Search as we may after peace, we shall never be able to find it here. "Tribulation" is the lot of earth's inhabitants; the unexpected and unhappy termination of events which seemed to promise fair, the shortlived pleasures, the frequent disappointments, plainly tell us that the world cannot bestow what it does not possess. "To whom, then, shall we go," but to Him who is "the Prince of peace?" "Peace" is the bequest which Christ has left to all his followers; an inexhaustible and an all-sufficient peace, to support and comfort in the darkest hour; and this is the cause why those trials, from which the Christian is not exempt, are borne by him with such patience and resignation. "He knows in whom he believes ;" and therefore when those great storms arise on this uncertain ocean of life, though "the floods lift up their waves," faith directs him to look to Him who condescends to accompany every believer to the end of his voyage, and who "sitteth above the water floods ;" and so, amid all the noise and confusion of the scene around, the Christian hears the voice of "peace" from the lips of Him who can alone" still the raging of the sea." The truth, then, of salvation by Jesus Christ is the fountain whence springs the peace of the believer, and from whence flow all those comforts which in this changing and troublesome world he exclusively enjoys. God being reconciled, he no longer looks unto him with dread, but with the feelings of filial love, because he first loved him. He not only knows God's power, but he is convinced that he is also equally willing to help him; and this confidence produces a resignation to all his dispensations. The love of a father to his child is but a faint emblem of the love of God in Christ to his creatures; so that we may rest assured, that the Lord will give us such things as are good; that he will not give for bread a stone; for a fish, a serpent; for an egg, a scorpion. Such injurious substitutes for absolute necessaries are contrary even to the very actions of nature. If, then, a parent who is "evil," who carries about a body of infirmity and sin, "knows how to give good gifts unto his children," how much more shall He, who is our heavenly Father, who loves us more, and has done for us greater things than the fondest parent ever has done, or could do, for his offspring, and who is perfectly just and holy, bestow those things which are necessary and "convenient," and "give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him !” What " strong consolation" and encouragement, then, have we to "ask," to " seek," to knock;" "for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (Luke, xi. 9, 10). 66 It It is "faith" which obtains for us the victory over the world; it is also the same principle of " believing" that produces "peace," that leads us to put our whole trust in God, and to confide in him to give us those things which for our blindness we cannot, and for our ignorance we dare not, ask. It induces us to be content with such things as we have; it suggests to our minds the promises of God; " for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb. xiii. 5, 6). makes us "bold" in the season of danger and alarm; for "the Lord is the helper" of his people; and this trust in him takes away the fear of those evils to which we are liable, either by the craft and subtlety of the devil, or which man may work against us. And this blessed truth we find exemplified in the actual experience of St. Paul; for he tells us, that he was deserted, and that all men forsook him: "notwithstanding," says he," the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me;" and this knowledge of what the Lord had done, and was doing for him, inspired him with the belief, and afforded him the unspeakable peace of the assurance, that in every future trial, and from every evil work, the Lord would deliver him, and bring him finally to his heavenly kingdom (2 Tim. iv. 16, 17). Faith supports us under the difficulties that lie in our path to the heavenly Canaan ; it affords comfort under temptation, knowing that God will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able, but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it (1 Cor. x. 13); and he places before us, as a pattern, He who was in all things tempted like as we are (Heb. iv. 15). The consciousness of God's presence affords great peace to the Christian: he has promised, that when we pass through the waters, he will be with us; that he will be our guide; and that he will comfort us with his "rod and staff," the emblems of his kingly power and of his shepherd's care, even "though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death" (Ps. xxv.). S. S. MEMOIR OF THE RIGHT REV. PHILANDER beauty, and inhaled their sweets: but all had no CHASE, First Bishop of Ohio in 1819; and elected Bishop of Illinois, 1835. [Received from a Correspondent.] HOWEVER unusual it may be to publish a memoir during the lifetime of an individual, the distance which separates the subject of the present biographical sketch from those into whose hands it is likely to fall, may allow of its making an exception to the general rule,-particularly as his cause is, in the present day, most remarkably connected with that of the Protestant faith, and with the prosperity and extension of the episcopal Church. The object of this publication is, to strengthen the hands of this indefatigable servant of God, by drawing the attention of the public mind to the peculiarity of his situation, and obtaining for him such aid as may support him in the arduous charge of