation, as well Hebrew as Greek, for the better observance of the fourth rule above specified.

It will be seen that these rules were well adapted to procure the fullest consideration for every passage from all the translators; and also to draw to the work the advantage of the opinions of every other wellqualified person in the kingdom, not specially engaged in the labour of translating.

All the preliminaries having been settled, the translation was commenced in the spring of 1607. In the first place, each individual rendered separately into English every one of the books which were assigned to his company. Then that company assembled, and, by a careful comparison of the version of every member, determined what expressions should stand. When any book was so far completed, it was sent to each of the other companies for their revision, in the course of which, it was examined by several other versions; for, as Selden informs us, "one read the translation, the rest holding in their hands some Bible, either of the learned tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, &c. : if they found any fault, they spoke; if not, he read on." Thus all the assistance which could be afforded by

former labourers in the same field was carefully collected; and if any particular difficulty occurred, special application was made to those learned persons who were most likely to render help. Nearly three years were so occupied; and then three copies of the entire Bible having been completed were sent to London, where a committee of six,-two from Westminster, two

from Cambridge, and two from Oxford,―met to review the whole work. Even this, however, was not thought sufficient-Bishop Bilson, therefore, and Dr. Smith (who wrote the preface), were employed to make a final revision of it; and at length, in 1611, a folio edition was printed. Thus, by God's blessing, was this great undertaking brought to a happy close; thus were those "wells of salvation" set fully open, from which our fathers and ourselves have drawn water with spiritual joy.

Doubtless, our translation has its imperfections, and learned men have at different times objected to the rendering of particular passages; but these objections are comparatively unimportant, and affect not the value of the whole. I could produce a multitude of testimonies to this effect, from persons well competent to judge; but I shall select only one; and it shall be, for various reasons, that of the late eminent orientalist, Dr. Adam Clarke. "Those (says he) who have compared most of the European translations with the original, have not scrupled to say, that the English translation of the Bible, made under the direction of King James I., is the most accurate and faithful of the whole. Nor is this its only praise: the translators have seized the very spirit and soul of the original, and expressed this almost every where with pathos and energy. Besides, our translators have not only made a standard translation, but they have made their translation the standard of our language. The English tongue in their

day was not equal to such a work; but God enabled them to stand, as upon Mount Sinai, and crane up their country's language to the dignity of the originals; so that, after the lapse of 200 years, the English Bible is, with very few exceptions, the standard of the purity and excellence of the English tongue. The original, from which it was taken, is alone superior to the Bible translated by the authority of King James."

The precious treasure thus put into our hands ought to be duly prized. Let us "read, mark, and diligently learn" it. Especially let us ask, in perusing it, for that enlightening Spirit who “moved" the “holy men of old" to write, and who is the best interpreter. Under his guidance we shall be led into all truth.

PASSING THOUGHTS.

BY CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH. NO. VII. THE WHITE PLUMES.

S.

WALKING slowly on a sultry day along the high path that skirted a public road, my attention was roused by the sudden question of a little child, "What is coming behind us? See, it is all black and white.' I turned, and saw a mourning-coach, through the sidewindows of which projected the ends of a small coffin, with its velvet pall; followed by

a similar carriage, containing three or four gentlemen in black cloaks. The usual attendants, with their long staves, walked with measured steps on either side the coaches, their hat-bands being of white silk, as were those of the drivers. But what had chiefly attracted the observation of my little companion, was, the stately plume of white feathers waving on the heads of noble horses, whose glossy coats of jet black, velvet housings, long flowing manes and tails, and majestic bearing, as they paced along with restrained animation, could derive no additional grace from what, nevertheless, gave a striking finish to the spectacle.

I

"It is a baby's funeral," said I. "But why are the feathers white? thought all funerals went in mourning, and white is no mourning, you know."

I explained to the little inquirer the custom of substituting white for black on such an occasion; and then gratified his wish by accompanying, or rather following, the procession to the church, which was not far distant.

Why are the plumes white? I mentally repeated, and looked again at those waving crests. In point of fact they were not white, for the dusty road had imparted to them enough of its own substance to disguise their snowy aspect. Belonging, as they certainly did, to the pomps and vanities of this world, they wore its livery-defilement. Still, as distinguished from customary black, they were white plumes, and, with the other admixtures of that hue, shed light upon the darksome accompaniments, like sunshine breaking into smiles the cloudy shadows on some distant hill. "As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing," was the text that occurred to my the upon mind; and I dwelt sure and certain hope" that, in the case of an infant taken away, as infants assuredly are, from the evil to come, cannot fail to mingle a beam of gladness even with the first deep sorrow of a bereaved parent.

