carnage was pretty well over, Catharina was found hid in an oven. bial felicity. By the most unweaned She had been hitherto poor, but still was free; she was now to conform to her hard fate, and learn what it was to be a slave: in this situation, however, she behaved with piety and humility, and though misfortunes had abated her vivacity, yet she was cheerful. The fame of her merit and resignation reached even Prince Men-panion on his journeys, and even in zikoff, the Russian General; he desired to see her, and, struck with her beauty, bought her from the soldier her master, and placed her under the direction of his own sister. Here she was treated with all the respect which her merit deserved, while her beauty every day improved with her good fortune. all his military expeditions. Gordon, who had frequent opportunities of seeing her, and being in her company, says, “The great reason why the Czar was so fond of her, was her exceeding good temper; she was never seen peevish, nor out of humour." Good humour will prevail, When airs, and flights, and screams, and scolding fail. Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll; soul. POPE She had not long been in this situation, when Peter the Great paying the Prince a visit, Catharina happened to come in with some dry fruits, which she served round with peculiar modesty. The mighty monarch saw, and was struck with her beauty. He returned the next day, called for the beautiful slave, asked her several ques-ed for the reformation of his male subtions, and found her understanding more perfect than her person. The Empress ever after retained those great qualities which first placed her on a throne: and while the extraordinary Prince, her husband, labour jects, she studied in her turn the improvement of her own sex. She altered their dresses, introduced mixed assemblies, and instituted an order of female knighthood: and at length, when she had greatly filled all the stations of empress, friend, wife, and mother, she died, regretted by all, on the 17th May, 1727. He had been forced, when young, to marry from motives of interest, he was now resolved to marry pursuant to his inclinations. He immediately inquired the history of the fair Livonian, who was now about twenty. He traced her through the vale of obscurity, through all the vicissitudes of her fortune, and found her truly great in them all. The meanness of her birth was no obstruction to his design; their nuptials were soleninized in pri- A COMPARISON OF CIRCUMSTANCES, BY Plymouth, 9th November, 1822. S. A PIOUS CHRISTIAN, IN COMMUNICA- vate at Jawerof, in Poland, May 29, 1711. And on the 20th February following, the marriage was publicly celebrated with great pomp and splen-"Let us compare our own prosperous dour, at St. Petersburgh; the Prince assuring his courtiers that virtue alone was the properest ladder to a throne. We now see Catharina, from the low mud-walled cottage, Empress of one of the greatest kingdoms upon earth. The poor solitary wanderer is now surrounded by thousands, who find happiness in her smile. She who formerly wanted a meal, is now capable of diffusing plenty upon whole nations. To her fortune she owed part of this pre-eminence, but to her VIR TUES more. She soon became a pattern of connu state with the afflicted condition of "With us, all circumstances are as easy as the wafture of a boat, as smooth as the flow of the stream. But let us not forget those grievous calamities a a which befall our brethren in some remote tracts of the earth, or distant parts of the ocean. How many sailors are struggling, vainly struggling, with all the fury of rending winds and dashing waves, while their vessel, flung to and fro by tempestuous billows, is mounted into the clouds, or plunged into the abyss. Possibly, the miserable crew hear their knell sounded in the shattered mast, and see destruction entering at the bursting planks; this very moment they pour the last dismal shriek, and sink, irrecoverably sink, in the overwhelming surge. "The traveller in Africa's barren wastes, sees hidden mountains rise and roll on every side. He sees the sultry desart ascending the sky, and sweeping before the whirlwind. What can he do? whither fly? how escape the approaching ruin? Alas! while he attempts to rally his thoughts, attempts to devise some feeble expedient, he is overtaken by the choking storm, and suffocated amidst the sandy inundation. The driving heaps are now his executioner, as the drifted heaps will soon be his tomb. I am withered like grass, and my bones are burned as an hearth. I go hence, like the shadow that declineth; while health, that staple blessing, which gives every entertainment its flavour, confers beauty on all we see and on all we taste. "We are blest with a calm possession of ourselves, with tranquillity in our consciences, and an habitual harmony in our temper; whereas, many