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which, doubtless, much had been said among those who travelled from distant countries to keep the festival there. It was a question of two disciples, on their way to Emmaus, put to the risen Saviour, who appeared to them in the form of an ordinary traveller, "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and knowest not the things that are come to pass there in these days? And Jesus said, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him" (Luke, xxiv. 13-20).

We may suppose this person had heard of these things when at Jerusalem; but perhaps, as it now happens, except we look a little out from our own circle and our own party, we may remain entirely ignorant of the good or the evil that is doing elsewhere. Truths are often suppressed, facts are concealed, or extenuated, or exaggerated, according as a party spirit prevails among men: so that it is quite possible, and not very improbable, that this lord hightreasurer, moving much at Jerusalem with the highest of its Jewish population, had received very perverted, or at least very indistinct, notions respecting the interesting tragedy which had lately taken place there.

things future as though they were present, had informed the Jewish Church of what was to take place in after-times; and he especially spake of the death of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Philip, no doubt, at once shewed clearly that this Scripture which he had been reading was a prediction concerning that very person who had lately been crucified at Jerusalem, and concerning which crucifixion he must have in some sort heard; that this Jesus of Nazareth was mighty in deeds and words before God and all the people; that he is the very Christ, the true Messiah that was promised to the patriarchs, and that his work for the redemption of mankind was shewn forth in the various ceremonies and sacrifices of the Jewish people; that Jesus of Nazareth, concerning whom the chiefpriests had instigated the people to cry out, "Let him be crucified," was "the sent of God to be the Saviour of sinners," and that no other Saviour is to be expected; that he is the very Lamb of God, who died to take away the sin of the world, of which the annual passover-lamb was a significant emblem; that "he did no sin, nor was guile found in his mouth; and that when he was reviled, he reviled not again;"-" he opened not his mouth" in execrations on his enemies, or even in self-justification; insomuch that Pilate marvelled. "In his humiliation his judgment was taken away." Because of his poverty and lowliness, he was oppressed and unjustly dealt with, and did not, as he might have done, manifest his proper dignity and power in the demand of justice. Pilate thought so meanly of him, as that, though he believed him to be, and declared that he was, a just and innocent person, and though he confessed he had power to release him, he yet thought it was not worth while to oppose the Jews in ordering his liberation. "Who can describe or declare his generation?" whose Father is the eternal God, whose nature is divine, who is the beginning and the end, the first and the last, although, as to his

The Spirit of the Lord might move this inquiring man to take with him in his chariot an accredited Jewish book. It would be profitable to themselves, and useful to their often long-waiting servants, if the riders in chariots and other carriages kept in the pockets of them a few instructive books and religious periodicals, on account of the short, and plain, and varied pieces of Christian instruction of which most of them are composed. Whether he bought this book at Jerusalem on this visit, or had it as the habitual attendant in his carriage, we know not-there it was. And the Holy Spirit directed him to a prophecy concerning Jesus of Nazareth and his crucifixion, a pre-humanity, he suffered patiently such agonies in the diction known and read 700 years before Christ was born! He might be reading a Hebrew copy of the prophecies of Isaiah, or, what is more likely, the Jewish translation of it into Greek by the order of Ptolemy, 285 years before the Christian era.

The place of the prophecy which he read is found in the 53d chapter of Isaiah; and may the good Lord give to every reader of it, as he did to Philip, a right judgment concerning it! "The place of the Scripture which he read was this: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearers, opened he not his mouth; in his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth" (Is. liii. 7, 8). "And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, Of whom spake the prophet this; of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture to preach unto him Jesus."