Again I looked; and again the proud tread of those stately horses, the waving of their bright crests, and the fluttering of the whiteedged pall, as a current of air passed occasionally through the windows, bespoke a character less of mourning than of triumph. I thought of the little inmate, riding there in solitary state, as of one who had conquered in the battle without striking a blow, succeeded in the race without moving a foot; and now was crowned with glory incorruptible, never to fade away. It seemed almost a privilege to follow in such a train, to assist at such an ovation: but when the procession had reached its appointed place, and the pageantry, withdrawing, left the coffin to be

school; but appearing to be very fond of the infant school, I felt unwilling to remove him against his inclination. I had missed Joseph for two Sundays; but this circumstance, at so inclement a season, which, together with sickness, had reduced the school to onehalf of its usual number, I did not consider remarkable, especially as he resided a mile from the school. As I went that afternoon to his mother's dwelling, I thought of his quiet and orderly behaviour. His conduct was so habitually good, that in the past year I do not remember to have had occasion to speak to him of any thing which he had either said or done. When I entered his room, he lay upon his little bed, with his face bound up, and looked exceedingly pale. He put out his hand, and seemed much pleased to see me. He was a child of few words; but the conversation I had with him was quite satisfactory. While speaking to Joseph, his mother came in; she observed, she was glad I had called, as she thought it must be a great encouragement to me to know that some of the little boys seemed to profit by the instruction they had received.

He

Several years ago, as Joseph was near the fire, his clothes by accident caught; and, having an apron tied close round his neck, the flames burnt his throat in a very distressing manner. After a long time, the wound was healed, in rather an unskilful manner. His mouth and lower jaw were drawn sideways, and quite down towards his neck, so that he could scarcely close his mouth; and he could not raise his head in an erect posture. As he grew, it became more inconvenient to him, and often painful; indeed, it was painful even to look upon him. His mother was advised by skilful surgeons to have a portion of the flesh removed, as the only probable means of affording him relief. His life, it was believed, hung upon this fearful operation, which was calculated to chill and appal the stoutest heart; yet he manifested no particular fear, nor was it conceived necessary to administer an opiate to stupify him, or to lull the pain. He told his mother, that he thought he had given his heart to God, and now he did not much wish to live. thought it would be better if he should die young, and go and be with his Saviour. When the time came, the surgeon was attended by seven others to witness the operation. It was performed by separating a portion of the flesh from the lower part of the jaw, from ear to ear, and the jaw was restored to its place. Joseph afterwards told his mother, that when the doctor first began to cut him, he thought he could not bear it, and live. But then he prayed to God, that he would be pleased to help him to bear it; and after that he did not feel nearly so much pain. He afterwards prayed for his mother, and for his little sister, and for his Sunday-school teacher, and said that he felt so happy, and that he loved every body. One who was present, and had witnessed many awful cases from the field of battle, said that he had not seen one which excited in his mind the intense degree of interest awakened by the patient suffering of this delicate and feeble little boy.

THE ISLE OF WIGHT.*-No. I.

THE town of Ryde, where we spent the last two nights, and enjoyed so sweet a Sabbath, is opposite Portsmouth. It is situated on the side of a hill of considerable height, and affords a fine view of Portsmouth and its celebrated harbour, and also of several other important naval stations in the neighbourhood. Some of its houses are elegant, and all present a neat appearance, with great attention, on the part of their occupants, to the cultivation, in front and around them, of trees and shrubbery; so easy a species of ornament, and affording such a great addition to the beauty of a dwelling, that one is surprised it should be any where neglected: yet in all the villages we saw in France, the odour of filth and mud seemed more agreeable to their inhabitants than that of flowers; and a glaring sunshine, when it could be had, preferable to the relief which the English think is afforded by an overshadowing foliage.