the extensive diocese of Illinois, to which he was appointed, by the primary convention of that state, on the 10th of March, 1835, without any offer of remuneration. While the Romanists are making unusual and almost unheard-of exertions in Illinois, and our own emigrants are flocking into that country by thousands, we are forcibly called upon to give him substantial demonstrations of our love and sympathy, both as Britons and Protestants. The following account of himself and his ancestors is chiefly selected from his own writings, casually scattered amongst his friends in England : -- My ancestors were English, and originally from Cornwall; they settled first at Newbury Port, and then at Sutton, in the state of Massachusets; and afterwards procured from the colonial government of New Hampshire the grant of a township of land, and called it Cornish on that account. This happened previously to any settlements being made northward of Charleston, on Connecticut river, which divides two of the New England states, New Hampshire and Vermont, upon the banks of which our land was situated, and to which my grandfather and his sons migrated from a town near Boston, the chief of the New England states, about the year of our Lord 1763. My father and his family, consisting of my mother and seven children, were the first to take possession of the soil, which was then covered by an entire forest of the largest and tallest trees. When the family, in their painful journey through the woods, arrived at No. 4 Fort, as Charleston was then called, it was thought advisable that my mother and children should remain there for shelter, and for their greater security from the Indians. To this arrangement my mother consented, although, as she told me, it was with great reluctance. "I shuddered," she said, "at the thought of being penned up with my precious bairns within the precincts of a narrow fort, rudely built for defence against savages, for a period of time I knew not how long; for it was sixteen miles up the river whither your father and his company of workmen were going, where the land was to be cleared, and the crop for the approaching season to be planted. But necessity is an imperious dictate, and submission was my duty; it was nevertheless a hard parting when your father pressed his babes to his bosom, and mine to his manly cheek, as he stepped into his canoe, and took command of his little fleet of stout and cheerful men, both able and willing to subdue the forest and plant the virgin soil. "It was some time in the early spring that this parting scene took place on the fertile banks of the Connecticut river. The bud was then bursting from its wintry fetters; the birds were commencing their wooing songs, and the wild herbage sprang up all around me. Among these I wandered, admired their A subscription for Bishop Chase's object is opened at Messrs. Farquhar and Herries, St. James's Street. charms for me while your father was gone. I tried to banish my fears for his safety when I thought of his defenceless state, and the proximity of the ruthless savage; for there was then war between France and England, and no fort between us and Canada. I also endeavoured to seek refuge from my painful feelings in employment for myself and children; but our condition in the fort precluded the observance of regularity, and without that, little can be done. So much mingling of contending interests, especially among a crowd of little children, bade defiance to all efforts for order or peace. Days seemed weeks, and weeks seemed months; and scarcely did a sun rise without witnessing my wanderings on the banks of the flowing stream where I had parted from your father and his blithe company of Cornish woodmen." me. but Do "It was in one of these walks, that, with my children by my side, I saw, as the day drew to its close, a canoe coming round a point of the river-bank above I thought first of the approach of savages; before I had time to flee, I recognised the well-known canoe of your father, and in it our trusty neighbour Diah Spalding. My heart leaped with joy; and no sooner did the canoe reach the shore than the children were in it and on his knees; nor did they suffer him to stir till they had told him I was resolved that we should all return with him to their father in the woods. you know, are you apprised, dear madam,' said he, respectfully approaching me- are you aware, that such has been our anxiety to put in a crop and plant the ground for the coming summer, that we have found no time to erect the semblance of a house? I am come to tell you your husband is well and all his men are well, and to obtain information of your health and safety, and to carry back with me a recruit of provisions for their comfort; but we have all slept upon the uncovered ground, and as yet have no place to shelter ourselvesmuch less you and your little ones-from the pelting of the storm; and will you venture with them into the woods before you are sure of a refuge?' 