(ColumWa (HnitJersiftp THE LIBRARIES SIR EDWARD THOMASON'S MEMOIRS DURING HALF A CENTURY VOL. II. ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. LONDON : LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. M.DCCC.XLT. H. E. CARRINGTON, PRINTER, BATH. Library of David King. Leavitt ^ Jv.. May 21 1884 REMARKS UPON THE BIBLE, CONNECTED WITH THE SERIES OF MEDALS. (continued from vol I.) At this period there was a man named Amram, 1573 b. c. of the house of Levi, who married Joehebed, also of the tribe of Levi, by whom he had Aaron, Miriam, and Moses. Moses having been born just after the wicked command of Pharaoh, the mother had already hid him three months, but fearing he might be discovered, she made an ark of bulrushes, and placed it amongst the flags by the river's brink on the banks of the Nile. The daughter of Pharaoh came to this place to wash herself, attended by her maidens, and, per- ceivinor the ark, she sent her maid to fetch it ; and when she opened it, she had compassion for the babe. Finding it was one of the Hebrew children, she desired her maid to find an Hebrew woman to nurse it, and Pharaoh's daughter said, Take away the child, and nurse it for me ; and the woman proved to be the mother of the child. And Pha- raoh's dauo^hter called the child's name " Moses," being in the Egyptian, *' Saved out of the water." VOL. II. 2 Twentieth Medal. Moses disco- vered by the Daughter of Pharaoh. Now Moses grew up, and went among his bre- thren the Israelites, and looked upon the hardships which Pharaoh made the Israelites to bear. And, whilst looking upon their burdens, he saw an Egyp- tian smiting an Hebrew, and seeing that there was no other Egyptian within sight, he slew the Egyp- tian, and buried him in the sand. Pharaoh, how- ever, heard of this, and sought to kill Moses, but Moses fled to the land of Midian, bordering on the Red Sea, which was the posterity of Midian, the son of Cusli. Moses here married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian. It came to pass that in a short time the King of Egypt died, and the cries of the children of Israel came up to God by reason of their bondage; and God, remembering the covenant which he made 3 with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to Moses in a burning bush. And God said unto Moses, Behold the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me, and I have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians have oppressed them. Behold I am come down to deliver them, and bring them out of that land unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And God said, Thou shalt go unto Pharaoh, 1^87 b. c. that thou mayest bring forth my people, the chil- dren of Israel, out of Egypt. And Moses said, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and sav. The God of your fathers has sent me unto \ou, and thev shall sav, What is his name ? what shall I sav unto them? And God said, Thus thou shalt sav, The Lord God of vour fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you, and this is my name for ever, and my memorial unto all genera- tions. Go, then, and gather together the children of Israel, and go with the elders unto Pharaoh the king, and say unto him, The Lord God of the He- brews has come unto us, therefore let us go three davs' iourney into the wilderness, that we mav sacri- fice unto the Lord our God. But Pharaoh will not let you go ; but I will give the Israelites favour in the sight of the Egyptians, and ye shall not go away empty, for every Egyptian woman shall borrow of her neighbour jewels of silver and jewels of gold, and raiment, and ye shall put them on your sons and daughters, and thereby spoil the Egyptians. And Moses asked for a token that they might believe in him. And God said, Behold the rod which is in thine hand. Cast it on the ground, and it shall become a serpent. And he did so. And God said, Take it by the tail. And it became a rod again in his hand. Twenty-first Medal. The Rod of Moses miracu- lously changed into a Serpent. And Moses said, I am slow in speech, and not eloquent. And God said, Thou shalt meet Aaron, thy brother. He shall go with thee, and speak for thee, and thou shalt take the rod in thine hand, and do signs. Moses met Aaron, and informed him of all which the Lord had said ; and they went into Egypt, and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel, and Moses did the signs in the sight of the people, who believed. Pharaoh, hearing all this, increased the task of the Israelites. Now Moses and Aaron went in and told Pha» .5 raoh all that the Lord had said, namely, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. And Moses feared and hesitated ; hut God said, I spake unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almi- the dav, and a fire by night, rested over the tabernacle ; and the children of Israel abode in their tents and journeyed not, which was according to the com- mandments of the Lord. The people now grum- bled for want of flesh to eat, having lived some time upon manna. i\Ioses called upon God to know how the people might be appeased ; and Moses was charged to elect seventy elders to perform or manaije the affairs as a kind of Sanhedrim. God sent quails from the sea, and the quails fell upon the camp. Moses's wife, Zipporah, was the daughter of a Cushite, from the descendants of Cush, the son of Ham. Cush was supposed to be of Ethiopia, and Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, greatly upbraided Moses for marrying an Ethiopian wo- man. Miriam w^as punished with a leprosy for speaking against Moses, but Moses healed her by prayer. And Moses and the people went on jour- nevins" from the w^ilderness of Paran in search of the land of Canaan. Moses selected one out of each of the twelve tribes to proceed and recon- noitre, and to bring him a just account whether the country were fat or lean, and to bring the tract of the land ; and they returned in forty days, and brought 16 » a branch of one cluster of grapes, which was so large and heavy that two of them carried it upon a pole. They stated that the cities were very large, and walled round, and the others reported that the people were giants. Caleb and Joshua, however, were the only two who encouraged Moses to con- quer the country, although they farther said that they, in comparison to the giants, were grasshoppers, and that they were certainly the sons of Anak, of Palestine. The people wept, and cried unto Moses and Aaron, saying they were sorry to be slain, and begged that they might return back to Egypt. God declared that not one of the murmurers should ever enter the land of Canaan, but that they should be condemned in the desert. The people resolved upon entering the land. The Canaanites and the Amala- kites descended the hill, and drove them back to Hamah. During the time that the people were fighting against the Canaanites, Moses and Aaron stayed with the ark. And on the Sabbath day there was found a man gathering sticks, and, according to the law, he was stoned to death by the congregation. This is the only example in the Bible of a person being punished capitally for breaking the Sabbath. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled] against Moses and Aaron. The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up ; and the congregation said. Ye have killed the people of the Lord. And for this saying the plague broke out among the people. For Caleb and Joshua telling the truth to Moses, that the land flowed with milk and honey, the congregation would have stoned them ; but they 17 were by the plague destroyed for their disobedience, leaving, however, Caleb and Joshua, and such of the Israelites as were under twenty years of age. Moses laid the rods (or sceptres) upon the taber- nacle, and in the morning the children of Israel came to take away the rods, and behold the rod of Aaron, for the house of Levi, was budded, and bloomed, and yielded almonds. And the Lord oave the Levites a tenth in Israel for an inheri- tance, for the services of the tabernacle, being a tithe of the corn, fruit, and cattle ; and the Levites who were subordinate to the priests, paid unto the priests a tenth of these tithes. The children of Israel now came to the desert of Zin, where Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, died. Here the people murmured for want of water. Moses again smote the rock, at Meribah, and it brouo^ht forth water. Moses demanded of the King of Edom a quiet passage through the borders of his dominions, but the King of Edom refused. At this period there was an ordinance for a law 1471 b. c. made in the sacrifice of a red heifer without spot or blemish, and which had never been yoked or bur- dened. The ashes, as well as the blood, were sprin- kled and thrown among the people or congregation, and considered by them as the purifying of the flesh. Eleazar was the priest appointed, and the priest sprinkled the blood seven times before the taber- nacle and the congregation of the people. VOL. II. 18 Twenty- seventh Medal. The Sacrifice of the Red Heifer. The reason of being commanded to take the red heifer for the sacrifice is, because the Israelites fol- lowed the customs of the Egyptians in sacrificing the male, when God informed the people that both were equally proper for the sacrifice. Many writers, however, agree that this command was intended to be typical of our Saviour, who commanded that an ass's colt, without blemish, be brought to him, and on which no person had ever before sat, to carry him into Jerusalem. The refusal of the King of Edom to Moses, obliged him to conquer the Edomites. Aaron died at Mount Hor. He was Moses's elder brother, but too easily persuaded against his own judgment. This appeared when his sister Miriam 19 urged him to revile his brother, and when the peo- ple excited him to make the golden calf. The Israelites rebelled, and spoke against Moses, because of the bad quality of the bread and water. And God sent fiery serpents among the people, and many were bitten and died. Moses prayed unto the Lord to withdraw the fiery serpents. The Lord, therefore, commanded Moses to make a brazen ser- pent, and put it upon a pole, that all the people that were bitten might look up to the brazen serpent and live. The people repented, and were healed. 1448 B. c. Twenty-eighth Medal. Moses's brazen Serpent. Moses sent to Sihon, King of the Amorites, for leave to pass through the highway only of his country, and offered to pay for everything which the Israelites might want ; but Sihon refused, and Og, the King of Bashan, came to his assistance, and c 2 20 Moses utterly destroyed them both, and dwelt in their cities. 1447 B, c. The children of Israel proceeded, and pitched in the plains of iMoah, of which Balak was king. Balak, having already refused Moses a passage, became sore afraid, and sent unto the city of Pethor, on the Euphrates, for Balaam, the divine prophet, to come and curse his enemies, the Israelites, and promised him much. Balaam saddled his ass, and went ; and the ass, seeing the Angel of the Lord standino- in the wav, with a drawn sword, turned aside, when Balaam smote the ass three times. The Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and the ass spake, and said. Am I not the ass on whom thou hast ridden ever since I was thine? and did I ever rebel ? Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and Balaam said, I have sinned. And the Angel told Balaam w^hat to speak before Balak. And Balaam ordered Balak to build seven altars, to offer sacrifice ; and Balak said. Behold thou hast blessed mine enemies, instead of cursing them. And Balaam prophesied before Balak, and said. There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite all the corners of Moab, and destroy the children of Seth ; and Edom and Seir shall be a possession for his enemies. 21 Twenty-ninth Medal. Balaam smi- ting the Ass. The Israelites married with the daughters of the Moabites, and worshipped their gods, at w^hich the Lord's anger was kindled, and he sent a plague, which destroyed about 24,000. The Lord commanded Moses and Eleazar to take a census of a number of the twelve tribes, as they then stood, for when they entered the wilder- ness of Sinai, in 1490 b. c, they numbered 603,550, and now only 601,730 ; it appeared, however, that the tribe of Manasseh had increased 20,500, which was attributed to the Lord's biessinos on the house of Joseph ; of the Levites, only two were left, namelv, Caleb, and Joshua the son of Nun, the remainder havinor died durino- the fortv vears in the wilderness. The Lord said unto Moses, Go up into the Mount Abiram (or Nebo, a mountain East of 22 Jordan), and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel, and when thou hast seen it thou shalt be as Aaron, gathered unto thy people. Moses, therefore, asked the Lord to set a successor over the congregation, and the Lord said, Take Joshua, and set him before Eleazar, and before the congregation, and give him a charge in their sight. Moses called Joshua, and told him what God had said ; he also encouraged Joshua. Moses then delivered the law unto the priests, the sons of Levi, to have it read to the people every seven years. Moses related his conquests to the Israelites ; and informed them that one of the giants remained, which was Og, the king of Basan, and that his bed- stead w^as made of iron, nine cubits (or thirteen and a half English feet) in length ; and Moses com- manded that the Israelites would never forsake the Levites, and forty-eight cities were set apart for their benefit ; aud he also informed them that all idolatrous cities must be destroyed. ]447 B. c. Now Moses wi'ote a song, to set forth God*s mercy and vengeance (see S3d chapter of Deutero- nomv, a beautiful composition). Moses now went up from the plains of Moab, to Abiram (or Nebo), and beheld the land from Gilead to Dan ; and Moses died in the land of Moab, at the age of 120 years, but his sepulchre has never been found. Now no prophet arose like Moses, in Israel, whom the Lord knew^ face to face. And the Lord spake unto Joshua, and said. Arise, go over this river, Jordan, and every place that the sole of your feet shall tread upon I have given to you, as I said unto Moses. Joshua spake to the people, to take 23 the Ark of the Covenant, and pass over Jordan, before the people ; and, behold, as soon as the feet of the priests, bearing the Ark, dipped in the water, the waters stood up, and the people passed over to the other side, exactly opposite the city of Jericho. Thirtieth Medal. Joshua divid- eth the Waters of the River Jordan. Joshua was commanded to take twelve men, one man out of each tribe, and that they should take twelve stones from the spot where the priests stood in the river, and that these stones should be laid down as a memorial for ever unto the children of Israel. The twelve stones were pitched in Gilgal, in the camp, about six miles from Jordan. And there stood a man opposite Joshua with a drawn sword, and Joshua said, Art thou for us ? The man said, I am here, a captain of the host of the Lord. Joshua fell upon his face, and worshipped him. And the captain of the Lord said unto Joshua, Take thy 24 shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy. Joshua surrounded Jericho with the army of the Israelites, and Joshua commanded seven priests to take the Ark, and seven trumpets of rams' horns, and Joshua ordered the people not to shout until the day he should bid them ; and they compassed the city, in like manner, six days during the evening. And on the seventh day, Joshua said. Shout, for the Lord of Hosts hath given you the city, which shall be accursed, and all therein, ex- cept Rahab the harlot ; she and all her house shall live, because she hid and saved the messengers that were sent by Joshua. And on the seventh day, after encompassing the city seven times, that during the seventh time the Israelites shouted, and the walls of Jericho fell. Joshua and his army entered, and utterly destroyed both man and beast ; but the gold and silver vessels were to be consecrated unto the Lord, as Joshua had already told the Israelites. Achan, of the tribe of Judah, had already purloined some of the spoils. This treachery was discovered ; and to appease the wrath of God, for thus breaking his commands, Joshua took Achan, and his sons, and daughters, and goods, and spoils, and stoned them, and burnt the spoils before the people. Joshua next took the city of Ai, hanged the king, and destroyed all the people within it ; and Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal, unto the Lord God of Israel, pursuant to a former order of Moses. Now all the kings that were on this side of Jordan combined against Israel, except the Gi- beonites, who craftilv obtained to leao^ue with 25 Israel. They, however, had lied, m desiring their messengers to say that their king's dominions were a great distance off ; and, in consequence of the oath of Joshua, they were saved, but doomed to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. The five kings concerted together to punish the Gibeonites, their neighbours, for having made peace with Joshua. Joshua sent his armies to assist the Gi- beonites ; and the Lord smote the armies of the five kings with hail stones from heaven, which de- stroved one-half of their armies. And Joshua called upon the Lord, in the sight of the armies, that the sun might stand still whilst his armies avenged themselves upon their enemies. Thirty-first Medal. Joshua com- manding the Sun to stand still. The five kings were found hid in a cave, and Joshua took them and hanged them upon five trees. 2G On the same day, Joshua utterly destroyed the city of Makkedah, in Judah ; and, afterwards, the cities of Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Hebron, Debir, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gaza, and then returned to the camp at Gil^al. And divers other cities, even the great city of Hazor, and the Ana- kims, and all the country round, save the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon, which Moses, in his day, took. And Joshua took thirtv-one kin^s on the other side of Jordan, and divided the countries, and gave them to the tribes of Israel for a possession ; namely, to nine tribes and the half tribe of Ma- nasseh, the Reubenites and the Gadites havino- received their inheritance from Moses. The chil- dren of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and forty-eight cities were given by ballot to the Levites and priests. 1439 B.C. Thirty-second Medal. The Chart of the Travels of the Children of Israel. 27 Joshua called all the children of Israel together, and said, Behold this day I am going the way of all the earth, and the Lord's anger will be kindled against you, if you bow down and serve other gods. Joshua made a covenant with the people, and set up a statute and ordinance at Shechem, and placed a stone as a witness. He died at the age of 110 years, and was buried at Mount Ephraim ; at the same place they buried the bones of Joseph, which they brought out of Egypt. At this time, Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died, and was buried at Mount Ephraim. The people then asked the Lord, Who shall go up to fight against the Canaanites ? And the Lord said, Judah. Now Jacob, on his death -bed, gave to Judah, his fourth son, a pre-eminent blessing, say- ing. Thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies ; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Jacob also foretold that the regal power or sceptre should not pass out of his hands, and that the Mes- siah should derive his birth from his tribe. Indeed, it was Judah who advised his brethren to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelitish merchants sooner than imbue their hands in his blood. Judah invited Simeon his brother to go up with him and fight against the Canaanites, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands ; and they took Bezek (a city about seven miles from Shechem), and caught the king, Adoni-bezek, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Adoni-bezek said, God hath requited me, because I captured threescore and ten kings, 1425 B. c. 28 who gathered meat under my table, and whose thumbs and toes I cut off. They next took Jerusalem, and burned the city. Hebron was taken and destroyed. Next Debir, Hamah, Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron were taken ; and Judah gave Ekron to Caleb. Caleb was he who was sent with Joshua, by Moses, to view the land of Canaan. The children of Benjamin, however, did not drive out the Jebusites from the city of Jerusalem, but allowed them to dwell with them in the city. The house of Joseph was allowed to hold Bethel ; and when Israel got strong, they put the Canaanites that remained under tribute. Instead of Judah and Simeon, with the Israelites, destroying the whole of the inhabitants of Canaan, or driving them into another country, as the Lord had commanded, they formed leagues with them ; and the Angel of the Lord rebuked the people at Bochim for their wickedness, for they forsook the Lord, and served Baal, and the Canaanites became as thorns in their sides, as a punishment for serving other gods. The Canaanites were superior in number, and left to prove Israel, whether they . would keep the way of the Lord or not. 1409 B. c. witi^ tl^g Canaanites there were five lords of the Philistines, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in Mount Lebanon ; but the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served other gods ; therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and they were sold to the King of Mesopotamia, who held them in slavery for eight years ; when they cried unto the Lord, 29 who delivered them over to Caleb's vouno-est bro- ther, and the land had rest for fortv vears. They again cried unto the Lord, and he raised up for them a deliverer named Ehud, who was made a judge in Israel ; and after him, Shamgar, the son of Anath, who, in defending Israel, killed six hun- dred Philistines with an ox-goad. The children of Israel again did evil, and the ^^le b. c. Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, king- of Hazor, in Canaan, the captain of whose armies was Sisera ; and the Hazorites oppressed them twenty years, for they possessed nine hundred chariots of iron. Thev ao-ain cried unto the Lord, and there was at this time a Prophetess, named Deborah, who judged Israel ; and she called Barak, and sent him, with ten thousand men, against Sisera. And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, wdth the edge of the sword before Barak. Sisera fled away to the tent of Jael, and asked for water to drink, for he was thirst v ; and he said to Jael, Should any man enquire if I am here, say No. Sisera fell asleep, and Jael took a nail and a hammer, and smote the nail into his temple, and fastened it to the ground. 30 Thirty-third Medal. Jael driving the nail through the temple of Sisera. 1249 B. c. The land had now rest for forty years, but the children of Israel did evil again, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Midianites during seven years. Israel was, however, greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and they cried unto the Lord. An Angel appeared to a man named Gideon (the son of Joash, of Manasseh), and said, The Lord is with thee. But Gideon said. To convince me, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor, which is quite dry 5 when in the morning should I find it wringing wet, I shall believe it. And it came to pass. And Gideon destroyed the altars of Baal, and went forth with twelve thousand men j but the Lord said they were too many. Take them all with thee to the water's edge, and those only 31 which lap the water take to battle. Those which lapped the water amounted only to three hun- dred. And Gideon ordered that each man of the three hundred should take a trumpet, and that, on arriving near the enemy's camp, upon a given signal, they should each blow his trumpet. The Midianites fled. The main body then pur- sued, and took the two kings of Midian, and the kings of Zebah and Zalmunna, and passed over Jordan. The Israelites now wished Gideon to rule over 1241 b. c. them ; but he refused both for himself and son. He accepted, however, some of the spoils of the Midianites, such as the large hoop gold ear-rings, and the gold collars for the camels' necks, of which he made an ephod, which weighed I7OO shekels (or 850 ounces). This he intended as a trophy of Israel's deliverance. This very circumstance facilitated the idolatry of 1232 b. c. the people, for they went to worship it. Gideon had many wives, and threescore and ten sons, and he died after judging Israel only nine years. His natural son, Abimelech, destroyed the seventy sons, and made himself king of Shechem. The She- chemites detested the injustice and cruelty of Abi- melech, and laid wait to kill him. They did not, however, succeed ; but on his entering the little town of Thebez, a woman from the top of the tower threw a millstone on his head, and killed him. After Abimelech, there arose, to defend Israel, 1228 b. c. Tola, a brother of Gideon. He judged Israel for twenty-three years, died, and was buried at Shemar, 32 a city in the mountain of Ephraim, and whose acts were not worthy of record. He was the tenth judge of Israel. Jair, of Manasseh, a Gileadite, succeeded Tola. He had thirty sons, who rode on thirty ass colts, and they possessed thirty cities in Gilead. Jair died, and was buried in Camon. The children of Israel did a^ain evil in the sight of the Lord, worshipping strange gods ; and, in consequence, the Philistines vexed the Israelites eighteen years. So they again cried unto the Lord, and put away their strange gods, and served the Lord. And Jephtha, a mighty man of valour, was selected by the Gileadites to make war against the Ammonites, for the Ammonites purposed to take advantage of the situation of Israel. The spirit of the Lord came upon Jephtha ; and Jephtha vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If the Lord will deliver Ammon into my hands, then, when I return home in peace, whatever cometh forth out of the doors of my house I will offer as a burnt offer- ing. He subdued the people of Ammon in sight of Israel ; and behold his own daughter came out of his house to meet him with timbrels, and dancing, and she was his only child. And when he saw her, he rent his clothes, and said, Alas ! my daughter, thou hast brought me very low, and in much trou- ble, for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back. And she said. Let one thing be done for me : let me go up and down on the moun- tains for two months and bewail my virginity. And at the end of two months, scripture says that he did according to his vow ; but it is not expressly said 33 that she was sacrificed. There are some who take a milder view of the judgment, and suppose that she was doomed to be childless ; for as God sent his angel to prevent Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac, so it is likely he would serve the daugh- ter of Jephtha, seeing Jephtha's strong faith. And Jephtha smote the Ephraimites, even 42,000. Jephtha died after judging Israel six years, and was buried in Mizpeh, in Gilead. After him Ibzan, of Judah, succeeded Jephtha, and died at Bethlehem after seven years' govern- ment. After him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel for ten years. Then Abdon, of Hillel, of the tribe of Ephraim, judged Israel eight years ; he was the tenth Judge of Israel, also without anything worth recordino' in his reion. The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they were delivered into the hands of tlie Philistines for forty years. An Angel of the Lord appeared unto the wife of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan. And Manoah's wife was barren. The Angel said, Behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, and he shall deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. Manoah also came to the Angel, and offered the sa- crifice of a kid ; but the Angel, after acquainting him how to direct his son, said, I must not eat food, but you may offer it as a burnt sacrifice unto the Lord. And as the smoke began to ascend, the Angel also ascended in the midst of the flame towards heaven. The woman bore a son, and called his name Sam- son. Samson married a Philistine against the VOL. II. D 34 consent of his father and mother ; and he grew up, and on his road to Tiranath he was attacked by a lion, and the Lord came upon Samson, and he rent up the lion. 1151 B. c. Thirty-fifth Medal. Samson kill- ing the young Lion. The father of Samson's wife would not suffer him to take her to his parents. It appears that Samson had disobliged the parents of his wife because Samson would not reveal to them the secret or cause of his great strength, and on his absence to visit his own parents the father gave his daughter away to another. Samson was determined to be revenged against the Philistines for this breach of treaty ; and he caught three hundred foxes, and tied firebrands to their tails, and sent them among the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt it, with their vine- yards. 