in the dark and doleful cells of lunacy, are gnashing their teeth or wringing their hands, rending the air with sallies of horrid execrations, or burdening it with peals of disconsolate sighs. And Oh! what multitudes, even amidst courts and palaces, are held in splendid vassalage by their own domineering passions, or the vanities of a bewitching world. Far less innocently, far more deplorably disordered than the fettered madman, they are gnawed by the envenomed tooth of envy, they are agitated by the wild sallies of ambition, or feel the malignant ulcer of jealousy rankling in their breasts. In some, avarice, like a ravening harpy, gripes. In some, revenge, like an implacable fury, rages; while others are goaded by lordly and imperious lusts of impure delight, and left at last to the most venomous stings of bitter remorse." S. W. R. "While we possess the valuable privileges and taste the delicious sweets of liberty, how many partakers of our common nature are condemned to perpetual exile, or chained to the oar for life! How many are immured in the gloom of dungeons, or buried in the caverns of mines, never to behold the all-enlivening sun again. | ANTIQUITIES OF THE WARD OF BISHOPSWhile respect waits upon our persons, GATE, IN THE CITY OF LONDON. and reputation attends our characters, are there not some unhappy creatures BISHOPSGATE ward is bounded on the led forth by the hand of vindictive jus-east by Aldgate ward, on the west by tice, to be spectacles of horror, and monuments of vengeance, Broad-street ward, and on the south by Langbourn ward. It is very large, and divided into Bishopsgate Within, 'To waste eternal days in woe and pain.' and Bishopsgate Without. The first While ease and pleasure, in sweet contains all that part of the ward withconjunction, smooth our paths and in the city ward and gate, and is disoften our couch, how many are toss-vided into five precincts; the second ing on the fever's fiery bed, or toiling lies without the wall, and is divided along affliction's thorny road. Some into four precincts. under the excruciating, but necessary operations of surgery; their bodies ripped open with a dreadful incision, to search for the torturing stone; or their limbs amputated, to prevent the mortification's fatal spread. Some, emaciated by pining sickness, are deprived of all their animal vigour, and transformed into spectres, even before their dissolution. They are ready to adopt the complaint of the psalmist, It took its name from the gate, which has been pulled down to make that part of the city more airy and commodious. The first gate was built by Erkenwald, then Bishop of London, in 675, and was repaired by William the Conqueror, soon after the Norman conquest. In the time of Henry III. the Hanse merchants had certain privileges confirmed to them, in return for which they were to support this gate; and in consequence of this im- | gothic building, with a bow window St. Ethelbuga church, which is situate on the east side of Bishopsgatestreet Within, owes its appellation to St. Ethelbuga, the first Christian princess of the kingdom of the East Saxons. It contains nothing of much note. It is a rectory in the gift of the Bishop of London; and is known to have been a parish before the year 1366. St. Helen's church, dedicated to St. Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great, is a vicarage in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's Cathedral. This church was founded originally before the year 1180, and at the dissolution of the contiguous priory of Black Nuns, A. D. 1539, was enlarged by removing the intervening partition. Among the monuments in this church, there is one to the memory of Sir Francis Bancroft, who founded a school and almshouse at Mile End, to which the Company of Drapers are trustees. By his will, he appointed them to attend once a year at his monument in this church, to receive him at his return to life; but, notwithstanding their punctual conformity to his desire, he has hitherto made them wait and call in vain. Not far from St. Helen's Church stands Crosbie Hall. The house known by the name of Crosbie House, was a magnificent structure, built by Sir John Crosbie, Sheriff in 1470, on the ground leased to him by Alice Ashfield, Prioress of St. Helen's. In this house, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, lodged, after he had conveyed his nephews to the Tower. The hall, called Richard the Third's Chapel, is still very entire. It is a beautiful The Marine Society next claims our notice. This excellent establishment commenced in 1756, and was incorporated in 1772. Its object is to fit ont landsmen volunteers, to serve as seamen on board the king's ships, in time of war; and for equipping distressed boys to serve at sea at all times. The number of men and boys the society has clothed during the late war, is upwards of 24,700. On