O Britain, much hast thou to boast and much
To blush for such thy deeds, thy safety such.
Yet boast not; lay thy mouth in dust, and own
His mercy, whose long-suffering stays the frown!
But ceasing, now, the secrets to explore
Of time, and generations gone before,

And less prepared with curious glance to pry
Into the stores of dark futurity,

To what conclusion shall our theme be brought;
What present truth to those who hear be taught?
Man toils, his works, by time subdued, decay,
Or, should he borrow aught their fall to stay,
Nature the metal, gem or rock provides,
That in its own inherent strength abides ;
Or, tractable beneath his hand, she takes
The form of art, and art perpetual makes.
So stands this pile which, but that art has left
His signet here, might seem a mountain cleft
By earthquake, while huge torrents from above
Labour'd the lighter covering to remove:

So rise yon mounds and heave the turf on high,
Tombs that with thine, Egyptian Memphis! vie,
Nor fear the wasting influence of the sky.

6

"The money was all in odd sorts of coins, such as four-penny half-penny pieces, nine-penny pieces, thirteen-penny-half-penny pieces, and the like; but nevertheless the Devil's proposal seemed so very advantageous, that, notwithstanding the difficulty there would be in reckoning the money, the old woman could not avoid complying with it, as she imagined the removal of her stones by a single man, would be a work of almost infinite time; and that she should be able to tell as much money, while it should be about, as would make her as rich as a princess. But the bargain was no sooner made, and she had no sooner laid her fingers on a four-penny half-penny coin, than the Devil, with an audible voice, cried out, hold,' and said,' the stones are gone:' The old woman, disregarding what he said, however peeped out into her backside, and, to her great amazement, it was even so as Satan had spoken; for the common deceiver of mankind in an instant took down the stones, bound them up in a wyth, and conveyed them to Salisbury Plain; but just before he got to Mount Ambre, the wyth slackened, and as he was crossing the river Avon at Bulford, one of the stones dropped down into the water, where it lies to this very hour; the rest were immediately reared up on the spot of ground destined by Merlin for them; and the Devil, pleased with the accomplishment of his work, declared, upon fixing the last stone, that nobody should be ever able to tell how the fabric, or any of the parts of which it is composed, came there.

"A Friar, who had lain all night concealed near the building, hearing the Devil's declaration, replied to it by saying, that is more than thee canst tell;' which put Satan into such a passion, that he snatched up a pillar and hurled it at the Friar, with an intention to bruise him to dirt; but he running for his life, the stone in it's fall only reached his heel, and struck him in it; the mark of which appears in that pillar even unto this day. Vid. Wood's Stonehenge, p. 70.

Short lived and perishing, compared with these,
The chisel's wonders, studied pomps that please
An age refined: not rude as these I view,
Sublime in massive greatness, but in due
Proportion form'd, and gorgeous symmetry,
Alike t'instruct and please the tutor❜d eye-
Solid or light, their date fulfill'd, they fall,

And join Earth's common mass, the womb the grave of all!
Not so works Nature's GOD; his plastic power,
Wasting, repairs the waste from hour to hour,
Still his vast plan sustains, makes hills subside
And vallies rise, restrains with sand the tide
By tempests urg'd, or with resistless sway
Sends torrents down, to sweep earth's face away;
Where, yet, the springing blade again shall know
Its time to rise, and sheltering thickets grow.
'Tis He beneath the flow'ry turf bids rise

Fires, that whole mountains mingle with the skies, (e)
Then, ere the dreary waste has cool'd around,

Renews and clothes with life the fruitful ground:

As if to trembling mortals he would prove
How, still His awful ire is ruled by love.
Cætera desunt.

"Giraldus Cambrensis says, there was in Ireland in ancient times, a pile of stones, worthy admiration, called the Giant's Dance; because giants, from the remotest parts of Africa, brought them into Ireland; and in the plains of Kildare, not far from the castle of Naase, as well by force of art as strength, miraculously set them up. These stones Aurelius Ambrosius, King of the Britains, procured Merlin by supernatural means to bring from Ireland into Britain. And, that he might leave some famous monument of so great a treason, to after ages, in the same order, and art as they stood formerly, set them up; where the flower of the British nation fell by the cut-throat practice of the Saxons; and where under the pretence of peace, the ill secured youth of the kingdom, by murdrous designs were slain. Vid. Jones's Stonehenge, p. 12. Rainulph monk of Chester saith, 'Ambrosius's brother, Uther Pendragon, by help of Merlin the prophet, brought Choream Gigantum, that is Stonehenge, out of Ireland. Stonehenge is now in the plain of Salisbury: Of that bringing of Stonehenge out of Ireland speeketh the British story, if it should lawfully be ytrowed.'

"Polydore Virgil saith, the Britons, in memory of his great achievments for the commonwealth, erected a magnificent sepulchre to their chieftain Ambrosius, made of great square stones, in form of a crown, even in that place where fighting he was slain; that the prowess of so great a commander should neither be forgotten among themselves, who then lived, or left unremembered to posterity. Which monument remains even to this day, in the diocese of Salisbury, near unto the village called Ambresbury. Vid. Jones's Stonehenge, p. 18.