35 The men of Judah spread themselves in defence, because the Philistines came to take Samson ; and the men of Judah bound Samson, and delivered him unto the Philistines, who shouted with much joy. But the Lord came upon Samson ; he burst the cords, and seized upon a jaw bone of an ass, and slew above one thousand of the Philistines with it. And he w^ent off to Gaza, and the Gazites shut the gates of the city, saying, In the morning we shall take him. But the Lord was upon Samson, and at midnight he pulled up the door posts, and carried away the gates upon his shoulders. 1132 B. c. Thirty-sixth Medal. Samson carry- ing away tha Gates of Gaza. Samson returned in the evening to Gaza, in consequence of admiring a woman there of the name of Delilah, a harlot. He was seen by the Philis- tines, and they offered a large bribe of about £560 D 2 36 of our money to Delilah to learn from him and discover where his strength lay ; and, after repeated solicitations, he mformed her, If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak like any other man. She informed the lords of the Philistines, and in his sleep she told them that she would cut off the seven locks of his hair. She did so, and said, Samson, the Philistines are 1113 B. c, upon thee. His strength left him, and the Philis- tines took him, and put out his eyes, and made him grind in the prison house. In a short time the hair of his head grew ; and at that time the Philis- tines made a feast to Dagon, their god, for deli- vering Samson into their hands. And at this feast there were upon the roof of the building three thousand of the principal people ; and they sent for Samson to make sport. And Samson, in his prayer, called upon the Lord that he might be avenged of the Philistines for the loss of both his eyes. And whilst the three thousand persons were looking down into the hall, he took hold of the pillars on which the house stood, and bowed him- self with all his might, and the house fell, with the lords and all the persons therein, including Sam- son himself. And it came to pass, in the days of the judges ruling Israel, there was a certain man, whose name was Elimelech, of Bethlehem, and whose wife was Naomi. They resided in the country of Moab. Elimelech died, leaving his widow with two sons. And they took them wives of the daughters of Moab ; the name of the one was Orpah, and of the other Ruth. And in ten vears the two sons 37 died, so that Naomi was bereaved of her sons as well as her husband. She arose with her two daughters-in-law, and returned to the land of Judah. Naomi getting old, requested that her two daughters would return to their respective mothers' houses at Moab. Ruth, however, w^ould not go back to serve the gods of the Moabites, but would cleave to her mother-in-law, Naomi. So they went on journeying, until they reached Bethlehem, in the middle of the barley harvest. Naomi had a kins- man, whose name was Boaz, and Ruth asked Naomi to let her go and glean ears of corn after him, in whose sight she might find grace. Boaz said unto his principal servant who was set over the reapers. Whose damsel is this ? And he answered that she was the damsel that came back with Naomi from Moab. And Boaz said to her, Abide here with my maidens. And she answered, Why have I found ofrace in thee, seeing; that I am a stranofer ? Boaz said, It hath been fully shown to me thy attention to thy mother-in-law. The Lord recompence thy work. Now Boaz redeemed some land which formerlv belonged to Naomi, and it w^as the custom of Israel, in those days, to confirm a right, for the seller to draw off his shoe, and give it to his neighbour as a testimony. Ruth (the widow of Mahlon) was, according to the law, purchased by Boaz with the land ; and the people bore testimony, and said, The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel (the daughter of Laban), and like Leah (the wife of Jacob) ; which two con- tributed much towards building the house of Israel. 38 So Boaz took Ruth to wife, and she hore him a son, and Naomi took the child to her bosom; and their neighbours gave the child the name of Obed, and he became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. At this period, there was a man of Mount Ephraim, an Ephrathite, of the name of Elkanah, who had two wives, the one named Hannah, and the other Peninnah ; but Hannah had no children, and she prayed unto the Lord, and vowed a vow that if the Lord would give unto her a male child, she would give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and that no razor should come upon his head. Eli, the priest, the then judge of Israel, rebuked her, supposing her to have been drunk. He, how. ever, said. Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant thee thy petition. Hannah brought forth a child, and she called his name Samuel. The sons of Eli, the judge, were the worshippers of Belial ; they knew not the Lord. Elkanah offered the sacrifice of a bullock, and the custom then was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came (while the flesh was in seething) with a three-prong fork, and struck it into the cauldron, and all that was brought up belonged to the priest. Eli blessed Elkanah and Hannah, and Hannah bore three sons and two daughters. 1092 B. c. Josephus says that the child Samuel was about twelve years of age, and he ministered unto the Lord such Levitical duties as his age permitted. And the word was revealed before Samuel in a vision, by calling his name three times where the A.rk of God was. The Lord told Samuel of the 39 intended destruction of the house of Eli — both Eli and all his house, because he did not restrain his sons from committin"- evil.' Samuel told Eli all that the Lord had said in a vision ; and all Israel knew that Samuel was a prophet. Israel went out against the Philistines, and pitched beside Eben-ezer, and took the Ark, and placed it there. The Philistines defeated the He- brews, and carried away the Ark to the temple of Dagon. The sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain in the battle. A messenger came from the battle to Eli, and informed him that the Phi- listines had defeated the Israelites, had captured the Ark of God, and that his two sons were slain. On hearing this, Eli, being an old man of ninety- eight years, leaned back in his chair, and died, after having judged Israel forty years. When the Philistines rose up in the morning, to visit their temple, they found that their god Dagon had fallen down on his face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord. So they raised up Dagon, and put him in his place again ; and when they went to the temple the second morning, behold their £fod Daoon had fallen down ao-ain in the night, and both the palms of his hands were broken off, and he lay on the threshold. The Lord visited the Philistines with a disease which carried death and destruction throuo^hout their city. And as the Philistines came up, Samuel cried unto the Lord, with a burnt offspring, and the Lord discomfited the Philistines with thunder that dav. The Israel- ites pursued the Philistines, and smote them be- tween Mizpeh and Shen ; and vSamuel placed a 40 stone there, and called it Eben-ezer, and said, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. Samuel now got old, and his two sons, whom he had made judges in Israel, walked not in his way, but turned after lucre, and took bribes. There- fore Israel asked Samuel to make them a king, that they may be judged like other nations. And Samuel told them the words of the Lord, that with a king they would be worse off than with Judges in Israel. The Hebrews, however, obstinately maintained their opinion. Samuel prayed unto the Lord for advice, and the Lord said, Hearken unto their voice. They have rejected me, and served other gods, from the day when I brought them out of Egypt. Protest unto them, and shew them the manner of the king- which shall reign over them. And Samuel, according to the Lord's instruction, went out, and met a Benjamite, a giant in size, whose name was Saul. Samuel told Saul that he, Samuel, was the seer, or prophet, and shewed him the word of the Lord. Samuel then took a vial of oil, and anointed Saul king of Israel. And Samuel said to all the people. See ye whom the Lord hath chosen. And the people shouted, and said, God save the king. And Saul went home to Gilgal, and Samuel went with him, and all the people, and offered sacrifices ; and Samuel said to the people. Behold the king which ye have chosen, and a wickedness done to the Lord your God. And Jonathan, the son of Saul, smote the gar- rison of the Philistines in the city of Geba. And Saul blew the trumpet, and called all the 41 people together at Gilgal. The Philistines gathered all their host to fight against Saul, with thirty thou- sand chariots and horsemen, and a multitude of people ; and after Saul had tarried seven days in Gilgal, according to the time Samuel had appointed, he, without waiting for Samuel, offered the burnt offerino-. Just as he had finished the sacrifice, Samuel arrived, and said. What hast thou been doing ? Thou hast not kept the commandments of the Lord thy God, and therefore thy kingdom shall not continue. And Samuel left Saul, and went unto Gibeah of Benjamin. It appeared that the Philistines had previously removed all the smiths from throughout the land of Israel, that the Hebrews should not make swords and spears ; therefore, on the day of battle, there were neither swords nor spears in the hands of the Israelites. In consequence of the Amalekites opposing the children of Israel as they came from Egypt, Saul was ordered by Samuel to spare neither man, woman, or child of the Amalekites ; and he utterly destroyed all the people. But Saul spared Agag the king. He also kept the best of the spoils, and thus did not obey the Lord's commands ; therefore Samuel told Saul that for his disobedience the Lord had rent the kingdom of Israel from him, and given it to a neighbour and a better man. And Samuel had Agag hewed in pieces before the Lord in Gilo-al ; and Samuel left Saul. In the course of time, God sent Samuel to Saul to sacrifice ; and Samuel called Jesse the Bethlehemite to the sacri- fice ; and he sanctified Jesse and seven of his sons, 4>2 passing tliem before him. But Samuel said, The Lord hath not chosen either of these ; there yet remaineth the youngest son, David, fetch him. 1059 B. c. And Samuel anointed him in the midst of his brethren ; and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that hour : but the'spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from God troubled him. And it came to pass that Saul's ministers sent for David, who played upon the harp, to play before Saul, which refi'eshed him, and the evil spirit departed from him. The Philistines gathered again their armies to battle ; and also Saul with the men of Israel. The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel on a mountain on the opposite side, there being a valley between them. A champion of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height w^as upwards of twelve feet, and the coat of mail which he wore in weig'ht one hundred and sixty pounds, came forward with a spear and gor- get, and one before him bearing a shield. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day ; give me a man that we might fight together. The challenge dismayed Saul and all Israel. Goliath, the Philistine, drew near both morning and even- ing, and presented himself before the armies of Saul forty days. Jesse ordered his youngest son, David, to carry bread and cheese to his brethren, viz., to Eliab, Abinidab, and Shammah, who were with Saul, and to see how thev fared. David rose up in the morning, and left the sheep with the keeper. David arrived at the camp, and saluted his brothers. At this hour it was proclaimed by 43 Saul that the man who killed the champion, and so took away the reproach from Israel, the King would enrich him, and give him his daughter in marriage. David said to his brothers, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the living God ? His brothers were jealous of him, and wanted to send him home again to feed the sheep ; but Saul, hearing of David's sayings, sent for him, and, on seeing him, said, Thou art not able to fight the Philistine. David said. Thy servant smote a lion and a bear which killed my father's sheep, and I will serve this uncircumcised Philis- tine after the same manner, seeing that he hath defied the armies of the living God. And Saul said, Go, and the Lord be with thee. Now David took his stafi" in his hand, and also a sling, and out of the brook he took five stones ; and as they drew near each other, the Philistine cursed David by his gods, and said. This day I will give thee to the fowls of the air. And David answered, I come unto thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, and the Lord will deliver thee into my hands. Then David put a stone in his sling, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in the forehead, and brought him to the ground ; and David ran up and took the sword of the Philistine, and cut off his head. 44 1058 B. c. Thirty-seventh Medal. David cutting off the Head of Goliath the Philistine. And when the Philistines saw their companion was dead, they fled. The army of Israel and Judah then pursued the Philistines to the gates of Ekron, the most northern city of the Philistines. Saul then took David, and said. Thou shalt not go more home to thy father's house, I will set thee over the men of war. And he was accepted in the sight of all the army and people present. And it came to pass, as Saul, with David and the army, returned from the slaughter of the Philistines, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel singing and dancing, to meet Saul, with timhrels and other instruments of music ; they, however, sang out, Saul hath slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands. And Saul eyed David with jealousy from that day forward. Nevertheless, Saul took him into his house to reside, 45 and made David play on the harp before him as he formerly did, in which attitude Saul considered it would be a favourable opportunity to pierce him with a javelin ; but the Lord was with David, who escaped out of the way. Now Saul removed him by making him a captain over a thousand. Saul, finding that David behaved himself wisely in all his ways, was sore afraid of him ; and he gave David his second daughter to wife, named Miclial, that she might be made a snare to entrap him. And Saul said to his servants. Go and tell David that the king desireth not any dowry, but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies ; for Saul thought this a good opportunity to have David killed by the Philistines. David did as Saul required, even bringing to Saul two hundred instead of one hundred foreskins of the Philistines. Saul seeing that the Lord was with him, became more and more jealous of David. Saul, however, gave David his second daughter to wife. Michal loved David, and so did Jonathan (the eldest son of Saul), and Jonathan told David of his father's intention to destroy him. Jonathan went before his father Saul, and said that David had wrought a good salvation in Israel, by killing the Philistine, and said. Thou didst rejoice ; where- fore, then, wouldst thou sin against innocent blood ? Saul hearkened to the voice of Jonathan, and said, I swear, as the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain. There was ao-ain a war with the Philistines, and David was sent out against them ; he slew them with great slaughter, and returned in triumph to Saul. The evil spirit again sat upon Saul, and 46 while David was in the room, Saul threw a javelin at him, but David moved aside, and fled to his house, and to his wife Michal. Saul sent messen- gers to David's house, to find an opportunity to slay him, and David was found to be sick in bed ; and, during the return of the messengers to Saul, Michal let David down through a window, and he fled to Samuel, at Ramah, and told Samuel all that Saul had done unto him ; and Samuel and David went and dwelt in Naioth, a city of the prophets. Saul sent messengers three times to Naioth, to slay or take David, but they each time found Samuel, David, and the prophets prophesying, and the Lord was upon the messengers. Saul was then wroth, and he determined to go himself. On arriving at Naioth, the spirit of God was also upon Saul. David fled to Ramah, to tell Jonathan, and to know what his son could be before his father that he should seek his life. Jonathan was grieved, and said, 'Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will do. And they renewed their covenant by oath. And Jo- nathan informed David that Saul intended to slay him at the feast of the new moon, a day when all Saul's familv dined with him. Saul sat that dav at meat with his family, but David's place was empty ; and Saul asked Jonathan why David was not there, and Jonathan informed Saul that he asked leave of him to go to sacrifice at Bethlehem. And Saul's anger was kindled against his son Jonathan. And Jonathan said. What evil hath he done, and where- fore wouldst thou slay him ? At these words Saul threw a javelin at him, to kill him, but Jona- than escaped, and fled unto David, and they both 47 went. David then went to the city of Nob, and conversed with Ahimelech, the high Spriest there, and David obtained from Ahimelech Goliath's sword, which was put there according to a usual triumphal custom, as dedicated to God, similar to our custom of placing our enemies* flags in churches. Saul, hearing of this, commanded his guards to 1056 b. c. slay Ahimelech, and the eighty-five priests, which was done by Saul's chief herdsman, Doeg, an Edom- ite, except Abiathar, who escaped ; and he after- wards went with a party of soldiers and slew every man, woman, and child, in the city of Nob. David had now fear lest Saul should find him out, and he went into Gath, one of the cities belonging to the Philistines ; but David was discovered, and he put on or assumed the character of a madman, so they put him out of the city. He then retired to the cave of AduUam, and his brethren, hearing of this, came down to him, with four hundred men, to assist him ; and David became captain over them. And Abiathar came to David, and told him all that Saul had done in Nob. David said, I am sorrowful that I have been the cause of the death of your father Ahimelech, and the priests, therefore stay with me, and fear not ; for the Lord has determined to deli- ver the Philistines into my hand at Kielah. So David went, with about six hundred men, and smote^them, and took their cattle. Saul, hearing of this, said, Now he is delivered into mine hands. But David and his men escaped, and abode in the wilderness of Ziph, in the strongholds of Jonathan. And Jonathan consoled him, and said, Fear not, mv father shall not find thee. 48 The Philistines again made war against Israel, which ohliged Saul to give up the pursuit of David, and go after the Philistines, whom he routed ; when he again turned after David into a stronghold, or cave of Engedi. David and his men were, how- ever, on the outside. Saul lay down to rest. David entered the cave privately, and cut off the skirts of Saul's coat, and took his spear and cruse of water ; and when Saul arose, and looked behind him, he saw David, who said. The Lord judge between me and thee, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine anger. Saul now lifted up his voice, and wept, and said. Thou art more righteous than I, for thou hast rewarded me sfood for evil. And now I know this day well that thou shalt surely be king of Israel. And David swore unto Saul that he would not cut off his seed and name for ever, and Saul returned to Jerusalem. Samuel died at the age of ninety-two, and was buried at his house at Ramah, and David went to the wilderness of Paran. At this time there was a rich, churlish man, of the name of Nabal, of the race of Caleb, and of the tribe of Judah, who resided in the South of Judah, with his wife Abigail, who was very beautiful, and of good understanding. Nabal was possessed of three thousand sheep and one thousand goats, and refused to sell David and his followers provisions in their distress. David determined to resent this treatment, as being against the custom of Eastern hospitality, and went, with four hundred of his men, resolved to put Nabal and his house to the sword. In the mean time, one of David's servants told 49 Abigail what answer David gave, and all that had passed. Abigail, having more prudence, and having justified David's people, made haste in collecting all kinds of provisions, and carried them on numerous asses, and met David, which appeased his wrath against Nabal. He accepted the presents, and each returned home. Abigail apprised Nabal of the dan O'er which he had brouo-ht himself into, and her account had such an effect upon him, that he died in ten days. And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he sent for Abigail, and took her to wife ; he also took Ahinoam, the daughter of Aminaz, a native of Jezreel ; for it appears that Saul, out of revenge, and hatred of David, had given David's wife to Phalti, of Gallim. It appeared that, at the death of Samuel, Saul put away all those who had familiar spirits, and all called wizards, out of the land. David, having resolved to withdraw from the dominion of Saul, retired to Gath, a city of the Philistines, and desired to be received for a per- manencv, either into the roval citv, or elsewhere in the kino-dom of i\chish ; and the king', knowing his valour, and the animosity between him and Saul, received him, with his six hundred men and their families. The Philistines made war against Saul ; and when Saul saw^ the host, he w^as afraid. And Saul said. Seek me a woman who has a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. His servant said, Behold there is one at Endor. xlnd Saul disguised himself, and went to the woman ; and the woman said. Who shall I bring up to VOL. II. E 50 thee ? And Saul said, Samuel. Samuel before Saul. And she raised 1051 B. c. Thirty-eighth Medal. Saul and the (Vitch of En- lOT. Saul bowed himself to the ground. And Samuel said unto Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up ? Saul said, God is departed from me, and I wanted to know from thee what I must do. And Samuel said, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord thy God, the Lord will deliver thee and thine host into the hands of the Philis- tines. And Saul fainted, and returned home that night. David proposed to march with the Philistines against Saul ; but the princes murmured that an Hebrew should take so prominent a part, and Achish was obliged to dismiss him, but he so approved of his fidelity, that he advised him to rise A: 1 early in the morning, and, with his six hundred men, leave the city, and go to Ziklag, a city which the King of Gath gave to David when he first took refuge among the Philistines : it lay at the South of Canaan. It appeared, however, that, in the short absence of David, the Amalekites had taken and plundered the city, and the inhabitants and spoil were all car- ried off, and David's two wives were with the cap- tives. David prayed, and asked advice of God, who encouraged him to pursue them. He overtook them v.hilst they were singing and dancing because of the great spoil which they had taken. David attacked them with four hundred men, and smote them from twilight until the evening, recovered the spoil, and rescued his two v^ives ; and he took all their flocks and herds. And David gave to two 1053 b. c. hundred of his men, who had fallen sick on the road (out of the six hundred), their share of the spoil, and made such mode a system and ordinance for the future ; David also sent part of the spoil as presents to all the elders of Judah. The Philistines were at this time fighting against Israel, and in the battle Jonathan, Abinadab, and Melchishua, three sons of Saul, were slain ; and Saul, losing the battle, said to his armour-bearer, Havinof lost mv three sons, and beinQf myself wounded, thrust me through with thy sword. But his armour-bearer declined. So Saul took his own sword, and fell upon it ; and when the armour- bearer saw that he was dead, he fell upon his sword, and died with him. A man went from the camp of Saul to inform B 2 52 David of the death of Saul and his sons, and, thinking to obtain favour, stated that he slew Saul, and brouo:ht the crown and arm bracelet to David ; but David ordered the man to be slain because he had killed the Lord's anointed. And David la- mented the death of Saul and his sons. 1049 B. c. David, with his two wives and company, w^ent, by God's direction, up to Hebron, where he was anointed, and made King of Judah ; and Abner, son of Ner, a captain of Saul, made Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, King of Israel, and during the w^ar David had six sons born unto him. David demanded that Ish-bosheth should deliver up to him his wife Michal, whom Saul had given to Phaltiel, and Ish-bosheth took her from her hus- band, and sent her back to David. At this time, Joab and Abishai (his brother) slew Abner, because he had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon. David was so hurt at this, that he fol- lowed the bier, and cursed Joab. He mourned for Abner, and said. Let this wickedness rest upon Joab and all his father's house. Two captains of Saul's band slew Ish-bosheth, and carried his head to David ; but David ordered