The pier on which the steam-boat lands her passengers extends about the third of a mile out into the bay, and supplies, what the town does not, a level and very pleasant promenade. In the vicinity of Ryde are several noblemen's and gentlemen's country seats, in which great attention has been paid to choice of situation, and simple elegance in their construction and decoration. At the commencement of our ride the weather looked a little inauspicious, but it soon cleared off, and became very pleasant. Our road was not very broad, but smooth and winding, bordered on each side by luxuriant hedges, and often by lofty trees. The circuitous course of the road, over hill and dale, sometimes conducted us close to the waterside, and presented a full view of the noble harbour of Portsmouth in the first part of our ride, and subsequently of the great Atlantic, and then, receding a little, and suffering the temporary interruption of our prospect by intervening hills, only increased our delight at emerging again upon a more extensive prospect. Every one knows how a change of position will alter the appearance of a landscape, and disclose this pleasure in a high degree; and besides seeing at every varied view new beauties. Here we enjoyed every object in a variety of views, new scenery, which the pen of Richmond could describe, but mine cannot, was continually breaking upon us. We noticed a beautiful building, in the castle form, of recent erection-the seat of Lord Vernon; and another, on a lofty hill, belonging to Sir Richard Simeon; and within three miles from Ryde, six or eight other country seats, of many forms of architecture, but all seeming delightfully to harmonise with the enchanting

scene around.

Soon after passing Helen's Green, a small village of neat cottages, we saw the tower of its old church, on which the sea encroached until it was abandoned to ruin, and another built in a safer situation. We then came to Brading Haven, which at high water forms a lake of several miles in extent, but at low water is an uncovered marsh. The tide flows in at a narrow inlet, over which we crossed in a small boat, our carriage being taken over in a larger.

We were now approaching Brading, where the Rev. Legh Richmond commenced his ministry; were passing through the rich and delightful scenery which he so tastefully describes; and about to behold, and in

The above, for which we are indebted to the pages of the Christian Observer, is extracted from the Journal of the Rev. Dr. Milnor, an episcopal minister of New York, who visited this country a few years ago. The tracts of Mr. Richmond are too well known, and too justly appreciated, to require any commendation here. Their admirers cannot fail to be interested by Dr. Milnor's description. We fully agree in the sentiment that the tracts must be materially injured by abridgment, and we would therefore recommend, as the best edition, the "Annals of the Poor," with a memoir of Mr. Richmond's life, by the Rev. John Ayre, M.A., which contains two tracts not so generally known.

some instances to press with our footsteps those almost hallowed spots on which occurred events, the remembrance of which he has perpetuated in those memorable tracts, the Young Cottager, the African Servant, and the Dairyman's Daughter. We had with us these invaluable tracts, and employed ourselves in reading such parts of them especially as were calculated to direct our attention to the several places which he does not name, but describes with such fidelity to nature, that the observant traveller needs no other guide to point them out. I am glad that we can bear our testimony to the accuracy of his descriptions, because many have suppposed them to be principally fanciful, and on this account, much that adds greatly to the interest of his narrative, and is highly instructive in shewing the Christian the religious feeling with which the works of the great Creator should be viewed, and the profitable use to which their contemplation may be applied, has been in many editions of them omitted. Though not so intended by the curtailers of these tracts, the retrenchment, in my opinion, is an injustice to their lamented author, and an injury to the narratives themselves.

On arriving at Brading, we drove immediately to the churchyard, where are interred the remains of little Jane. There were several children playing near the gate. I asked a fine-looking little girl if she could shew us the grave of Jane the Young Cottager? Oh yes, she said; and advanced before us as our guide. After shewing us the grave of Jane, and standing over it as long as we desired, in silent but affecting meditation, she told us she would shew us the verses on Mr. and Mrs. Berry's tombstones, that Jane had got by heart, and repeated to Mr. Richmond. Well, my dear, said I, the reading of these verses helped Jane to become a good girl, and to die happy, did it not? She answered, Yes, sir; as she did my next inquiry, whether she would not try to be as good a girl and die as happy as little Jane.* The epitaphs which little Jane committed to memory, and especially the one on Mr. B.'s tombstone, which was probably the means under God of her first serious impressions, are both pious and affecting; and their influence on the mind of this youthful candidate for heaven, may shew the simple means the Holy Spirit often employs to accomplish the conversion of the

soul to God.