Ministers of God's word have many advantages in visiting their flock, and especially such of them that are sick, when those they visit are ready to propound some portion of holy Scripture they wish explained, or some case of conscience they wish to be resolved, or some doubts they desire to be removed on Scripture principles, or some truths they wish to have corroborated or confirmed. When they have the text to find as well as the comment, and fear often that they may adopt a less useful topic than they might have done, the result of the interview is not so encouraging. In the case before us no time was lost-the eunuch at once furnished the text, and Philip gave the comment upon it. These things, we may suppose, formed the chief topics of the discourse of the evangelist "in preaching Jesus" from the prophecy before them.

The prophet Isaiah, by the teaching of Him who knows all things from the beginning to the end of time, and who with one omniscient glance sees

garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross on Calvary! And who can declare the number of those that have been and shall be born of his Spirit, from Adam to the last believer that shall live on earth-Christians of all ages and climes? Who can appreciate the innumerable company, numerous as the drops of dew, countless as the sand, of all peoples, nations, and tongues, that will, through his death and intercession, be assembled before him, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, and singing the song of the heavenly Zion, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive honour, and power, and might, and dominion, for having redeemed us to God by his blood" (Rev., v. 9-12)?

Philip might further discourse on this prophecy, that he was the Prince of life, whom the Jews had lately, by wicked hands, crucified and slain; and that they had thus put an end to a long series of bodily cures and gracious soul-comforting discourses, which, humanly speaking, had his life not been taken away, he would have gone on administering. Philip shewed the eunuch, no doubt, that the death of this holy person would be the occasion of eternal blessings to mankind; that, through it, would be preached the forgiveness of sins, and the opening of the kingdom of heaven to all believers; and that there is salvation from the punishment which man's transgressions of God's holy law have deserved, in no other way than through faith in the atonement and righteousness of Him whose crucifixion the Jews at Jerusalem had incited Pilate to order.

No doubt Philip spake with much energy of the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, his wonderful miracles of healing, and his gracious and instructive discourses, his apprehension by the soldiers of the high-priest, his arraignment before Pilate, his meek and gentle conduct when accused as a malefactor, and a robber preferred before him in the annual

act of liberating a prisoner, his agony in the garden, his cruel death, his glorious resurrection and ascent into heaven, to where he was before, and his ordaining apostles to go and to disciple men of all nations, to teach them, and to baptise them in the name of the undivided Trinity;-these things were, doubtless, the subjects of Philip's instructions; and, beside these, most probably he took up other parts of the prophecy which the eunuch was reading concerning Jesus of Nazareth," that he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; that the chastisement needful to procure our peace, who are by original and actual guilt at enmity with God, was upon him, was exacted from him; and that by the stripes he endured, our souls, diseased by sin, can alone be healed; -in fine, that this very Jesus of Nazareth, lately crucified, of whom the prophet wrote, made a full, perfect, and sufficient atonement on behalf of all that repent and forsake their sins, and seek redemption through his blood.

Some of the blessed invitations which had been given by Jesus of Nazareth himself were, perhaps, adverted to while riding in the chariot toward Gaza ; such as, "Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest:" "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Philip perhaps mentioned the prediction which Jesus gave of his own death in his conversation with Nicodemus (John, iii.): "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." In that conversation with the ruler of Israel, Jesus had also said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." And to encourage this grandee of Ethiopia, he might have told him of the extensive commission, which Jesus had given to his apostles, before he was received up into heaven, to where he was before-" Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature; he that believeth, and is baptised, shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be condemned."

And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water, some river, or pond, or reservoir, where travellers and their cattle stopped for refreshment; and the eunuch said, "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptised?"

In preaching Jesus, the initiatory ordinance of baptism, as we have hinted, was probably adverted to by Philip; and that the apostles, and their assistants and successors, were to baptise, not Jews only, but Gentiles also truly serious persons of all nations, and their households. It was an encouragement, therefore, to this swarthy, inquiring, seriously disposed son of Ethiopia, to be told that he was interested in the covenant of grace and redemption; and thus encouraged, he asks, with earnestness, "What doth hinder ME-why may not I enjoy this appointed ordinance, and avouch myself a disciple of Jesus; and shew you, and the servants that are with me, by this palpable sign, that this day I take Jesus for my Lord and Saviour, and that I will from henceforth be his disciple? What doth hinder me from receiving and enjoying all those spiritual benefits, all those blessings, for the regeneration, sanctification, and salvation of my soul, which, you tell me, Jesus declares he will communicate to those who partake of that ordinance in obedience to his gracious command?"