them to be hanged for destroying the innocent, and in- terred Ish-bosheth in the sepulchre of Abner. All the tribes came to anoint David king of Israel. The people called the Jebusites dwelt in the stronghold of the city of Jerusalem, which part of the city was called Zion. David took the fort, and dwelt in it, and called it the city of David. David was thirty years old when he began to reign ; and when the Philistines heard that the 53 Israelites liad anointed David king over Israel, they came with a great army to take David. But David did as the Lord commanded him : he smote the host of the Philistines, and burned all their images. David now went with the chosen men of Israel, iwi b. c. thirty thousand strong, to fetch the Ark of God. They took a new cart, and they brought the Ark out of the house of Abinadab. Uzzah and Ahio, who were Levites, and sons of Abinadab, conducted the cart on which the Ark of the Covenant was placed, from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem ; but the law commanded the Ark to be carried upon the shoul- ders of the Levites, contrary to the custom of the heathen, who always drew their gods about in car- riages, and as Uzzah was the elder brother, he was principally guilty, for whilst he stretched out his hand to support the Ark by the way, he was struck dead for his presumption. David brought the Ark into the city with sacrifices, shouts, and sound of trumpets ; and David danced before the Lord, and he was girded with a linen ephod, and he placed it in a tabernacle with great feasting. The Lord then gave David rest from all his enemies. David consulted Nathan the prophet respecting his wish to build him a palace of cedar ; but God, in a vision, informed Nathan that he could not permit it, but commanded Nathan to sav unto David the following as the words of the Lord : — I took thee from the sheepcote to be a ruler over my people Israel. I was with thee always, and gave thee a great name. I will plant my people, that they may have a place of their own, and move 54 no more. T will be to David a father, and he shall be ray son ; and I promise him blessings, if he com- mit no iniquity. The word of the Lord came unto Nathan, the prophet, to tell David, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, T took him from the sheepcote to be ruler over my people Israel, and I will set up his seed after him, and he shall build a house for my name ; if he commit iniquity I will chasten him with the rod of men, but my mercy shall not depart from him, and I will establish the throne of his king- dom for ever. Then went David and gave praises and thanksoivino^s unto the Lord. David subdued the Philistines and the Moabites, and the Syrians, and Hadadezer, the King of Zobah ; and he put garrisons in all Edom, and the people all became subservient to David ; and the Lord preserved David wherever he went. David now made Joab commander of the host, and Jehosaphat recorder. David sent Joab to besiege Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, during which time, as David was walking on the roof of his house, he perceived a most beautiful woman at the bath, and David sent servants to fetch her, and he kept her during the night, and was informed that 1031 B. c. she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. David desired Joab to send for Uriah the Hittite, and gave him a command in the army, and set him in the most dangerous place in the besieging army, when Uriah fell amongst the slain. Then David sent for Bathsheba to become his wife ; and this act displeased God. The Lord sent Nathan unto David, and who said, 55 There were two men in the city ; the one rich, with flocks and herds, and the other a poor man who had nothing save one little ewe lamb, which grew up with him and his children, and which he nou- rished, and it did eat of his own meat, and drink of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And a traveller called upon the rich man, who, requiring a lamb to dress to entertain his travelling friend, took by force the lamb from the poor man, and dressed it, instead of taking one of his own. Now David's anger was kindled against the man, and he said, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this shall surely die, and shall return the poor man fourfold. And Nathan said unto David, Thou art the man ; and he also said. Thus said the Lord, I anointed thee king over Israel, and gave thee the house of Judah ; I delivered thee out of the hands of Saul, and gave thee his house and wives ; wherefore hast thou despised the commandments of the Lord to do evil ? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite, and taken Bath- sheba his wife to be thv wife. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said. The Lord hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. But the child which is born unto thee shall surely die. The Lord therefore struck the child that Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, bore unto David, and it was very sick. David therefore besought God, and fasted, and lay upon the earth ; and the elders of the house could not persuade him to eat or to take any food, and on the seventh day the child died. In the course of time Bathsheba bore unto David another son, and he called his 56 name Solomon. At this time Joab took the royal city of Ammon. And David took Rabbah, and put the king's crown upon his head, of the weight of a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it came to pass that Absalom, David's son, by Malcah, was the handsomest man in Israel, and had the finest head of hair. Absalom had a fair sister, and Amnon, the eldest son of David, by one of his wives, Ahinoam, loved his sister Tamar, and forced her against her will and against the law. Absalom commanded his servants to kill him at a feast of sheep- shearing, which they accomplished. David grieved to hear the news, and Absalom fled to Talmai, at Geshur. Now, during the two years, Absalom ingratiated himself with the people of Israel, and Joab came to David, and told him all this. Absalom came and bowed himself before David, who forgave him, and even kissed him. Absalom went to Hebron, and rebelled against his father David, and sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying. As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. A messenger came to David and said, The priests of the men of Israel are with Absalom. This alanned David so much, that he fled from Jerusalem ; but he enjoined Zadok, the priest, to remain in the city with the Ark, and said. If I find favour in the eyes of the Lord, I shall send again for the Ark. And David went with his people, bare-footed, up to Mount Olivet, and wept. Hushai, the Archite, a particular friend of David, professed to be a friend of Absalom, and insinuated himself into his councils, which made 57 Ahithophel, the principal counsellor, jealous. Hu- shai informed David how things were going on ; and Ahithophel went unto his o^vn home, and hanofed himself. David's armies were commanded bv Joab aoainst Absalom, and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim. The Israelites were driven back, when Absalom, in pursuit, was caught by the hair of his head on a bough of a tree, and his mule went from under him ; and whilst he was suspended, Joab pierced his side with a spear, and killed him. 1019 B. c, Thirtv-ninth Medal. Absalom slain in the Wood of Ephraim. The news of Absalom's death was brought to David by Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, the priest ; and David cried, and said, O Absalom, my son, my son, would to God I had died for thee. Joab remonstrated with the king for thus mourning 58 after his son, and caused him to cease. And the Israelites brought back David, their king, to Jeru- salem. Joab now slew Amasa and Sheba, and remained captain over all the host of Israel. And Hadoram was over the tribute, and Jehoshaphat was recorder. Sheva was the scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. And Ira was the chief ruler about David. There was a famine in the days of David which lasted three years, and David enquired of the Lord in prayer, and found that it was for Saul and his bloody house, because he wilfully slew the Gibeon- ites instead of the Amorites. So David, to appease the Gibeonites, delivered up seven sons of Saul to them, who immediatelv hanofed them. The Philistines were now again at war with Israel, and they thought they could destroy David, having with them four giants, the brothers of Goliath the Gittite, the sons of the giant in Gath ; but David's warriors slew them, and David sung praises unto the Lord for delivering him out of the hands of his enemies. [This song or psalm of thanksgiving of David will be found in the 22d chapter of the second book of Samuel, and consists of fifty-one verses, and is similar to the 18th Psalm.] The anofer of the Lord was ao-ain kindled aofainst Israel, and he moved David to have the children of Israel numbered ; and David appointed Joab to see it completed. It took nine months and twenty days. And there were in Israel 800,000 men that drew the sword, and in Judah 500,000. The numbering of the people was against Joab's re- 59 commendation, as it was thought a pride in his own strength, without looking to God for help, and depending upon him for assistance. Gad the prophet came to David, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things ; choose one — 1st, Seven years famine in the land. 2nd, To flee for three months before thine enemies. 3rd, Three days' pestilence. And David perceived his wickedness in number- ing the people, and said, I pray unto the Lord that 1 may fall into his hands, and not into the hands of man. So the Lord sent a pestilence, and there died from Dan to Beer-sheba 70jOOO men ; and David prayed and offered sacrifice unto the Lord, and the plague was stayed. David was stricken in years, and very ill ; and Adonijah, the tenth son of David, bv Huggith, exalted himself, and said he would reign. Nathan informed David and Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, of it, and reminded the king- of his oath. And the kino- called unto him Zadok, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, to anoint Solomon king over Israel. And at the sound of the trumpet the people cried loii b. c. out, God save King Solomon. At this Adonijah and all his friends fled ; but Adonijah went to the horns of the altar, and Solomon forgave him, and let him go home. David now charged Solomon, saying, I go the way of all the earth ; show thyself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways and keep his commandments. David remembered and told Solomon of the bloody deeds of Joab. Now Joab was the son of Zeruiah, the sister of David, and he was David's 60 greatest general, and gained him the battles ; tut he was most cruel, revengeful, imperious, though in every way firm to David's true interest. Asahel, Joab's brother, was killed in the battle against Abner. To revenge his death, Joab treacherously killed Abner, who had come to Hebron to make an alliance with David. David heard of this base action, but dared not punish Joab. At the moment that Solomon was acknowledged king by all Israel, he was then besieging Jehus, and promised to make that man captain general of his army who first mounted the walls ; and it proved to be Joab. He subdued the Ammonites, and procured the destruction of Uriah at the sieo^e of Rabbah, in conformitv to David's wishes. And on the rebellion of Absalom against his father David, Joab slew him, although David had given strict orders to spare him. And lastly, when Adonijah, David's son, having aspired to the throne, Joab rather supported him. David on his death-bed charged Solomon to slay Joab, and also Shimei, who cursed David on his road to Mahanaim. And David died after a reign of forty years. And Solomon ordered Adonijah and Shimei to be slain. Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter, and formed an alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Solomon went to Gibeon, and offered up to the Lord one thousand burnt ofiferings, and Solomon walked in the statutes of the Lord. The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night ; and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon asked for himself understanding, that he might judge between good and evil. This deter- mination pleased the Lord, and the Lord said, As 61 thou hast not asked for long life, nor riches, but for wisdom, I have given thee a wise and under- standinof heart, so that none were ever like thee before, neither after thee shall anv be like unto thee. Then came two women unto King Solomon, (harlots) and stood before him. One of the women said. Oh, my lord, I was delivered of a child, and the third dav after this other woman was delivered also of a child ; and it soon occurred that this woman's child died in the night, when she ex- changed her dead child for mine. The other woman strongly denied it. The king, not being able to get at the truth, called for his sword, and prepared to divide the living child in two, to give one-half to each mother. The woman, whose living child it really was, cried out. Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. Solomon said, She is the mother thereof; give her the child. And all Israel saw that the wisdom of God was with him to do justice. 62 1009 B. c. Fortieth Medal. Solomon's judgment. Solomon reigned over all the kingdom of Israel, from the boundary rivers between Egypt and Palestine, to the land of the Philistines, and unto the borders of Egypt, and he had peace on all sides. He lived in the greatest luxury ; he had forty thousand stud of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen as servants, and Solomon had more wisdom than any other man, which God gave him superior to all people. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs w ere one thousand and five ; and the kings of the earth, hearing of his know- ledge, sent unto his capital learned men to hear his wisdom. Solomon sent to Hiram, king of Tyre, and said. You are aware that, in consequence of con- tinued wars, my father David could not build him a house unto the Lord ; therefore I entreat thee to 63 send me some cedar wood, as what King Hiram promised my father to do. And it came to pass, in the four hundred and eightieth year, after the children were come out of the land of Egypt, and in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, that he began to build a house unto the Lord, and thirty thousand men were sent to Lebanon to cut down timber and bring it home. And Solomon built the house — the length, sixty cubits ; the breadth, twenty cubits ; the height, thirty cubits ; and he overlaid the oracle with pure gold, and he put partition chains of gold before the oracle, and placed two cherubs, one on each side of the oracle, and their wings touched one another, and he overlaid the cherubims with gold, and carved the walls with cherubims, palm trees, and figures, and open flowers. The floors of the house were overlaid with gold, and the doors were turned upon gold hinges, and all the vessels which pertained to the temple were of gold, the candlestick, snuffers, bowls, spoons, and censers ; even the altar was of pure gold, as well as the table, on which stood the shew bread. All these Solomon kept as sacred treasures in the temple or house of the Lord. 64 Forty-first Medal. Solomon's Temple. It appears that Solomon was at the same period building- a house for himself, and another for his queen; the building contained the judgment seat, and in this house he put the molten sea, standing upon twelve oxen. This was, however, made by Hiram, a cunning workman, who resided at Tyre j the molten sea was supposed to be intended for ablutions. It is said that it contained sixteen thousand gallons, and that the water came out of the mouths of the oxen convenient for complete ablution. But all the vessels which stood in the temple or house of the Lord, were of pure gold. The molten sea, it is supposed, stood in a con- venient situation within the court of Solomon's house, just before entering into the court of the house of the Lord. It appears that Solomon was thirteen years in building his house. 65 Joseph us says that its appearance had everything that could strike the mind and astonish th.e sight, for it was on every side covered with solid gold plates, so that when the sun rose upon it, it reflected such a strong dazzling eff^ulgence, that the eye of the beholder was obliged to turn away from it. All the men of Israel assembled themselves unto Solomon at the dedication of the temple. The Lord said, I have surely built thee an house to dwell in. And the King said, The Lord hath per- formed all his word that he spoke, and I am risen up in the room of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel ; and I have built a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel, and have set therein the ark which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. The temple occupied twenty years and six months in building. Now Solomon paid the King of Tyre, who fur- nished the cedar and fir trees, with gold, according to his desire, and also gave him twenty cities in the land of Galilee, and all the children that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Hivites, who were not of the children of Israel. Solomon now made a navy of ships in Ezion- Geber, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom ; and they sailed to Ophir, supposed to be situated on the coast of Malabar, so that three years were required for the voyage ; and the fleet returned freighted with gold, peacocks, apes, spices, ivory, and ebony, and one year he received six hun- dred and sixty-six talents of gold, equal to tlu'ee millions and a half of our money. VOL. II. K 66 The Queen of Sheba (the Queen of Ethiopia), hearing of the fame of Solomon, came to Jerusalem, with a great number of camels, bearing gold, pre- cious stones, and spicis, as presents to Solomon j and she communed with him of all that was in her heart. The gold which she gave Solomon was equal to one hundred and twenty talents, or £657jOOO. The Queen of Sheba said to Solomon, It is a true report that I heard in my own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. After a residence of some weeks with Solomon, she returned home, and her first act was, that the crown should be hereditary in the family of Solomon for ever, and that after her no woman should be capable of wearing that crown, or being a queen, but that it should descend to the male heir, however distant, in exclusion of all females, however near. Solomon loved, besides the daughter of Pharaoh, many strange women of the Moabites, the Ammo- nites, the Edomites, the Hittites, and the Zidonites. He had seven hundred wives that were princesses, who, in his old age, drove him to idolatry, and thus turned his heart from the Lord. God punished him by stirring up Hadad, king of Edom, to war against him. Now Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, being an enter- prising man, Solomon appointed him to gather the taxes of Ephraim and Manasseh ; and one dav, as he went out of Jerusalem, Ahijah the prophet met him, having on a new cloak, which he rent into twelve pieces, saying to Jeroboam, Take ten to thyself; for the Lord will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and give ten tribes to thee. 67 Solomon died, after a reion of forty vears, and 971 b. c. was buried in the city of David, with his father ; and Rehoboam, his son, reigned in his stead. Jero- boam, hearing of Solomon's death, came from Egypt, and Rehoboam would not take the advice of the old wise men, but worshipped golden calves. And all Israel, hearing that Jeroboam was come again, rebelled against the house of David, and the ten tribes invited Jeroboam to be king over Israel, and they fixed his residence at Shechem. Rehoboam retained Judah. There were conti- nual wars between them. Jeroboam then made two calves of gold, and said, Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. He set one up at Bethel, and the other in Dan, and he offered sacrifice upon the altar. And there came a man of God from Judah, whilst Jeroboam stood at the altar burning incense, and the man of God said. Behold a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name : and the sio^n shall be that the altar shall be rent. And when Jeroboam heard this, he stretched forth his hand to seize him, but his arm dried up and withered, and he could not draw it back. The altar of Bethel was immediately broken in pieces, and the fire and ashes fell to the ground. ¥ 2 68 968 B. c. Forty-second Medal. Jeroboam ordering the Man of God to be seized. And the King said to the man of God, Pray unto the Lord that my arm may he restored to me. And the man of God hesought the Lord, and his arm was restored. Now there dwelt an old prophet at Bethel, and his sons came and told him the words which the man of God had spoken to the king, and all that he did. The old prophet saddled his ass, and went after the man of God, and came up with him, and said, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah ? And he said, I am. And the old prophet said, Return with me to my house at Bethel, to eat bread. And he answered. Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water there. But the man of Bethel said, I am a prophet also, and an Angel spake unto me, saying. Bring him C9 back into thine house. This, however, was all false. The man of God did, in consequence, return with him, and did eat bread and drink water. He then remounted his ass, and proceeded on his jour- ney, but a lion met him on the way, and slew him. Information of this havino- reached Bethel, the old prophet said. It is the man of God, who disobeyed the word of the Lord. He went and broufj-ht the carcase back, and buried it in his own grave. This extraordinary event did not deter Jeroboam from committing impiety. He how^ever died, after a reign of twenty-two years, and Nadab, his son, succeeded him. Now at this time Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, still reigned in Judah (the city to which the Lord chose to put his name there), but he worshipped molten images, and did according to the abomina- tion of nations, so that Shishak, the then kino- of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem, and took away all the treasures in the house of the Lord, and the shields of gold which Solomon had made. Abijam succeeded Rehoboam as king of Judah, and onlv reigned three vears. He was succeeded by his son Asa, who purified Judah from the infa- mous practices attendant on the worshippinor of images ; and after reigning thirty-five years in peace, he died of the gout. Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his stead, as king of Judah, and Baasha commanded the armies of Nadab, king of Israel. He (Baasha, son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar) conspired against Nadab, and smote him at Gibbethon, a citv which belonged to the Philistines, and reigned in his 70 stead ; and, according as the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the prophet, he extirpated the house of Jeroboam. But Baasha made Israel to sin ; and there was war between Asa, king of Judah, and Baasha, king of Israel, all their days. Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu, the son of Hanani, the prophet, saying, I exalted Baasha out of the dust, and made him prince over my people Israel ; but as he walked in the ways of Jeroboam, I will take away the posterity of his house. The Lord also said, He that dieth of the house of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat, and he that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. Baasha died, and Elah, his son, reigned in his stead. And Zimri, the servant of Elah, and cap- tain of his chariots, smote him, and usurped the throne ; and immediately he slew all the house of Baasha, according to the words of Jehu the prophet. In seven days after, Omri, a general in the army of Israel, burnt Zimri in the king's house, and Omri was elected king by the people ; but he fol- lowed in the evil ways of Jeroboam and Nadab, and his crimes exceeded theirs in the city of Samaria. Omri died, and was buried with his fathers, and Ahab, his son, reigned in his stead ; and he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and went and worshipped Baal. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that went be- fore him. And God raised up a prophet, Elijah of Tishbe, 71 (by some called Elias) a city beyond Jordan, in Gilead, to oppose idolatry, particularly the worship of Baal ; and Elijah prophesied, and said unto Ahab, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the Lord told him to go and hide himself at the brook Che- rith, that lay before Jordan ; and, according to the word of the Lord, the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and in the evening, and he drank of the brook. 898 B. c. Forty-third Medal. Elijah fed b_i the Ravens. In a little time, however, the brook dried up, and the word of the Lord came unto Elijah, saying, Get thee to the city of Zarephath, which bclongeth to Zidon. I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. On Elijah's entering at the 72 gate of the city, he perceived a woman gathering' sticks ; and he said, Pray fetch me a little water and a morsel of bread. And she said, As the Lord liveth, I have only a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse, and I am gathering sticks that I may go and dress it, that I and my son may eat it, and die. And Elijah said, Go and do as thou hast said, for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, which miraculously supported him, the widow, and her son, for two years. The son of the woman afterwards fell sick, even unto death ; and Elijah took the child, and cried unto the Lord, and the child recovered, and the woman believed that Elijah was a man of God. After many days, Elijah was instructed by the Lord to shew himself to Ahab. During the famine, which existed greatly in Samaria, Obadiah, the governor of Ahab's house was sent to see if any grass remained ; on his road he met Elijah, and he fell on his face, saying, Art thou Elijah ? Elijah said, I am : go and tell Ahab that I am here. Obadiah went back, and met Ahab, and brought him to Elijah ; and Ahab said unto Elijah, Art thou he that troubleth Israel ? And he answered, I am not ; but thou hast forsaken the commandments of the Lord thy God, and followed Baal. Therefore send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Car- mel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the prophets of the grove four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. Ahab did as Elijah said. And Elijah then said, 73 How long halt ye between two opinions. If the Lord be God, follow him ; but if Baal, follow him. And Elijah said, I only remain as a prophet unto the Lord. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bullock for themselves and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it, and call upon the name of their god, and I will call upon the name of my God, and the god that answereth by fire let him be God. And the people answered. It is well spoken. And the four hundred and fifty prophets called on the name of Baal from morning until night, but there was no answer, nor any thing regarded. Then Elijah said unto the people. Come near me. And he re-built the altar, and put on wood, and then a bullock cut in pieces, but he put no fire under it. And he called upon the Lord, and fire from the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice. And the people fell on their faces, and said, The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God. And Elijah said. Take the prophets, let not one escape. So they took them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them. Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain. And Elijah sent his servant to look towards the sea seven times ; and the seventh time he perceived a cloud risinor out of the sea like a man's hand. And Ahab got into his chariot and went to Jezebel ; and he told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and that he had slain the four hundred and fifty prophets. And Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying. So let the gods do to me, if I make not thy life by to-morrow at this time like one of them. 74 Elijah fled to Beer-sheba in Judah, and he was met by an Angel, who gave him to eat ; and he remained forty days and nights in Horeb, the Mount of God ; and he called upon the Lord, saying, That it did not appear to him that he was better than his father, and as Israel sought to take away his life, he hoped that he might then die. The Lord said, Go to Damascus, and anoint Hazael to be king of Syria ; and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel. And it shall come to pass that he that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay, and he that escapeth the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. He departed, and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, ploughing in the fields. And as he passed by him, he threw his mantle over him ; and Elisha followed Elijah, and ministered unto him. Benhadad, king of Syria, demanded all the gold and silver vessels, and even the wives of Ahab, king of Israel ; who said. Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast of himself as he that putteth it off. At which message Benhadad said to his ser- vants. Set yourselves in army array against the city of Samaria. Then came a prophet to Ahab, and said. Thus said the Lord, I will deliver it into thy hands this day. And Ahab went out with only seven thousand young men. It so occurred that Benhadad was drunk, with the thirty-two kings who came to help him. The Syrians were forced back with great slaughter. The King of Syria said. We are beaten by the gods of the hills. We will again attack them in the plains, when we shall be stronger than they. The 75 man of God came to Israel, and said, Because the Syrians say that the God of the hills is not the God of the valleys, I will deliver the multitude into thine hands. On the seventh day the battle began, when the children of Israel slew one hundred thousand in one day, and the remainder fled to Aphek, the wall of which city fell down, and killed twenty-seven thousand of them. Benhadad then said, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore to thee. So Ahab let him go away upon this cove- venant. It came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, which Ahab wished to purchase, as it adjoined the palace in Samaria, and Ahab offered him the worth of it ; but Naboth said, The Lord forbid it me, that I should orive the inheritance of my father unto thee. Ahab took this refusal much to heart ; but Jezebel his wife said, I will get thee the vineyard of Naboth. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and the purport was to proclaim a fast, and set Naboth high amongst the people, and get witnesses to go against him, and to say that he blasphemed God and the king, and then to carry him out and stone him until he died ; and they did so. And when Jezebel knew that Naboth was dead, she said to Ahab, Arise, and take posses- sion of the vineyard. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, say- 895 b. c. ing. Arise, and meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is at this time gone into the vineyard to possess it, and thou shalt sav. Thus saith the Lord, As thou 7^) hast killed and taken possession, in the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. And Elijah said, Thine inheritance shall be for ever cut off. And of Jeze- bel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the walls of Jezreel. And Ahab humbled himself before the Lord, so that the evil and the destruction of his house were postponed until the days of his son. And Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went up with Ahab, king of Israel, to take Ramoth-gilead, and Ahab was killed at the siege in his chariot, and carried to Samaria ; and whilst his servant was washing his chariot, the dogs licked up his blood, according to the word of the Lord. After the death of Ahab, the Moabites rebelled ao-ainst Israel, and Ahaziah reigned in his stead as kino- of Israel. He fell down through a lattice win- dow, and was so ill, that he sent messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to know^ if he should recover. Elijah was instructed by the Lord to meet the messengers, and inform Ahaziah that, be- cause he did not apply to the God of Israel, he should surely die. The servants told Ahaziah all this, when he inquired what manner of man he was ; and they answered that he was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. The king said. It is Elijah the Tishbite. And he died, according to the word of the Lord, after a reign of only two years. About this time, Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, reigned in Judah, and he walked in the good ways of his father, and made peace with Israel. He 77 reigiiecl twenty-five years in Jerusalem, and died, and Jehoram, his son, reigned in his stead. And it came to pass, when the Lord would take Elijah into heaven, that Elisha went with Elijah to Gilgal, and then to Bethel and Jericho ; and the prophets in each city spake unto Elisha, and asked him if he knew that the Lord would take his master Elijah that day. And Elislia answered, Yea, I know it. And as Elijah had said that he should pass the river Jordan, numerous of the prophets of the cities followed him ; and when he reached the river Jordan, he smote the waters with his mantle, and the waters divided, when he and Elisha passed to the other side. Then Elijah said to Elisha, What shall I do for thee, before I am taken away from thee ? And Elisha said, I pray thee that a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And as they went on talking, there appeared a chariot of fire, and Elisha saw him taken up into heaven. 895 B. c. Forty-fourth Medal. Elijah carried into Heaven in the presence of Elisha. 78 Elijah's mantle fell from him, which Elislia caught, and as he went back to the river Jordan, he smote the water, which again divided, and which permitted Elisha to pass over ; and all the prophets were witness to this, and they said that the spirit of Elijah had fallen upon Elisha. And the people met him, and bowed themselves to the ground be- fore him. Elisha tarried at Jericho, and the men of the city told him that the water was bad, and he asked them for a new cruse, and to put salt therein ; and they brought it to Elisha, and he went to the spring and cast the salt therein, and he said. Thus saith the Lord God, I have healed these waters ; there shall not be from this time any more dearth and barren land. So the waters were healed. From thence Elisha proceeded to Bethel, and there came numerous people out of the city, who mocked him ; and Elisha was angry, and cursed them in the name of the Lord, and there imme- diately came out of the wood bears, and killed forty- two of them, principally children. Jehoram, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria during Jehoshaphat's reign in Judah ; and he reigned twelve years, but he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam. Mesha, the king of Moab, rebelled against Israel, to annul the tribute annually paid to Israel of one hundred thou- sand rams and one hundred thousand lambs. Jeho- ram invited Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and the King of Edom, to assist him ; and during seven days* journey, they could not find water for their armies. Jehoram said, Alas ! the Lord hath called 79 us three kings together, to deliver us into the hands of Moab. And they said, Let us consult Elisha, he is nigh. And Elisha said, Cut the valley into ditches, and although there shall not be rain, yet the ditches shall be full of water. He also pro- mised them a victory. A certain widow of one of the sons of the pro- phets come to Elisha in distress, saying that her creditors were come upon her, and that she had only one pot of oil left. Elisha said. Go and borrow a number of empty vessels of all thy neighbours. And the wido^^s pot of oil filled all the borrowed ones, which sold for as much as paid her creditors. Elisha went to the city of Shunem, near Tabor, where there was a wealthy woman ; and she con- strained him to eat bread, which he did. And she said to her husband. This man must be a man of God. Let us fit up a chamber on purpose for him, as he passes frequently. This was done ; and Elisha said to his servant Gehazi, Call this Shu- nammite woman to me, for she regretteth that she hath no child. And Elisha said, Thou shalt embrace a son. But she disbelieved him. The woman, however, conceived, and bore a son, at the exact time when Elisha had promised her. In the course of a few years, the child died, and she left him on the bed of the man of God, and she ran and fetched Elisha, who came with her to the house ; and Elisha laid himself upon the child, and prayed unto the Lord, and the flesh of the little child became warm, and he delivered unto the mother the child alive. 80 880 B. c. Forty-fifth Medal. The Shunam- mite's Son re- stored to life by the prayer of Elisha. Elisha then returned to Gilgal, where the sons of the prophets were sitting in great trouble, for there was dearth in the land. They cried out to Elisha for assistance, and Elisha said to his servant, Put on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one went into the fields to gather herbs, and he also found a wild vine and vine gourds ; and as the pottage was poured out for the men to eat, they cried out to the man of God that there was death in the pot. And Elisha said. Bring meal, and cast it in. And he did so, and the people did eat, for there w^as no longer any harm in the pot. At this period lived Naaman, a great man, and captain of the host of Benhadad, king of Syria, who was afflicted with leprosy, and hearing of tlie fame 81 of Elisha in Israel, he applied to the King of Svria to intercede for him, that he mi^rht ^o to Elisha. The King of Israel, on being applied to for leave for Naaman, rent his clothes, feelino- himself insulted that he should be mixed up with the application. Elisha, hearing of this, went to the king, and said. Let Naaman come to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came, with his horses and chariots, and stood before the door of Elisha ; and Elisha sent a messenger to him, to tell him to go and wash in the river Jordan seven times, and he should be clean. But at this messao-e Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Are not the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? Naaman's servant, however, said unto him, Master, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it ? Naaman, therefore, went and dipped himself seven times in the river Jordan, and was cured. He immediately went to Elisha, and urged him to take presents, but he refused, and told Naaman to go in peace. But Gehazi, the ser- vant of Elisha, secretly followed after Naaman, with an excuse that his master would accept of two bags of silver and two changes of raiment ; and Naaman gave them unto him. At his return, he denied that he had been with Naaman ; but Elisha knew it, and told his servant that, for his treacherv, the leprosy should cleave unto him. And he sent him away a leper as white as snow. At this time the King of Syria warred against Israel, but was discomfited by Elisha, who informed the King of Israel of the intentions of the King of VOL. ir. G 82 Syria. This so troubled the King of Syria, that he encompassed the city of Dothan, where the prophet Elisha lived, on pui'pose to take him. Elisha, however, prayed unto the Lord that this multitu- dinous army might be struck with blindness ; and it was so, and Elisha led the Kinon of Svria's army into Samaria, instead of into Dothan. Then he prayed to God to open their eyes ; which was done, and Elisha gave them meat and drink, and sent Ihem home. Benhadad, on returning home, heard that there was a great famine in Samaria, and he gathered together all his host, and went up to besiege Samaria, and the famine was so severe that an ass sold for eighty pieces of silver. The people murmured, but Elisha said unto them. Hear ye the word of the Lord. By this time to-morrow, a measure of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel. There were four leprous men at the gate, and they said one to another. If we go into the city we shall die, and if we remain outside we shall die. So they determined to fall back on the camp of the Assy- rians ; but, on their arrival, they found that the Assyrians had all fled, leaving their tents and stores behind them. The lepers returned, and in- formed the King of Israel, who went out and spoiled the tents ; and their stores and provision, were so great, as to permit a measure of fine flour to be sold for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord by Elisha. Hazael, a principal adviser of the King of Syria, whom the Lord ordered Elisha to anoint, to be a future kinoc of Syria, informed Elisha, that his master was very ill, and could not live ; and, in 83 fact, he hastened his death and proclaimed himself his successor. He was a cruel king, and executed upon Israel all the evils which Elisha foretold. Elisha now sent one of the children of the prophets, and said. Take a hox of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead, and say, Thus said the Lord, I have anointed Jehu, the captain of the host, to be king over Israel, and he shall smite the house of Ahab. The soldiery declared Jehu, king over Israel. And Jehu rode in his chariot, and drove furiously to Jezreel, and smote Joram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, and successor to his eldest brother Ahaziah, who died without issue : he smote him with an arrow, and he sank down in his cha- riot, and Jehu told his captain to cast him into the vinevard of Naboth the Jezreelite, accordino- to the word of the Lord. Jehu then followed Ahaziah, and smote him also in his chariot. And Jehu advanced to Jezreel, and Jezebel hearing of it, she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out of the window. Jehu commanded the eunuchs who attended her to throw her out of the window, which they did ; and the dogs came and eat her flesh, according as the Lord had said, and which he spoke by his servant Elisha, In the portion of Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel. There were seventy sons of Ahab residing at Samaria, and Jehu ordered, by letter, that they should be slain, and all the house of Ahab, in con- formity to the prophecy of Elisha. He also slew forty-two of Ahaziah's brethren, and destroyed the worshippers of Baal; but after this Jehu followed in the sins of Jeroboam, so far as related to the G 2 823 B. c. 84. golden calf in Bethel and in Dan. He reigned in Israel, the capital being then Samaria, twenty-eight years, and his son Jchoahaz reigned in his stead. The Lord said that, in consequence of Jehu being the instrument against the house of Ahab, his chil- dren of the fourth generation should reign over Israel. Now it appears that Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, was saved from the massacre by Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab, and mother of Aha- ziah. He was stolen from among the king's sons, and was supposed to have been slain. Some time after, Athaliah was, by order of Jehoiada the priest, also slain, and Jehoash, thus saved, was placed upon the throne of David as king of Judah. Jehoash gave the tribute-money to Jehoiada the priest to repair the house of God, and did that which was right ; but Hazael, king of Syria, came to attack Jerusalem, which so alarmed Jehoash, that he bought him off by giving him most of the treasures of Jerusalem, for which act he was slain by his servants, and Joash his son reigned in his stead. He followed the sins of Jeroboam, but re- instated the aifairs of the kingdom of Israel during his reiofn of sixteen vears, Amaziah, his son, and the eighth king of Judah, succeeded him as king of Israel, the capital l.eing Samaria. The Lord's anger was at this time kin- dled ao-ainst all Israel for still following the sins of Jeroboam. Amaziah, king of Judah, having been victorious over the Edomites, challenged Jehoash, king of Israel, for he thought himself invincible, and would 85 continue to worship the false gods which he had taken from Edom. Jehoash, however, defeated him, and entered Jerusalem, and carried off the gold and silver vessels that belonged to the temple. The reign of Jehoash, king of Israel, was a wicked one ; he died and was buried in Samaria. He was succeeded by Jeroboam, his son, as king of Israel, the capital being Samaria. Hazael, king of Assyria, died, and Benhadad, his son, reigned in his stead. Benhadad besieged Samaria, and the famine became extreme, but Elijah promised abundance the next day, and the prediction was verified by the flight of the Syrians, which will be seen in the second book of Kings, chapter sixth. Jeroboam reigned in Samaria 8i9 b. c. forty-one years ; he recovered Damascus and Amath, which belonoed to Judah, for Israel. Jeroboam died, and was buried with his fathers, the kings of Israel. Zachariah, his son, reigned in his stead, but after reioninor six months was treacherously killed by a chief called Naphtali ; who, however, * held Israel only one month, he being a usurper, for Menahem, the son of Gadi, went to Samaria, and smote him, and reigned king of Israel ; he also smote all the inhabitants of the cities on the coast which did not surrender to him, and he continued his wickedness to such an extent, as to destroy all the women and children. But the King of Syria came against him, and Menahem bought himself off for one thousand talents of silver, about £350,000 of English money. Menahem died, and Pekahiah, his son, reigned in his stead, as king of Israel. He reigned, however, only two years, and was succeeded by Pekah, who 86 was a general in his army. This was at the period of Azariah, king of Judah. Pekah did evil in the sight of the Lord during a reign of twenty years in Samaria. Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, slew him, and carried the inhabitants as captives to Assyria. At this time Jotham, the son of Uzziah, the son of the king of Judah, began his reign in Jerusalem, and he ]-eigned sixteen years in the good ways of his father, king of Judah. He died, and was buried in the. city of David, and Ahaz, his son, reigned in his stead. His reign was, however, a wicked one, for he spoiled the temple, and took to his own private use the brazen laver. He died, and was buried in the city of David, and Hezekiah, his son, reigned in his stead as king of Judah. 726 B. c. At this period Hoshea, the son of Elah, the last king of Israel, reigned in Samaria, but he was a wicked king, and worshipped Baal ; therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight, and there were none left but the tribe of Judah, for he sent Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, against Samaria, who took Samaria, and carried all Israel away into Syria. And Shalma- neser peopled the city of Samaria with the inha- bitants of Babylon and Cuthah. At this period the prophets Isaiah and Amos prophesied ; and also at this time in Israel were the prophets Jonah and Hosea. Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, was king of Judah. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that, before or after him, there was none like unto him among all the kings of Judah. In the reign of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, 87 king of Assyria, came up against all the fenced cities of Jiidah, and took them all except Jerusalem, which so alarmed Hezekiah that he gave him all the treasures found in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem ; and he even had the gold cut off the doors of the temple before he could satisfy the King of Assyria, and save Jerusalem from being sacked. The city of Nineveh was the capital of the King Sennacherib in Assyria, and contained 600,000 souls, and was considered mistress of the East ; and God informed Jonah, a minor prophet in Nineveh, that in consequence of Sennacherib demanding from Hezekiah all the gold and silver from the temple of the Lord, and who compelled Hezekiah, for his own safety, to strip the gold fi'om the doors and the pillars of the house of the Lord, that Nineveh should, in forty days, be destroyed ; and commanded Jonah to impart this to the Ninevites. To avoid this, Jonah sailed to Tarshish, and for his disobe- dience he was overtaken by a storm, fell overboard, and was swallowed up by a whale, in whose belly he remained three niohts and three davs, and was cast alive upon the shores of Nineveh. »» 722 B. c. Forty-sixth Medal. Jonah cast Don the shore r the Whale. He now found that he had rebelled against the com- mands of the Lord, so he went a whole day throuo^h the streets of Nineveh, cryirg aloud that in forty days Nineveh should he destroyed. The king and his subjects, however, put on sackcloth and ashes, and cried unto the Lord ; and God being moved with their repentance, did not execute the sentence. All this did not appease Sennacherib, for a few years after receiving the spoil, he sent an army of 185,0C0 men to beseige Jerusalem, and summoned it to surrender. Hezekiah put on sackcloth and ashes, and went up into the temple, and prayed unto the Lord to deliver him out of this situation. The Lord heard the prayer, and sent Josiah the pro- phet to infoj m him that Sennacherib should not be- siege Jerusalem ; and the Lord said, Be not afraid, 89 for behold I will send a blast upon the King of Assyria, and I will cause him to fall by his own sword. And in the morning- when Sennacherib got up, or arose to go to his camp, he found his army of 185,000 men all lying dead corpses, which obliged him to return to his capital at Nineveh, where he was slain by his own sons. 709 B. c. Forty-sevent Medal. The overthro' of the army ( Sennacherib. Hezekiah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord ; he destroyed all the high places, and broke all the statues which the people adored. He also broke the brazen serpent which Moses had made, because the children of Israel burnt incense to it ; he ordered the passo\ er, which had for some- time been neglected ; he shook off the Assyrian yoke, and refused to pay tribute to them any longer. The Kings of Egypt and Cush were allies of Heze- 90 kiah, but refused giving him assistance ; and for this infidelity God punished them. The s'ood King Hezekiah fell sick unto death : the prophet Isaiah came to him, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order, for thou shalt surely die, and not live. Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, and beseeched an increase of years, and stated that he had walked with a perfect heart ; and he wept sore. The word of the Lord turned again to Isaiah, and said, Tell Hezekiah that I have heard his prayer ; and behold I will heal him, and add fifteen years to his life. And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me ? To give him a sign, Isaiah told him that the shadow of the sun should go back ten degrees, and which it did on the dial of Ahaz. 709 B. c. Hezekiah, after his recovery, composed a song of thanksgiving, which will be found in chapter xxxviii. V. 10 and 11, of Isaiah. He passed those latter years in tranquillity, and laid up great riches. Merodach, king of Babylon, having heard of the miracle, sent messengers with presents to Hezekiah, who impru- dently, and it may be called weakly, shewed his treasures to the envoys, with all his rich vessels and spicies. For this unnecessary act, Isaiah the pro- phet foretold that a time would come when all that he had shewn would be removed to Babylon, and that his sons would be made eunuchs in the palace of the king — foretelling the Babylonian captivity. Hezekiah was the king who constructed the works to convey water to Jerusalem. 698 B. c. Manasseh, the fifteenth king of Judah, succeeded his father Hezekiah, and reigned in Jerusalem. 91 He reinstated the idols, and walked more wickedly than did the Amorites which were before him ; therefore the Lord said, I will forsake the rem- nant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. Manasseh rebuilt the high places which his father had destroyed ; he set up altars to Baal, and planted groves to false gods ; he made his son to pass through the fire in honour of Moloch, and involved the people, through a long reign of fifty-five years, in all the abominations of idolatry ; and to all these, Manasseh added cruelty, and shed rivers of blood in Jerusalem. The King- of Assyria seized him, fettered him, and carried him to Babylon. When at Babylon, Manasseh humbled himself before God, who heard his prayers, and brought him back to Jerusalem. He broke down all the altars of the false gods, and increased the size of Jerusalem. Manasseh died at Jerusalem, and was buried in the garden of his house at Uzza. His son Amon succeeded him ; but he fell into the steps and wicked w^ays of his father, and was slain by his servants. The people then made Josiah, his son, only eight years of age, to reign ; and he did that which was right. During his reign, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law% and therein was written God's wrath kindled against Judah. And Josiah sent for Huldah the prophetess, and she informed him that he was to be gathered to his fathers in peace, that he might not see all the evils which the Lord would bring upon Jerusalem. Josiah caused the book to be regularly read in solemn assembly ; he destroyed 92 idolatry, and commanded the passover to be kept as it' is written in the book of the covenant. Pharaoh-necho was provoked at Josiah, and slew him at Megiddo ; and the people placed his son Jehoahaz to reign. Pharaoh-necho, however, would not permit him to reign, but loaded him with chains, and sent him to Babylon, where he died. Pharaoh-necho now put Jehoiakim upon the throne, and compelled him to pay tribute of gold and silver, and also taxed all the people. He did evil in the sio-ht of the Lord, and died after a reiofn of eleven years only ; and Jehoiachin, his son, reioned in his stead. Hoshea, son of Elah, and the last king of Israel, did evil also in the siofht of the Lord. He concerted with So, king of Egypt, to throw off the Assyrian yoke ; but Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, hearing of this, marched his army, and besieged Samaria, which ended in the death of Hoshea, and he re- duced Samaria to a heap of ruins. Shalmaneser then removed the Israelites of the ten tribes to countries beyond the Euphrates. He then ruined the city of Samaria, which had existed as the capital of Israel. END OF THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL, AFTER IT HAD SUBSISTED TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FOUR YEARS. 