summation.

6

of the liberals with the priesthood and their followers, who formed the preponderating mass of the population, formed an alliance so powerful, that the whole strength was unequal to withstand it, much less the small body of reflecting and loyal subjects who still remained faithful to the union and the crown, and who were not only overwhelmed by the violence of the commotion at the moment, but so utterly discomfited by its ultimate consequences, that they have never since been able to rally as a party. But the immediate object being once achieved, the union of the clerico-liberal' confederacy did not long survive its conThe compact alliance' between the priests and the liberals had been sought by the former only to effect a definite purpose, which could not otherwise be attained-the repeal of the union; and no sooner was this accomplished than the intolerant ambition of the clergy put an end to all further co-operation between them. The party of the priests had then become all powerful by their numbers, and no longer requiring the assistance of their former allies, they boldly attempted their own objects, independently and in defiance of them. It is rather a ludicrous illustration of their zeal and its aim, that among the crowd of aspirants who were named for the crown of Belgium in 1831, the Pope himself was put in nomination; and, had the decision remained with the revolutionists, there can be no doubt that the Netherlands would have been added to the territory of the Holy See. Everything, in fact, is regulated by the wishes of that numerous body of the priesthood, who, from their ardent exertions for ascendancy, have obtained the title of the Les Mennaissiens, and whose influence in every family, and in every parish, rules, regulates, and determines every political movement. They it is who conduct all the elections, name the candidates, and marshal the constituency to the poll; and when I was at Ghent, the curate of Betholaer, a rural district in the vicinity, read from the altar the persons for whom the congregation were to vote at a pending contest, on pain of the displeasure of the bishop. If the coincidence does not strike irresistibly every individual who has attended to what is passing in Belgium, it is here again unnecessary to point out the parallel between the composition of the two parties, in that country and Ireland, who sympathize in the principle of repeal and separation. In each country the majority of the movement' is composed of the Roman Catholic clergy and the devotees of the (Roman Catholic) Church; but in both their strength would be ineffectual, and certainly their object suspected, had they not been joined by honest but mistaken individuals, who, aiming at utopian theories in politics, have been content to employ ior their accomplishment the aid of those whose designs are more essentially sectarian, than civil or political." (Vol. i., p. 262).

It will be seen, from the extracts which we have given, that the comparison which the author draws between the workings of the spirit of Popery and revolution in the two countries, is at once striking and curious in the highest degree, and we only trust that it may prove as instructive as it deserves to be. We hope our readers will not rest satisfied with our notice of this

VOL. X.-U

work, but will examine it for themselves: it will repay the study. Indeed, the various and extensive information which these volumes contain is abundantly sufficient to prove that Mr. Tennent possesses no mean share of sound political philosophy, and that his knowledge of the manufactures and agriculture, both of his own and of other countries, is at once intimate and profound, the result of personal observation and experience, and not derived, as we fear is the case with many travellers, from the study of the labours of other men.

ART. III.-Monumental Brasses.

Nos. I. and II. Published

by the Cambridge Camden Society. 1841.

ONE of our most eminent living writers has said, that "he who cares little for his ancestors will care little for posterity, or, indeed, for anything but himself;" and, fully concurring in this sentiment, we rejoice to find that in this age of utilitarian projects, chiefly centring on the acquisition of wealth or convenience to the men that now are, all regard is not lost for those who once were, but we have, at least, the grace to pay some attention to their sepulchres-a good omen, we trust, of the revival of their virtues, so far as they have been in danger of extinction, and of the retention of those virtues, where still in honour amongst us.

We have, indeed, the highest of all authorities to admonish us, that a zeal for the preservation and garniture of the tombs of departed worthies is perfectly consistent with an utter disregard of the examples they have set, that we may build up the sepulchres of the prophets and yet take part with their murderers; nor are antiquaries of any age exempt from the need of admonition, that they suffer not their fascinating pursuit to degenerate into a mere appetite for indiscriminate collection, without regard to the value of what they acquire, or its bearing on any useful object of life, intellectual or moral; but, with these guards, we are persuaded, that a disposition to investigate the past has much to do with the right occupation of the time present, and that it cannot be neglected without the most injurious results to the future-results affecting far higher interests than the gratification of taste or ancestral attachments, though these may seem more immediately concerned. What, for instance, would not the Church of England have lost, in point of doctrine and discipline, no less than external comeliness, had her first prelates after the Reformation been men of the rash and fiery

temperament of Knox, rather than of cautious and patient disposition, like Cranmer and Parker-diligent to search out, and careful to preserve, the documents of antiquity, which were to evidence, in future ages, their adherence to primitive and apostolic truth? And what, we might venture to ask, has she not lost in our own day, for want of a somewhat larger infusion of veneration for antiquity, a somewhat firmer adherence to ancient landmarks, in resisting the specious, but most insidious, demands of temporary expedience-a lack by which her friends and guardians have been beguiled, in spite of warning after warning, to do the work of her worst enemies? But we must not pursue a train of enquiries, which, however important, would lead us far away from the immediate subject before us-the illustration of the sepulchral antiquities of our country.