the same side of the street is Devonshire Square. The Earls of Devonshire had a town-house near the street, which was called after their name. Queen Elizabeth lodged in it, in one of het visits to the city. Nearly opposite, on the other side of the street, stands the White Hart Tavern, bearing the date of the year 1480. I consider the above, from its antiquity, must have been part of the inn for the entertainment of strangers, as was customary in those times. Passing a few houses on the north, we reach the London Work house. This is a large and commodious building, for the reception, employment, and relief, of the indigent and helpless. Formerly, the parishes paid one shilling per week for each child, besides the usual assessment; but in 1751, the governors came to a resolution, that no more children, paid for by the parishes, should in future be received; but only such children should be taken into the house, as were committed by the city magistrates, found begging or pilfering on the quays, or lying about in glass houses, or uninhabited dwellings. They are dressed in russet cloth. When they arrive at a proper age, the boys are apprenticed to trade or navigation; and the girls placed in service. The badge of the institution has the following motto: "God's providence is our inheritance." When the city gates were pulled down in 1761, the debtors in Ludgate, citizens of London, were removed to a part of this house, till the building of Giltspur Compter was completed. Nearly adjoining, stands a public house, of a curious construction, which, though now degraded from its original destination, was once the residence of Sir Paul Pindar, who was 21 P H fo S 1 ambassador nine years to the Ottoman Porte, in the reign of James the First. He died in 1650, at the age of eightyfour, and was interred in the vault of St. Botolph's Church. The ward officers are as follows:Sir R. C. Glynn, Bart. Alderman. 14 Common Councilmen. 2 Ward Clerks. 2 Ward Beadles. There are three charity schools, and many other benevolent associations. S. BURGESS. Oct. 27th, 1822. GEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY. MR. EDITOR. SIR,--You will oblige a certain class of your readers by giving publicity to the following discovery :-On the 16th instant, on examining a mine of coal, called the Knowles-Coal, at the Fenton Park Colliery, in the Staffordshire Potteries, 60 yards below the surface of the earth, I discovered a stratum of charcoal, from two to three inches thick, running as a regular layer over the stratum of coal. This charcoal was fossilated, and mixed, apparently, with zinc or copper. It is in a fine state of preservation. All the fibrous parts of the wood are as perfect as if only charred yesterday. They are apparently alluvial deposits of various sizes, laid together disorderly, the fibrous parts crossing each other at right angles. The wood has been of different kinds, as some is soft, and goes to ashes by exposure to the atmosphere; but for the most part it appears to have been oak. It has the sonorous effect of charcoal on the ear, but in its concretion, its nature appears to be partially changed to copper. Now, Sir, I have several remarks to make on this important subject, for important I think it is, both to the interests of Christianity and science. 1st. This fossil charcoal appears to have been an alluvial deposit, left by the retiring waves on the surface of the stratum of vegetable matter, that is the basis of our coal. 2dly. I infer that this charcoal was realy burned by the agency of man. For it has not been discovered that the most sagacious brute has ever known the use of fire, nor could ever be trained to kindle or manage one. Neither is it possible to suppose that it was accidentally ignited in the earth by latent heat, for in that case it must have totally consumed both itself and the stratum of coal over which it lies. 3dly. That coal has been a deposit left by some dreadful inundation since man came into existence, and that its stratification has been formed by a succession of tides; and not in the ages of ages prior to the formation of man, as Werner, Boyd, and Macnab, have supposed. 4thly. It is also probable, that this catastrophe was sudden and unexpected. And how strikingly does this accord with sacred history: "They were marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark." The terrific ravages of this flood are every where visible, unless at the tops of the primitive rocks. Its dreadfully destructive power must be inferred, not only from innumerable remains of fossil animals, quadrupeds, and fishes, but from the vast forests of wood that were torn up by the roots, and left on calmer shores as the waters subsided, an immense treasure for future ages. 5thly. The charcoal occupying the uppermost stratum in the deposit, is very naturally accounted for, from its specific gravity. Being lighter than green wood, it would necessarily have the uppermost place on the waters. 