'I will go, and with all my children endure any storm, if you will give me but a safe and speedy conveyance to my husband. If there be no shelter, or fence, or fort, his faithful arm will guard me, and his trusty men will aid him; and their God, who is above all, ruleth all, and directeth all, will provide.' "A much smaller degree of sagacity than our neighbour Spalding possessed, would have been sufficient to make him sensible that it was in vain to thwart a resolution so firmly taken; and the speedy removal once determined on, all the force of his ingenious and friendly mind was called into action to make things ready. Such goods as we needed least were secured in the fort; and such as the boats would carry, and we needed most, with ample provisions, were put on board; and the morning sun had scarcely risen, ere the indefatigable exertions of Spalding, and the anxious assiduity of my children, had made all things ready for the voyage. Spalding was a good canoe-man; and under the protection of the Almighty, in whom our trust was placed, the exertions of his strong arm, and the industrious aid of my elder sons, made our speed, though slow, yet unceasing; and, in time of war ascending a rapid stream in a frail Indian canoe, we reached before night the little opening among the towering trees, from whence the spot of your father's choice appeared to our longing eyes. "There they are,' said the mingled voices of my children; there is our dear father, and yonder are his men; I hear his voice, and the sound of their axes.' For a moment all was hidden from our view, by the density of the forest-trees intervening. This gave me time to utter what was labouring in my bosom-a prayer of faith and benediction. God of our ancestors, bless your father, and me your helpless mother, and you my loved children, now, even now, as we shall, in a few minutes, take possession of this our dwelling-place in the wild woods; and though, like Jacob, we have nought but a stone for our pillow, and the canopy of heaven for a covering, may we all find God indeed to be in this place; and may this place be to us a house of God and a gate of heaven!' What a moment was this to one who had left all for her husband and the future fortunes of her children! The wealth of India would have been meanly estimated in comparison of the endeared spot before me. • Come "With your leave, madam,' said pilot Spalding, ‘I think it prudent that your husband come to us, and give orders where he will have his family landed.' Accordingly he made fast the canoe to the willows, and desired us to await his return. Your father could get no direct answer from Spalding as to the nature of the cargo he had brought. 'Come and see,' was all he could get from him. 'Is all well?' said your father; 'have you brought us a good supply of food?' and see,' replied Spalding, with animation, and in an instant they burst upon our view; and as your dear father stood on the margin of the high bank, he saw beneath his feet the frail bark in which were his wife and children. The emotion was almost too much for him; I saw this, and sprang forward, the children quickly following. He received us with an exclamation of joy mingled with agony; 'Are you come to die here,' he exclaimed, before your time? We have no house to shelter you, and you will perish before we get one erected.' Cheer up, cheer up, my faithful!' said I to your father; let the smiles and the ruddy faces of your children, and the health and cheerfulness of your wife, make you joyful. If you have no house, you have strength and hands to make one. The God we worship will bless us, and help us to obtain a shelter. Cheer up, cheer up, my faithful!' The sunshine of joy and hope began to beam from his countenance; the news was communicated throughout the company of workmen, and the woods rang with shouts at the arrival of the first white woman and the first family on the banks of the Connecticut river above Fort Number Four. All assembled to see the strangers, and strove to do them acts of kindness. The trees were quickly felled and peeled, and the clean bark in large sheets was spread for a floor; other sheets, being fastened by thongs of twisted twigs to stakes driven in the ground, were raised for walls, or laid on crosspieces for a roof; and the cheerful fire soon made glad our little dwelling. The space of three hours was not consumed in effecting all this; and never were men more happy than those who contributed thus speedily and thus effectually to supply our wants. Beds were brought from the canoe to this rustic pavilion, and on them we rested sweetly, fearless of danger, though the thick foliage was wet with dew, and the wild beasts howled all around us, trusting in the protecting hand of Providence, and the watchful fidelity of our faithful neighbours. The next day all hands were called to build a cabin, which served us for the coming winter, and in which, cheered by the rising prospects of the family, and the mutual affection of all around us, my enjoyments were more exquisite than at any subsequent period of my life." Thus far the story from the lips of my venerable mother: it will serve to shew with what unsubdued, pure, and patriotic spirits New England was first overspread with inhabitants. Seven children were added to my father's family in this new settlement. Five out of eight of his sons received a collegiate education; one of whom was a senator in the congress of the United States, and afterwards chief-justice of the state of Vermont; two died after pursuing their professions with reputation; one is now a counsellor in New Hampshire; and the fifth and youngest of the whole family is the writer of this. My history, as connected with the Church of Christ, may be learned from the following statement:-My ancestors were what is termed in England Dissenters. They continued of the Independent persuasion till the year 1795, when nearly all that branch of the family settled in Cornish New Hampshire conformed to the liturgy, and became members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as the same had been recently organised by the bishops, clergy, and laity of that communion in