We went from the graveyard into the church, a very ancient structure-not less, the sexton assured us, than eleven hundred years old. It has been enlarged since its first erection, and is remarkable for nothing in its interior but two singular tombs, with wooden effigies of the deceased; several plainer, but apparently very old monuments of stone, and a most helter-skelter inconvenient arrangement of the pews. Its location, however, is at once sequestered, and convenient to the village, above which it is considerably elevated. The parsonage, a comfortable-looking abode, is immediately adjacent to the churchyard. From the church, the view of Brading Haven, the bay beyond, the elevated hill on the right, and the sloping bank on the left, and the other scenery described by

Dr. Milnor's questionings were not very searching; and I presume that these children are not much at a loss to know how to answer the many visitors who accost them in similar terms. To a stranger, it is pleasing to see groups of children greeting him on his arrival at places of interesting resort, and eagerly volunteering to detail to him the information he requires; but, to the children themselves, the practice is very injurious. They are usually stationed by their parents to look out for visitors; they learn their tale; they press forward with interested eagerness; they live by speculation; they soon become little artful mendicants; and they are not the more likely to learn to love hard, ill-requited labour by commencing with the softer art of extracting splendid shillings from kind holyday gentlefolks. I have seen little hypocrites acting their part-looking sentimental-and enchanting a carriage full of admiring ladies; while, before the sounds of the wheels had died away, the "dear little angels" burst into a rude laugh, or fell to quarreling and fighting over their spoils.-Christian Observer.

Mr. Richmond in the Young Cottager, as seen from this spot, are all just as there represented. On our way from Brading to Sandown-bay, the prospects were variegated and pleasing; and, as we passed the fort, we emerged upon one of the grandest views of the ocean, through the bay, we had yet seen. Here was pointed out to us the high down which Mr. Richmond describes in the African Servant, the perpendicular cliff in which it terminates, and the jutting rock under which he discovered and conversed so interestingly with his sable friend. Nothing could be more true to nature than the surrounding scenery as he describes it in that tract.

We saw the cottage of the celebrated John Wilkes, in the garden of which are flourishing several rosebushes, said to have been planted by his own hands. It is very near the water, but on an eminence so raised above it as to present an extensive sea-view. We then proceeded on to the village of Shanklin, consisting of a few neat cottages, and stopped at a residence bearing nothing of a tavern aspect, but affording us the refreshment which we needed. After our lunch, we walked down to Shanklin Chine, a large romantic fissure, or chasm, in the cliff that fronts upon the sea. The descent to the beach is by an ordinary road, and then you return again through the chasm to Shanklin. No description extant of this singular spot is either so minutely accurate or so beautiful as that given by Mr. Richmond in the Young Cottager, as one of his places of solitary religious meditation. We occupied the same little hollow recess in the cliff" from which he surveyed and delineated the scenery around. We there read deliberately his graphic description of the various interesting objects that lay before him, and could discern no difference between it and the noble scene in actual view, except that a mist hid from us "the towering spire" of the Chichester cathedral, that in these peaceful times we beheld no frigate standing into the bay," and but few vessels of any description happened at that time to enliven the prospect. We lingered long upon and near the beach, and then proceeded up the Chine; along the side of which the fishermen have formed a convenient foot-path, with a resting-place or two on the way, where an interesting point of observation happened to offer. Several neat cottages with small gardens have been erected within the fissure, each of which, while sheltered from the weather by its lofty sides, enjoys an extensive prospect of the sea.

66

Returning to the village, we resumed our carriage, and, passing by Shanklin church, a neat old edifice, we came to Bonchurch village, which is quietly seated in what is called the Undercliff, a deep recess between a very lofty eminence or down on the inland side, and a high bank towards the sea. We got out of the carriage and proceeded along the bank, for the sake of the view which it presented of some excellent scenery not before disclosed. Below the village we threaded the way down a footpath to the road, and got into our carriage; our course now lying up a valley, between gently-sloping but lofty hills on either side. Landscapes of peculiar beauty and variety, exhibiting numberless fields of grain nearly ripe for the harvest, herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, with here and there a company of haymakers busily employed, presented themselves in ever-changing aspects, as we ascended or descended the successive slopes of this delightful valley. We had long in sight, and at length passed at some distance, the splendid seat and extensive park and grounds of Lord Yarborough, called Appuldurcomb. Travellers have given rapturous descriptions of the interior, and its rich collections of paintings and sculpture. Of these, we shall probably never have a sight; but it was commended to our notice by circumstances of a very different kind. It was there that the sister of the Dairyman's