dim taper of nature did not afford the illumination they sought. Socrates contemplated a future re-union with his former friends. Plato represents him as thus addressing the judges and the assembled court at Athens, when sentence of death had been pronounced upon him :-" If death be a passage from this place to another, and the regions below are a place of rendezvous for those who lived here; pray, my judges, what greater good can a man imagine? At what rate would not you purchase a conference with Musaus, Hesiod, and Homer? For my part, if such a thing were practicable, I would die a thousand times to enjoy so great a pleasure. What transports of joy shall I encounter, when I meet Palamedes, Ajax the Telamonian, and all the heroes of antiquity! But the infinitely greatest and most valuable pleasure will consist in spending the time in putting questions and interrogatories to those great men. Who would not give all he has in this world for a conference with him who led the numerous army against Troy, or Ulysses, or Sisyphus, and tens of thousands of other men and women, whose conversation and discoveries would afford an inexpressible felicity?" Still, death was a leap in the dark." How different the words of St. Paul, when the time of his departure was at hand! The "ifs" of the Athenian sage appear gloomy and uncertain, when contrasted with the confident language of true believers in Jesus, "who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel." They have the clear prospect of sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. They know that, when Christ shall appear, they "shall be like Him," for they "shall see Him as He is."

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J. B.

ANECDOTES OF THE TIMES OF THE IRISH REBELLION,

A.D. 1798.

I Do not know anything that tends more to strengthen our faith in a Divine and particular providence, than the relation of striking instances in which it has been displayed in favour of others. "Thus, and thus," we say, "might it have been with us. Thus, and thus, would the Lord have dealt with us also, if we had put our whole trust in Him." "Who ever trusted in the Lord, and was confounded?" No one has ever yet been found hardy enough to take up that Divine challenge, and say, "I trusted in the Lord, and He failed me in my time of need." And none shall ever be able to make crooked what God has inade straight.

These reflections have occurred to me as I thought over my own early days, and their associations; some of which are closely connected with a very worthy man who was in my father's employment, and was highly trusted by him for many years; and from whom I have often heard thrilling anecdotes of the fearful days of '98. J. B. was a native of Taghmon, in the County Wexford, and was at the time of the outbreak a lad of ten or eleven years old. I could gather from him that his mother was a God-fearing woman, one who loved her Bible, and found it a precious

refuge in her time of trouble. This respectable family were of the yeoman class, and lived on their comfortable farm in a neighbourhood thickly inhabited by Protestants of their own class in life, to whom the principles of the Reformation were "household words." B.'s father and uncle lived near each other; and, when the country became disturbed, the two families joined for mutual protection and society, and were all domiciled at J.'s home. As night drew on, the women and children trembled while they thought of the deeds of blood of which they had been hearing; and the strong men prepared themselves to defend what was dearer to them than life itself. If the morning dawned without the expected attack, their feelings of gratitude to their Divine Preserver cheered them on through the duties of another day. "Troubles come in troops," says the proverb; and so it was found when B.'s father was laid upon a sick-bed at this trying season. At length the long-dreaded night arrived; and the two families, on the first alarm, took refuge in the sick-room,-an upper chamber, which they barricaded as strongly as they could: for, even if they could have deserted the sick man, the numbers of the enemy would have prevented any attempt at a defence. Necessity and prudence compelled them to lie quiet, and wait the course of events, in simple dependence on the God of hosts. And there they cowered together, while B.'s mother, by snatches, bent over the old family-Bible, endeavouring to stay her fainting spirit upon the promises of God to His tried people. They had heard the marauders burst into their peaceful dwelling, which they rifled of everything worth their notice; and then the unrelenting intruders determined to force the poor people out of their little sanctuary in the sick-room, by firing shots into it from the lower apartment. This they did repeatedly; one of the balls tearing the skirt of a child's coat, but happily leaving the little wearer uninjured. Poor old B., restless alike from disease and anxiety, often turned from side to side in his bed; and on one occasion, as he stretched out his right arm to gather the bed-clothes about him, he was sensible of a sudden glow of heat, passing rapidly between his arm and side, which he could not account for, until he saw the rafters over his head torn by a ball, which had actually glanced between his arm and side, and lodged in the roof of the house!

