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ing their convictions openly, were added to the ranks of the Reformers. Among these was Walter Mill, a man who had been educated and officiated as a Catholic priest. Mill had been conspicuous for his purity of character and irreproachable life, and, consequently, was just the man to give an impetus to the Reformation, when he once set about it. Accordingly, he had no sooner publicly renounced the old faith, and acknowledged his convictions for the new, than he set about, with an earnest heart and a clear conscience, in the promulgation of his recent convictions. More open and zealous than prudent, even under the favorable auspices of the Reformation at that moment, he became an object of marked distinction; the hatred of the Catholics was soon concentrated on him, and their blood boiled to be revenged.

As a proof of the risk that he ran, and the danger attendant upon open and unequivocal action at that period, we may state that the leading Reformers in Scotland, among whom were the Earl of Argyle, Lord Lorne, the Earls of Morton and Glencairn, and others of equal distinction, not daring to venture on a public demonstration for the propagation of their tenets, formed a secret association, which they denominated the Congregation of our Lord," in contradistinction to the Established Church, which they called the "Congregation of Satan." The members of this association bound themselves together by a solemn league, to which all subscribed, pledging their efforts, and even their lives in the holy cause, according to the following terms:

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"We, perceiving how Satan in his members, the Antichrist of our time, do cruelly rage, seeking to overthrow and destroy the gospel of Christ and his congregation, ought, according to our bounden duty, to strive in our Master's cause, even unto the death, being certain of the victory in Him. We do therefore promise, before the majesty of God and his congregation, that we, by his grace, shall with all diligence continually apply our whole power, substance, and our very lives, to maintain, set forward, and establish the most blessed Word of God and his congregation; and shall labor, by all possible means, to have faithful ministers, truly and purely to minister Christ's gospel and sacraments to his people: We shall maintain them,

nourish them, and defend them, the whole congregation of Christ, and every member thereof, by our whole power, and at the hazard of our lives, against Satan, and all wicked power who may ingation; unto which holy Word and congregation tend tyranny and trouble against the said congrewe do join ourselves; and we forsake and renounce the congregation of Satan, with all the superstitious abomination and idolatry thereof; and, moreover, shall declare ourselves manifestly enemies thereto, by this faithful promise before God, testified to this congregation by our subscriptions, at Edinburgh, the third day of December, 1557."

Whether the Rev. Mr. Mill was a member of this association or not, we cannot at this moment say; but certain it is that the progress of the Reformation, after the death of the Cardinal-Primate, was so rapid, that the Catholics determined, in order to check its growth, to fall back upon his bloody system of tactics; and before the existence of the secret league was made known to the public, the bold and indefatigable Mill was seized upon by the new Primate, Hamilton, and doomed as a fitting instrument for another terrible example of the fate that awaited those who dared to exercise the natural rights of conscience in opposition to the dogmas and superstitions of Papacy. He was taken to St. Andrews, and there tried for heresy, found "guilty" of course, and condemned to be burned at the stake. The public mind, however, even of the lay Catholics, was disgusted at this renewal of barbarity, and it was some time before the bishops could prevail upon a person to act as civil judge, and pronounce sentence upon the condemned man; and when this was finally accomplished, and the day of execution fixed upon, so great was the popular horror, that the shopkeepers of St. Andrews closed their shops, and refused to sell a rope to bind him to the stake; and the Primate himself was obliged to furnish one out of his own garret.

The unfortunate man went through the ordeal with a courage and firmness that seemed to the bystanders as supernatural; and he died amid the flames, still firm and faithful to the cause-a martyr for religious freedom. The people expressed their horror of the cruelty of the priests, by erecting

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A BRITISH Officer, who was in the battle | with buckskin leggins, and a broad-brimmed of New-Orleans, mentions an incident of thrilling strangeness, and one very descriptive of the Western hunter, many of whom marched to the defense of New-Orleans, as volunteers in the army under the renowned Andrew Jackson.

"We marched," said the officer, "in a solid column of twelve thousand men, in a direct line upon the American defenses. I belonged to the staff; and, as we advanced, we watched through our glasses the position and arrangements of our enemy, with that intensity an officer only feels when marching into the jaws of death, with the assurance that, while he thus offers himself a sacrifice to the demands of his country, every action, be he successful or otherwise, will be judged with the most heartless scrutiny.

"It was a strange sight, that long range of cotton bales -a new material for breastworks with the crowd of beings behind, their heads only visible above the line of defense. We could distinctly see their long rifles lying over the bales, and the battery of General Coffee directly in our front, with its great mouths gaping towards us, as if they waited to devour us, and the position of General Jackson, with his staff around him. But what attracted our attention most, was the figure of a tall man, standing on the breast works, dressed in linsey-woolsey,

felt hat, that fell around the face, almost concealing his features. He was standing in one of those picturesque, graceful attitudes, peculiar to those natural men, dwellers in forests. The body rested on the left leg, and swayed with a curved line upward; the right arm was extended, the hand grasping the rifle near the muzzle, the butt of which rested near the toe of his right foot, while with the left hand he raised the rim of the hat from his eyes, and seemed gazing from beneath intensely upon our advancing column. The cannon of General Coffee had opened upon us, and tore through our ranks with dreadful slaughter; but we continued to advance, unwavering and cool, as if nothing threatened our progress.