The general promises, and precepts, and proposals of the Gospel, must be accepted and acted upon by individuals, before they ought to hope to be savingly benefited by them. When any one begins to hear with seriousness, that God the Father so loved the world as to give his Son to die for it, he may say, "What hindereth it in my case, that I should not be

forgiven my sins, and made a new creature, and be blessed of God, and enjoy his favour, and attain to eternal life? What hinders that I should not this day join myself to the Lord by a perpetual covenant? Why should not I pray in secret, and constantly attend Sabbath-ordinances, and bring to remembrance a Saviour's love to man, in a serious reception of the Lord's supper? What hinders that I should not enter into the enjoyments of religion, and walk in its holy ways, and find rest to my soul, and possess a like scriptural hope, that many appear to possess?" The main, and the only real hinderance, where hinderance there is, is in a man's own breast and bosom. It is an evil heart of unbelief that occasions the soul's departures from God. It is the carnal mind that is enmity with God; it is a fondness for the evil ways and habits forbidden of God; it is allowed ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of God's holy will and commandment. "This," the blessed Jesus said, who knows what is in man,-" this is the hinderance and the condemnation, that men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." A defect of will is the grand hinderance: "Ye will not come unto me, that ye may have life." Nothing but the acting towards God's teaching in his holy Scriptures as if it were not his teaching, and the willing and habitual indulgence of some sin or many sins, will hinder any man, whether old or young, poor or rich, from walking in the way of salvation. God the Father gave his Son, and Christ gave himself, to redeem all that believe in his truth, and love, and power; and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son to warn the sinner of the error of his ways, and to tell him, that whosoever repenteth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy.

Thus we see that every hinderance is cleared away on the part of God; who is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, and who will be more glorified, if we may so speak, by holy saints in heaven than by wicked reprobates in hell; so that nothing hinders but men's own allowed unbelief and consequent wickedness, i. e. the treating the faithful and true sayings of God, in the way of salutary precepts, and most benevolent promises, as if they were fabulous and false.

Every minister may say to every serious inquiring hearer respecting his salvation, as Philip replied to the question of the Ethiopian concerning his baptism, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest be saved." Religion is an affair of the affections, and not of mere notions: "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation." The subject-matter of this inquiring man's belief is found in his reply to Philip; "I believe," said he, "that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." This confession of faith was very short, but it was comprehensive, and enough for the then times and circumstances. The evangelist was assured of its sincerity; he was at least bound to consider it sincere. It was sufficient to entitle the eunuch to the initiatory ordinance of baptism; that he might enjoy all the benefits and blessings of a professed disciple of Christ. It was a confession, like the answer to a question put by Christ, "Dost thou believe on the name of the Son of God? and he said, Lord, I believe; and he worshipped him" (John, ix. 35). Philip was convinced that this professor of his faith in the fulfilment of Isaiah's prediction, would, upon all needful occasions, take up the cross, and deny himself, and follow his Saviour-follow him as an atonement for his numerous sins, and a pattern for his daily conduct; and that, through the influences of the Holy Spirit on his mind, of which baptism, rightly received, is a pledge and assurance, he would believe all the articles of the Christian faith as they were made known to him, and walk in God's holy will and commandments all the days of his life. The evangelist would not

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hinder such a person from being baptised on the spot, and especially in the circumstances of the case. he had then been denied that holy rite, he might not find another opportunity of receiving it from an accredited minister of the Gospel. The evangelist knew full well that the command of Jesus was to baptise men of all nations; that it was very comprehensive, and to be interpreted liberally, as an ordinance, not for proficients in the faith, but for initiation or introduction into the Christian Church, and to be administered, not to fathers, but to babes in Christ.

