The author of the Futural Herr of England 12 is descr relied ca Barnet, and says the Abort -flowed up his sermon by the patie cation of a Cock, a vila de Del argued that all clerks whether of higher or lower degrees were sacred personages and exempted five all pesishment by the secar ccaLITS. ever crime they might commit

On the whole I tear it will turn cat that the learned Examiner's questions tend to give silitonal currency to an historical error. I eat y rate doubt that Richard Kedemyster, Abbot of Wskenate, pabusted a book on the imman ties of the Clergy unni some one is able to cite its title and to inform me where it was printed and in what language it is written.

Yours, &c. C. H. COOPER.

THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY SOCIETY. AFTER the remarks which have been made in our two list Migurines on the proposed performances of the Ecclesiastical History Society, we oonsider it incumbent upon us to se knowledge the appearance of two Tolumes-an instalment of the fear which were promised for the Subscription of the year 1847. With these two volumes a fresh edition of the Prospectus is circulated, containing the following

announcements:—

"Not less than four Volumes will be pablished annually. Subscription One Guinea.

"The pablications of the Society for 1247 and 1848 will consist of two vols. of Strype's Cranmer; two vols. of Field of the Church; 1st vol. of Wood's Athenæ Oxonienses, edited by Rev. Dr. Bliss: Walker's Sofferings of the Clergy; and a new Edition of the Book of Common Prayer, with Notes Legal and Historical, by A. J. Stephens, esq. barrister-at-law. An Athens Cantabrigienses is in the course of preparation, and will form one of the future publications of the Society."

Much therefore is to be done in the year 1848, or rather for the years 1847 and 1848 in combination: for

we manot but remark that no definite time is now assigned for the appearance of the books. There is a definite time for the subscription, which beecmes the on the 1st of January, and must be paid on or before the 31st of March in each year: but no definite perod is any longer fixed for the compiction of the works. This is at least trolent. But we will not prejudge the future conduct of the Society. It is sumtient to say that it is unfortunate the promise of producing four volumes with a the year 1847 has not been ful

With regard to the proposed edition of the Athene Oxonienses, we have reclived a letter from the Rev. Dr. Buss which we have much pleasure in laying before our readers:

MR. URBAN, Orford, Feb. 2.

Your correspondent N. S. p. 135, is altogether in error when he supposes that I have, at any time, contradicted the statement that I had any concern in the proposed new edition of Wood's Athens.” That work is now printing at the University Press for the Ecclesiastical History Society." I have promised to make some additions and corrections and to superintend the press; and it is only due to the counell of that body to state, that all my wishes and suggestions have been met with promptitude and attention.

I will only request leave to add, that I shall feel deeply indebted to any of your numerens readers who will favour me with additional information, or enable me to correct some of the many errors of my former edition.

Yours, &c. PHILIP BLISS.

The books now issued are. Strype's Memorials of Archbishop Cranmer, the first of three volumes; and, of the Church, five Books. By Richard Field, D.D. Dean of Gloucester; the first of two volumes.

The volume of Cranmer contains the first of the three "books" into which Strype divided that work, with such portion of the Appendix as belongs to that "first book." This division of the Appendix to correspond with the text of the volume is a convenient arrangement; and the plan pursued by the Editor-why is be anonymous?-is in some other respects commendable :—

(1)" Illustrative notes have been added, and the passages referred to by the author are printed for the most part in full.

(2) "The documents have also been verified, as far as it has been possible, and more correct references added, whenever it appeared needful.

(3) "A few additional papers from the Cotton and other MSS. &c. have likewise been inserted, whenever they seemed calculated to throw light upon the times treated upon by the author.

(4) "The modern mode of spelling has likewise been in most instances adopted, to render the work more acceptable to the general reader, care being had to avoid such alteration as might endanger the original meaning."

1. The notes are unquestionably useful adjuncts. They are not overloaded, but consist either of "the passages referred to by the author," or references to subsequent works, particularly Todd's Life of Cranmer, Jenkyns's Remains of Archbishop Cranmer, and Cranmer's Works, printed for the Parker Society-books which seem to have relieved the Editor from more laborious research.

2. The documents "have been verified, where possible," a course which has been especially recommended in our former articles on Strype, and the defect of which is sadly perceptible in the Oxford edition. But as to the manner in which this necessary operation has been performed, we shall have more to say hereafter.