the United States of America. The circumstances which led to this then unusual change in the sentiments and habits of a numerous family, are interesting, but cannot now be related any further than in general to say, that a candid examination of her primitive liturgy and of her well-authenticated claims to an apostolic constitution in her ministry, were among the principal reasons which induced so many to conform to the Protestant Episcopal Church; and instead of repairing the meeting-house, where both my grandfather and father had officiated as congregational deacons, inclined them to pull it down, and erect in its place an episcopal church. This was effected in great harmony; not a voice, to my recollection, was raised against the measure throughout the neighbourhood. It becomes not me, young as I was (about nineteen years of age,) when this change of sentiment began to take place, to say I had any agency in it; but even at that early period of my life, being greatly desirous of becoming, when qualified, a minister of the Gospel, the subjects daily discussed in my vacations from collegiate duties were to me of great importance: well do I remember the pleasure it afforded me to contemplate in our examinations of the Prayer-Book the strict adherence to scriptural doctrine and scriptural expressions, and, above all, the fervency of piety that glowed throughout the whole. And when we considered the subject of the ministry, many expressions in the epistles of St. Paul to Timothy and Titus, and in the Acts of the Apostles, were made plain, which before were to us unintelligible. In the fall of the year 1796 I became a candidate for holy orders, and went to Albany, in the state of New York, in order to pursue my studies with the episcopal clergyman of that city. This learned gentleman had been educated at Oxford in England, and was of great service to me. In June 1798 I received holy orders in the city of New York, and was soon after appointed a missionary to extend the ministration of the word and sacraments to the then new settlements at the westward in that diocese. In the arduous task of extending the Gospel and its ordinances to the new settlements in the western and northern parts of the state of New York, I continued for nearly two years. Congregations were gathered and organised in Canandagua, Utica, Auburn, in the main road to the lakes; in Hampton and other places on the borders of Vermont; at Ocwaga, Stamford, and other places on the banks of the Susquehannah, Unadika, and Delaware rivers; and in many other intermediate stations. The churches in most of these places, though first planted in the woods and among log-cabins, are now flourishing in villages; some, nay most of which, contain many thousand inhabitants, affording a conspicuous and lasting monument of the great utility and necessity of not despising the day of small things, but, in disregard of all hardships, of planting the Church of Christ wherever the human family is first planted; in other words, of rendering the means of religion as commensurate as possible with the settlement of every new country. In the winter of 1800, I took charge of the parishes of Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, and Trinity Church, at Fishkill, on the Hudson River, about eighty miles above the city of New York. As principal of the academy in Poughkeepsie, and rector of these churches, I remained till 1805; when, seeking for a warmer climate for the benefit of my wife's health, I went, with the advice of the Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, my bishop, to New Orleans, in the state of Louisiana. While there, I organised a Protestant communion, and obtained of the legislature a charter of incorporation of the parish of Christ Church, in which the rector was made subject to the Bishop of New York, until such time as there should be a diocese organised according to the canons and constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. In New Orleans, I continued about six years doing the duty of a Protestant clergyman, having been the first of that character of any denomination that had officiated in that city. At the end of this period, the object of my going having been, by the goodness of God, obtained, and feeling anxious to attend to the education of my two sons, left with their uncle in Vermont, I returned to the northern states; and in the fall of 1811 was, with uncommon felicity to myself, fixed as rector of Christ Church, Hartford, in the state of Connecticut. My residence in this city continued till 1817. During this period the number of the faithful greatly increased; the attendants at the Lord's table, from a very few, became a great number. I sincerely rejoiced to see the blessed effects of the Gospel of peace, and the many examples of the fruits of a holy life. In the bosom of an enlightened society, softened by the hand of urbanity and gentleness, my enjoyments, crowned with abundance of temporal blessings, were as numerous and refined as fall to the lot of man. Of the time I spent in this lovely city, I can never speak in ordinary terms. It is to my remembrance as a dream of more than terrestrial delight. Of its sweets I tasted for a while, and thought myself happy; but God, who would train his servants more by the reality of suffering than by ideal and transitory bliss, saw fit to direct my thoughts to other and more perilous duties. When young in the Christian ministry, I had, as before observed, been a humble missionary; and although I remembered the hardships and deprivations inseparable from