dangers and unheard of monsters, in regions where the lance had never gleamed, and the pomp of chivalry was never seen, is far better adapted for poetical purposes than any of the busy calculating characters of the present day: the eventful fortune of the judicial combat, sanctioned by ancient usage, and hallowed by religious ceremonies, affords far greater scope for description, and far deeper interest, than the lengthened speeches and technical details of a modern trial; while the ardency of feeling, the recklessness of danger, the unconquerable confidence of ultimate success, which excited the mind, and nerved the arm, of the crusader on the plain of Ascalon, or beneath the walls of Jerusalem, find in every bosom a sympathy for the heroism, though unmixed with respect for the cause. Indeed the romantic enthusiasm which impelled that vast human tide, which for nearly two centuries was unceasingly pouring the wealth, valour, and chivalry, of Europe on the shores of Palestine, alone presents more of poetical character than all the splendid victories, all the singular incidents, all the varied fortunes, of modern heroes. It is impossible not to admire that devotedness to what they considered the cause of God, which characterized many of the followers of the cross; which made them bid an eternal farewell to friends and country; despise hunger, thirst, and perils of every kind; and with heroism and devotion, worthy a far better cause, sing their hymn of thanksgiving in the very article of death. How admirably adapted for poetry and fiction are these eventful times and singular institutions; nor can we wonder that chivalry, and its adjuncts, have been a kind of fairy land to the poet and dramatist. Spenser, Shakspear and Scott, beside a host of meaner names, have drawn from this romantic source their wildest scenes and brighest poetry. Even the philosophic Milton could muse with delight on tales

-"Of tourneys, and of trophies hung, "Of forests, and enchantments drear;"

and in his prose works recorded with enthusiasm, "the in"fluence produced on his literary character by those lofty "tales of chivalry, among which his young feet wandered."

In that interesting country which preserved to modern Europe all that remained of ancient literature, and which formed the character of modern poetry, chivalry has been the almost unceasing theme of the finest poets, from Pulci to Tasso. In the magic numbers, and more magic colour

ing of the romantic poets, light, order, and beauty, take place of the darkness, ignorance, and brutality, of the middle ages; chivalry presents a picture of splendid, but delusive beauty; and lawless marauders, roaming from place to place in quest of plunder, are transformed into high-minded heroes, invested with every attribute of moral and intellectual greatness. The fabled knight of poetry successfully rivals the great men of antiquity; Tancred throws Achilles far into the shade; Godfrey, in moral dignity and devotional feeling, towers far above the "pious Eneas;" while Orlando and the pass of Roncevalles (magic names in romance) excite in our bosoms an interest equal to the devoted Spartan, and the pass of Thermopyla.

A fairy creation of truth and honour, love and constancy, too bright, too ethereal, to exist, but in the mind of the poet, has been given; and the light of genius, which has shed its deceptive radiance over the thick darkness of the middle ages, has thrown a halo of truth, honour, and purity, around the character of the ideal knight, which belonged not to a barbarous age. What wonder then, that, forgetful of the real and insuperable disadvantages of this singular institution, and the rudeness, superstition, and ignorance, which it had no power to remove, many should turn from the chronicle to the romance, from the historian to the poet, and listening to his witching numbers, and gazing on his fairy creation of surpassing loveliness, value the brilliant illusions of fiction, beyond the sober light of Truth.

E. H.

The Evangelical Ministry exemplified in the Apostle Paul; a Sermon preached in Murray-street Church, New York, N.A. December 2, 1821, on the occasion of resigning his charge of his Congregation: by John M. Mason, D. D.

ACTS XX. 17-27.

"And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews; And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance

toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."

NEXT to our Lord Jesus Christ, the name which figures most gloriously in the early stages of the Christian story, is that of the apostle Paul. The grandeur of his mind, his intellectual and moral magnanimity, his heroic devotion, his patience in suffering, his powerful genius, his decision, his eloquence, his zeal, shine in every page of his writings, raise the admiration and awe the spirits of his readers, and make them feel that they enter into communion with a being of a superior order. But it is not that peculiar greatness which was inseparable from every act of the man, and excites our veneration while it forbids our rivalship, that creates our deepest interest in his character. Our understandings may be penetrated with light, which has no power of warming our hearts. The most profound respect does not necessarily call forth our love. Our affections must be won; they cannot be stormed. To this principle of our nature, God has been pleased to pay particular regard, in the first heralds of the cross. However diversified their qualities and attainments-whatever be the zeal of one, the potency of argument in another, the intrepid courage of a third, that which bears the sway in all, is their loveliness. Our hearts are captivated by the same process which subdues our understandings. Nothing, for example, can be more fair and unanswerable, than when Paul closes in his. argument with the subtle philosopher; nothing more terrible than when he deals out the thunders of God among the gainsayers; and nothing more exquisitely tender, than his carriage toward the timid and scrupulous disciple. If ever a man knew how to wind his way into the human soul-how. to coil around him its most sacred affections-how to explore the secret place of tears, and to put in motion all its kindest sympathies, the apostle Paul was certainly that man. You know that this has always been with me a favou

