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to infamy, "with a high sharpe voice badde bring forth the King's horses; and then two little naggs, not worth forty francs, were brought forth." The King was set on one, and the Earl of Salisbury on the other, and thus the Duke brought the King from Flint to Chester, where he was delivered to the Duke of Gloucester's son, who led him straight to the Castle.*

As the immortal Shakspeare observed, "Kings are but elevated men;" and, if the testimony of Froissart may be credited, Richard did not experience the ingratitude of man alone; but he received an additional sting from that portion of the brute creation which is supposed to be incapable of caprice: his favourite dog deserted him on this occasion, and, as if endued with the knowledge of his approaching fate, after he was let loose, he went and fawned on his rival Bolingbroke!

The story is very singular; and, as it relates to the transactions of this fortress, I shall here insert it, as translated by that friend and furtherer of literature, Thomas Johnnes, Esq., M.P., Havod-uchdryd :

“King Richard had a greyhound called Math, beautiful beyond measure, who would not notice nor follow any one beside the King. Whenever the King rode abroad, the greyhound+ was loosed by the person who had him in keep, and ran instantly to caress him, by placing his two fore-feet on his shoulders. It fell out that as the King and the Duke of Lancaster were conversing in the court of Flint Castle, their horses being ready for them to mount, the greyhound was untied; but instead of running as usual to the King, he left him, and leaped to the Duke of Lancaster's shoulders, paying him every court, as he used to caress the King. The Duke, not acquainted with this greyhound, asked the King the meaning of all this fondness, saying, 'What does this mean?' 'Cousin,' replied the King, 'it means a great deal for you, and very little for me.' 'How?' said the Duke;

* Stowe's Annals, p. 321.

The greyhound seems to have been a famous prognosticator in these times; for when the armies of the two rivals, John of Montford and Charles de Blois, were on the point of engaging, Lord Charles's greyhound left him, and caressed Montford, who won the battle.

'pray explain it.' 'I understand by it,' replied the King, 'that this greyhound fondles and pays his court to you this day as King of England, which you will surely be, and I shall be deposed; for the natural instinct of the dog shows it to you: keep him, therefore, by your side; for he will now leave me and follow you.' The Duke of Lancaster treasured up what the King had said, and paid attention to the greyhound, who would never more follow Richard of Bourdeaux, but kept by the side of the Duke of Lancaster, as witnessed by thirty thousand men.”—Parry's Historical Account of the Flintshire Castles.

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

EXODUS XXX. 25. "Apothecary."-More properly “perfumer." The holy oils and ointments were probably prepared by some one of the Priests who had properly qualified himself. Mr. Roberts informs us that, in the Hindoo temples, there is a man whose chief business is to distil sweet waters from flowers, and to extract oil from wood, flowers, and other substances. That our version has rendered the word by "apothecary" would sufficiently indicate that the business of a perfumer was not distinguished from that of an apothecary in the time of the translators. This we know from other sources. Thus Shakspeare, who lived not long before,

"An ounce of civet, good apothecary,

To sweeten mine imagination."

"An holy anointing oil.”—A remark on the practice of consecration by anointing will be found in a note to Lev. viii. At present we only direct attention to the fact that the prohibitions in verse 32, "Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it," clearly enough intimate that the Israelites were even thus early in the habit of applying fragrant oils to their persons. As we learn from Lev. viii., that this holy oil was poured upon Aaron's head, we may correspondingly infer that the Israelites were in the habit of employing oils for the same purpose. Indeed, we read continually of oils and ointments being used among the Hebrews for anointing their hair, heads, and beards. At their festivals they sometimes anointed the whole body, but often

