But we must hastily pass over intervening events, and come at once to the closing moments of his life. The narrative of these is brief, but full of interest. His latter end was peace. Nothing but death was anticipated by himself, and he spent his concluding days as one who knew that he was soon to pass into the presence of his God. The narrative of his biographer is as follows:

"He could see little of his children, but every morning they brought him primroses and spring flowers, which he received with singular pleasure; and so long as his strength allowed him, he came into the drawing room, where they met at tea, and spoke to them on religion, prayer, and love to God and to one another. He bade Mrs Welsh let him know if ever the doctor thought his end approaching, that he might speak to each child and servant apart, and also to a fellow-sufferer, a niece of Mrs Welsh's, who was much endeared to him. He was, however, denied this warning.

" Latterly he read nothing, besides the Bible, but Owen on Spiritual Mindedness, and the Olney Hymns. He loved much to have a verse or two of the Bible read to him from time to time.

"For a few days before his death, Dr Andrew Combe, an old and intimate acquaintance who had gone to Helensburgh, in very bad health himself, kindly visited him professionally. During the last drive he took, which was on the closing day of his life-the 24th of April-Mrs Welsh, remarking on the mercies and comforts with which they were surrounded, mentioned, among them, the attendance of his old friend Dr Combe, who corresponded regarding him with his ordinary Edinburgh medical advisers, but added despondingly, But what has it all done for you?' He replied with much solemnity-' It has done this; it has shown that it comes from the hand of God, all second causes are so favourable?' When he got home he pressed Mrs Welsh to take dinner along with him -was more cheerful than usual, and after dinner, slept for a little, leaning his head on the table.

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"On his waking up, Mrs Welsh began, as usual, to read occasionally a verse or two from the Bible. She had read the tenth verse of the 61st chapter of Isaiah: I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.'

"He turned the passage, as was his wont, into a fervent prayer; and in a few moments afterwards, stretching out his arms, he passed into the presence of his God and Saviour.

"His body was conveyed to Edinburgh to be buried. The universal sorrow there felt, and the respect in which he had been held, showed themselves in the great assemblage of those who, uninvited, attended his funeral. His remains were followed to the grave by the Free Presbytery of Edinburgh, the Professors of the New College, the Session of St George's, of which he was a member, and a number of elders and dea

cons of other congregations, together with a large body of the inhabitants, including several of the clergy of other denominations, and of his former colleagues in the Senatus of the university. The students of the New College led the sad procession, and opening when they reached the grave, into two ranks, the body of their beloved teacher was borne hetween them to its resting place.”—Pp. 136, 137.

Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth.' The Free Church has suffered many bereavements during these past three years and a half. Some of her best sons have already gone down to the tomb. She could but ill spare them; yet they are gone. She needed every one of them, but they will serve her no more. They rest from their labours. She must move forward without them to the toil and the battle. We look anxiously around for the raising up of fresh labourers. There remains much land to be possessed. Many of our important charges and stations are still vacant. O that God would raise up men for us! If we are crippled and narrowed in our efforts just now in our infancy, we have cause for alarm. Want of men for home service is at this moment even more sensibly felt than want of labourers abroad. Our professorships may be well filled up, but we need labourers to reap the fields that are whitening to the harvest. Never did the ' remembrancers of Jehovah' need more fervently to plead with him, than at the present time regarding labourers for the unreaped fields. The Free Church of Scotland might now take session, not only of the breadth of Scotland, but of England too, had she but men! Look at London; it has twelve in its presbytery; but what are these to the tens of thousands that are dying there uncared for, and unvisited? Look at Birmingham, only one church, and that one without a minister! Look at Liverpool, only four to all its vast population! Look at Manchester,—the same. Look at Newcastle, only two ministers in all that crowded city, where Satan has so awfully set his seat. Look at the many other cities of England, with their multitudes unsought for and untended, fast lapsing into Puseyism, or Popery, or Socialism. Look at these, and let us arise! Look at these, and let us plead with the Dispenser of gifts to his Church, that he would pour out his Spirit upon Great Britain to call forth and fit out men for the ministry of his Gospel. What shall we do when the battle is joined, and the whole adverse line moves on against us, if even in the present skirmish of outposts, we find ourselves so deficient in numbers, and strength, and discipline.

pos

*We have been unable to notice the sermons of Dr Welsh, which form the larger portion of this volume. They possess the well-known characteristics of the authorclearness, vigour, and power. We can merely notice them, however, without attempting to analyse or even to criticise them.

ART. III.-Greece under the Romans. A Historical View of the condition of the Greek Nation, from the time of its Conquest by the Romans, until the Extinction of the Roman Empire in the East. By GEORGE FINLAY, K.R G., Member of the American Antiquarian Society, and Corresponding Member of the Archæological Institute at Rome. William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1844.

