THE Fifth General Assembly met, according to appointment, on the 25th of December 1562, in the Old Council House, Edinburgh; and John Knox "callit upoun Godis name for the assistance of his holie spirit."

The First Session seems to have been occupied with the case of Robert Cuming, schoolmaster of Arbroath. The Superintendant of Angus and Mearns had complained that he infected the youth committed to his charge with idolatry-by which is probably to be understood, that he retained and expressed some favour for the Popish doctrines. The particulars of the case are not recorded, but Knox (Hist. of Ref. p. 323,) tells us that sentence was pronounced against him. The progress of Reformation in Scotland was very much promoted by the teachers of youth, and several of the most distinguished Reformers seem to have received the knowledge of the truth when at school. The Church, when it was established, took a vigilant and tender care in the education of youth. In the First Book of Discipline, it was provided, " that every several Kirk should have one schoolmaster appointed;" and this seems to have been the origin of parochial schools. Long before this period, schools had been erected; and so early as 1496, it was enacted, that all Barons and Freeholders should put their eldest sons to the schools at eight or nine years of age. But the plan of establishing a school in every parish seems to have originated with the Reformers. In Catholic times, schools were only to be found attached to Cathedral Churches, and the more richly endowed religious houses. Perhaps the person whose case has led to these remarks, was originally connected with the Abbey of Arbroath, and had not been sufficiently acquainted with the doctrines of the Reformers. His case, although it be the only one specified, seems not to have been singular; for Knox tells us, that, during this Assembly, it was a subject of general complaint,

that improper persons were permitted to be schoolmasters.

In the Second Session, which was not held till the 28th of December, trial was taken of Superintendants and Ministers, agreeably to the order which had been laid down in the last Assembly. It was concluded that the names of Ministers, Exhorters, and Readers, with the dates of their entering upon office, should be presented to the Lords appointed for the modification of stipends, in order that they might receive payment quarterly; and in the event of any Minister, Exhorter, or Reader, dying, it was ordained that his executors should receive the stipend for the time he had served, and that his successor, in like manner, should be paid pro rata servitii. As burghs, in Popish times, had been burdened with the maintenance of the Priests, it was thought reasonable that they should now contribute to support the servants of the Protestant Church: and the Comptroller requested such Commissioners of burghs as were present, to signify to him, within a reasonable time, what could be done in this matter.

In the Third Session, it was ordained that all persons serving in the ministry, who had not been admitted according to the order appointed in the First Book of Discipline, should be inhibited from the exercise of their function. This Act was declared to comprehend Exhorters and Readers, and to have force against those called Bishops, as well as others. It was ordered to be published by Superintendants and Commissioners, throughout their respective districts, and copies of it were to be affixed to the doors of the principal churches. Those who contemptuously continued in the ministry, after being thus inhibited, were to be proceeded against by censure, to excommunication.

The remainder of this Session was occupied in making arrangements for the supply of vacant churches. Mr Alexander Gordon, who had been Catholic Bishop of Galloway, and

Mr Robert Pont, were put upon the leet, for the Superintendantship of Dumfries. In the meantime, as was mentioned in the sketch of the Fourth Assembly, Gordon received a commission to admit Ministers, Exhorters, and Readers, and to do such things as were usual in the planting of churches. Mr George Hay, Mr John Row, and Adam Heriot, were put upon the leet for the Superintendantship of Aberdeen. A commission was given to Mr John Hepburn, Minister of Brechin, to preach throughout Murray, and to send such persons as he might find qualified to be Ministers, Exhorters, or Readers, that they might be tried and admitted to their respective offices by the Superintendant to be appointed for Aberdeen. David Forrest, whose sufficiency for the function of the Ministry was well known, was solemnly charged to enter upon it; and he and Mr Patrick Cockburn were proposed for the Superintendantship of Jedburgh. Those arrangements, however, seem not to have been quite agreeable to the Lords of Secret Council; and, in the following Session, the Assembly remitted the nomination of the persons to them.

The case of Mr Archibald Keith, Minister of Logie and Balmerinoch, which is omitted by Calderwood, but inserted in the Buik of the Universal Kirk, was discussed in this Session. His stipends were not sufficiently paid, and the Assembly decerned, that, unless he were satisfied upon this point, he should be translated from these churches to some other. It was provided, however, that he should not remove according to his own pleasure, but that the church to which he should repair should be appointed by the Assembly. This power of translating Ministers was, in the Fourth Session, delegated to Superintendants, and a majority of the Elders and Ministers within their bounds. It was also ordained that Superintendants should indict their Synodal Conventions twice a-year, in April and October; and that sufficient advertisements should be given to particular churches, that the Ministers, with their Elder, or Deacon, might repair to the place appointed, and consult upon the common affairs of the pro