3. The additional documents in this volume are not numerous. They consist of-1. A letter of Cranmer to

archdeacon Hawkyns, previously printed in the Archæología and in Ellis's Original Letters; 2. Another letter to the same, before printed in the Christian Remembrancer and Todd's Life of Cranmer; 3. Statutum de numero Procuratorum, from Wilkins's Concilia and the Parker Society's edition of Cranmer's Works; 4. A letter to Henry VIII. printed by Burnet and by Todd; 5. Injunctions to the diocese of Hereford 1538, also from Burnet and Cranmer's Works; 6. Questions concerning the Sacraments, printed by Burnet and by Collier; 7. Queries concerning confirmation in Strype's Memorials, Burnet, and the Parker Society's Cranmer; and 8. Letter to Cromwell, from Bur

net. So that "these few additional papers from the Cotton and other MSS." are really all from printed books. They may be of high importance to the Biography of Cranmer; but does the Ecclesiastical History Society intend such documents to reappear in their editions of Burnet, Collier, &c. &c. &c.? There seems some waste of strength in such a course, whilst so many documents worthy of being printed are still lying dormant in manuscript.

4. "The modern mode of spelling has been adopted;" and here we join issue with the Editor. So far as relinquishing Strype's mode of spelling, we think he has done well; but for the documents we maintain they should be restored to the orthography of their originals, and that because their language-not merely in its spelling, but in its grammatical construction and expression - is almost inextricably connected with that orthography. The fact is that, in order to make such documents immediately intelligible to a careless and non-studious reader, they should be not only modernized in orthography, but completely translated into our modern idioms. This might of course be done by an Editor who understood them perfectly: but still, would the critical inquirer be content without the original? Of course not: and is it not far better to produce a book which may be useful to the student, than one which is at best but half intelligible to the generality? Are the faculties of our young divines so wholly exhausted in mastering the difficulties of Greek and Hebrew, that a few archaisms of their own language are to deter them from study? We are told that the partial modernization has been made, "care being had to avoid such alteration as might endanger the original meaning." But it is next to impossible to preserve that meaning with modern spelling and modern punctuation and we do not say too much when we assert that in this altered dress documents are neither trustworthy as evidence, nor scarcely identical. They are any thing but what Strype used to term them, "A Catalogue of Originals." It was shown in our last number how Strype in his Ecclesiastical Memorials has falsified an important document. Another ex

ample of his want of care may now be exhibited from the Appendix to Cran

mer.

It is a letter addressed to Cromwell by Richard Grafton the Printer, respecting the circulation of his English bibles, the original of which is preserved in the Cottonian MSS. (Cleopatra E. v. f. 325), and has been "verified" by the present Editor, who has accordingly appended six notes in correction of Strype's copy. Of these corrections only one materially affects the sense," at the least" was printed "at the last." And there is one which was not required, Strype's reading being correct, "even so many faults,” the second letter of so being now cut off the paper, but the first still remaining. But we observe at least two other discrepancies which the Editor's "verification" has overlooked: "undone" should be "utterly undone;" and "any other men" is in the original" any other man." The following is an attempted amendment made in

the text.

"Yea, I would [have] none other but they of the papistical sort should be compelled to have them."

to say

This "[have]" is an insertion which, whilst it does not absolutely alter the sense, yet it rather tends to obscure it than otherwise, and seems to show that the Editor did not understand the passage. It apparently connects "none other" with the words that immediately follow, as if the writer had meant no other persons but those of the papistical sort" whilst it evidently betrays the Editor's unacquaintance with the force of the verb would before it had lapsed into the mere auxiliary sign which it now personates in Lindley Murray. In confirmation of our previous remark, the passage, if modernized at all, requires a modernization of idiom as well as orthography; and then it would stand thus:

be observed, by a passing reflection, that there were still plenty "of the papistical sort," and if they could but be compelled to purchase the Bible, they alone, in one diocese, would create a great demand for the printer's books.

We may add, that if the Editor had been truly desirous to increase the value of the Appendix from "the Cottonian MSS." the volume of that collection here quoted would have afforded him the opportunity, as it contains other letters of Grafton, and particularly one addressed to Cranmer himself. But to this subject we propose to return in another paper.

In the text of the volume we notice these errors:

"William Barlow, prior of the priory of canons regular of Bisham, of the order of St. Augustin Sarum." (p. 78.)

Strype nor his editors should know It seems extraordinary that neither that the word Sarum referred to the situation of the priory of Bisham, in the diocese of Salisbury.

Archbishop of Armagh is called “a In the next page Hugh Corwin * compiler in all reigns," instead of complier.

In p. 158 the "suffragan of Malborough" is Thomas Bickley alias Morgan, suffragan bishop of Marlborough; and the account of the suffragan bishops generally might have been much improved from the collections of Wharton, Lewis, and Pegge on that Topographica Britannica. We bave subject, printed in the Bibliotheca marked some other typographical errors which will be obvious to all readers; but in its general appearance the workmanship of the book is unexception able, being from the Oxford University

press.

"Yes, I should like nothing better than that those of the papistical sort should be compelled to have them, and then I know there would be customers enough found in my lord of London's diocese to take off a great part of them."