This subject will form an appropriate sequel to the observations on Ecclesiastical Architecture which were made in a late number; and we are happy to find, that it is warmly taken up by some of the leading members of both Universities-places adorned with the most varied and interesting specimens both of our ecclesiastical architecture and its monumental adjuncts; annually sending forth those, who, whether as clergy or laity, are to be their future protectors throughout the land; and rich in biographical memorials of the departed worthies, whose taste, munificence, devotion, and patriotism, we would preserve or revive, as well as their sepulchral remains. Among the objects of the "Oxford Society for Promoting the Study of Gothic Architecture," the sepulchral monuments of the middle ages, with historical notices of founders, and other eminent persons, are stated as claiming particular attention; and we have now to refer, with high satisfaction, to the labours of the Cambridge Camden Society in one most interesting department of this enquiry, to be followed, we doubt not, in due course, by equal marks of zealous, persevering, and successful attention to others of no less.importance.

We have already adverted to the exertions of this Society in the illustration of monumental brasses-a species of sepulchral memorial in which the town and county of Cambridge, together with the neighbouring counties, which still glory in their distinctions as part of the East Anglican territory, are especially abundant. We shall now gladly avail ourselves of the opportunity of entering more copiously into this inviting field of investigation, in the progress of the remarks which we propose to offer on sepulchral monuments in general, and more particularly in their connection with our church architecture. Those who have delved deepest into this field, or rather mine,

of antiquarian research, are disposed to derive the temple itself from the tomb, and to maintain that the sanctuaries of heathen worship, the hill altars, and consecrated groves, almost invariably acquired their sanctity from their surmounting the grave of some eminent person, who after death was worshipped as a demi-god; whence also, in the modification of heathenism to which the Church of Rome submitted, as the means of gaining proselytes in the decline of Christian zeal and purity, it became the established rule, that no church should be consecrated without relics.

But though we cannot allow so extensive a range of operation to this principle, believing that the basis of pagan idolatry was the gradual corruption and depravation of devotional services rendered to the living God by living worshippers, rather than an undue degree of veneration for departed ancestors and benefactors, it may be conceded that this feeling had its share, as well as the direct substitution of the serpent tempter for God, in the general perversion of faith and worship which so early deformed the patriarchal ages; that departed spirits, as well as evil spirits, the relics and representations of the human form, as well as of birds, and beasts, and creeping things, took their place in the affections and mistaken adorations of those, who, "because they liked not to retain God in their thoughts, were given up to strong delusions, that they should worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator." The Acropolis of Athens, we know, derived its high religious honours from the tomb of Cecrops. The vestibules and atria of the ancient mansions were esteemed sacred, from the burial of the dead near their site; and the statues of departed ancestors with which they were adorned became the tutelar deities of the family, in the midst of which the altar was reared for its domestic devotion. The working of the same principle may be observed, in the sanctity supposed to be communicated to the gates and walls of cities, near which the public burial places were situated; and this was carried so far, that at Agrigentum, tiers of sepulchres and sepulchral chambers are found in the substance of the walls, doubtless for its protection rather than theirs, which would not be best secured by their situation where the attack of an enemy was first and most frequently to be apprehended.

Various, however, as were the perversions of devotional feeling resulting from the sanctity attributed to the human body, the feeling itself, as in most other Pagan and Romish perversions, may be traced back to a pure and primitive source, and, cleared of its corruptions, is at once in accordance with the fondest dictates of nature, and adds the testimony of universal tradition

to the declarations of divine revelation, as to the origin, distinctions, and future destinies of man.

It is not strange that something sacred should be supposed to attach to that marvellous fabric into which the Deity had once breathed the breath of life, and invested it with a portion of his own most awful attributes; which He who made it spoke of as a temple, a temple he would himself condescend to inhabit; and to which, even in dust and ruins, the promise was affixed of a future and more glorious restoration. It was this promise which suggested the first and best monumental inscription that has come down to us, when, in evident allusion to a custom of which the rock-hewn sepulchres in Arabia and Idumea still exhibit abundant traces, the patriarch Job exclaimed, "Oh, that my words were now written-that they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever. For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." Nor is it strange, apart from all supposition of sanctity to be derived from the body, that such an expectation should tend to gather the remains of the dead around the sanctuaries of the Deity from whom they had received it, and under whose protection they desired to await its fulfilment; so that, while an almost worn out and corrupted tradition strewed the whole region around an idol temple with barrows and tumuli, the Christian, to whom life and immortality were brought to light by the Gospel, desired that his dust should repose with that of his kindred and fellow-heirs in the same glorious hope, beneath the shade, or within the walls of the church where they had learned it.

The desire to be remembered by posterity, and especially by surviving friends-feelings near akin to the hope of immortality -had, doubtless, also their influence in producing the same result. Those to whom the house of God had been dear in life, who had delighted to walk thither in company with their kindred and neighbours, and who, though now to be separated in place, were regarded by the Christian institute as still members of the same society, invisibly partaking of the same holy communion and fellowship, were unwilling to be forgotten on the spot where they were wont to assemble; nor were those with whom they had associated at all more willing to forget them. The same natural impulse which caused the departing spirit to "cast a longing, lingering look behind," with anxious desire to leave, at least, some token of its existence, if not some impress of its energies, with those who were to follow, led survivors also to cherish, no less religiously, every relic which was thus