"The roar of cannon had no effect upon the figure standing on the cotton bales, but he seemed fixed and motionless as a statue. At last he moved, threw back the hat rim over the crown with his left hand, raised the rifle to the shoulder, took aim at our group. Our eyes were riveted upon him; at whom had he leveled his piece? But the distance was so great, that we looked at each other and smiled. We saw the rifle flash, and my right-hand companion, as noble a looking fellow as ever rode at the head of a regiment, fell from his saddle. The hunter paused a few moments, without moving the

gun from his shoulders, then reloaded, and assumed his former attitude. Throwing the hat rim over his eyes, and again holding it up with the left hand, he fixed his piercing gaze upon us, as if hunting out another victim. Once more the hat rim was thrown back, the gun raised to the shoulder. This time we did not smile, but cast short glances at each other, to see which of us must die; and when again the rifle flashed, another of us dropped to the earth. There was something the most awful in thus marching on to certain death. General Coffee's battery, and thousands of musket-balls playing upon our ranks, we cared not for-there was a chance of escaping unscathed; most of us had walked as coolly upon batteries a hundred times more destructive without quailing; but to know that every time that rifle was leveled towards us, and its bullet sprang from the barrel, one of us must as surely fall; to see the gleaming sun flash as the deadly iron came down, and see it rest, motionless as if poised upon a rock, and know, when the hammer struck, and the spark flew to the full primed pan, that the messenger of death drove unerringly to its goal-to know this, and still march on, was awful. I could see nothing but the tall figure standing on the breastworks; he seemed to grow, phantomlike, higher and higher, assuming, through the smoke, the supernatural appearance of some great spirit of death; again did he reload and discharge, and reload and discharge

his rifle with the same unfailing aim, and with the same unfailing result; and it was with indescribable pleasure that I beheld, as we neared the American lines, the sulphureous cloud gathering around us, and shutting that spectral hunter from my gaze. We lost the battle; and, to my mind, the Kentucky rifleman contributed more to our defeat than any thing else; for while he remained to our sight, our attention was drawn from our duties; and when, at last, we became enshrouded in the smoke, the work was complete, we were in utter confusion, and unable, in the extremity, to restore order sufficient to make any successful attack. We lost the battle."

So long as thousands and thousands of rifles remain in the hands of the people; so long as men come up from their childhood, able, ere the down appears on the chin, to hit the centre of a mark, or strike the deer, at one hundred and fifty yards, in the most vital point; so long as there is a great proportion of the republic who live free as the wild Indian, knowing no leader but of their own choosing, knowing no law but that of right, and the honorable observance of friendly intercourse, America is unconquerable; and all the armies of the combined world, though they might drive them from the sea-coast, and across the Alleghany Mountains, would not be able to subdue the free-souled hunter amongst the mountains, and great prairies, and mighty rivers of the West.

NATURE.

BY J. M. KNOWLTON.

EARTH is full of gladsome pleasure,
Full of beauties bright and fair,
Full of rich and sparkling treasure,
Than the choicest gems more rare!
And the heart with rapture boundeth
As it hears the quiet call,
And the spirit praises soundeth
To the Power that gives us all.

To the Power that forms the mountain,
Forms the lake, the wood, the stream,
Gives its freshness to the fountain,
To the sun its mellowing beam,

Gilds with grace and peaceful beauty Ways through which the faithful wend, Sweetens every path of duty,

May our grateful thanks ascend!

"Tis that Power that rules the season, Scents the flower and decks the tree. Gives to man the light of reason, Spreads bright verdure o'er the lea. While upon these bounties gazing, Wrapt in wonder while we gaze,

And our tongues their beauties praising, Yield their Maker all the praise!

TOWN GLIMPSES BY THE WAY-SIDE.

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BY TODO.

READER, did you ever see New-York? "Ay," says one, a thousand times ;" and another answers, "I never saw any thing else." Well, I don't mean just looking about, and walking about, inhaling the stench and fumes of the streets and cellars; but did you ever note with a careful eye the busy scenes around you the spirit that actuates, or the motive that urges the crowd which throngs around, as you hourly pass along? That man's fierce scowl, for instance, just now, as yonder stylish equipage dashes by, spattering the mud of the street upon him; or that little, squalid, mire-saturated girl, who sweeps the crossing, and humbly begs the recompense of a cent from you for her labor? These two illustrate my meaning; the extremes meet here.

He that rolled along in his carriage, made his fortune upon the ruin of him that his wheels soiled in their rapid whirl. No wonder, then, that his fierce scowl betokens hatred and revenge. And the little girl begs for a cent, honestly earned, and when rudely refused, meekly submits to her fate without repining. Are not these the extremities?