the work of visiting my fellow-beings when struggling for the necessaries of life amidst the wild woods and the beasts of the forests; yet I also remembered the exquisite pleasure of being the herald of good tidings of great joy in bringing the Gospelfeast to those who were famishing for the bread of life. The recollection of this pleasure was still dearer to me than all the enjoyments of ease and plenty, even though heightened by the refinements of Christian courteousness and pious and polished society. In this state of mind it was that the intelligence of the wants of our brethren in the Lord daily reaching us from the new settlements in the western states sunk deep into my heart. A lively impression, that wherever the lambs of Christ's fold went, thither it was necessary that some shepherd should go with them, was never absent from my conscious mind. This, this was the motive which influenced me to make arrangements to go to the western country; but had I been duly sensible of the pain, I might say, the anguish, of separation from my beloved people in Hartford, perhaps my resolution would have failed. The plan, however, had been formed, the arrangements had been made, and the determination was fixed; and though the act of separation was like the tearing up of a tree in full bearing from its roots, and the time of parting consecrated by the tears of a numerous and affectionate people, I nevertheless had strength given me to fulfil my purpose; and on the 2d day of March, 1817, I set off for the western country, there to seek, according to my ordinationvows, for Christ's sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for his children who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they might be saved by him for ever. I went out, scarce knowing whither I went; but the Lord, I trust, being my guide, I commenced my labours in the state of Ohio; concluding, if they were successful, there to continue; if not, to go further among our new settlements-perhaps to Indiana or Illinois. Time, however, soon convinced me that the field of usefulness was that into which I at first entered. Assisted by the exertions of a fellow-labourer, the state of Ohio was, during the spring and summer, for the most part traversed. Parishes were formed, and little societies of Christian worshippers were gathered in many places. Delegates from these attended a convention, previously appointed, in Columbus in the following winter, where the constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States was adopted, a diocesan constitution was formed, and all things regulated according to the usages of our primitive Church.* (To be continued.) SACRED POETRY. BY JAMES CHAMBERS, ESQ. No. II. Introductory Observations - Spenser, Southwell, Barnes, It will be necessary, before commencing the historical part of this series, to make a few general introductory remarks on the subject itself, and the plan which I have adopted. The generic term sacred poetry includes two classes of religious verse: the one purely devotional, comprising such poems as the Psalms of David, the hymns of Watts, Cowper, Montgomery, &c. &c.; the other, including Milton's "Paradise Lost" and "Regained," Spenser's "Faery Queene," Fletcher's "Christ's Victorie," Heber's "Palestine," &c. It is necessary that poems of the first class should embody the peculiar hopes, fears, trials, prayers, and praises of the believer, in short, that they be imbued with that Holy Spirit which cometh down from the Father of light. The evidences of the influence of this Holy Spirit on the mind of the writer constitute the chief characteristic in this species of composition. The poems comprised in the latter class speak not of the intercourse of the soul with a covenant God. Though their subject be sacred, and though they aim to inculcate the highest moral feelings and awaken the purest emotions, yet they point not to that cross which stood on Mount Calvary; their object is rather to cultivate and exalt the moral sentiments than convert the heart. May I not say, that a poem of the former class could only be written by a practical Christian; while one of the latter might be penned by him who had no knowledge of vital religion, no clear views of the atonement and mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ? With due deference, I would give it as my opinion, that the immortal poem of" Paradise Lost," though it is so eminently calculated "to justify the ways of God to man," does not furnish us with abso The Episcopal Church of the United States of America derives its origin from England. Ten dioceses had been formed at the time this was written, nine of which are in the Atlantic states east of the Alleghany Mountains. Portions of two of those dioceses, those of Philadelphia and Virginia, reach across those mountains, as they are co-extensive with the states bearing these names; but the diocese of Ohio was at this time the only diocese formed beyond those mountains in the western territory of the states. Illinois then formed part of the missionary territory of Ohio. lute and irrefragable evidence that its author had drank of that stream, which whosoever drinketh shall never thirst again. Some of the most beautiful Hebrew Melodies which our literature can boast have been written by Lord Byron and Mr. Thomas Moore. It has been denied by Cecil and others, that the author of "Night Thoughts" was a man of evangelical piety. I shall speak more fully of his character in the proper place. Though purely devotional poetry is the most valuable, still such poems as the "Paradise