vince. This seems to have been the origin of our provincial Synods, of which the constitution and time of meeting still correspond with the first appointment. In this Session, Knox received a commission to repair to Jedburgh, and investigate a slander which had arisen against Paul Methven, Minister of that burgh. This case occupied the attention of several succeeding Assemblies; but it may be as well at once to collect and state the particulars of it. Methven had been one of the earliest and most zealous of the Reformers. He is mentioned by Calderwood, (Large MS. Vol. p. 286,) as preaching along with Harlaw, Willock, and Douglas, in 1555. In 1558 he was summoned, with others, to appear before the Queen Regent; and, in the same year, he was ordered to attend a Convocation of the Popish Clergy. He was outlawed for not appearing, but continued lurking about Dundee and Perth; and, as the Reformation advanced, resumed his preaching with great fervency and success. In the First General Assembly he was_appointed Minister of Jedburgh, where he remained till a rumour of his having committed adultery arose. He at first denied the crime, but the evidence against him becoming clear, he fled. Knox, and the Elders who were joined in commission with him, according to their instructions, reported the case to the Session of Edinburgh; and Methven, for his crime and non-appearance, was excommunicated and deposed. He gave in a representation to the next Assembly, and promised to undergo any punishment which might be appointed. This representation was favourably received; and it was agreed that the Lords of Council should be spoken to in his behalf. In the meantime, he seems to have resumed the functions of the Ministry in England, whether he had retired. This was resented by the Assembly, as a contempt of the sentence of deposition which had been passed against him. He gave in another representation, expressing his desire to be reconciled to the church, and requesting that the particulars of his case should be erased from the record. The Assembly professed their willingness to receive him, upon his shewing

suitable signs of repentance, but refused to blot or mutilate their minutes. Methven did not appear till the Assembly in June 1566, when it was concluded that he should be received to public repentance; the form to be regulated by a committee, and to be inserted in their records. No mention is made of him after this; but Wodrow, in his Life of Methven, seems inclined to believe that he was absolved by the Assembly, and returned to England. After inserting the leading particulars of this case, Knox assigns two reasons for noticing it: I. That they who stand may take heed lest they fall; for at the commencement of the Reformation, no one was reckoned more fervent or upright than Methven; and, II. To shew the superiority of the Protestants over the Papists, who openly tolerated and committed such crimes.

In the Fifth Session, which was held on the last day of December, Commissioners were appointed to ascertain what causes should come under the decision of the Church; and all Ministers, except the Superintendants, and those whom they should nominate, were prohibited from judging in cases of divorce. These Commissioners were also instructed to do their endeavour, that all markets held upon the Lord's Day should be abolished. So early as 1469, it was statute, "that the incasting and outcasting of tenants should be deferred till three days after Whitsunday and Martinmas," lest the devotions of the people should be disturbed. It was also ordained that no fairs should be held on solemn days; and that labourers should only work till four o'clock on Saturday, and other festival evens. But the abuses which these enactments were intended to correct, seem to have continued. The Reformers, when they abolished all festival days, might have expected a more solemn observance of the Sabbath. It was some time, however, before the people could be brought to give up the liberties to which they had been accustomed; and, for many years after the Reformation, things were commonly done on that day which were quite inconsistent with the authority and usefulness of its institution. In illustration of this, it may be mentioned, that Spotswood

and Law, who were afterwards Archbishops of St. Andrew's and Glasgow, were accused of playing at foot-ball after sermon with their parishioners; and that Porterfield, who was Minister at Ayr about 1590, used frequently to go out on the afternoon of the Lord's Day to see the shooting with bow and arrow, which was a common exercise at that time.

In this Session, it was also concluded, that the order laid down in the Book of Geneva should be uniformly kept in the ministration of the Sacraments, the solemnization of marriages, and the burial of the dead. The Book of Geneva was originally drawn up for the use of the English Congregation in that place. It was adopted by the Reformers in Scotland, and called the Book of Common Order. An edition of it was put forth about this time at Edinburgh, and it has been reprinted in the Phoenix, and in Dunlop's Collection of Confessions. The order for burial is very brief, and merely directs that the Minister, if he be present and required, may repair to the church, if it be not far off, and make some comfortable exhortation to the people, touching death and the resurrection. The order of marriage is more minute, and requires that the banns be proclaimed three several days, and that the parties present themselves, before sermon, in the face of the congregation, when the Minister, after a suitable admonition, shall proceed to declare them married persons. The form of administering the Sacraments differs in no material point from that which is at present observed among us. In this Session, it was agreed that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper should be administered four times a-year in burghs, but only twice a-year in country parishes; and the Superintendants were appointed to confer with the Lords of Secret Council as to the means of furnishing the Elements. Knox received a special commission to make supplication to the Queen for support of the poor. As he had opened the First Session with prayer, so he again "made invocation of the name of God," and the Assembly dissolved.