The rebels, at length finding their efforts ineffectual to dislodge the poor prisoners, had set the house on fire, and were hurrying away to some other deed of violence; when, providentially, a patrolling party of the king's troops came up with them, and gave the evil-doers the reward of their deeds. The party, who were Hessians, then halted at B.'s house. But, as they could not understand our language, they thought their commission was to destroy all whom they found in coloured clothes; believing that all the Irish people were the enemies of our good king. And I may note, in passing, that the innocent often suffered with the guilty at that period, owing to the employment of this foreign aid. The serjeant of the party in question, however, was an Englishman,-happily for B. and the rest. On entering the upper room, now open for escape from the fire which had

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begun to appear, his eye lighted on the large open Bible; and, turning to the trembling Mrs. B., he said, "Does this Bible belong to the house?" She replied, that it was their family-Bible, and had been her only support during that terrible night. "Come, then," said the worthy soldier, no harm shall happen to any of you. We will bring you with us at once to our camp, and take care of you till better times." The sick man was assisted to rise immediately; and, with what articles of clothing they could gather up in their haste, not forgetting that book of books which had been the instrument of their safety, the two families were transported to the royal camp by their Hessian escort, and there they lived at free quarters for about three weeks, when comparative peace was restored, and arrangements made for their further shelter until they could obtain compensation for their loss, and rebuild their once-comfortable homestead. The worthy mother did not very long survive the anxieties of '98; and now parents and children are, I trust, safe together "where the wicked cease from troubling." Surely may the righteous say, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

The advocates of peace principles have alleged, that those members of the Society of Friends (commonly called Quakers) who were true to their maxim of non-resistance enjoyed a striking immunity from the outrages of '98. The incident I am about to relate would at first sight seem rather to contradict such an assertion; but we shall afterwards see the truth, not merely of the oft-quoted statement, but also of that scripture, "Them that honour me I will honour."

A gentleman of property, of the above persuasion, resided in the County Wexford in '98; a simple-minded, Christian man, whose character for truth and integrity had been unimpeachable from youth to age. We know that, at the lawless period to which we refer, evil-minded persons who were not exactly engaged in the rebellion found a rich harvest of ill-gotten gain by rifling the houses of the gentry; and, as the domestic servants in general were not trust-worthy, they often gave admittance to the burglars, in order to share their spoils. Not all Mr. R.'s well-known urbanity and benevolence could preserve him from the general fate. His house was marked as an object of plunder, and broken into by a daring party. This man of peace offered no more substantial resistance than the passive one of bolts, bars, and locks; and therefore soon became a prey to the spoiler. The party, however, were well aware, from their domestic information, of the exact inventory of valuables they had to expect; and, having secured the plate, money, &c., one of them, turning to Mrs. R., said, "Where is your gold watch, Madam? for we know that you have one." She had a very valuable gold watch, which, on the first alarm, she had concealed in her bosom. Against the dictates of her conscience, she denied the fact, her good husband standing by. For a moment he seemed to forget the presence of the robbers, and, turning to his wife, gave her the sharpest rebuke she had ever heard from his lips. "Mary!" he said,

"I am ashamed of thee. And wouldest thou, then, tell a lie, and barter thy sweet peace, for the sake of thy watch?" Such a reproof, from such a husband, must have gone right home to the heart of the wife; for immediately, with tears and blushes, she pulled out her watch, and surrendered it to the robbers. The party, having thus accomplished their design, departed without offering any personal violence. They would indeed have been double-dyed in wanton cruelty, who could further molest this harmless pair. They were, however, differently received on another expedition soon afterwards; and the whole party given up into the hands of justice, with all their plunder, amongst which Mrs. R.'s watch, bearing her initials, was found. When application was made to Mr. R. on the subject, he immediately went forward and identified his property, which was restored to him just as it had been taken, not an article missing.—In this instance, also, we see that "godliness" was "profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