Lost," ," "Christ's Victorie," &c., are real treasures to the pious and devout. He who can rise from perusing the "Paradise Lost" without being in some measure "a wiser and a better man" must possess a hard heart, and feelings which need not be envied. The Christian father, though he is compelled to make the licentious poems of a Byron, or the enervating strains of a Moore, sealed books to his children, can yet put into their hands volumes where poetry is employed in her noblest office volumes every page of which says, with irresistible force, talent and genius shine with a double lustre when employed in furthering the interests of virtue, morality, and religion. It would be impossible, if desirable, to embrace within my assigned limits those numerous and tedious details of changes of residence, private quarrels, and literary controversies, which occupy the pages of more prolix biographies. I make this remark to exculpate myself from the censures of those who expect a brief notice to be occupied with accounts of the "uprisings and downfallings" of every sacred poet. My business is not so much with authors as their works. After these necessary, but I fear tedious, observations, I commence my biographical sketches with the illustrious name of Edmund Spenser: born 1553, died 1599. Many of my readers will be surprised to see Spenser ranked among sacred poets. Viewing his "Faerie Queene" in the same light as the "Seven Champions of Christendom," they never dream of the object with which Spenser penned it, or the end which it was designed to accomplish. What Spenser used as a mean, they consider as the end. How well did Bishop Hall understand Spenser's beautiful poem, when he spoke of "his misty moral types!" and how clearly did Milton penetrate through the clouds of giants and enchantment, which hide the real purpose of his poem from the eyes of the multitude, when he designated the poet as our sage, serious Spenser!" The masterkey to the immortal poem of the "Faerie Queene" is furnished by a passage in Lodowick Bryskett's "Discourse of Civil Life." As this book is unknown to general readers, I extract the sentence.† A desire is expressed, that Spenser would "set down in English the precepts of those parts of moral philosophy whereby * It is almost unnecessary to say, that my observation applies to the general principle, without any reference to the individual character of John Milton. + My attention was first directed to this passage by a reference made to it in "Lives of Sacred Poets," by R. A. Willmott, Esq., Trinity College, Cambridge. 2 vols. J. W. Parker. My obligations to this admirable and interesting work are too numerous to be specified individually. I would fain hope that many readers will pass from my brief sketch to the full information and interesting records contained in these volumes, our youth might speedily enter into the right course of a virtuous life;" and the poet is represented as saying, in reply, that "he hath already undertaken a work tending to the same effect, which was in heroic verse, under the title of a Faerie Queene,' to represent all the moral virtues, assigning to every virtue a knight, to be the patron and defender of the same; in whose actions, the feats of arms and chivalry, the operations of that virtue whereof he is the protector are to be expressed; and the vices and unruly appetites that oppose themselves against the same are to be beaten down and overcome." We must remember how congenial such a plan was with the spirit of the age, and how likely to render his work generally popular. In the present era of invention and excitement, we can neither sympathise with his imaginary personages, nor fairly decide as to the propriety of selecting such a fabulous foundation on which to erect the fabric of truth. Spenser's other works, of which we unfortunately. possess but the names, are a "Translation of Ecclesiastes" and the "Canticum Canticorum," the "Hours of our Lord," the "Sacrifice of a Sinner," and the "Seven Psalms." Would that we were enabled by the recovery of these lost treasures to substantiate his claim to that lofty rank amid the sacred poets of England, which they would undoubtedly be the means of assigning him! The following fine stanzas are above all praise : "Vouchsafe, then, O thou most Almightie Spright! From whom all gifts of wit and knowledge flow, The hearts of men, which fondly here admire Of those faire formes, may lift themselves up hyer, The Robert Southwell: born 1560, died 1595. poetical compositions of this author, though not remarkable for lofty flights of imagination, are rendered peculiarly delightful by the simplicity and quaintness which pervade them. There is a richness of pathos in many of his minor pieces which cuts to the heart. So inexpressibly sweet, yet mournful, are some of his poems, that we willingly pardon, and allow the justice of Southwell's own conceit, when he said, that "his tunes were tears." Southwell was a Jesuit, and possessed in no small degree the deep-rooted bigotry and indefatigable perseverance which characterise the body of which he was a member. He was executed on a charge of treason; and though there are many reasons for supposing him innocent of this crime, we must excuse some precipitation at a time when conspiracies against the life of Elizabeth, originating among, and directed by, the Jesuits, were daily discovered; conspiracies peculiarly dangerous on account of the mystery which enveloped them, and the extraordinary talents of their leaders.* • Vide "Church of England Magazine," vol. vi. p. 101. |