No formal motion seems to have been made upon the subject; but it

is mentioned, both in Calderwood and the Buik of the Universal Kirk, that during the Assembly great complaints were made "that Ministers lacked stipends." The Comptroller, the Justice Clerk, and the Clerk Register, required that these complaints should be specially laid before them, in order that they might obtain redress. And as the manses were in many cases set in tack, or otherwise occupied, so that Ministers could not conveniently reside at their churches, it was proposed that all such manses should, in the first instance, be annexed to the crown, and that thereafter the complaints of Ministers, upon this head, might be heard and answered. It was also complained,

"that idolatry was erected in diverse places ;" and some thought that another supplication upon this subject should be presented to the Queen. When it was said that no answer had been given to the former supplication, it was answered, that, since the meeting of last Assembly, the state of the country had been too much disturbed to allow her Majesty to attend to this matter; but it was hoped, that, before the meeting of Parliament, which was to be held in May, such measures would be taken as would satisfy all reasonable men. The Assembly seem to have placed some reliance upon the expectation which was thus held out, and the point was not insisted on.

Is there a heart which delights not to cling To the objects it lov'd in its youth's early spring?

The glen or the mountain, the lake or the stream,

Remember'd like phantoms that flit through a dream.

Though friends have been false, or though hope has betray'd,

Though our life led us on through affliction and shade,

Though the visions of childhood have lost all their charm,

Though the mind be less buoyant, the

bosom less warm ;

Yet still 'tis a joy-a joy hallow'd by

Where with life in its morn, and with health in its prime,

We fasten'd new wings on the light foot of time.

Ah! were we but near them—those scenes lov'd so well,

What a change would we find! what

a tale would they tell!

The tempest of grief, and the calm of despair,

And the dark gloomy silence of death hath been there.

Light hearts have been broken that dreamt not of guile;

Bright eyes have grown dim, and fair

lips lost their smile;

And the young and the lovely, on whose sunny brow

Shone the garland of myrtle,—ah ! where are they now?

They are gone,-and you look for their coming in vain,

To the haunts of lost years they return

not again;

On the ocean of life they are tost to and fro,

With a dark sky above them, and wild waves below.

Then roam on, thou wanderer! and only in dreams

Revisit thy mountains and lov'd native

streams;

Then fondly your eye on the vision may

dwell,

Ere the gloom of reality ruin the spell !

I QUESTION very much whether I shall be able to write with my usual good sense upon this most interesting and serious subject. Love is a passion, which, from the days of Sappho down to those of Miss L. E. Landon, has been celebrated above all others for exercising the most despotic sway over human actions and character. The being, perhaps, never lived who did not at one period or other of his existence experience the full force of its influence. It is the passion which supplies the materials of history, gives interest to the pages of romance, and breathes new fervour into the inspirations of poetry. It is the passion by which a mortal may be raised to the skies, or an angel pulled down to the earth. On one hand, we find it giving rise to all the miseries of separation, all the wretchedness of inconstancy, and all the agonies of jealousy; on the other, we trace to it the source of the purest and highest pleasures of which the human mind is susceptible, and in comparison with which even the happiness that results from the attainment of well-merited glory is of small account. Such happiness is, in its very nature, personal and selfish, and so are all the enjoyments of mortality, except those which spring from love. It is to this very circumstance that it owes its superiority, for, as Madame De Stael has well remarked, "il n'est pas un moment où d'avoir vécu pour un autre, ne fût plus doux que d'avoir existé pour soi."

But gently, my good Pegasus, gently. You are in the clouds already. A little less declamation, if you please, and somewhat more common sense. Will you have the goodness to tell me, thrice excellent reader! what love is?" Good Heavens!" I hear you exclaim, with the silver softness of "sweet eighteen," casting, at the same time, one of your archest and sunniest smiles on the happy youth who sits beside

you,

"good Heavens! can he ask such a question ?" The gallant St. Preux, to whom your words are addressed, flinging into his tones the gentle melody of a shepherd's pipe upon the mountains, whispers tenderly, " Forgive him, Amelia; he has never seen you." The blushing Amelia casts her bright eyes upon the ground, and her heart, "fra tanti palpiti e tanti," convinces her that she at least knows what love is.

I once thought so too, Amelia. But I was mistaken, and so are you, fair maiden. A man may be in love for twenty years,-nay, for all his life, and yet not have the most distant notion of the sort of person he has to deal with. Cupid is a very Proteus. The Cameleon never assumes so vast a variety of hues as he can do. Besides, there are a thousand impostors abroad, no more like the true son of Mars and Venus "than I to Hercules." They are pseudo-pretenders to the name of Cupid, born of Nox and Erebus, or of the Apothecary Mercury and the frail virgin Diana. It is often very difficult to detect these false deities. They puzzle even a connoisseur ;

"Methinks there be six Richmonds in the field;

Five have I slain to-day, instead of

him."

But sooner or later the counterfeit is discovered. Much good blacking is sold for Warren's, but you may depend upon it, unless that great man's signature is on the bottle, your boots will never have the true polish. Thus many a little urchin, abundantly blind, and with a quiver sufficiently full of arrows, will venture to attack you as you move through your own sphere of society; but be of good heart; you are in no danger. The true conqueror of conquerors but rarely sends a shaft from his omnipotent bow. He who rides on the dolphin's or lion's back, and breaks