With these views, and in that early age of the Church, and from the transitory nature of the interview between the disciple and teacher, this simple and sincere declaration, "I believe that Jesus is the Son of God," was deemed sufficient and acceptable. Philip assented to the proposal of the eunuch; the chariot was stopped in which they were. The lord high-treasurer credited the spiritual authority to baptise of the stranger, who had preached Jesus to him in a way so congenial to his wants, and feelings, and desires. By his discourse, and its effects on his heart, he knew that Philip was "a man of God." "So they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptised him" in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Our Church considers immersion as one proper mode of baptism. The ancient fonts that remain in our churches were made of sufficient capacity to admit of the dipping of infants. But the divine Originator of the ordinance did not see fit to enjoin any especial mode as essential to our obedience to his will, and as exclusive of all other modes. The Gospel was to be preached, and this ordinance was to be administered, to persons of all ages and constitutions, and to those labouring under the greatest infirmities; and as well to those dwelling among the frozen rocks of Labrador, as to those found on the burning sands of Arabia. Diverse modes are therefore allowable, to meet the diverse circumstances of mankind, so that the spirit of the ordinance be maintained, and all things be done decently and in order. In hot countries, bathings and general ablutions were so common, that the immersions of baptism were neither inconvenient nor insalubrious; but in colder climates the case is not so; and we are at liberty to apply the rule which the loving-kindness of God has given us, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." The universal Church has always considered that sprinkling the subject with water is valid and sufficient baptism, when solemnly administered in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and there are instances in Scripture wherein it should seem that immersion or dipping was next to impossible-such as in the case of whole households being baptised, and even in the night (Acts, xvi. 15, 33).

Though the eunuch was an adult, and could not be baptised into the Christian faith sooner than he was, yet are infants, in virtue of the faith of their parents, proper subjects for Christian baptism, as the early commencement of a course of Christian instruction, by imploring the Divine blessing, through the medium of a divinely appointed ordinance. And though in this case the eunuch was immersed, sprinkling of water on the child or the adult has been deemed sufficient, where no conscientious scruples have interfered, by the judgment of the whole Church, except among a very small sect of Christians, and that exclusive opinion divulged only a few centuries ago.

Our Nicene Creed wisely declares, there is "one baptism for the remission of sins," without defining its outward mode. The spirit of the ordinance may be enjoyed, and the blessing of Christ may be expected, with equal certainty, whenever it is sought with equal fervency, under either form of its administration. This is one of the liberties of the Gospel, which the Church does well to maintain,

Observe further, when Philip and the eunuch "were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more." The design of the interview was now accomplished. It was good for the evangelist to proceed to other services, and for the Ethiopian to look beyond the teaching of man to that of the Holy Ghost. It pleased God greatly to confirm the eunuch's faith in all that Philip had taught, and the writings of Isaiah, which he had declared to be inspired of the Holy Ghost, and on which he had commented, by a wonderful miracle wrought at the moment and in his immediate pre

sence.

Philip became perhaps invisible; or was visibly, suddenly, and rapidly raised up, and carried away from his sight, through the air. This baptised man might then exclaim, "Now I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word in thy mouth is truth." He had still Isaiah for his companion, and he was promised that the Lord would still further enlighten his mind by his own divine and gracious suggestions. "The path of the just is as the light, shining clearer and brighter to the perfect day." We shall soon see our teachers no more; let us value their godly instructions while we have them, and follow them as they follow Christ. Then shall we, as they, be taken by angels into Abraham's bosom. But though our teachers do not live for ever on earth, our great Highpriest abideth ever, and hath an unchangeable priesthood. May we go on our way rejoicing," as this grandee of Ethiopia did! He had given himself to the Lord in baptism, and the Lord had graciously accepted him as a disciple; he rejoiced in Christ Jesus, and had no confidence in the flesh; he had, indeed, lost Philip, but through Philip he had found Christ. He would see his face no more, but Philip had commended him to God, and to the word of his grace, which was able to build him up, and to give him an inheritance among them that are perfectly taught and sanctified. He became a preacher of Christ and salvation to his own countrymen most probably, and through him did "Ethiopia stretch out her hands unto God."