(e) The volcanic mountain Jorullo, 1200 feet in height, was thrown up from he level ground during a single absence of the sun. Humboldt.

ART. II. Quaker Registers of Marriages, Births, and Burials. Continued from Volume Second, p. 384.

"Two registers of every marriage, agreeable to the following form, are to be signed at a convenient time on the day of marriage, by the parties themselves, and by three witnesses. These registers are to be delivered to the monthly meeting, next occuring, to which the woman belonged, and to be there carefully examined. One of them is to be securely preserved in the book kept for that purpose, belonging to the monthly meeting, and the other is to be taken to the quarterly meeting, to be fixed in its marriage register book and indexes.

took each other in in the

Daughter of H. G.

Marriage, in a public assembly of the people called Quakers, at

[Care is to be taken, in filling up the above form, to insert the occupations or other usual addition, as well as the residence of the several persons mentioned in it. If the woman has been previously married, she should be described as the widow of her last husband.]

"In every monthly meeting one or more proper persons are to be appointed to give out birth notes, and burial notes; who are to fill them up agreeably to the prescribed forms, or to take care that the same be properly done; also to enter into the check margin of each note, the name of the person to whom such notes are delivered, and the other requisite particulars; the check margins are to be carefully preserved. No burial is to take place before the issuing of a burial

note.

Forms of the Birth and Burial Notes.

BIRTH NOTE.

[Two of these are to be properly filled up, inserting the father's occupation, or other usual addition, and residence, and to be signed. If there be more than one child at a birth, each child is to be mentioned in the birth notes in the order of birth, and in such case, an additional note or notes are to be executed. These several [i. e. the two above-mentioned. Ed.] birth notes are to be alike in all respects.]

We, who were present at the said birth, have subscribed our names as Witnesses thereof:

Here insert a son, a daughter, two sons, &c. as the case may be.
The residences of Witnesses to be added to their signatures.

BURIAL NOTE.

[To be properly filled up, inserting the description, occupation, or other usual addition, and residence of the deceased.]

[To be here signed by the Friend appointed to give out burial notes.]

The body above mentioned was buried the

Day of the

Grave-Maker.

This note to be delivered by the Grave-Maker, as soon as may be, to the person who signed it, or to be forwarded to the proper meeting, for the purpose of making the registry.

"In every monthly meeting, a suitable friend is to be appointed as registrar of marriages, births, and burials. The registers of births and burials are to be made agreeably to the following plans; and they are to be entered by the friend appointed as registrar, from the birth notes and burial notes, after they have passed the monthly meeting.

"No mistake that happens to be made in a register is to be erased, but to be corrected by drawing a line through the same, so as to leave it legible; and what should have been written, is to be inserted near it, and to be authenticated by the registrar's signing the initials of his name thereto. No contractions are to be used either in filling up any of the foregoing forms, or in the registers, except that in the latter, dates may be expressed by figures.

Forms of the Monthly Meeting Registers of Births and Burials.

BIRTHS.

When Born. Where Born. | Name. Son or Names of Residence. |Description of

Daughter Parents.

the Father.

BURIALS.

When died. Name. | Age. [Residence. | Description. When buried. Where buried.

"Birth notes and burial notes are to be taken to the monthly meeting, there read, and the duplicate (or triplicate, &c. as the case may be) birth notes compared, and all signed by the clerk; one birth note is to be delivered to the registrar, and the other or others given to the parents: the registrar, after entering the notes in the book kept for that purpose, and filling up the index, is to forward them to the quarterly meeting, at least once within the year: they are then to be fixed into a proper book and indexed.

"Burials are to be registered in the monthly meeting in which the burial ground is situated; and if the deceased were not a member of such monthly meeting, the burial note is to be afterwards forwarded to the monthly meeting to which such deceased person did belong, to be there also registered, and sent from that meeting only to the quarterly meeting. But seeing that the burial grounds in the six monthly meetings of London are the joint property of those meetings, it shall suffice that burials in those grounds, of members of any of the said meetings, be registered in the monthly meeting to which the deceased did belong, and the burial notes taken thence to the quarterly meeting.

"Children who have not a birthright in our religious society, may be registered upon application made for that purpose. Burials of persons, not members of our religious society, may also take place in our burial grounds, provided they be, in all respects, conducted as the burials of friends are conducted [without a form. Ed.] but no meeting for worship is to be appointed on any such occasion. In both instances it is to be stated on the notes and in the register, that the individuals are not in membership with us. Friends are to exercise discretion in complying with any application that may be made in the before-mentioned cases. "Monthly meetings are in all cases to make a record on their minutes, of the names of those for whom birth and burial notes, or marriage registers have been produced: and when the record is of the birth or burial of any one who was not a member of our religious society, the same is to be briefly noticed in the minute. The friend who gives out the birth or burial note, is to notice such cases as are last described in the check which he keeps, and also to take care that the monthly meeting is informed of the circumstance when the note is produced.

"In the case of any witness not being able to write, the affixing of his or her mark is to be attested by the signature of another person. "Monthly meetings are, previously to the Spring quarterly meeting in every year, to appoint a committee to examine the registers of marriages, births, and burials: which committee is to ascertain by examination of the monthly meeting minutes, and of the check mar