93 JUDAH, ALONE, SIX HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHT YEARB. Jehoiakim, king of Judah, revolted against Nebu- chadnezzer, kino' of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzer took Jerusalem, and sent all the principal inhabitants to Babylon as captives, with all the artificers. He also took away all the gold and silver vessels of the temple. The prophet Daniel had been taken to Babylon some years before. Nebuchadnezzer being now at peace, he applied himself to enrich Babylon. He had one night a dream of a great tree, loaded w4th fruit, and that an Angel descended from heaven, and demanded that it should be cut down, and the branches and leaves scattered. The king consulted his diviners, but none could explain the dream, until Daniel informed him that it applied to the king himself. You, said Daniel, are represented by the great tree. You are to be brought low, and reduced to the condition of a brute, but afterwards restored. About a year after, Nebuchadnezzar was struck blind, and assumed the manners of an ox, and after remaining seven years in that state, God restored him to his kingdom. His repentance, however, was not sincere, for he erected a golden statue, sixty cubits in height, and placed it on the plain of Dura, in Babylon, and published, by a herald, that all people should adore it, at the sound of music, under a penalty of being cast into a fiery furnace. Daniel was at this time absent, but his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, would not obey the order, and they were brought before Ne- buchadnezzar ; when they told him that they must worship their own true God, who knew how to pro- 94 tect them. The king, on hearing this from their own mouths, caused them to be bound, and cast into the fiery furnace. The flames consumed the men who cast them in ; but an Angel of the Lord appeared with them, and abated the flames, and the three men walked about the furnace, to the astonish- ment of Nebuchadnezzar and all his court. Nebu- chadnezzar ordered them to come forth. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fiery furnace, and Nebuchadnezzar then commanded that all the people should give glory to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and him only ; and he exalted the three Jews in the province of Babylon. 602 B. c. Forty-eighth Medal. Shadrach, Me- shach, and A- bednego, in the fiery Furnace. Nebuchadnezzar had already placed Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, upon the throne of Jerusalem ; but 95 he revolted, and was taken prisoner by Nebuchad- nezzar, who slew his sons before his eyes, and then put out the eyes of their father, Zedekiah. Nebuchadnezzar died, after reio^ninof fortv-three 555 b. c. years, and Evilmerodach reigned in his stead, but only, however, three years, when Belshazzar, his son, succeeded him. In the Bible, after the second book of Kings, follow the two books of the Chronicles, called the words of the days, or journals, or annals. In the largest sense, the Chronicles are supposed to be taken as an abstract of the whole sacred history ; and it is generally supposed that these two books were drawn up after the captivity, for they state the genealogies of the families from Adam ; and it is said it is very doubtful by whom they were written. The writer, however, is thought to be only a compiler or abridger. The first book contains a recapitulation of sacred history by genealogies from the bes'lnninff of the world to the death of David, 1010 B.C. The second book contains the history of the Kings of Judah, and part of those of Israel, from the beoinninsf of Solomon, 1008 B.C., to the return from the captivity, 543 B.C. Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, ^^^ ^- ^• ascended the throne of Babylon. He made the great and fatal entertainment to a thousand of his courtiers the fourth year after his accession. Towards the middle of the feast, after he had become warm with wine, he commanded all the gold and silver vessels, which Nebuchad- nezzar brought from the temple and house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to be immediately brought 96 before him, that he might drink out of them with his court. He was quickly astonished, however, by seeing a man's fingers writing upon the wall, oppo- site the golden candlestick, Mene^ mene, tekel, upharsin — God has numbered thy days. 553 B. c. He promised great honour to his magicians to explain this mystery, but it was beyond their comprehension : on being told, however, of Daniel's prophecies in spirit, he sent for him. The prophet performed what was required, and was rewarded by being clothed in scarlet, with a gold chain, and was proclaimed the third man in the kingdom. But on that very night, Belshazzar was killed, and Darius the Mede took possession of his kingdom of Babylon. According to the word of the Lord, which was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all the kingdom, and which he put in writing, saying, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God given to me, and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, therefore Cyrus, king of Persia, said. Who is there among you of all God's people that will go and build a house in Jerusalem unto the Lord? The chief of the fathers of Judah then rose up, and the foundations of the temple were laid by Zerubbabel, the chief of the Jews who returned to their own country, also Benjamin, and the priests and Levites. And Cyrus restored to Sheshbazzar, a priest of Judah, the four thousand five hundred gold and silver sacred vessels of the temple which had been carried away by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon j and the number of 97 people that were brought out of captivity to return to Jerusalem and Judah, every one to his city, was 42,:360, and 7,337 servants, with horses, mules, and camels. Other nations wanted to assist the Jews in the huildini^ of the temple, but the Jews would not allow it. Darius, at that time king of Babylon, 571 b. c. made a new decree, similar to that of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the building of the temple should be advanced ; and, by great energy, it was finished in the seventh year of the reio-n of Darius. In the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra, a Jewish high priest, very skilful in the law, and zealous in God's service, went forth from Babylon to Jerusalem. He committed the treasure of the temple to the priests, and he exhorted the Israelites to put away their strange wives, to which request thev absolutelv asreed. Nehemiah, who was born at Babylon during the captivity, being informed of the miserable state of the city, told Artaxerxes thereof ; who, in consequence, gave Xehemiah let- ters of permission to assist in repairing the walls and the gates of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was then made governor of the people of Jerusalem, and he prayed fervently unto the Lord, who permitted him to invite the Jews to rebuild the citv in despite of their enemies, and the nobles of Judah. Thev sue- ceeded, however, by the daily prayers of Xehemiah. The Jews complained of their debts and morto-aoes, thev havincr borrowed the moncv for the kino's tribute at a high interest. Nehemiah reliuked the usurers, and compelled them to make a covenant of restitution, and, at the same tim;?, forgave them his own allowance. vn r. ir. h 98 At this time Ezra, who was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, went up from Babylon, and read to all the people the book of the law of Moses ; and the people cried, Amen. After a solemn fast, the Israelites separated themselves from all strangers. 516 B. c. Ahasuerus, king of Persia, who reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia, made a feast to his nobles and servants ; in fact, the whole power of Persia and Medea was brought before him. Towards the end of the feast, he sent a command to his beautiful queen to appear in the banquet room, crowned, that she might excite the admiration of his guests. She refused to comply and thus to degrade herself, which kindled such wrath in the king, that he appealed to his ministers what must be done. The princes and ministers said that tlie queen had not only done wrong to the king, but to all the king's subjects ; when a decree was made, and a royal commandment immediately sent unto all the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the Medes and Persians, that wives should give honour to their husbands, and that every man should bear rule in his own house, and which law si lould never he altered ; and his queen Vashti was discharged from his presence. Then the king appointed officers in all his king- dom to send to his palace the most beautiful of the virgins, that he might select a queen from amongst them. A young and beautiful virgin, of the name of Esther, who was an orphan, and who had been brought up by Mordecai, a Jew, was chosen by the king. The king loved her above all his maidens, and set a crown upon her head, and proclaimed her 99 as his queen. The king advanced a person of the name of Haman to be his prime minister, knowing that Haman was unfavourable to the Jews. And the Jews did not pay the reverence that Haman expected. Now Haman was ignorant that Esther was of Jewish orifjin, or that she was even related to Mordecai ; so, to punish the insolence of the Jews, he told the king, that a people scattered over his kingdom, called Jews, sought to destroy him, and therefore obtained a decree from the king to put the Jews to death. It is supposed that Esther, the queen, showed 504 b. c. this decree to Mordecai, and the cause of the kind's making it. Now as Mordecai was much about the gateways and doors of the palace, Haman prepared a gallows, and determined to hang Mordecai first. Esther induced the king to put away the mischief which Haman had devised against the Jews, and let the Jews defend themselves. The king, therefore, reversed the decree in Mordecai's favour, and Haman was hanged upon the gallows which he had prepared for iVlordecai. The Jews in all the pro- vinces were thus saved ; and they immediatelv hanged the ten sons of Haman. At this period there was a man in the land of Uz, who went by the name of Job, a patriarch, and he was of the posterity of Esau ; and if so, he was the fifth from Abraham. He was a man of great probity, virtue, and religion. He was compassionate to the poor, a father to the orphan, a protector to the widow, a guide to the blind, and a supporter to the lame j he possessed also much riches. God permitted Satan to put his virtues to the test, and he began to take H 2 100 away his healtli, and slew his husbandmen, and drove off all his beasts, and let only one person escape to tell these circumstances to Job ; and whilst one of them was reporting this information to Job, a second came, and told him that fire from heaven had consumed his sheep, and that he alone had escaped. A third messenger arrived, and said. The Chaldeans have carried away thy camels, have killed thy ser- vants, and I alone have escaped. He had hardly concluded, when another came, and said. Whilst thy sons and thy daughters were eating in thy brother's house, a storm overthrew it, and they were all crushed to death under the ruins ; I only have escaped. Job rent his clothes, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, saying. Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither ; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job endured these calamities without repining against Providence. Sa- tan then had leave to afflict his person, but not his life, which he did with boils, sores, and disease, and in the midst of this affliction, his wifaprayed him to "curse God, and die." But Job answered, Shall we receive good from the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ? Some friends now came in to 101 Forty-ninth Medal. Job, in afflic- tion, rebuking his Wife. visit him, and accused him of having indulged in some secret impietv, and urged him to return to God for repentance. Job, convinced of his own in- nocence, maintained that his sufferings were greater than his faults, and that God sometimes afflicted the righteous only to try them. Job humbly ac- knowledged his faults, and asked for forgiveness. The Lord forgave Job, restored him to health, and gave him double the riches he had before possessed ; blessed him with a numerous and well-disposed familv, and crowned him with a holv life and with a happy death. It is not quite certain at what period Job lived ; some writers place his history about the period of David or Solomon. St. Paul, in several places, quotes the book of Job, and St. James the patience ot Job. 102 After the book of Job, follows the book of Psalms, one hundred and fifty chapters, supposed to be written by David, the king and prophet of Israel. It is stated by most writers on theology, that David was certainly the author of the greater portion of them ; they are truly symbolical of righteousness, and religious instruction. The psalms state the happiness of the godly, and the unhappiness of the ungodly, the security of God's protection, to place implicit confidence in God's promises, and to enter- tain the kingdom of Christ and faith in the Re- surrection. He exhorts all to praise God with all kinds of instruments, and concludes — " Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord." Fiftieth Medal. David, the Psalmist, play- ing upon the Harp. The book of the Proverbs follows, and many writers say that it has never been disputed but that 103 Solomon was the author of the book. In the 4th chapter of the 1st book of Kings, it is said that Solo- mon spoke three thousand proverbs. The Bishop of Louth, speaking of this book, says that the first nine chapters serve as an exordium, and are varied in elegance and sublimity, to induce us to fear God, and believe in his word ; such as the foUowinijf : — " The fear of the Lord is the beofinning of know- ledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." " Let not mercy and truth forsake thee ; write them on the tablet of thine heart ; then thou shalt find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man." The remainder of the book, to the 31st chapter, consists almost entirely of detached parables or maxims, which have not so much in them of the sublime, but they possess a certain energetic mode of expression. The progress of vice is, however, exhi- bited, under a variety of the most striking delinea- tions and metaphors, in their utmost alarm. All the beauties of language and all the force of eloquence are poured forth to win the ingenuous youth to virtue and piety, and to fix him in the steady pursuit of his duties towards God and man. Various are the opi- nions concerning the design and scope of the Book of Ecclesiastes ; the tradition of the Jews states that Solomon composed this book in his old age, after he had been repented of his former vicious practices, and had become, by sad experience, to loathe the variety of everything terrestial, except piety and wisdom. The word Ecclesiastes is translated The Preacher^ and we learn that kings and people from all the JOl- surrounding nations resorted to Jerusalem to teai' Solomon's wisdom. He must have spoken to them, or addressed tbein, in the manner or mode of a preacher. The book is allowed to be the produc- tion of Solomon's repentance towards the close of his life. Here follows, in the Bible, in eight chapters, what is termed the Song of Solomon, and it is said that it is difficult to account for the existence of this book in the Holy Scriptures, unless it is understood, as conceived by many divine inter- preters, to bear an allegorical or mystical sense, in which it describes the union between the Church and the Lord. The structure of the poem has occasioned much discussion, and therefore it is believed that the Lord permitted the relation be- tween himself and the Church to be described by the most endearing relations ; for instance, that between husband and wife, and the brides^room and bride. And, figuratively, when the heart of the wedded Church becomes alienated, the Lord is described as jealous ; and if she long persist in her evil wavs, she receives a bill of divorcement. HERE THE PROPHETIC BOOKS BEGIN. The book of the prophet Isaiah comes next in the Bible, but it is said that, according to the order of time, the writings of this prophet should have been placed as the fifth of the prophetical books , namely, after Joel, Hosea, and Amos, they being his predecessors. But it is stated to be placed first in consequence of its great impor- la") tance, sublimity, and possiblv on account of its extent ; in fact, it is longer than all the twelve minor prophets put together. He is also esteemed to be the most eloquent of the prophets. His pro- phecies are divided into three parts : the first six chapters seem to relate to the reign of Jotham, the seven next notice the reign of Ahaz, and all the remainder, forty-eight chapters, relate to the reign of Hezekiah. 'J'he most important of Isaiah's prophecies are those concerning the captivity of Babylon, the re- turn from that captivity, and the reign or coming of the Messiah. Isaiah was the ?on of Amos, and i\mos was sup- posed to be the son of Joash, king of Judah ; conse- quently Isaiah was of the royal race of David. He discharged the prophetic office in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, about forty- eight years, counting from the death of Uzziah to the sixteenth vear of Hezekiah's reiorn. Bishop Louth says, " In his sentiments there is an uncommon elevation and majesty ; in imagery, the utmost propriety, elegance, dignity, and diver- sity." He calls him the evangelical prophet. In prophesying of the propagation of the Gospel, Isaiah says, " Comfort ye my people, saith your God j" " Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, and her ini- quity is pardoned." And Isaiah says, in prophesying of the preaching of John the Baptist, *' The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the deserts a highway for our God." '* Every valley shall be 106 exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be laid low, the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain ; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." Isaiah says, prophesying of the preaching of the Apostles, *'0 I Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain. O I Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength ; lift it up, be not afraid. Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold vour God." And the whole of the sixty-sixth chapter abounds in this sublimity of style. The next great prophet, mentioned as a book, is Jeremiah. He resided at the city of Anathoth, not far from Jerusalem : it was a city of the tribe of Benjamin, and appropriated for the use of the priests. In his prophecy he saith, " The Lord says, I will make Jerusalem a den of dragons, and I will make the city of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant, because they have forsaken my law, and not obeyed my voice, but have walked after the imagination of their own hearts, and after Baal, which their fathers taught them." Afterwards, he prophesied a restoration of the scattered flock, and that Christ should rule and save them, in the follovving words: "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Woe be to the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture ; behold, I will visit upon them the evil of their doings, and I will gather the remnant of my flock, and of all countries whither I have drawn them, and will bring them again to their folds, and they shall be fruitful and increase. And behold the days shall come that I will raise up unto David a 107 righteous branch, and a king shall reign and pros- per, and shall execute judgment and justice upon the earth. In his days Judah shall be raised, and Israel shall dwell in safety ; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our Righte- ousness." This is the style of Jeremiah's writings, plain and perspicuous, but more rustic than the style of Isaiah. Jeremiah prophesied until after the destruction of Jerusalem, and told them that their captivity in Babylon would last seventy years. In addition to the book of his prophecies, we have his Lamentations, in five chapters, which are mournful songs, composed on the occasion of the calamities which befel Jeru- salem by the Chaldeans, who w ere a people descended from the most ancient founders of Babylon. Here follows the book of the prophet Ezekiel ; he was a prophet of the sacerdotal race, and was carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzer with Jehoiachin, king of Judah. The Lord appeared to him in a vision on a throne, borne by four cheru- bims, supported by four wheels, and appointed him to be watchman over his people. The prophet pre- dicted to his companions in captivity the destruction of Jerusalem on the very day that it took place, althous^h he was two hundred leagues distant from Jerusalem. He foretold the calamities of Zidon, Tyre, Edom, and Amnion, and they occurred five years after that of Jerusalem. Ezekiel speaks of a resurrection, and says that having been conducted in a vision to a field of bones, the spirit of God induced him to prophecy to them, upon which they gradually re-assembled, and revived. He also said that the 108 son should not bear the miquity of the father, which is contrary to what Moses said, " that the sins of the father would be visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation," but that every man should be put to death for his own sins only. The book of the prophet Daniel. In the third year of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, came Nebuchad- nezzar, king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, and be- sieged it, took it, and carried away the King of Judah, and the principal part of the vessels of the house of God. The Jews tried to exclude Daniel from the seat of the prophets, because his predic- tions came too correct and clear for Jesus being the Messiah and the precision of the time of coming. Daniel having read in Jeremiah that the seventy years would be accomplished in the desolation of Jerusalem, prayed to receive the explanation of the period of time. The Angel Gabriel came to him, and revealed to him even the death of Sam- son and the sacrifice of the Messiah, In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, Daniel had a remarkable dream, namely, the coming of Alexander the Great, and the overthrow of the great Persian empire. Darius the Mede promoted Daniel above all the governors. This mark of favour created envy in the breasts of the other governors, who prevailed upon the king to issue an edict forbidding any man to solicit anything from God or man except from the king. Daniel, however, continued his prayer to God, setting his face towards Jerusalem. He was consequently impeached before the king, who was obliged to enforce the unalterable law, and to order him to be thrown into the lions' den. Earlv the 109 Fifty-first Medal. Daniel in the Den of Lions. next morning, Darius went thither, and finding Daniel not so much as touched by the lions, com- manded him to be taken out, and his accusers, with their wives and families, thrown into the den, where they were instantly devoured by the lions. Then Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, saying, I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear be- fore the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever and ever. So Daniel prospered in the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, and in the reiiiii of Darius the Mede. After Daniel begins the historv of the minor prophets. Ilosea, the first of them, lived in the kingdom of Israel, and his prophecies, for the most part, re- 110 garded that state. He prophesied under the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and under Jeroboam, king of Israel, which was a period of one hundred and twelve years. He saw the first captivity of Reuben, Gad, and the the half-tribe of Manasseh, by Tiglath-pileser, king of Nineveh, called king of Assyria. The prophecies of Hosea are principally directed against the abominations of the ten tribes of Israel, and to shew God's judgment of the adulterer. The wife of Hosea had a son, and she was desired by Hosea to call his name Jezreel, for the prophet was directed to say that God would avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu ; but he also said that the number of the children of Israel should be as the sand of the sea, and the children of Israel and Judah should be as one head, and great should be the day of Jezreel. The second minor prophet mentioned is Joel. Joel the prophet was Samuel's eldest son, who, with his brother Abiah, was Judge over Israel. Joel foretold the dav of the Lord, and his venofeance in the valley of Jezreel ; he spoke of the Teacher of Righteousness coming from God, and of the Holy Spirit to descend upon all flesh. He said that Jerusalem would for ever be inhabited, that salvation should come from thence, and whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord should be saved, evidently relating to the coming of the Messiah. Amos, a minor prophet, is mentioned next. There is nothing remarkably sublime in the style of Amos. He was taken from among the herdsmen ; he was rude in spirit, though not in knowledge, and it is Ill said he was probably selected by God to convince the lower orders and the ignorant people against the sins of Israel. He employed sharp invectives for their avarice and harshness to the poor. He re- proved Israel for swearing by the gods of Bethel, Dan, Gilgal, and Beer-sheba, and foretold the mis- fortunes of the kingdom that would take place after the death of Jeroboam II. The prophet Obadiah. It is uncertain at what period he lived, but some writers agree in thinking that it was in the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. He prophesied the destruction of Edom, for their wrongs unto Jacob ; for, in speaking of Esau, he says, For thy violence against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. The prophet Jonah was the son of Amittar, a Galilean ; and the word of the Lord commanded him to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, the great city, containing 800,000 souls, and to cry up and down the city that in forty days it should be destroyed. The Ninevites believed in him, and put on sackcloth and ashes, and repented. Jonah suspecting that, in consequence of this repentance, his prophecy might not be fulfilled, set sail for Tar- shish. A storm came on, which nearly sunk the ship, and which tossed Jonah into the sea, when he was swallowed up by a whale, and remained in its belly three days and three nights, and, by his prayers, he was cast alive on dry ground on the coast of Nineveh. Micah, another of the minor prophets, prophesied under Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, 112 for fifty years. He foretold the calamities in Sama- ria, and spoke of the reign of the Messiah, the fall of Babylon, and predicted the re-establishment of Israel. Nahum, supposed to be the seventh of the minor prophets, foretold the destruction of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. He says. Thy shepherds slum- ber, O King of Assyria, thy nobles shall dwell in the dust ; thy people shall be scattered in the mountains, and no man shall gather them. This he foretold one hundred and fifteen years before it happened. Habakkuk, a prophet of the tribe of Simeon, foretold that Nebuchadnezzer would take Jeru- salem. He said. The Lord stood and measured the earth ; he beheld and drove asunder the nations ; the everlasting mountains were scattered ; the pro- phetical hills did bow ; his ways are everlasting. Zephaniah, son of Cashi, and also of the tribe of Simeon, the ninth minor prophet, also foretold the destruction of Nineveh. He prophesied the comfortable assurance of returning from the cap- tivity, and of a flourishing condition. Haggai, the tenth of the minor prophets, was born at Babylon, he accompanied Zerubbabel. Haggai was excited by God to exhort Zerubbabel to resume the building of the temple. The Lord commanded Haggai to tell the people, that if any one recollected the temple of Solomon, and did not think this to be so beautiful and magnificent as that structure was, he should not be discouraged, be- cause God wanted to render the new temple much more venerable than the former, not in the embel- lishments of gold and silver, but by the presence of 113 tlie Messiah, the desire of all nations, and by the glory which his coming would add to it. Zechariah, the eleventh of the minor prophets, returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, and began to prophecy in the second year of Darius. He exhorted the people against the stubbornness of their fathers ; he foretold distinctly the coming of Christ the Saviour — poor, and sitting upon an ass, the foal of an ass, in the following words : — " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem : behold, thy king cometh unto thee ; he is just, and having salvation ; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass." He spoke also of the war of the Romans against the Jews, and of thirty pieces of silver given for a recompense to the shepherd. Malachi, the last of the twelve minor prophets, prophesied under Nehemiah, and after Haggai and Zechariah, at a period of great disorders among the priests and people of Judah. He inveighed against the priests in the following words : — " O ye priests, if ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the I^ord of Hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings." He prophesied the coming of John the Baptist in the following words : — Behold, I will send my messenger, andjic shall prepare my w'ay before me, and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple. But who may abide the day of his coming ? and who shall stand when he appeareth ? for he is like a refiner's fire, and fuller's soap. In prophesying God's judgment upon the wicked, he says, Behold, the dny cometh that shall VOL. II. I 114 burn as an oven ; and all the proud, yea, and all who do wickedly, shall be stubble, saith the Lord of Hosts. But unto those who fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings. Remember ye the law of Moses which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. About this time, or between 431 and 397 B.C., the History of the Old Testament finished. In 431 B.C. there went a plague over the known world. 