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While the sanhedrim at Jerusalem were persecuting all that called on the name of Christ, and were pining with rage that the city was filling with their doctrine, this heir of salvation is going homeward full of joy and peace in believing; carrying with him the glad tidings of salvation to his own nation; and although the eunuch departed for Ethiopia, and Philip was soon found at Azotus, yet are they, we doubt not, both found in that world where everlasting joy is with them, and where they are by the river of the water of life, to part no more.

MYTHOLOGY.-THE SCLAVONIC.

BY THE REV. HENRY CHRISTMAS, F.S.A.
Author of "Universal Mythology."
[Continued from Number CLXXXV.]

III. Of the Gods worshipped by particular Tribes only of the Sclavi.

Hitherto we have seen those deities only which were worshipped by all the Sarmatian tribes; but there were some which, though not universally adored, were yet held the chief gods among those people who did receive them: there were others which maintained a secondary rank among certain nations, but are, however, too important to be overlooked. Such was the god Silny Bog, or Krepki Bog, who was con

• Instances of this kind are recorded in 1 Kings, xviii, 2; Kings, ii. 16; and Ezek. iii. 14.

sidered as a war-god, and represented holding in one band a lance, in the other a globe of silver; at his feet were the heads of men and of lions. Such too was Zolotaia Baba, or the golden woman, for such her name imports. Her worshippers considered her as the mother of the gods. In her arms, like the Isis of the Egyptians, and the Shing-moo of the Chinese, she held an infant. Her statue was gilded; and around was a band of musicians, who seldom left their post, and who strove to render their homage as noisy as possible. This goddess, too, was oracular; and it was forbidden to approach her without some offering: the poor, therefore, tore off part of their garment, or plucked out a lock of their hair, to lay before the feet of the divinity.

The Sclavi of Rugen had deities peculiar to themselves; the chief of which was Sviatovid, or Svetovid, known among the Saxons by the name of Suantovith. His figure was that of a man with four heads; and he was esteemed the god of the sun and of war. In the city of Acron, which was the capital of the isle of Rugen, was his principal temple, and thither resorted annually a great number of persons of both sexes to pay their devotions. The heads of his colossal statue were beardless, and the hair arranged in short curls; whereas the Saxons depicted him with long waving hair and four beards. He was attired in a short tunic, and held in his right hand a golden horn, in his left a bow; by his side hung a long sword, in a silver scabbard; and within reach lay a magnificent saddle and bridle. In the midst of the temple was a sanctuary screened by rich curtains; and within this was the enormous statue of the god. On days of solemn festival, the priest entered alone within these curtains, taking care to hold his breath -a practice which, as we shall see, was continued among the Saxons, though there the whole temple was too sacred to breathe in on that day; and there does not appear to have been any peculiar sanctuary. The similarity between this Sclavonic ceremony and that which was commanded to be observed in the temple of the Most High at Jerusalem, when once in every year the high-priest alone was permitted to go within the veil, cannot fail to strike the attention of the reader, and to point out the source from which the Sclavi derived the rite. Once in every year the priest filled with wine the horn in the idol's hand. This was done with many ceremonies; and the wine remained in the horn till the next year brought round the time to renew it when that day arrived, the chief-priest was obliged himself to cleanse and sweep the temple; and then, with solemn sacrifices, he took the horn from the hand of the god, and examined how much wine had been evaporated. If but little, he prognosticated an abundant year, and a good harvest the year ensuing; if much, but a small crop could be expected. The wine in the horn was then poured out at the feet of the image, and the horn filled afresh. The priest drank to the honour of the idol, and prayed on behalf of the people for abundance, riches, and victory. He then replaced the horn in the hand of the statue. As soon as this was done, the god was consulted as to the success of those military enterprises which were about to be undertaken; and the reply was expected to come from