rite theme; that my heart has enlarged, my imagination brightened, and my steps have trodden upon almost fairy ground, when they have been roused and quickened by the name of Paul. But on no occasion does he loom so high, and shine so gloriously, as in the context. All his powers are concentrated; his feelings are condensed into a point; the covering is shoved aside from his breast, and you see, without disguise, the workings of his ingenuous, his upright, his mighty mind. This parting address to the elders of Ephesus well deserved a place in the holy volume; and deserves it in our best regards, in our most reverential remembrance. I propose to give you, on this occasion, an analysis of part of the apostle's discourse. You will find it to contain an account of the manner in which he discharged his ministry among the Ephesians, ver. 18-21; his extreme devotedness to the cause in which he was embarked, ver. 22-24; and his presentiment of its being the closing of his ministry; with an affectionate appeal to their consciences, and the ground of that appeal, 25—27.

I. An account of the manner in which he discharged his ministry among the Ephesians, ver. 18—21.

1. He served the Lord with all humility of mind. The apostles, unlike many of their pretended successours, aimed at no worldly honours, distinctions, nor titles. "Rabbi," is not to be met with in their whole vocabulary. The name of Lords bishops was utterly unknown to them, nor would they have thought it a meet appellation for the followers of a crucified master. Whatever be its origin or use, the spirit of the apostles disclaims it, and holds no fellowship with the temper which it is calculated to cherish. Servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, was their highest earthly designation, and rank, and glory. Paul had talents, and powers, and proficiency, which might fairly entitle him to a preeminence among his brethren; but the only pre-eminence which he courted was a pre-eminence in dangerous service to the glory of his Master. Let little men sigh after their rattles; it suits their capacities, it is fit for their ambition; but neither an apostle, nor an apostolic man, wishes for any more dignified style, or holy occupation, than to be known in the church as "serving the Lord." There is a consideration which weighs much with every gracious heart, and is not, cannot be easily forgotten-the immense distance between the Lord Jesus, and his most faithful servants. He, the living God; they, creatures low in the scale of

being, when compared with other creatures which "excel in strength, yet obey his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word." "The treasure is in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power might be of God." The angels who look, with studious anxiety, into the mysteries of redemption by Jesus Christ, would thankfully have accepted the appointment of "ambassadours" of the cross. But God has seen fit to confer that honour upon men of like passions with others; and commanded the angels to be ministering spirits. When we add, that these heralds of his truth were sinners like other men, called by divine grace out of the common condemnation, and sent to tell their fellow-sinners that "there is forgiveness with God," how august the message! how humbling to the messenger! He cannot, or ought not, to forget one single moment, that "by grace he is saved;" and the more profound and lively his sense of this truth, the more completely will he enter into the feelings of Paul, who served the Lord with all humility of mind. Could Paul need a monitor to remind him that he was once a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious, that he obtained mercy because the "grace of our Lord Jesus Christ was exceeding abundant," and obtained it for this end, that in him, first, the Saviour "might show forth all long-suffering to them who should believe on him to life everlasting?" He could not open his lips to proclaim the riches of redeeming love, without at the same time exhibiting himself as a monument of that love. No wonder that his service was so strongly tinged with humility. There is nothing, my brethren, which can so humble and elevate a man's soul as a powerful experience of the love of Christ. Nor is any thing more unbecoming, more desolating to the holy character-more indicative of communion with the devil, than clerical superciliousness. Unassuming as were the apostle's manners-innocent as was his conversationuseful as was his whole life, his course was nevertheless a course of trouble. For,

2. His ministry was marked by "many tears," and many "temptations, which befell him by the lying in wait of the Jews. The "tears" of an apostle have upon our minds a most melting influence. Our own are disposed to mingle with them upon the bare mention of his. But, after all, what called them forth? You do not hear of his weeping before the Sanhedrim of Jerusalem-before the Roman governor, into whose presence he was brought in chains. No! there was a proper scene for a spirit which neither the Sanhedrim, nor