Much there is to pain you, but also much to amuse in this view of the metropolitan world. See that young man yonder, with his attempt to ape the "bearded pard" and fierce hussar, looking severe enough to frighten young misses; only, alas! nature being prematurely abused by dissipation, he resembles some bungling, unfinished piece of statuary, made by an apprentice in Nature's studio, and is thus more an object of curiosity and pity than fear. The sunken eye and tottering knee show to what class be belongs. Well, that creature's father was an honest, hard-working mechanic, and accu

mulated riches by prudence, industry, and sagacity; but his wife would have a gentleman for a son, and there he is!

The old man is dead, and the son would fain forget that his father was any thing but "a foreigner of distinction"--to wit: a French cook, or an Italian barber.

Do you see that lady who smiles so sweetly on him as they meet! She is the daughter of a Broadway merchant, supposed to have been very rich until lately; built a house in Fifth Avenue, and was living in style, as merchant-princes know how to live. One fine day his store was closed; neither he nor his partners could be found; the winding up of the concern showed twelve and a half cents to the dollar; yet this man bought a bridal-dress, the week before, at a cost of seven hundred and fifty dollars, for that gay young lady there. "Poor unfortunate!" the world said; scheming scoundrel, I say. What business had he to spend other people's money at that rate? Did he not know, when he spread a sumptuous feast on NewYear's day, that it was not his own? He had no capital of his own when he started. "Poor unfortunate!" Rogue, more like.

Are you tired of this picture! No won

der. Well, look yonder-observe that cavalcade approaching. "Hallo! what is all this about; is it to teach drones their letters? No? I declare, in this age of education, I thought that maybe those men with letters on their shoulders were commissioned to go about into the highways and byeways, so that all might learn, while attending to their ordinary employments; a new plan to teach the young idea how to shoot;' in fact, that every man might have a schoolmaster at his own door."

No, Sir, you are altogether wrong. Pray

stand here, and spell those letters in rota- fortune to him turns out "a blessing in dis

tion as they pass:

"WIZARD OF THE NORTH." "Well?"

Why, don't you see that it announces the performance of Professor Anderson, the great Wizard of the North?

"Ha, ha, ha! capital! That is a new mode of advertising."

guise;" for, while other men, with their eyes open, are puzzled to make a living for one family, this fellow manages to keep two, and well at that; for, what with silent appeals to the sympathy of passers-by, and a little show of piety in the way of church membership, he manages to keep up with the world probably better than he would if blessed with double vision: his being blind,

But here comes another of the same sort, makes others blind to his mistake of having reminding one of the old song,

Four-and-twenty fiddlers all in a row;

Spell it now.

"FELLOWS' MINSTRELS." "What does that mean?"

Mean, eh? Why, it means that ten or a dozen white men black their faces to imitate plantation negroes.

"White men degrading themselves after that fashion! Is it possible?"

Yes, and refined people, who imagine they have taste, patronize such exhibitions; persons who would scorn to be seen at a theatre, crowd such resorts nightly. To some, the difference is great betwixt tweedledum and tweedledee; so there they go to grin at negro jokes and antics, while the soi-disant darkies laugh in their sleeves at them, and pocket the "quarters." This constitutes reciprocal happiness; no one is injured, and both parties are satisfied.

Ah, here is another walking advertisement. This one is on his own hook, as the newspapers say sole editor and proprietor. There is a slight difference, however, between this one and the others: they continually perambulate, this one is more often stationary. Read his placard:

"I AM BLIND."

children by different mothers, whose ages (the children's, not the mothers') are within a few days of the same. Poor fellow, he cannot see, and therefore knows not his wife from any other; it isn't his fault, 'tis his misfortune.

"But, after all, don't you think it a pity to see a man, made in the image of God, converted into a walking sign-board?"

Oh, if you have reference to those alphabet-carriers, I can't say that they are any worse off than many others-an editor, for instance. In fact, I think the pasteboard man is the more to be envied of the two. Only think of the goodness of a man's heart, who consents to be labeled for the benefit of his fellow-men. Why, it is a new feature

in the moral world; every body passes by, looking in wonder and respect on the pasteboard hero, as he walks calmly and placidly along the street, saying 'nothing to no body,' and yet so eloquent all over. One would almost have said his corporeal body thought, looking as if he was quite unconscious of any thing in particular, and yet all the time practising a silent ventriloquism—readable, also, in the rear, like a book, telling a great deal in the back-title.

Is he not to be envied? Talk about dignity! I should like to know in what consists the difference between the walking placard and the lying editor. Placard lets out his body for so much a day, for the purpose of asserting a few questionable facts' about negro melodies, matchless pain extractors, and what not; and in like manner Never mind, my friend, keep your sym- does Mr. Editor let out his brains, daily or pathy for a more fitting object. That mis-weekly, to detail all the dubious facts or

"So, that is the reason of your remaining in statu quo. Well, well; what a pity that a man should be compelled to publish his misfortunes to the world, with a tin sign suspended about his neck!"

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