the sacred horse-of which animal more will be said when we come to speak of the Saxon mythology. Lances were arranged according to a prescribed order, and at a certain height from the ground; the horse was then made to leap over them; and by his motions the result of the warlike enterprises for that year were judged.

But the ceremonies of the festival did not stop here. After this augury the sacrifices began; human victims, chosen from among the prisoners of war, were attired in their most magnificent arms, and mounted upon their best horses; the legs of each horse were tied to four posts, and thus fastened, the horse and his rider were surrounded with flames. At the end of this barbarous ceremony, a huge cake, made of flour and honey, was brought; so large, that the edges could be raised high enough to conceal a man. The priest was placed within it; and when he was quite invisible to those without, he addressed his prayers to the god, and besought him to manifest his presence among his people during the ensuing year. Then commenced the banquet itself, no unimportant part of the rites. The rest of the day was consumed in feasting; and it was considered a disgrace to continue sober.

In the temple of Svetovid were deposited one-third of all the spoils taken from enemies; and each year were devoted to him three hundred horsemen taken in war. This temple was destroyed by the Danes when they took Acron; the statue was broken, and the fragments thrown into the fire. The Bohemians worshipped this god with the same veneration as the Rugians; and when they were converted to Christianity, their sovereign, Vytcheslaf, gave them St. Vitus as their patron-saint, called in their language Suantovit- the same name by which they distinguished the ancient deity. Rugiivith was but the same god, and derived his name from the isle of Rugen. Porenuth and Porevith were other shapes and names under which he was adored. Schedius, indeed, says, that With was the original name of the god; and that Pore, Suanto, and Rugii, were merely additions to distinguish the place where, or the circumstances under which, the idol was worshipped-just as the Romans had their Jupiter Stator, Jupiter Capitolinus, &c.

It will be necessary to speak of these deities as Saxon gods; for though there are but few traces of their worship among the Anglo-Saxons, they seem to have been extensively revered on the continent. After Svetovid came Prono, a god also worshipped by the Saxons. His statue was placed on a lofty oak; and around him were ranged a great number of idols, with two, three, or more faces. Seva was a goddess, whose altars flowed with human blood. She presided over the fertility of the earth; and as such she was represented under the figure of a beautiful young woman covered only by her floating hair, which reached as far as her knees.

There were two other deities not universally worshipped, but looked upon with great veneration by the more westerly of the Sclavi: these were the good genius Bely Bog, and the evil genius Tcherny Bog, corrupted by the Bohemians into Zernebock-a name which was long appropriated to the devil. Bely Bog was represented by a bloody statue covered with flies;

and it would seem that there was some connexion between this god and the Baal-zebub of the Syrians: his festivals were celebrated with banquets and dances, while Tcherny Bog was only addressed in the language of deprecation.

IV. Of the Riles and Auguries of the Sclavonic Nations. The Sarmatians formed no exception to that general rule, that man is desirous, eagerly desirous, of looking into futurity. They had, as we have seen, their oracles; and they had also their auguries. The most common was that performed by casting up into the air circles called croujki: these were painted white on one side, and black on the other; if, when they descended, the white side lay uppermost, the omen was good; if, on the contrary, the black appeared, the reverse was the case. Sometimes two or more circles were thrown up at once; and as those which exhibited the white side exceeded in number those of which the black was presented, so the inquirers judged of the success of an undertaking. Some drew their auguries from the return of birds of passage; others from the undulations of the sacrificial smoke, the cries of animals, the men or beasts which they met with in their daily walks. The deportment of the captives about to be sacrificed to the gods were all matters far from indifferent, and all conveyed some prophetic lesson.