What a cheering truth it is, that "the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous," and over them for good, at all times, and in all places! This good, however, is often brought about by what we in our blindness might call inefficient means. Lest any flesh should glory in His presence, God brings about His own wise purposes by things of nought, and persons little valued by men. He sees not as we do. The little captive maid was the chosen instrument in His hands, to bring health of body and soul to her proud master, Naaman the Syrian. She was a servant of the right stamp. The following incident embodies the character of another maid-servant, who, true as steel to her master and his family, had her sole reward in being made the instrument of saving them from threatened ruin. And not merely that family, but the large and populous town of C, in the south of Ireland, where the writer of this paper first drew breath.

The rebellion had been raging for some time, and the rolling wave drew nearer and nearer to C, while the fool-hardy inhabitants, despising their enemy, could not bring themselves to believe that these would have the presumption to attack so important a place; and therefore they rested on their oars, without employing those active precautionary measures that might have insured the fulfilment of their sanguine dream of safety. The barracks were good, but insufficiently guarded; and, just at this particular juncture, the troops quartered there had been obliged to scatter their forces, in order to give protection to a number of neighbouring districts inhabited by the country gentry. The detachments were all within a few miles, and could easily have been concentrated, if necessary: but, as they were scattered, and the people were dreaming of security, the rebels thought it too good an opportunity to be lost,-especially, as they had some friends in the town, who would aid and abet their interests, if they once got a footing. Accordingly a plan was laid to surprise the barracks. The agents were named, the party chosen, and all in readiness, without a suspicion on the part of the townsfolk. The intelligence had been secretly conveyed to

VOL. IX.-FIFTH SERIES.

D

a person in the rebel interest in C, and his commission was to have the adherents in readiness at a certain hour that night to receive and assist the appointed party. This man was talking it over softly to a chosen confederate in a field outside the town, and had no idea that he could be overheard,- -as he was, by a servant-girl who was milking her master's cow in a little croft close by, divided from the field by a high hedge. The prudent girl waited quietly till the plotters had disappeared over the opposite ditch into the road, and then she hastened to her master, and told him all that she had been able to gather of the plot : for, though a Roman Catholic herself, she was a conscientious one, and so attached to the family she served, that she would run any personal risk for their sakes. Her master lost not a moment in repairing to the barracks, and alarming the military, who immediately, but with all secrecy, put themselves into a posture for defence, and from one of their outposts laid an ambush that surprised the rebels on their approach to the town. They were thus thrown quite off their guard, and in their confusion took refuge in some houses near the barracks, where they were quickly overtaken by the troops, and as quickly made to answer for their guilty designs. "He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made." The Lord had even then a praying few in C, and for their sakes the town was spared through the instrumentality of a simple milk-maid. We may well say, "What hath God wrought!" R. S. T.

THE SPANISH CONFESSORS.

M. MATAMOROS TO MR. GREENE.

Granada, Prison of the Audiencia, October 5th, 1862.

MY DEAR AND ZEALOUS BROTHER IN HIM WHO IS OUR LIFE, and our FAITH, AND OUR HOPE,-Two years ago the Governor of Granada sent the order for my capture, and for the examination of my house. I was seized, was taken to a miserable prison, and from that time until now you know what a chain of suffering has bound me; you know how much honour has been put upon me; for it is a glory and a joy to be permitted to suffer for Jesus' sake. Well, now my enemies, not yet satisfied, have condemned me to suffer eight years of the galleys, and to the judgment of all the costs. I am twenty-seven, and I am going to the galleys; to a horrible place, which is intended for the shame and sorrow of those who dwell there. But there is neither shame nor sorrow for me! My soul rejoices in Jesus. I, a poor miserable sinner, have been chosen by the Lord to suffer; and in this there is no shame, but honour, wonderful honour for me: for I do not deserve this distinction, and I am very grateful to my Master who has granted it to me.

The time has come, dear friend, when I, deprived by men of all rights of citizenship, must enter upon my punishment-must go to the place which