only the head and the feet. Dead bodies were also anointed, to retard corruption and prevent offensive smells. For such purposes perfumed oils or ointments were employed. We nowhere read of odoriferous waters, which are now so generally used in the East; but it was not improbable that they were in use, at least in times subsequent to those before us, and may perhaps be considered as comprehended under the general name of "perfumes." The Jews certainly perfumed their clothes, and for this purpose oils and ointments would have been less convenient than fragrant waters. There is no difficulty in conceiving that they might have the art of making fragrant waters by decoction or infusion; but if the art of distillation were, as is generally supposed, unknown to the nations of antiquity, they could not have had those distilled waters which are now so conspicuous in the perfumery of the East. These, however, have not exploded such oils and ointments as the Hebrews appear to have used. With this they rub their heads and beards, while the distilled waters are more generally employed for sprinkling the clothes or beard. The common oils are made by steeping the petals of the flowers in some inodorous oil: the art of extracting the essential oil of the flower (as in making attar of roses) is not much practised, and does not appear to have been known to the Hebrews. This is designed as a general remark: the particular applications of perfumes will be noticed as they occur. With regard to the sacred oil in the text, the Rabbins say that no more of it was ever made than the quantity which was prepared under the immediate direction of Moses, as in the text. Being used with economy, they say that it served to anoint every successive High-Priest till the time of the captivity, when it was all spent. Hence the Pontiffs, from Aaron to the captivity, are called, "High-Priests anointed;" whereas those subsequent, being installed by investiture in the sacred robes, were described as "initiated in their habits." This account does not seem very probable. Moses only interdicts the preparation of this oil for private use; and from the precise manner in which the ingredients are specified, it seems to have been his intention that the original supply should, from time to time, be renewed. The Fathers of the Christian church believe that

the High-Priests continued to be anointed until the coming of the great Anointed One, the Christ.-Knight's "Illustrated Commentary."

MADELEY CHURCH.

(Concluded from page 101.)

Self-governmeNT is the great obligation imposed upon man. All the faculties of his nature are to be held in subjection, and employed in reference to right purposes and objects. Of all the laws of his mental and physical constitution, he is to avail himself for doing good and shunning evil. Even they who reject the proper rules according to which this government should be conducted, yet, if they seek to maintain the character of reasonable creatures, strongly censure those who neglect this self-control, and surrender themselves to the power of some dominant faculty or passion, instead of guiding every movement of the soul. Man is sovereign over himself; but that his administration may be wise and beneficial, he is always to remember that his sovereignty is derived and subordinate, and that for its exercise he is accountable. He is sovereign, but not absolute and supreme. He is a viceroy; and the province committed to his charge is to be governed according to the laws of his superior Lord, and for the accomplishment of his purposes.

The imagination is one of the most important faculties of human nature; but the man who allows it to be dominant will become fanciful, capricious, and increasingly unfit for the performance of duty in a world of realities. There is not a more powerful law of our whole being than that of association; that by which one thing suggests another, and which is so closely connected with the formation and strength of habit. Very easily may this suggestive faculty become the minister of sin; fruitful in devices, tyrannical in domination; as, on the other hand, the servant of God may avail himself of its aid most materially in furthering his pursuit of holiness; rendering, as he ought to do, the faculties and laws of nature subservient to the designs and influences of grace.

These reflections have been, naturally and easily, suggested by the recollection of the first forenoon after the Sabbath

which I spent at Madeley. I was going to visit a plain village-church, its churchyard, and its vicarage. Well do I remember the almost anxious eagerness with which I set

out.

I have gazed on Stonehenge, and the tumuli of the Wiltshire downs, carrying the mind back to the mysterious obscurity of an almost unrecorded history, I have walked in Westminster Abbey, where almost every step reminded me of once-living men, whose influence is felt even now,—with feelings less powerful than those which on the present occasion I experienced. I thought of John Fletcher as he had been described to me; for although almost all those persons who had seen him, have followed him into eternity, yet tradition is so very recent as scarcely to be entitled to the name. It may still be called personal recollection. On one point all were agreed,-the impressive nobleness of his appearance. On one occasion, disturbances among miners were apprehended, and a number of gentlemen had come from different parts of the neighbourhood, mostly on horseback. Mr. Fletcher joined them, likewise on horseback. It was said to me that such was his person, his air, that he seemed as if he were the first gentleman in the assembly. Every movement was dignified. His humility, as it was unassuming, had nothing that even looked like meanness. His condescension was not supercilious. His dignity was not arrogant. Evidently he owed much to nature and education; but it was his enlightened and fervent Christianity that consolidated, harmonized, and polished the whole. And why should he not have been thus? The gentleman is but an image of the Christian. The true Christian, he is the true gentleman. Tradition intimates that the personal advantages of St. Paul were not great; that his stature and general appearance were against him. Let that be as it may, he who could write the Epistle to Philemon, and the thirteenth chapter of the first of Corinthians, could not but be a gentleman in the highest sense of the word. Holiness, with faith, would give him dignity; charity, gracefulness; for it "doth not behave itself unseemly."

From our temporary and pleasant home, we set out for Madeley church and vicarage. After a short walk we

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