That the Sclavi believed the immortality of the soul, and a future state of reward and punishment, is evident, not only from the identity of their mythology with that of Greece, but by the union of religious ceremonies with funeral rites. The greater part of these nations buried their dead, After having placed the body, not without prayers and sacrifices, in a ditch or grave, they heaped above it a mound of earth; around this they assembled to celebrate the trizna, or funeral feast.

Few banquets among the Sclavi were equal in magnificence to these trizna. Hydromel or mead was consumed in so great a quantity, that the guests rarely left the tomb in a state of sobriety; while at the death of a prince cruelty was added to drunkenness, and captives were sacrificed, to be useful to the departed in another world. Those who burned their dead instead of burying them, commenced by the celebration of the trizna; after which they carefully gathered the ashes and bones which were not entirely consumed, placed them in urns, and set those urns on pillars near their cities.

The funeral ceremonies even yet in use among the Russians are plainly derived from the trizna. The body to this day is carefully dressed in the richest apparel that belonged to the deceased; the hair is elaborately curled; and the body is then placed upon a painted bier, with the hands covered by white gloves, and holding a cross and a bouquet of flowers. Women are dressed in new robes. Then the friends of the deceased meet, and drink around the body; while refreshments are plentifully distributed to those without.

V. Of the Decline and Fall of the Sclavonic Religion. Scarcely was Russia established as a separate monarchy under Rurick, than Christianity began to be preached. Rurick himself, his kinsman Oleg, and his

son Igor, died pagans; but it is said that the wife of the latter prince embraced the religion of Jesus, and continued in it until her death. She was canonised, and is still a very favourite saint of the Greek Church. It does not, however, appear that she ever attempted to introduce Christianity into Russia, though for at least ten years, viz. from 945 to 955, she governed that country in the name of her son Sviatoslaf: probably one reason might be, that the religion of his ancestors was vehemently supported by that prince, who continued a pagan all his life, and brought up his family in the same faith. Jaropolk, his son, seems to have shared his sentiments; but Vladimir I., who succeeded, entertained the missionaries of the Roman and Greek Churches, of the Mahometans, and it is even said of the Jews. He listened attentively to their arguments; and finally choosing ten men among the wisest of his counsellors, he sent them to examine the state and effects of those several creeds in the countries in which they were acknowledged. The ambassadors visited the lands required; and, struck with the splendour exhibited at Constantinople under the Greek empire, they unanimously gave their verdict in favour of the Greek Church. Vladimir bowed to their decision; but as he was determined not to ask any favour of the emperor, he raised an army, invaded the empire, and after devastating whole provinces and shedding the blood of tens of thousands of men, he carried away captive bishops, priests, and deacons, and thus avoided what he considered the humiliation of sending to Constantinople for instructors. Vladimir now openly embraced Christianity; Novogorod was raised to the rank of a metropolis; and Michael was consecrated by the Greek patriarch its first archbishop. The grandduke, for that was the title then borne by the Russian sovereigns, received baptism himself, and his whole court followed his example. He issued orders that his subjects should comply with the same rite, on pain of severe punishment, but none was necessary. The change seems to have been wrought at once, and universally. The image of Peroun at Kief was broken from its pedestal, and dragged along at a horse's tail to the river, beaten with rods all the way, and finally cast into the water. At Novogorod, however, the god did not, it seems, yield so peaceably to his fate; for when his statue there was cast into the river, he rose again to the surface, and casting a staff on the bridge threatened them that they should have cause to repent this sacrilegious act. The memory of this was long kept up by a day of humiliation, prescribed by the Greek Church to avert the effects of demoniacal indignation. After the reign of Vladimir, idolatry never recovered; it may be said to have had its death-blow in the conversion of that prince, A.D. 988.

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