THE Conquests of Alexander open a new era in the world's history. Before his time, when one empire melted into another, it was little else than the governing power that was altered. A battle, perhaps, was fought a capital stormed-a royal family massacred; but the mass of the population knew no change. Their institutions, their trade, their manufactures, all remained as before. The tribes who were not contiguous to the seat of government, had no intercourse with the monarch. Indeed, history shows us, that often they did not know who their sovereign was, or at least, that they substituted in their annals for his name, the name of the satrap by whom they were immediately governed. But the Macedonian transplanted into the East the free institutions of Greece. Greek colonies, Greek civilization, Greek municipal rights, sprung up everywhere along his march; and such was the permanence of this system of policy, that the institutions of Rome were ultimately fused into it, and it only passed away before the conquests of the Mahomedans. The subsequent division of the Grecian monarchy into four independent kingdoms had also a beneficial tendency. The immense amount of wealth which had been set free for useful purposes by the conquest of Persia, was thus prevented from being again concentrated in one metropolis. Rival cities rose-commerce was powerfully stimulated-and innumerable new channels opened for the trade of the world. The present has been called the age of great cities:' we think the term more appropriately belongs to the age immediately succeeding the conquest of Persia. The Greek population diffused throughout Asia found wealth flowing rapidly in upon them-their numbers increased in a rapidly augmenting ratio. Unfortunately for themselves, however, they formed the dominant class in Asia-public opinion was powerless-the foundations of morality were soon sappedand universal corruption prevailed. Even among the European Greeks, the neighbourhood of the Asiatic monarchies soon vitiated public opinion, destroyed national feelings, and made the free states dependent on Macedon, Syria, and Egypt.

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VOL. XIX. NO. IV.

2 H

Such, then, was the state of the Greek nation, when the growing power of the Romans first brought their legions into contact with them; and we cannot wonder that their resistance should have been powerless.

"Peace alone, to the reflecting Greeks, seemed capable of restoring security of property, and of re-establishing due respect for the principles of justice; and peace seemed only attainable by submission to the Romans. The continuation of a state of war, which was rapidly consuming the resources of the land, was regarded by the independent Greeks as a far greater evil than the acknowledgment of the Roman supremacy. So ardently was the termination of the contest desired by the great body of the people, that a common proverb, expressive of a wish that the Romans might speedily prevail, was everywhere current. Unless we are quickly lost, we cannot be saved.' ” P. 26.

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From this point properly begins the history of Greece under the Romans."

The Romans affected no sort of uniformity in their method of governing their conquests. In each particular case they adopted that system which seemed calculated to produce a willing dependence. And thus it very frequently happened, that the provinces were allowed to maintain their own local governments, in so far as these did not interfere with the supreme executive. This was especially the case in regard to Greece, for there they found it impossible to abolish the local administration. Many even of the smaller states retained their own political government; and the Grecian cities, both in Europe and Asia, even so late as the time of Justinian, (A.D. 533), possessed their ancient municipal institutions. The immediate effect of this state of matters, was to maintain in all their force the old jealousies which prevailed between the several states, and thus render it an easier task for Rome to keep the whole in subjection; but ultimately this national organization absorbed the Roman power altogether, and long before the empire expired, it had become Greek. There was therefore nothing in the mere fact of their having come under the dominion of the Romans, that should have prevented the prosperity of the Greeks. They might, but for other causes, have enjoyed the greatest felicity of a nation,undisturbed repose.

It is not our intention to trace minutely the history of the gradual decay of the population of Greece, properly so called. Its decline is referable to causes which are already tolerably well understood. The piratical inroads which followed the Mithridatic war, and to which the conformation of their coast rendered the Greeks peculiarly liable, led the way in impoverishing the nation. The oppressive system of Roman taxation completed

their ruin, although they might possibly have borne up even under it, had not the extensive commerce which they had enjoyed been destroyed by the fiscal regulations of the empire. The Romans despised commerce, looked on merchants as little better than cheats, and were not likely, therefore, to adopt measures for fostering trade. Privileges and monopolies were granted to merchants and manufacturers; and although the customs were not exorbitant, the administration of the law was burden

some.

An

Nor did agriculture fare better. It was beneath the notice of the haughty Romans, but did not enjoy that which might perhaps have been expected for it-the felicity of being let alone. At the first conquest of Greece, many of the inhabitants had been sold into slavery. All of these had been landed proprietors, and much land therefore was left uncultivated. Extortions and confiscations increased the amount, until the smaller proprietors entirely disappeared. The immense distribution of grain at Rome, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Antioch, deeply injured the agriculture of the provinces, and its ruin was completed by the methods which were resorted to in the latter ages of the empire for increasing the amount of the public revenues. exact account was kept of the number of slaves employed upon each farm, and a proportionate tax levied from the proprietor, who was also made liable for the capitation tax of such free labourers as he employed. Gradually slaves and labourers became attached to the soil, government having an interest in preventing their quitting it. The slaves rose, and the labourers sunk to the condition of serfs. This was, however, in fact, an improvement upon the state of society which had immediately preceded it. The peasants had, since the disappearance of the smaller proprietors, been cruelly treated, and were fast disappearing, their places being supplied by slaves, of which there had been a ready supply so long as the career of foreign conquest remained unchecked, but as soon as ever inroads were made on Greece by barbarous nations, the slaves disappeared. Having nothing to leave, they hesitated not to follow new masters, and of all the booty which the soldier could lay his hands on, slaves could be transported with most facility and resold at the least disadvantage. Legislation then took a new turn. The imperial revenues were in danger of suffering from the want of cultivators for the land, and it was necessary, therefore, to astrict the slave to the soil. This was actually the first step in improving the condition of the slave, and towards the extinction of slavery.

The gradual extinction of the peasantry rendered it very diffi