formal summons, but in vain, the seer came not. The pagan conspirators were evidently chagrined, anxiously looking for him who was to have undertaken the chief part in this iniquitous proceeding. An awful silence pervaded the assembly. All eyes were directed towards the avenue whereby the several parties presented themselves.

The Christian ministers stood with arms folded on their breasts, patiently awaiting the result. Very different was the behaviour of their adversaries; they seemed full of alarm, and evidently under an apprehension as to the ultimate fate of their project.

Just as the stillness was beginning to be interrupted by a busy hum through the crowd, and gradually increasing by reason of the protracted nature of these proceedings, the Queen was observed to speak with great earnestness in the ear of her royal spouse. listened attentively, and, as he rose up in haste, all was again silent.

He

"The Queen will send trusty messengers unto the place of sacrifice yesternight, for we are told that a solemn assembly was in truth held there in the temple of our gods. Let the accused and the accusers be straitly guarded, that they stir not hence until our messengers return. In the mean while we adjourn our court."

The high-priest and his company were now in close

converse.

"Of a certainty," said one, "Wulfric hath concealed the carcase."

"He faileth not,” replied the high-priest, in those things whereunto he is appointed."

"Then are we safe," said they all, "and the victory is ours."

The return of the messengers was anxiously looked

for, and few of the spectators stirred from the spot, though scattered in groups promiscuously about the plain.

A longer interval had elapsed than seemed requisite for their reappearance. The King looked impatient, and was about to send others to ascertain the cause of the delay, when a cry was heard that they were approaching. Every eye was turned with intense expectation towards the entrance; and it was evident that the pagan priests were much disturbed, though they strove to conceal their fears. A dense crowd followed close on the heels of the messengers, pressing round so as to impede and almost conceal their progress. The cause of their delay was soon evident. A dead body was borne between them, which they laid at the feet of the King. A loud wail rent the air from the Christian missionaries. The corpse was apparelled precisely as their superior when he set forth on his perilous adventure. They pressed forward to look upon it, when the ghastly features of the sorcerer met their view.

"Where gat ye this bloody carcase?" inquired the King in great amazement.

"He lay by the altar stone yonder, as now he lieth at your highness' feet. But another cometh, who will shew forth the meaning to our gracious liege."

Slowly, and apparently with some difficulty, a tall figure, habited in a similar garb, came into the assembly. He threw aside his hood, and the overjoyed disciples of the truth again beheld the countenance of their chief.

"What is the meaning of this diabolical outrage?" inquired the King. "Speak, we want thy testimony."

Waving his right hand, Augustine, with a slow and emphatic enunciation, spoke as follows:

"My gracious liege hath doubtless been told ere now, that by a cunning plot I was enticed away from my companions, together with the manner of my going. I followed the guide in silence, and unsuspectingly I was thrust into the very den of these wicked ones. But the God whom we serve hath delivered thy servant. He taketh the wise in their own counsels, and the wicked in their own craftiness. The wicked setteth a trap, and, lo! he falleth therein. So let thine enemies perish, O Lord. As the uplifted knife was raised by that bloody intriguer," he pointed to the high-priest as he spoke, "to slay me, even as I lay bound on the altar of their deities, lo! a whirlwind sinote them, and scattered their fire to the four winds. Bound hand and foot, yet taking advantage of their terror, and the sudden darkness, I threw myself headlong from the stone. The priest, lest I should escape, plunged his knife forward as I drew aside, and I heard the death-shriek ere I had dragged myself by a powerful struggle into a convenient cavity beneath the great idol. Here I heard them depart; but I could not stir from this place, nor durst I cry out, lest I should be discovered. In great misery of body I waited for the morning light, but it was long ere there came a helper. At length, my groans were heard. These, thy messengers, unbound me; and I come before thee, O King, to accuse these wicked men, who had well nigh compassed our destruction."

Wrath and indig

The King's countenance fell. nation brake forth upon them, and he straightway commanded that those wicked priests should be banished the realm, and that the carcase of the soothsayer should be cast to the dogs.

Yet was he not persuaded in his own mind as to the truth of the new doctrines, and wished to be more

fully instructed in the mysteries of the Christian faith. Neither would he force his subjects to cast aside their idols, until the missionaries had wrought full conviction in their minds. For this end, he gave them free permission to reside in Canterbury, and explain their tenets, teaching and preaching publicly, as they might see fit, through every part of his dominions. The Queen assigned to them her own chapel; and, in the end, Ethelbert, after frequent conferences with Augustine, and through the persuasions of the Queen, consented to be baptized, in the year 597. Multitudes of his subjects were baptized daily. The pagan altars were deserted; and their temples, being found insufficient to receive the numbers that flocked to the standard of the Christian faith, the foundation of a cathedral was laid, Ethelbert resigning his palace to the use of the missionaries, and went with his court to reside at Reculver.

ST. PAUL'S VISIT TO ITALY.

BY THE REV. DR. REDFORD.

66

POZZUOLO or Puteoli, or, still more anciently, Dicæarchia, is a sea-port in the kingdom of Naples, eight miles south-west of that city, situated on a hill in a creek opposite Baiæ. Eustace observes,* " It was erected by the inhabitants of Cumæ, as a seaport, and is by some supposed to have derived its original appellation, (Dicæarchia,) from the excellence of its government; an advantage which few colonies have enjoyed, and few new-founded cities can pretend to. However, it owes its present name and prosperity to the Romans, who, about two centuries before the Christian era, fortified it, and made it the emporium of the commerce of the East. Its situation as a sea-port is indeed unrivalled. It stands on a point that juts out a little into the sea, nearly in the centre of a fine bay, called from it Puteolans or Puzzolans. Its prominence forms a natural port, if a port can be wanting in a bay so well covered by the surrounding coasts, and divided into so many creeks and harbours.

"It is easy to guess what the animation and splendour of this city must have been, at the time when

78

Classical Tour, p. 527, &c