6thly. Its concretion with the copper, I can only suppose to have taken place from the turbid waters holding in solution a portion of that mineral. By the actual study of nature, and a careful attention to facts of this kind, we shall gain more satisfactory knowledge, than by all the theories that have amused the inquiring mind. It is a well-known fact, that charcoal is one of the most indestructible_substances with which we are acquainted. Fragments of it have been taken up from the long lost cities, Pompeii and Herculaneum, as fresh, perfect, and in as high a state of preservation, as if burned yesterday. I am not acquainted with any eminent geologists in this country, other. wise I would have submitted this phenomenon to their more mature judgment, ere I had made this communication. Those of your numerous readers who have made geology their particular study, are requested to give their opinion on this subject, and if any of them should wish to examine this remarkable vestige of the universal deluge, by giving their address, I will send them specimens. If this remarkable fact, among many thousands more, should be deemed confirmatory of the Mosaic account of the universal deluge, your insertion of this communication will oblige your most obedient servant, J. P. Eastwood Vale, near Hanley, Staffordshire Potteries, Oct. 30th, 1822. REMUNERATIVE JUSTICE, AN INCI DENT. It is the decree of the Divine Being, that "whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed;" and, however the criminal may escape the penalty of human laws, through various means, yet the retribution of Providence is often seen in the many judgments inflicted upon offenders; judgments, often remarkable in the striking coincidence between the crime and the punishment, thus proving, that the voice of blood crying from the ground, cannot be unheeded by the Almighty; and though the offender may forsake the error of his way, and become, through faith in Christ, a sincere Christian, yet even then God often visibly punishes him in this life for his crime. These remarks are strikingly exemplified in the following account: In the town of Re, in Lancashire, a practice formerly prevailed of playing at foot-ball, by the men of the town and the men of the neighbouring country places. This amusement seldom concluded without quarrels. In one of these disputes, about the year 1745, a man named C, from Md, 4 miles from R―e, killed a man belonging to R―e; but as no proper evidence could be obtained of the fact, he escaped without prosecution. Some considerable time after, he left Re, and went to reside at Cn, in Cheshire; there he heard the gospel; it reached his heart, he became truly converted to God, and adorned the gospel by an holy life. After a lapse of 50 years, he went on a visit to Re, to see a relation. On the Monday after his arrival, he walked down to the bridge. That morning, some disturbance happening in the town, the volunteers having been ordered out, were drawn up on the bridge, and, as C—was shaking hands with an old acquaintance, who had been present in the former fray, when the man was killed, they receiv ed orders to fire. Cand his old acquaintance both fell; C to rise no more; the other survived a short time: and these were the only men who lost their lives. The circumstances connected with this incident are striking: 50 years had elapsed, and the murder was forgotten by man,-but not by God: bis going to the bridge; meeting his acquaintance; and both falling as near the spot as possible, where the man fell whom C- killed; and only these two being hurt by the fire of the soldiers. These are coincidences that force the most careless to say, "Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth." REMARKS ON PULPIT QUALIFICATIONS. " MR. EDITOR. SIR,-In an essay on the "Abilities required in the Pulpit-the Senateor at the Bar," which was inserted in the June number of the Imperial Magazine, col. 501, your correspondent, "T. W- -m,' has informed your readers, that the divine ought to possess the "profoundest erudition,” and that "an acquaintance with the original tongues," and "a critical study of the scriptures," are "necessary qualifications" for the due performance of his sacred duties.-That the Christian minister has many and important duties to perform, is a truth too evident to admit of controversy. But that he cannot occupy his situation in the church in a manner creditable to himself, and advantageous to the cause of godliness, without "profound erudition,"-" a knowledge of the original tongues," and "a critical study of the scriptures," is a proposition so monstrously absurd, and so decidedly opposed to matter of fact, that it is impossible to acquiesce in its reasonableness, until we have discarded every sense of the body, and every |