405 — Athens was taken by Lysander. 400 — Socrates was put to death at Athens. 390 — Rome was burnt by the Gauls. 387 — The Roman citizens counted 152,583. 384 — Dionysius began the Punic war. 356 — The sacred war began in Greece. 350 — The birth of Alexander the Great. 332 — Alexander took Tyre, and marched into Jerusalem. — — took Babylon — — passed Mount Caucasus, and marched into India. 327 — Alexander died at Babylon. 236 — The Tartars expelled from China. 224 — The Colossus of Rhodes overturned by an earthquake. 194 — Sparta, called Nether Spain, subdued bv the Romans. 170 — Paper invented in China. 170 — The temple of Jerusalem plundered by Antiochus. 115 146 B.C. Corinth destroyed, and Carthage de- stroyed by the Romans. 69 — The citizens of Rome counted 450,000 55 — Julius Csesar invades Britain. 44 — Csesar killed in the Senate-house at Rome. 30 — Alexandria was taken by Octavius, and Egypt was reduced to a Ro- man province, when Antony and Cleopatra put themselves to death. 29 — Census at Rome, including strangers, 4,101,017. 27 — Octavius, the nephew of Julius Csesar, obtained the title of Augustus Caesar, and Emperor of Rome. 27 — The Pantheon built at Rome. 19 — Rome at the height of her glory. 18 — The Temple of Jerusalem re-built by Herod. 15 — Agrippa constructed the aqueducts at Rome. 8 — The census of Rome, including stran- gers, 4,233,000. 5 — The Temple of Janus shut, as an emblem of peace. Amonof those events which occurred after the history of the Bible finished, and which was during about the 400th year before the birth of Christ, I selected the event in the year 44 for my next medal, viz., the murder of Csesar in the Senate House at Rome, and which I named the Link Medal, as exhibiting a condensed history of all the occurrences I 2 116 that principally took place during the period of the last minor prophet Malachi until the birth of Christ. 44 B. c. Fifty-second Medal, called the Link Medal. Caesar mur- dered in the Senate House at Rome. 2 B. c. In the Year of the World 3998. From the creation of Adam to this time, the History of the Bible furnishes us with a regular progression of stupendous events, and the Mosaic law or covenant was rigidly kept to serve all pur- poses, from its commencement, in the year of the world 2513, to this time; and mankind was pro- perly prepared, throughout the civilized world, for the coming of Him who had been promised to our first parents whilst in Paradise. Rome had been built now about 'J5Q, years, and Augustus Csesar was holding the sceptre of the Roman empire, and Herod the Great filled the dependant throne of Judea, when a priest of the name of Zacharias, during the time that he was in 117 the act of burning incense in the temple at Jerusa- lem, was accosted in a very extraordinary manner by an Anorel that suddenly stood by him, and told him, in a tone of religious cheerfulness, that his wife should bear a son, who should be great in the siofht of the Lord ; he should not drink wine, but at his birth he should be filled with the Holy Ghost, and his name should be John ; and he should pro- ceed on, in the spirit and power of Elias (or Eli- jah), to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Of course, Zacharias the priest was filled with fear and trembling, but perceiving that the figure appeared (what was generally received) angelic, and not of mortal form, and knowing that his wife Eli- zabeth had always been barren, and had arrived at that period of life termed " stricken in years," he was the more troubled ; but he summoned up con- fidence to ask for some sign that he might know and believe. The Angel said. Fear not ; I am Gabriel, that stands in the presence of God, and am sent to speak to thee, and to show thee these glad tidings ; therefore, fear not. But behold, thou shalt be dumb until the day that these things be per- formed, because thou believest not. Elizabeth was a dauohter of the house of Aaron. The people had waited until Zacharias came out of the holy sanctuary, when he made sions that he had seen a vision, and had become dumb ; and as the time of his ministry was completed, within a week, he returned to his own home. And Zacharias remembered the words of the angel Gabriel, telling him that his son should be the forerunner and pro- phet of the Messiah. 118 Six months after this visit of the angel Gabriel to the priest Zacharias, God sent Gabriel to Nazareth, to a virgin named Mary, of the tribe of Judah, and of the family of David, through Nathan, his second son, by Bath-sheba, whom he saluted by saying, Hail, thou highly favoured of the Lord ; blessed art thou among women. Mary was overwhelmed with awe and alarm. The Angel said, Fear not, Marv, for thou hast found favour with God : thou shalt conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. Then Mary said to the Angel, How can this be, seeing I know not a man ? The Angel answered. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; therefore that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign for ever and ever over the house of Jacob, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her, for with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Be it unto me according to thy word. The Angel then de- parted. Soon after the angel Gabriel had left her, Mary determined to go and see Elizabeth without delay. She went to the hill country where Zacha- rias lived, when she was welcomed bv Elizabeth with holy triumph, who assured her that whatever the heavenly messenger had told her would come to pass. Mary replied to her cousin Elizabeth in a similar way ; and they resided together for about three months in peaceful harmony. 119 Only a few days now remained to prove the completion of God's promise to Zacharias ; and Elizabeth w^as, soon after Alary had returned to her ow^n home, delivered of a son. On the eio^hth day after the birth of the child, when the time for circumcising him was come, they called him by his father's name, Zacharias ; but his mother told them that his name should be John. Zacharias, al- though still dumb, wrote upon his tablets the word John, by which name the boy was agreed to be called ; and immediately the string of Zacharias' tongue was loosed, when he offered a song of thanks- ffivinof. Zacharias concluded his divine song- with an exclamation to the infant Baptist, saying, And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of sal- vation unto his people for the remission of their sins. Mary had six months to come before she could bring forth ; and it so occurred, as was the custom in those days, that she was already betrothed to one Joseph, whose ordinary abode was at Nazareth, and worked at some trade, which occupation was thought to be that of a carpenter ; he w^as the son of James, and grandson of Alatthew^ and foster father of Christ. Joseph was a just man, and much afflicted to know that Mary was with child, fearino- danger might come upon her, and was considering* how he could privily place her away for a time. At the moment when he was going to carry this resolution into effect, a vision appeared unto him, and explained the extraordinary fact ; which decided him to receive Marv, and to treat her with every 120 deference, delicacy, and kindness. At that period the Roman Emperor Auo-ustus held Judea rather as a province than an independent state, subject, in some measure, to Herod the Viceroy or Kino-. The Roman emperor had ordered a census to be taken of the empire, and the edict included this province, where a census should also be taken ; and persons of every family prepared to obey the edict. Joseph and Mary set out, with others, to be regis- tered in the principal city of their tribe, which city was Bethlehem, the native town of David. The place was, of course, crowded with travellers, so that no accommodation could be found, except taking- shelter in that part of the caravansary where the horses were penned, and there the blessed Viro-in brought forth a son. She wrapped him in swad- dling clothes, and laid him in a manger. A. D. The Nativity of Christ, and Adoration of the Wise Men. To a lot of shepherds, who guarded their flocks by night in the pastures near Bethlehem, a choir of angels presented themselves, telling them, with songs of thankso^iving-, that the Saviour of Mankind was born into the world. The shepherds ran to the spot where the ano;els had directed them, and beheld the infant Saviour in the manger. A star, also, at the same time appeared in the heavens, but afar off, standing over Parthia, which guided the magi during a long and tiresome journey, or pilgrimage, of many months, to his presence. During this period the Virgin gave the name of Jesus to the child, as appointed by the Angel of the Lord, at the fortieth day after his birth, as the law required, in the tem- ple. The child was received by an aged, pious old man, at Jerusalem, named Simeon, and it had been revealed to him that he should not die before he had seen Christ the Lord ; therefore Christ had been long expected for the redemption of Israel. He saluted the child with a hymn of holy exultation, blessing God, and saying, "Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." And at this period there was a prophetess, a pious wo- man, who proclaimed to the people at Jerusalem that the Deliverer was born. On the conclusion of the ceremony, Joseph and Mary retired with the child to Bethlehem, for their place of residence. At this time there arrived a considerable number of strangers into the capital at Jerusalem, for the purpose, they declared, of paying homage to a child which had thus been born Kincr of the Jews. These saving-s so astonished the Jews, and also King Herod himself, that St. Matthew says the king 122 was troubled as well as the whole Jewish people ; and, to save his now tottering throne, he determined on the cruel expedient to put to death every child up to two years old that his band of assassins could find in Bethlehem, and for several miles round it. He kept the assassins at Jerusalem in readiness against the magi, or strangers, should return, to inform him, as they were commanded, and exactly to state where the child was, that he. King Herod, might go and do him homage. Herod was defeated in his wicked design, for it appears that, as soon as the magi had arrived at Mary's dwelling, and had presented their gifts, and paid homage to the child, they were warned of God, in a dream, that they should not return to Herod ; and the very meteor that guided them through the city to the spot now changed its course, and conducted them home by a diff*erent route. This disappointment so increased the jealousy of Herod, that he dispatched the army of assassins to perpetrate this tragical deed ; but before thev could arrive at the dwellinor of the heaven-born prince in Bethlehem, a vision ap- peared, and instructed Joseph to leave instantly, and take with him Mary and the child, and flee into Egypt. 123 A. D. 3 Fifty-fourth Medal, Joseph and Mary's flight into Egypt. This execrable massacre was not permitted to pass unpunished, for Herod was in five days smitten with a disease that caused him often the most ex- cruciatinof sufferings. He died, and left his dominions between his three sons, viz., to his son Archelaus, Judea, Idumea, and Samaria ; to Philip, Auronetus, Tracondus, Panea, and Batnea ; and to Herod An- tipas, Galilee and Petrsea. Joseph, hearing of the will of Herod, that he had demised Judea to Archelaus, and hearing of his cruel disposition, went to reside at his original dwelling-place, Nazareth being now in the domini- ons of Herod Antipas, where he resided unobserved and unmolested. In a few years, the Jews revolted against the dis- solute conduct of Archelaus, and, to make good the A. D. 12. A. D. 14. 124 dying prophecy of Jacob, that the sceptre should pass from the hands of the Jews, the Roman Em- peror Augustus thought this circumstance of revolt an excellent opportunity to reduce Palestine to the condition of a province ; he therefore deposed Archelaus, and banished him to Vienne, in Gaul, and placed the dominions under the superintendence of a Roman procurator, which deprived the Jews of even a shadow of independence. Such was the political state of the country when the child Jesus had been residing with Joseph and his mother at Nazareth nearly twelve years, un- observed. This year w'as the great festival of the Passover at Jerusalem, when Jesus went up with Joseph and his mother to attend it, and amid the labyrinths of the building they lost Jesus, and searched for him in the greatest dismay ; but at last they found him sitting in the hall of the Sanhedrim, conversing- with them in the most learned discourses, and pro- pounding to them problems. The mother Mary very gently rebuked him for giving them such uneasiness, when he made use of these memorable words : — *'Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business." Jesus followed his mother to Nazareth, and re- sided with her nine more years, and, it is supposed, worked at the trade of his reputed father. At this period Marcus Ambivius was appointed the Roman governor of Judea. This year, to the great grief of the Romans and others, the Emperor Augustus died, and was suc- ceeded by Tiberius, the son of his former or first wnfe, a prince possessed with very different disposi- 1^25 tion, and who immediately removed the manage- ment of Judea •from the hands of Rufus to the charge of Gratius, and afterwards to Pontius Pilate. This did not take place until the year 81 a.d. Very little of importance occurred during the last sixteen vears either in Rome or Judea ; but in the year thirty-two, John the Baptist began to preach, and until that period since his birth no particular historical account had been found of him ; only St. Luke mentions that the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit ; but a bishop of Constanti- nople, a sound theologian, as well as Jerome, who was a Greek scholar, believed that John was brought up from his infancy in the Wilder- ness, being clothed with a camel's hair garment, and a leathern girdle about his loins ; and at the latter end of the year thirty-one, or the begin- ninsr of thirtv-two, John beo;an his ministrv by preaching the coming of the Messiah and repent- ance in the country all about and along the river Jordan. In fact, all the information we have con- cerninof John, from the time of his birth to that of his public appearance is contained in the few following words which St. Luke says. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his showing into Israel. The dispensation of St. John was, like many others with the prophets, quite miraculous ; he was there estranired from the lucre of the world, and under the tuition of heaven. He induced numerous of his hearers to confess their sins, and baptized them in the river Jordan, but at the same time exhorting them to believe in Jesus, who was coming after A D. 13. 126 him, and who would baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire. The time was now come when it behoved the Messiah to announce himself in his true character ; and the prophets had foretold that a messenger would come forth in the spirit of Elias (Elijah) to prepare the way before him. And when Jesus pre- sented himself to be baptized by John, he excused himself, saying, I need rather being baptized by thee. But Jesus declaring that it became them to fulfil all righteousness, John complied. John the Baptist had very authoritatively daily A. D. 33 questions put to him by the Pharisees and Sadducees, whether he was the expected Christ. He always denied having any such office, and that he was merely the voice crying in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John having consented to baptize Jesus, they ascended up the side of the river Jordan. At this ceremony, St. Luke says that the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Jesus ; and a voice came down from heaven which said, Thou art my beloved son, in thee I am well pleased. 127 Fifty-fifth Medal. Christ baptized by John. There was a prevailing custom amongst the Jews which demanded every man of them, before he made his pubUc appearance as a prophet or teacher of riofhteous deeds, to devote about fortv davs to retired contemplation. Jesus, wishing to conform as much as possible to the established custom of the Jews, bade his mother farewell, and W'Cnt into the wilder- ness (having parted from John), and into a situation of it consistinjy of torn and disordered rockv moun- tains, from which were perceived the Dead Sea and the plains of Jericho. It is said that Jesus wandered in these gloomy valleys and mountains, fasting forty days, and that he absolutely began to feel the extremity of hunger amongst the intricacies of the desert. The old serpent who had beguiled the first man, Adam, in 128 Paradise, strove to beguile our Saviour, and told him that he had only to command the stones which lay around him to become bread, and they would obey. Jesus silenced him by quoting the Bible, That man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded from the mouth of God. The tempter then bore him to the top of the parapet of the temple, and urged him to prove him- self to the multitude, by casting himself headlong to the ground. Jesus said. Thou slialt not tempt the Lord thy God. The tempter then thought ambition might have some charms in one who had withstood the cravings of hunger. Satan then took him to the summit of a high mountain, and, shewing him many kingdoms, said, All these will I give unto thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me, Jesus replied, Get thee behind me, Satan ; for it is written, thou shalt wor- ship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Satan fled from his presence, and Angels came down from heaven, and ministered unto him. The forty days having expired, Jesus returned to John the Baptist, and began to inform his coun- trymen that he was a teacher of righteousness. The people followed him wherever he went, and more particularly in consequence of the testimony of John, who declared to them that Jesus was the Lamb of God that took awav the sins of the world. He was followed by Andrew, and the Evangelist St. John, who were attendants upon John the Bap- tist; and afterwards by Simon, Philip, and Nathaniel, who called themselves his disciples, and who went 129 with him to Nazareth, the place where most of his life had been spent ; there he commenced his public teaching, in expounding in the synagogue the expla- nation of the scriptures. The inhabitants refused to receive instructions from one of such humble parents, and they thrust him out of their town, and intended to destroy him ; but Jesus forced his way through them, unharmed, teUing them that a pro- phet has no honour in his own country. He went to Cana, a city of Galilee, at which place, he, his mother, and the five disciples, were in- vited to a wedding feast, and Jesus, wishing to keep up the social feelings of our nature, accepted it. In consequence of the increased number of guests, there became a deficiency of wine, which caused the host who o-ave the feast much anxietv, and he informed Mary, the mother of Jesus, of it. The mother, believing that Jesus possessed the power of g'ivino- an increase, informed him of the circum- stance. Jesus felt determined to perform a miracle. He commanded the servants to fill with water the six empty, cisterns which had been placed in the chamber of the house for ablution ; the water directly became wine, to the great surprise and astonishment of the servants. Jesus and his disciples, and Mary, went on to Capernaum, where his disciples increased hourly -, and from thence to Jerusalem, where he celebrated the first passover after his baptism. On arriving at the temple, he found the sacred place violated by the Levitical law offerings, of all kinds of wme, beasts, and birds, then a custom with the people on becomino^ devotees. These beasts thev bouifht from VOL. II. K. 130 traders, who brought them into the very precincts of the temple for sale, which was absolutely turned into a kind of market, at the connivance of the priests, where traders and worshippers were mixed together in noise and disputations, increased by the lowing of oxen and the bleating of sheep. Jesus was indignant at such an impropriety ; he com- manded the crowd to disperse, and he overthrew the tables of the monev chang-ers, and the seats of such as sold doves, reinstating his Father's house a proper "house of prayer." This authority, which he had assumed to himself, irritated and increased the fury of the mob. They demanded of him who gave such authority, but he refused to work any miracle at that time to gratify the curiosity of the priests ; and yet he made more converts, and among whom was one Nicodemus, a principal person in the Sanhedrim. This Nicode- mus vissited Jesus bv niofht, and stated that he felt confident that he could be no other than a teacher sent from God. This Nicodemus was a senator, and a Jew by birth, but bv sect a Pharisee ; and Jesus explained to him that in a very short time a new kingdom of God upon earth vt^ould be erected, into which no man could be admitted onlv bv the regeneration of water and the spirit. About this time, Herod Antipas married Hero- dias, the wife of his own brother, Philip, although his brother Philip was still living. And John being at that time at Enon, and declaiming, as before, against the immorality of the times, he particularly and vehemently rebuked this Herod Antipas for seducino- his own sister-in-law. Herod could not o 131 brook the reproof of John the Baptist, for the ears of royalty were unaccustomed to be told of their immorality, or condemned for their yices, and therefore Herod had John arrested and thrown into prison. Jesus sojourned in Jerusalem and in all Judea about seyen or eight months, abidino' in Jerusalem until the close of the feast. He performed many miracles, and his disciples baptized numerous con- verts ; but the Pharisees and Sadducees became so jealous, that their hypocrisy was exposed, and Jesus thought proper to return into Galilee. Arriving at Sechem, the ancient capital of Samaria, he sat down with his disciples close to Jacob's Well, and where a woman of loose character was come to draw water. Jesus entered into conversation with her, when she expressed her surprise that a Jew should not have more pride than to ask a Samaritan to give him to drink. But Jesus explained to her that, in a very short time, all distinctions between one nation and another would be dissolved. He then informed her of the extraordinary yet sinful acts which had up to this time been committed by herself, and telling her that he was the Messiah. The astonished woman believed, and ran into the city, and told all that she had seen and heard to her relations and friends, that they besought Jesus to to tarry some time with them ; when, by his dis- courses and miracles, he converted some few of the inhabitants. Jesus now proceeded to Cana, in Gahlee, where there resided a Roman person of much consequence, being a centurion ; and, being informed of tlie many K '2 13-2 and extraordinary miracles that Jesus had performed, he entreated him to save the life of his only son, who lay sick at Capernaum, and at the point of death. Jesus, for some reason, postponed complying with the centurion's petition. The centurion, a noble- man, therefore repeated his request in the most earnest and strongest language of solicitation, pray- ing his assistance. Jesus answered. Thy son liveth. The centurion had faith, and returning to his home, and finding his son had recovered, himself and the whole of his household became converts to the Christian faith. Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee, where he perceived Simon, and Andrew, his brother, casting their net into the sea, for they were fishers ; and Jesus called them, as well as James and John, the sons of ^ebedee, to follow him, which they did, leav- ing behind them their nets, and he took them with him into the synagogue of Capernaum ; and they were all astonished at his doctrine. And there was in the synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and at Jesus's bidding the unclean spirit came out of him, and they were the more astonished that even the unclean spirits obeyed him. Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and Jesus came and took her by the hand, when the fever immediately left her. And all the city was gathered together at the door, and there came a leper to him, imploring him on his knees, and saying. If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus touched him, and said, Be thou clean. And the leprosy immediately departed from him ; and Jesus charged him that he should not tell any man, but he began to blaze it abroad, 133 and Jesus could no more openly enter the city, but went into desert places, where the people flocked to him from every quarter. And Jesus entered into a ship, and his disciples followed him. A great tempest arose, which covered the ship with waves. Jesus was asleep ; when his disciples awoke him, saying. Save us, Lord, or w^e perish. He arose, and rebuked the winds, and im- mediately there was a gi'eat calm ; and they mar- velled, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him ? On landing on the other side, in the country of Gennesaret, there met him, coming out of the tombs, two possessed of devils, and at a distance there was a herd of swine feeding ; the devils said. If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said. Go. And behold the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place, and perished in the sea. The whole city came out to meet Jesus, and be- sought him that he would depart out of their coasts. And as. Jesus went forth, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of the customs, and he said, Follow me. And Matthew arose and fol- lowed him. Thus, then, was Matthew called for the first time. Numerous miracles were performed at this time bv Jesus ; amonofst them, the mother of Peter's wife, who lay at the point of death of a fever, was instantly restored to perfect health. But the envy of the rulers of the nation against Jesus was such, that they accused him of blasphemy, although so manv miraculous deeds of recovery Avere done before 134 their eyes. In consequence of his eating at the table of his disciple Matthew, at which table there happened to be some publicans, they declared that he w^as no teacher of riofhteousness. It appears that Jesus did not conform to, or even notice, the fast days of the Jews ; and this omission was brought forward against him as a great sin. And hence he became an object even of much abhorrence with the rulers and Pharisees. On the second year of Jesus's ministry, the whole of the countrv of Judea was filled with astonishment at his doctrine. And he went up to the second passover, with his disciples, to Jerusalem ; and on the north east side of the city was the pool of Siloam, with an hospital of five porticos, called Bethesda. There had been for generations an opinion prevailing that at certain seasons of the vear this pool was agitated by an angel, and that the first person who entered it afterwards was cured of his disease ; the consequence of which brought numerous sufferers of all kinds of complaints, waiting the troubling of the w^aters. The porticos w^ere filled, and one poor paralytic man arrested the attention of Jesus, who admired his patience ; and, understanding that he had attended three years without an opportunity, Jesus commiserated his misfortune, and commanded him to take up his bed, which he immediately did, passing through the several streets of the city. The Pharisees, however, stopped him, and accused him of committing a breach of the Sabbath, so contrary to the law of God. The anger of the Pharisees was transferred against Jesus, who only noticed their fury by ob- 135 serving- that the leisure of the Sabbath day is worthily employed in performing acts of mercy, benevolence, and charity; and said, I partake of the nature of my Father, and am therefore allowed to heal on the Sabbath day. This saying- the Pharisees said was making himself equal with God, and they sought to kill him. Jesus took his disciples up to a high mountain, a. d. 34. called the Mount ; this was early in the morning, when the multitude followed him, and where he delivered them the luminous discourse usuallv called Christ's Sermon on the Mount. Perhaps it may be considered, for its elegance, simplicity, and moral purity, its dignity of sentiment and perspicuous combination of oratory, unrivalled in any tongue and lanofuas'e. This sermon is comprehended in the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of St. Matthew. Jesus began his sermon with saying. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He &tates, at the 6th verse in the 6th chapter. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are ; for they love to pray standing in svnao-Qo-ues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut to thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. After t his manner, therefore, pray ye, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thv name ; thv kingdom come ; thy will be done on earth as it is in 136 heaven ; give us this day our daily bread, and for- give us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil ; for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. This fine composition, unparalleled for embracing so much piety in so concise a compass, is said to be without a rival. It is in the 6th chapter, and about the middle of the sermon. When Jesus had ended all these sayings, the peo- ple declared that they were astonished at his doc- trine, for they said he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him ; and as Jesus entered into Capernaum there came unto him a centurion, saying. Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. Jesus said unto him, I will come. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed ; for I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; to another. Come, and he cometh ; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. Jesus marvelled, and said, Surely, I have not found so great faith ; no, not in Israel. Jesus proceeded with his disciples to a city in Palestine, called Nain, and near the town of Endor, where he was met by a funeral party bearing the corpse of a widow's son to the grave. Jesus, eleva- ting his voice, in a commanding style said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise." Immediately the youth stood up. The people were all astonished, A. D. 35 137 and with one voice declared that God had visited his people with a mighty prophet. John the Baptist was still in prison, and hearing daily something about Christ, and being desirous to be fully convinced of the power of Jesus, sent two of his disciples to demand of Jesus whether indeed he was he that should come, or w^ere they to look for another ? Jesus was at this hour working many miracles, as making the dumb to speak and the deaf to hear ; and, without giving any straightforward reply to the message, desired John's disciples to report to their master what they then saw and had heard : when John from that hour became, with his disciples, true believers of Christ, and that Jesus was the promised Messiah. After these things, Jesus appointed his twelve dis- ciples to work miracles and have power over unclean spirits unto all parts of Judea, and to preach, and said, Go your ways. Behold I send you as lambs among wolves ; carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes, and salute no man by the way. At this time a certain lawTer came to him, and tempted him, saying. Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life ? Jesus said. What is written in the law, how s^ readest thou ? The lawver said. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbour as thyself. Jesus an- swered, Thou sayest right ; this do, and thou shalt live. At this period Herod gave a great feast in Galilee, on his birth day, to the lords and chief captains, when Herodias, Herod's brother's wife, 138 before mentioned, danced, and pleased Herod so much, that he said, and sware unto her, that. What- soever thou wilt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said to her mother. What shall I ask ? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. The king was exceedingly sorry, but for his oath's sake com- manded the head to be brought. The executioner went and beheaded John in the prison, brought it on a charger, gave it to Herodias, and Herodias gave it to her mother. This deed was done in the seventeenth year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The disciples informed Jesus of this act of Herod, and Jesus and his disciples departed to go by ship into a desert place ; but the multitude followed them, to the number of five thousand men, when Jesus performed the miracle of feeding them with five barley loaves and two small fishes ; and after they were filled, there remained twelve baskets full. Jesus sent his disciples by ship over unto Beth- saida, whilst he went up into a mountain to pray. And Jesus perceived them toiling and running the contrary way in the troubled sea. He walked upon the waters to the ship, and said. Be not afraid, it is I : when his disciples were all amazement, as there became a perfect calm, and they steered unto Genessareth. At this time was the third feast of the passover of the Jews, when Jesus passed through Judea and Galilee, performing numerous miracles, of which one of the multitude brought his son, who had a dumb spirit, and said, I spake unto thy disciples to 139 cast out the dumb spirit, but they could not. Jesus said unto the father of the boy, If thou canst beHe\ e, all things are possible ; when the father straightway cried out, Lord, T believe ; help thou mine unbelief. Jesus then took the lad by the hand, and command- ed the spirit to come out of him, and he arose. His disciples went to ask him privately why they could not cast out the evil spirit ; and he said unto them, I'his kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee. And as they were conversing with each other, which should be the greatest, he ex- horted them to humility. Jesus said unto his dis- ciples, that there were some of them that stood there who should not taste of death until they had seen the kingdom of God come with power. Six days after this saying, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, into an high mountain, themselves apart, and he w^as transfigured before them ; his raiment became shining, exceedingly white, even as white as snow. And there appeared also unto them Elias (Elijah) with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three taber- nacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias. In fact, they were sore afraid. There was a cloud that over-shadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying. This is my beloved Son, hear him. And suddenly they saw no man any more, but saw Jesus onlv with themselves. And as they returned from the mountain, Jesus charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen till the Son of Man was risen 140 from the dead. And they kept that saying among themselves, and questioning one with the other what the rising from the dead could mean. During the time they were in Galilee, Jesus told his disciples that he should be betrayed into the hands of men, who would kill him, but the third day he should rise again. When they arrived at Capernaum, a city on the western shore of the sea of Galilee, the collector came to Peter to ask for his master's tribute money, a custom for all strangers to pay. Jesus acquiesced, and said to Peter, Cast a hook into the sea, and open the mouth of the first fish, and thou shalt find a piece of money, which take to pay for thee and for me ; which was done. After these things, Jesus appointed seventy other disciples, two and two, to every city or place where he might come ; and unto them he gave power to work some miracles, to heal the sick, and into what- soever city they entered, and they were received, they were to eat and drink such thmgs as were set before them, for the labourer was worthy of his hire. 36 A, D. At the beginning of the thirty-sixth year of Jesus Christ, there was a certain man, named Lazarus, of the city of Bethany, near Jerusalem, and brother to Martha and Mary, at whose dwel- ling Jesus sometimes lodged when he visited the city. Jesus was at this time beyond Jordan. La- zarus fell sick, and his sisters sent to Jesus to come to heal him. Jesus remarked to his disci- ples that " this sickness was not unto death, but for the glory of God;" that Lazarus was asleep, and he would go and heal him. Jesus deferred going 141 for some days ; in the meanwhile, before Jesus arrived, Lazarus died, and had been buried four days ; but on proceeding to the sepulchre, Jesus commanded those who stood by to take away the stone, and he prayed to his Father. Martha met him, said, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. Jesus said unto her. Thy brother shall rise again. Martha replied, I know that he shall rise again at the resurrection, at the last day. Jesus said unto Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he be dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou that ? She said. Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. Jesus said. Father, I know that thou hearest me always, but because of the people that stand now by the grave, I pray again that they may believe that thou hast sent me. Jesus now cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth. And Lazarus came forth, bound hand and foot, with -his grave-clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin. 142 Fifty-sixth Medal. Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus said, Loose him, and let him go. And many of the Jews seeing what Jesus did, believed in him. Jesus returned ; and in six days before the last passover, he came to Bethany again, and Lazarus reclined at table with him. The Jews, finding that this miracle had made an impression on the people, atjreed to kill both Lazarus and Jesus. Jesus now proceeded to Jerusalem to be present at his last feast of the passover ; and when he drew nigh to Jerusalem and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus commanded two of his disciples to go into a neighbouring village, and said. Ye shall find an ass, and a colt tied with her ; loose them, and bring them unto me ; and if any man should say ought unto you, ye shall say that the Lord hath 143 need of them. Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee meek, and sitting upon an ass, a colt the foal of an ass. And the disci- ples brought the ass, and put clothes upon it, and set Jesus thereon ; and a great multitude followed him, strewing- g-arments and branches of trees on the way sides, and cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David ; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. And upon his entering Jerusalem, the city was moved, saying, Who is this ? And the multi- tude answered. This is Jesus the prophet, of Naza- reth, of Galilee. And he entered the temple, and the blind and the lame came unto him, and he healed them. The chief priests and scribes, seeing these wonderful things, were sore displeased ; so he left them, and went to Bethany. Jesus returned into the city in the morning, and on his way he cursed the fiof tree which withered and died because it bore no fruit ; and he informed his disciples that all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, be- lieving, ye shall receive. The chief priests and Pharisees, when they sought to lay hands on him, feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet. On Wednesday, April 1st, the priests and scribes considered means to apprehend Jesus and destroy him, for they were astonished at his doctrine. Now this was the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, and the disciples came unto Jesus saying, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover ? And he said. Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The master saith. My time is at hand, I will keep the passover at his house with my disci- 144 pies. And there they made ready the passover. And when the Thursday even was come, he sat down with the twelve ; and as they did eat, he said, Verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they vvere extremely sorrowful, and began every one to say unto him, Lord, is it I ? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand in the dish with me, the same shall betray me ; but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It had been good for that man had he never been born. Then Judas, who betrayed him, said. Master, is it I ? He said unto him, Thou hast said. And as they were sitting, Jesus instituted the Eucharist. He took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying. Drink ye all of it ; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins. .jtJTiNG Fifty-seventh Medal. Christ insti- tuting his Last Supper. 145 But I say unto you, I will not drink, henceforth, of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Jesus, with his disciples, then went unto the Mount of Olives. Jesus said unto them. All ye shall be offended be- cause of me this night ; but after I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered, and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said. Though I should die with thee, yet I will not deny thee ; and so said all the disciples. Then Jesus took them to a place called Gethse- mane, a village on the Mount of Olives, to which Jesus sometimes retired to a garden therein ; and he said unto his disciples. Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him the two sons of Zebedee, viz., James and John, and began to be very sorrowful, and said unto them. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death ; tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a few vards farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me ; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he came to his disciples, and said unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour ? VOL. n. 146 Fifty-eighth Medal. Christ's agnoy in the Garden. And Jesus came and found them asleep a second time. And again Jesus went to pray, and came and found them asleep a third time. And Jesus said, Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is hetrayed into the hands of sinners ; arise, let us be going ; behold he is at hand that doth betray me. And while he yet spake, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude, with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people, to take him. And J udas gave them a sign, saying. Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he ; hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said. Hail, master; and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him. Friend, wherefore art thou come. And thev laid hands on Jesus and took him. Jesus said, Ye come out against me with swords 147 and staves ; behold I sat teaching you m tne temple, and ye laid no hold on me. They led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. Peter, however, followed afar off, and went into the high priest's palace, knowing one of the ser- vants, and sat with the servants to see the end. The chief priests and elders tried to find out false witnesses to swear against him, but could find none. At last there came two false witnesses, and said, This fellow said I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days. A woman looked at Peter in the hall, and said. This man was also with him. Peter denied, saying, Woman, I know not the man. And a little while after another woman also said to Peter, Thou art also one of them. Peter answered, I am not. And about an hour after another confidentlv affirmed that of a truth this fellow was also with him, for he is a Galilean, Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest : and while he yet spake, immediately the cock crew. And the Lord turned round, and looked at Peter ; and Peter remembered the words of the Lord, that he had told him that before the cock crew he should deny him thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. And the men who held Jesus mocked him, and smote him ; and when they had blindfolded him, they struck him in the face. And the chief priests and elders led him into the criminal chamber, and said unto him. Art thou the Christ, tell us ? And he said, Hereafter shall the Son of Man sit at the right hand of the power of God. They all said, L 2 148 Art thou the Son of Man ? Jesus said, I am. They all then said, What need we of further witnesses, for we have heard blasphemy of his own mouth ? And the multitude arose, and led him to Pilate, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ, a king. As soon as Pilate heard that Jesus was a Galilean, he sent him to Herod, for it being the feast of the passover at Jerusalem, Herod was at Jeru- salem. Therefore Pilate managed to send Jesus to him unseen by the people, and without being opposed by the multitude, as Galilee was in Herod's jurisdiction. Herod was glad to see Jesus, as, from what he had heard, he hoped to have some miracle performed by him ; but as he declined ansvvering any questions, Herod mocked him, arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him back to Pilate. And Pilate stated to the chief priests, and scribes and rulers, and said, I find no fault touching this man, nor does Herod ; nothing worthy of death. I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. How- ever, there was a usual custom among the Jews at the feast to release a prisoner that the people demanded ; Pilate was willing, and recommended to release Jesus, but the people demanded the release of the robber Barabbas, and to crucify Jesus. Pilate, fearing the people, delivered up Jesus. The people clothed him with purple, and put a crown of thorns about his head ; they mocked him, and spit upon him, and smote him, and then put his own clothes upon him ; and the authorities led him away, and compelled Simon, a Cyrenean, 1 ii) who passed by, to bear his cross. And there were two others (malefactors) led with him, one to be crucified on his right and the other on his left side, and Jesus in the middle : and they crucified them at Mount Calvary. Fifty-ninth Medal. Christ cruci- fied. And Jesus cried out, and said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. The soldiers parted his raiment among them, and the people derided him, saying, He saved others, himself he cannot save ; let him come down from the cross, and we will believe him that he is Christ, the chosen of God. And the superscription which Pilate ordered to be written over him was in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, " This is the King of the Jews." 150 One of the malefactors that was crucified with him, cried unto Jesus, and said. Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour, when Jesus gave up the ghost. And the sun was darkened, and the earth shook, and the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom ; and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and appeared unto the people in the holy city. When the evening was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea,, named Joseph, a disciple of Jesus, who went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus ; and when Joseph had taken it, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, hewn out of a rock, and rolled a great stone against the rock, and departed, and there were Mary Magdalen, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. And in the morning, the chief priests and Pharisees came unto Pilate, say- ing. Sir, we remember that this deceiver said, while he was alive. After three days I will rise again. Command, therefore, that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say unto the people that he is risen from the dead. Pilate said, Ye have a watch. Go your way, and make it as sure as you can. So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. At the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn. 151 towards the first day of the week, came Mary Mag- dalen, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre, bringing with them ointments and spices At this moment there was a great earthquake, for an Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His coun- tenance was a shining light, and his raiment as white as snow. The keepers became as dead men. And the Angel said unto the women. Fear not. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here ; he is risen. But go, and tell his disciples and Peter that Jesus is gone before you into Galilee ; there shall ye see him, as he said unto YOU. And in fear thev fled quickly. Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalen, who mis- took him for the gardener ; and she went and told all those disciples who had been with him, but they would not believe. He afterwards appeared to the two Marys, and then to Peter, who went and told it in the city ; and the chief priests being informed of all the things that were done, they immediately assembled with the elders, and took counsel, and gave much money to the soldiers and guard to say that his disciples came and stole him away whilst they slept ; a saying allowed by the Jews to this day. Two of his disciples, Cleophas and another, went into a village, a short distance from Jerusalem, and on their road were joined by Jesus, but they did not recognize him. He said unto them, What manner of communication is it that ye have vvith each other, as ye appear so sad ? And Cleophas an- swered and said. Thou only art a stranger in Jeru- salem, that hast not known the things just come to 152 pass. And he said, What things ? And they said, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a mighty prophet before God and all people. And he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all which the prophets have spoken. Then he began to speak of Moses and all the prophets, and he expounded unto them all the things in the scriptures concerning him- self. And he went in to tarry with them, and as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and gave it to them. And they immediately knew him ; but he instantly vanished out of their sight. They returned to Jerusalem, saying. The Lord has risen indeed, and appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known unto them whilst he was breaking bread. And as they thus spoke, Jesus stood in the midst of them, and said. Peace be unto you. They were terrified j and Jesus said, Why are ye troubled ? Behold my hands and my feet. They believed in wonder. And he said, Have ye any meat ? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish and a honeycomb, and he did eat. And he told them all things must be fulfilled that were spoken in the scriptures by Moses and the prophets concerning him, and ye are wit- nesses that it behoved Christ to suffer death upon the cross, and rise again the third day. Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high. And he led them as far as Bethany, and blessed them ; and at that moment he was carried up into heaven. This was on the fortieth day after the resurrection. 153 Sixtieth Medal. Christ's as- cension into Heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jeru- salem with great joy, continually blessing and prais- ing- God in the temple. And they prayed that they mio-ht choose a proper disciple in the room of Judas, and the lot fell upon Matthias, which filled up the number, twelve ; for it is written in the book of Psalms, "Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein, and his bishopric let another take." Ten days after this, it being the feast of the Pentecost, a feast that was instituted by the Israelites to return thanks to God for the law given them from Mount Sinai, on the fiftieth day after their coming out of Egypt, and about the third hour of the day, at nine o'clock in the morning, being in all about seven weeks after the resurrection of Christ, the 154 apostles retired to a house at Jerusalem, which is said to have been that of Mary, the mother of John, and suddenly they heard a great noise, like the rushing of a mighty wind from heaven ; at the same time they perceived among them tongues of fire, cloven or parted, and which rested on each of them. They were all immediately filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak different languages as the Spirit gave them utterance. There were then at Jerusalem some pious Jews of all nations, who were astonished to hear such a variety of languages, but the other Jews at Jerusalem mocked them, saying. These people are full of wine. Peter said. Ye know that at festivals no man eats or drinks before noon, there- fore ye know that this cannot be ; for it is now only the ninth hour. And many who heard Peter were filled with compunction. This fact overpowered the major part of the multitude, and three thousand embraced the Christian religion, in consequence of this extraordinary miracle. At noon of this day, Peter and John went up to pray in the temple. Here they performed the first miracle, for, as they passed the beautiful gate of Corinthian brass, they perceived a lame man in- tensely watching them. The apostles stopped, when Peter, looking him in the face, said. Silver and gold I have none, but such as I have I will give unto thee ; in the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up, and walk. The crowd were electrified on seeing the man's limbs recover their former strength, when he followed the apostles into the temple, leaping, and praising God ; and this man's infirmity being known to most of the people, produced an extraordinary 155 sensation. Peter availed himself of the opportunity to address the crowd in favour of Christianity, and full five thousand were converted, The captain of the temple, wath the Sadducees, rushed in to oppose the progress of the Christian faith, and seized both Peter and John, and dragged them to prison. On the following morning, the Sanhedrim were assembled, and Peter and John brought to trial ; the recovered lame man also stood beside them ; and, upon their defence, they cited the command of God for their preaching; and, as the miracle had been witnessed by most of the inhabitants of the city, the Sanhedrim dismissed them, with a forcible^ injunction never again to teach in the name of Jesus ; but Peter and John boldly an- swered. Whether it be right in the sight of God, to hearken unto you more than God, judge ye. The *»• 37. number of converts had increased to such an extent, that it became prudent to appoint a distinct number of persons to distribute the alms. Seven were chosen from the faithful, on whom the apostles laid hands, and ordained them under the title of dea- cons ; they were all dispersed Jews, and they were all zealous in their calling. Stephen appears to have been the most fervent of them all. He preached at Jerusalem, so authoritatively from the Old Tes- tament, that Jesus was the Christ, that the mob shouted that he spoke blasphemy ; and they dragged him on the outside of the walls of the city, and stoned him to death, he at the same time praying that God would not lay this act to the sin of an infatuated populace. This saint became the first martyr. Among the persons present at this disgraceful 156 murder was the pupil of Gamaliel, of the name of Saul (afterwards Paul), who endeavoured to eradi- cate Christianity, by committing the most bloody havoc, and driving all Christians away from the capi- tal. At this time, Philip, one of the seven deacons, proceeded to Gaza ; he observed on the road a person of much consequence, sitting in a chariot, and read- ing the 53d chapter of Isaiah's prophecies. Philip conversed with him, and converted this Ethiopian, and baptized him in the adjacent stream. Saul, having destroyed and driven out of Jeru- salem the major part of the Christians, who had retired to Damascus for safety, set out with the intent to persecute them there. On his journey, however, ere he entered the city, there shone round about him a light from heaven, and he fell from his horse to the ground ; when he heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? It was the voice of the Lord, which had such a powerful effect on him, that his heart was changed ; but he was struck blind, and was carried into Damascus, and he was immediately baptized by one Ananias, one of the seventy. He instantly recovered his sight, and he immediately proclaimed his own conversion in every synagogue there, and became one of the most strenuous in supporting the true faith, and in preaching Christ crucified. At this time, Peter, in his progress, arrived at Lydda, where he cured a man, named Eneas, of a palsy ; and from that place he went to Joppa, where he restored to life a pious woman, named Dorcas, a Christian widow, who performed great acts of charity by employing the whole of her time in making clothes and other things for the poor. 157 The Almig-htv instructed Peter that the Gentiles, as well as the Jevvs, were equally entitled to salva- tion. Peter was at this period employed in prayer on the flat roof of the house of one Simon, a tanner, close to the sea, when he fell into a dream, and in that state he said that he saw heaven open, and a great sheet let down to the earth, containing all manner of four-footed heasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and fowls of the air ; and there came a voice to him saying, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Some of the animals were what Peter thought unclean, and he rejected them ; but a voice spake unto him again a second time, saying, " What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. The vision then passed away. The design of this vision was rendered evi- dent to Peter in his being instructed to follow a Roman centurion, by name Cornelius, to his house, whom God had appointed to be instructed by Peter in the words of life, shewing to Peter that the Holy Ghost fell upon every one equally with the descen- dants of Abraham, and that all were worthy to be admitted into Christ's flock ; and all were immedi- ately regenerated by receiving the baptism of Christ. In this year, James, called James the Less, cousin german of our Lord, who was the son of Cleophas and Mary, sister of the Virgin Mary, and who was surnamed the Just, in consequence of his admirable holiness and purity of life, was appointed Bishop of Jerusalem. The author, Jerome, says, that the Jews much esteemed this disciple ; and Paul, in his first Epistle to the Connthians, says that our Saviour appeared to James eight days after his resurrection. In this year, on Tiberius reading the account of A. D. 40. 158 Jesus's trial by Pilate, ordered Pilate to come to Rome. The emperor himself wrote an account of it to the senate, hoping that they would decree divine honours on him ; but the senate differed in opinion, and here the matter dropped. The em- peror Tiberius, however, banished Pilate to Vienne, in Dauphiny, where he was reduced to such extre- mity that he killed himself with a sword. The historian, Philo the Jew, says, Pilate, as a jud. 65. makino' a convert of one of Nero's favourites, the tyrant Nero cast him into prison, and from his dun- geon he wrote his second epistle to Timothy, and also his epistle to the Colossians and to the Philip- pians. Nero set fire to the city of Rome, and threw the blame on the Christians, several of whom wore cruelly put to death ; and Peter, who was in prison at Rome at this period, was supposed to have suf- fered martyrdom with the Christians, for as no other city ever gloried in the martyrdom of Peter, it is supposed that he was crucified at Rome on the same day on which Paul was crucified, at a place called the Salvian Vv^aters, and buried on the Ostian road, where a magnificent church was afterwards built. Clement succeeded St. Peter in the government *• »• S5. of the church of Rome ; and at this period the church at Corinth was so much disturbed by divi- sions, that Clement wrote a letter to the Corinthians, which was so much esteemed that they read it pub- licly in many of the churches, and it is supposed that Clement escaped the persecution of the Emperor Domitian. Of the historv of the wanderinos of manv of the apostles but little is known. Andrew suffered mar- tyrdom at Patras, after spending an active life in propagating the gospel of Christ ; Simon went into 168 Persia, but it is said that he is supposed to have suf- fered death somewhere in Britain ; the apostle Thomas suffered martyrdom in Judea, or, as some report says, at Coromandel ; Philip in Phrygia ; Bartholomew in Persia ; iVIatthias, one of the dis- ciples who continued with our Saviour from his baptism to his ascension (after which he was asso- ciated with the eleven), was crucified in Cappadocia; and Barnabas at Salamis. Jude, the apostle, sur- vived all the apostles except John. In this year, the Christians of Jerusalem, per- ceivings that a war would break out between the Jews and the Romans, retired to the kingdom of Agrippa. X. D. 67. Vespasian was appointed by Nero for the Jewish war, and to reduce all Judea; he attacked and besieged Jatopata, in which was the celebrated Josephus, who surrendered to Vespasian. A. D. 68. Nero, the emperor, died; Galba succeeded him. A. D. 69. Galba, the emperor, died ; Otho was declared emperor. Otho, the emperor, died ; Vespasian was declared emperor, and he set Josephus at liberty. A. P. 70. A^spasian, the emperor, sent his son Titus to be- sieo-e the citv of Jerusalem. He took Jerusalem, and demolished the temple to its foundations, and also the whole city, reserving only three of the towers. Of all the apostles who had listened to the Mes- siah's prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, John alone survived to see its fulfilment. A. D. 85. John was, during the persecutions of the Chris- tians, put in chains, at Rome, and sentenced to be exiled to Patmos, a small island about twenty-five miles in circumference, situated in the ^gean Sea j it has a citv called Patmos, and the Greek monks 169 show a cave near a chapel where they pretend John wrote his subhme book of Revelations. On the death of the Emperor Domitian, John was a. d. 96 set at liberty, and returned to Ephesus, and took charge of the metropolitan church ; and it is agreed that it was here that he wrote his three epistles, and composed his beautiful gospel, which tended so much to establish the truth of the divinity of our Lord. He died at Ephesus, in the hundredth year ^. p. loo of his acre, and the third vear of the reign of the E-oman emperor Trajan. We have, at the very outset of the gospel, a con- vincing proof of its truth, of its having come from God, for nothino- but a miracle could enable men to converse in lancruaaes which thev had never heard, which the twelve apostles immediately had the power to do, after the sending of the Holy Ghost upon them. Mv series of medals go nofartber than the ascen- sion of our blessed Lord ; up to which period, I have humbly, but faintly, endeavoured to fill up the historv between each of the sixtv medals. I do not presume to attempt to give the history, the sayings, and doings, of the apostles ; but I strongly recom- mend to my young readers, into whose hands these volumes may chance to fall, to remember, that reli- gion is the basis of every virtue, and to read the holy scriptures for their consolation and comfort, and where they will find everything is directed to im- prove the heart. We live in the days when inspira- tion and miracles are passed ; we, therefore, do not see the supernatural works of God, as he performed them in days of old amongst his chosen people ; and we therefore cannot enjoy the advantages of 170 Christ's personal presence, as did his first disciples ; coDsequentlv, to reap such advantages and such benefits, we are enjoined to read the Bible, which will oTiide us into a knowledge of all needful truth, and we are called upon to read it carefully, and with humble submissiveness, in doincr which the vounor mind will soon perceive that he is guided by a spirit who gave it him, and that he will derive from its blessed pasres moral and intellectual enjoyment, and draw from its assurances a direction of his way throuorh life : a defence against the world's tempta- tions ; and hope, consolation, and comfort, in the last hour. The order in which the apostles of Jesus Christ were named : — 1. Peter crucified at Rome with his head down- wards. 2. Andrew suffered at Patras on a cross, preach- insT until death. S. John, the beloved of Jesus, and last of the apostles, died at Ephesus, aged 93. 4. Philip was hung up against a pillar, in the city of Phrygia. 5. James (called the Elder) was east down from the pinnacle of the temple. 6. Bartholomew supposed to have been flayed alive in Persia. 7. Thomas was killed by a lance, at Coromandel, in the East Indies. 8. Matthew slain with a sword at Ethiopia. 9. Simon either crucified in Persia, or suffered in Britain. 10. Jude was shot to death with arrows in Asia Minor. 171 11. James (the Less), called the Just, was stoned bv the Pharisees. 12. Paul (originally named Saul) beheaded at Rome. Evangelists. In Josiah, chapter Ixvii., verse ^7) the Lord savs he will ^ve to Jerusalem one who bringeth ffood tidinofs — an evano^elist. In the fourth chapter of the Ephesians, Paul speak of evangelists, and ranks them after the apos- tles and prophets. There were originally evangelists and prophets who, without being fixed to any church, preached wherever they were led bv the Holv Ghost. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are called evangelists, because thev were the writers of the four CTOspels which bring glad tidings of eternal salvation to all men. The twelve Roman Emperors were distinguished by the sm-name Caesar. Bom. Began to Reign. Died Julius Caesar B.C. 100 B.C. 4S B.C. 44 Au2:ustus Caesar B.C. 6Q B.C. ^27 A.D. 14 Tiberius Caesar B.C. 40 A.D. 14 A.D. Q7 Caligula Caesar A.D, 12 A.D. 37 A.D. 40 Claudius Caesar B.C = 10 A.D. 41 A.D. 54 Nero Caesar A.D. 35 A.D. 55 A.D. 68 Galba Caesar B.C. 4 A.D. 6S A.D. 69 Otho Cfesar A.D. 30 A.D. 69 A.D. 69 Yitellius Cfesar • A.D. 69 A.D. 70 Vespasian Caesar A.D. S A.D. 70 A.D. 79 Titus Caesai- A.D. 40 A.D. 79 A.D. SI Domitian Caesar A.D. 51 A.D. 81 A.D. 96 1831. 172 presents his compliments to Mr. Thomason, and has the pleasure of transmitting to him a letter, accompanying a ring, which he has been requested by his Danish Ma- jesty to forward to him. Copenhagen, Jan. 14, 1831. " Copenhague, le 9 de Janvier, 1831. *• Monsieur, " Sa Majeste le Roi, mon maitre, apres avoir regu la suite des medailles, representante des sujets divers de I'ecriture sainte, que vous lui avez offert, Monsieur, m'a ordonnee de vous en temoigner sa recon- naissance et de vous faire parvenir la bauge 9i-jointe, comme marque de la bienveillance gracieuse, avec la- quelle Sa Majeste a a.cceptee cette offerte. C'est en executant cet ordre, que je vous prie. Mon- sieur, d'agreer I'assurance de la parfaite consideration, avec laquelle j'ai I'honneur de me dire, ** Monsieur, " Votre tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur, " Grand Chambellan et Grand Mareschal de la Cour. " Mons. Edward Thomason, Chevalier de I'Ordre pour le Merite de S. M.Francois I. du Royaume de Naples et les Deux Siciles." t '^Sh dS/d^^ndid />iam/?tul ^riUiant /tirta C> />e.se?ited to the Author by ft't:deru'A; fl. Jfin/j of J)enm.a.r7c. 173 1831. presents his compliments to Mr. Thomason, and has re- ceived his letter of the SSd inst., and is very happy that he has received safe the medals presented to him by King Charles. London, Jan. 25th, 1831. " Roval Asiatic Societv's House, " Grafton Street, London, January 25, 1831. " Dear Sir, " I had indulged the hope that I should ere this have been able to announce to vou the institu- tion of an Order of Civil Merit, but the minute which I drew up on the desirableness and advantages of such an order was unfortunately left behind by Sir Gore Ouseley, when he was ooino- to Brifjhtoii, or he would have had several excellent opportunities of submitting it to his Majesty's consideration. However, I expect to have my minute returned in a few days, when I will endeavour to induce Col. Fitz-Clarence (to whom I have mentior.ed the subject) to recommend it to his Royal Father's at- tention. " I have the honor of forwarding to you the prospectus of a Magazine I intend editing, and should be extremely oblioed bv your favourinf]^ me with anv suo-o-estions, or articles, or interesting information for its pages. " Mav I presume to request that you will obligingly furnish me with references to any accounts of your un- rivalled series of Christian Medals that have been pub- lished, as I am particularly anxious to give a notice of 1831 them in the first number of my Magazine, if your kind- ness directs me to the sources of information. *' Hoping that you will pardon my troubling you with this request, " I remain, dear Sir, *' With sincere respect, " Your very oblio^ed and obedient servant, *' Edward Thoinason, Esq." *' St. Mary's College, Jan. 26th, 1831. " Sir, " In delaying the fulfilment of my promise so long, I trust no other apology will be deemed necessary, than the statement, that 1 was not able to procure the number of the " Oscotian," containing the article in question, until late last evening. That number I now enclose ; it is the last of the publication that has ap- peared, otherwise reference would probably have been again made to your valuable and interesting present. I cannot. Sir, suff'er this opportunity to pass by, without once more expressing my obligations for the great treat you aiforded me and my friend, the other day, in the sight of your new series of medals. If the hopes of an humble individual could accelerate your progress towards complete perfection in an art (T might rather term it a science^ which does so much credit to your industry, your ingenuity, and your talents, believe me. Sir, you have the most ardent wishes of *' Your obliged and humble servant, ** Edward Thomason, Esq." 175 Written after seeing Sir Edward Thomason's new 1831. Series of Medals illustrating the Holy Scriptures, V .^^^ (2^'e)^^u^zf ^ of Lichfield B •* How various the subjects which medals pourtray, Admired by the learned, the grave, and the gay. Now in Thomason's mind rose a thought so sublime, That a series of medals on subjects divine Would be valued by all ; they our praise justly claim, And, oh, long may this work perpetuate his name. "Feb. nth, 1832." "Madrid, 15th February, 1831. " Sir, " I received, some time since, your letter ac- companying your memorial to the King of Spain ; but having, shortly after its receipt, been laid up for some time by severe illness, it was not till lately that I was enabled to attend to your wishes. *' The memorial has been presented to the King through his Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, from whom 1 received a letter yesterday, to in- form me that the King had received it very graciously. The books have, apparently, not yet reached Bilbao, since I have received no intelliaence of their arrival from your correspondent Mr. de Llano, I have, however, already taken measures for having a permission sent down to Bilbao, for the free entry of the box containing them. " I have had great pleasure in being the instrument of forwarding the object of your wishes, both as highly respecting the public spirit, and love fcr the arts, which 176 1831. has constantly distinguished you, and also as remem- bering, with much gratification, the politeness with which you accompanied me, many years ago, and ex- plained to me the many curious processes and ingenious inventions displayed in the various departments of your noble establishment. " I am, ** Sir, with geat truth, *' Your faithful and obedient servant, ^J^i-,-^ ^rC *' Edward Thomascn, Esq., Birmingham." (Copy.) "Bryanston Square, London, 22nd Feb., 1831. *' Dear Sir, " I have the satisfaction to acquaint you that the King of the Netherlands has accepted the medals which you offered to his Majesty through the medium of the British Embassy at the Hague, and that the King, gratified with these interesting specimens of art, and feeling ever disposed to encourage industry and talent, foreign as well as native, his Majesty has been graciously pleased to bestow upon you, as a mark of his acknowledoement, the order of the Netherland Lion, the decoration of which I have been requested to convey to you. " I feel sincere pleasure in acquitting myself of this commission, and have to request that you will instruct The Lien for Civil Merit, of thf IfetJierlaiuis. 177 one of your friends in London to call at the Embassy, in 1831. order that the decoration may he delivered over to him. " I have the honour to he, dear Sir, '' Your obedient, humble servant, " Edward Thomason, Esq., &c., Birmingham." *' Amsterdam, le 5 Fevrier, 1831. " Ordre du Lion Belgique Chancellerie, No. 3037. *' Sa Majeste le Roi des Pays Bas, voulant donner une preuve de sa satisfaction de I'envoi de Medailles que vous lui avez faite. Monsieur, vient de vous nommer par son decret du 27 Janvier, 1831, Chevalier de I'Ordre du Lion Belgique. " J'ai I'honneur de vous envoyer ci-jointes les decora- tions attachees a ce grade en vous offrant en meme terns mes felicitations de ce signe de bienveillance de mon auguste Maitre. *' Vous etes prie. Monsieur, d' accuser la reception de celle-ci par I'entremise de notre Ambassadeur a Londres. En cas de deces, la decoration devra etre retournee a la Chancellerie del 'Ordre. " Le Minister d'Etat et Chancelier de I'Ordre du Lion Belgique, " A Mons. E. Thomason, a Birming-ham. VOL. II. N 178 1831. « Munich, le 10 Mars, 1831. '* Monsieur, '* Sa Majeste le Roi me charge de vous, exprimer le plaisir et V interet avec lequel Elle a re9u les belles medailles dont vous lui avez fait hommage. Sa Majeste a ordonne qu'elles fussent reunies a la col- lection de medailles de I'hotel de la monnaie a Munich et Elle m'a charge de vous faire parvenir, commc cadeau de sa part, la suite de medailles des hommes celebres, faitcs a Munich d'apres la collection de Paris. " C*est avec plaisir que je m 'acquit te de cette commis- sion, Monsieur, et que je vous exprime en meme tems les assurances de ma consideration tres distinguee. "A Monsieur Edward Thomason, Chevalier de L'Ordre du Merite des Deux Siciles, Birmingham." » "Windsor Castle, March 20, 1831. " Sir, "Lord Melbourne having submitted to the King your letter of the instant, I have been honoured with his Majesty's commands to assure you of his regret that you should not hitherto have received an acknowledge- ment in writing for the series of medals performed by British artists in your employ, which you presented to his Majesty in the course of last summer. The omission has been quite accidental, and may possibly have arisen from Sir Robert Peel's imagining that his Majesty's plea- sure would on this occasion be signified through me. " His Majesty orders me to repeat what he stated when vou were presented to him by Sir Robert Peel, that he received the medals with great satisfaction as a mark of 179 your loyalty and attachment, and as exhibiting a perfec- 1831. tion of art highly creditable to those engaged in this beautiful work, and above all to the individual under whose study and superintendance these sixty medals, illustrative of the Holy Scriptures, have been so admir- ably executed. " I have the honour to be, " Sir, *' Your most obedient humble servant, " Edward Thomason, Esq." " Royal Asiatic Society's House, " Grafton Street, London, March 26, 1831. " Sir, " I have now the pleasure of sending you the rough draft of my minute on an order of Civil Merit, and shall be extremely obliged by your favouring me with any additions or alterations that may occur to you as being desirable. " You will perceive, from the accompanying magazine, that I have announced the plate of your Shield of Faith. *' I have the honour to be. Sir, " With sincere admiration and respect, " Your very obliged and obedient servant, N 2 180 1831. ''April 2nd, 1831. " The Russian Embassy will feel obliged if you will acknowledge, at your leisure, the receipt of the Imperial Vase, which I trust has safely come to hand, as well as a letter from Pince Lieven. Please to remember me most kindly to your excellent Mrs. Thomason. Yours, &c., (( " London, 11th April, 1831. " Dear Sir, " Mr. Lewis yesterday mentioned to me your wish to present to his Celestial Majesty a set of these beautiful medals, and that I might be the bearer of them to Canton. I need not assure you that I shall undertake this commission with pleasure ; and, by the assistance of Dr. Morrison, with whom I am personally acquainted, and who is master of their lanouag^e and customs, en- deavour to have them safely laid at the foot of his throne. But should there be any chance of their not escaping the rapacity of his Mandarins on the way, I will not ven- ture them. Dr. Morrison will be the best judge of this. In that case I shall dispose of them to the best advantage, remitting you their proceeds in a bill on England. Please, therefore, give me some idea of their value, for my government. " The Nabob of Oude, I think I have heard, is curious in such things, and a great admirer of the arts. As I go by Calcutta, if you have any sets you wish to dis- 181 pose of, I would offer such to him, or some of the other 1831. great men of that country, and advise you from them how far they are held in due estimation. In that, or in anything else, I beg you will command my humble services without scruple, for it will give me great plea- sure to execute them. My address in Calcutta is ' Care of Messrs. Fero-usson and Co.' there : and in Canton, whither I shall proceed in September, ' Care of Messrs. Maquini and Co.' there, until I shall fix my residence at one or other of them, of which I shall take the liberty to advise you. " I remain, with much regard, dear Sir, " Your faithful servant, "Vienna, April 15th, 1831. " Sir, " In reply to you letter of the 20th ult., I have to inform you that, as soon as the packet therein referred to reached my hands, I forwarded it to Count Czernin, great Chamberlain to the Emperor, by whom it was im- mediately presented to his Imperial Majesty in your name. " I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant. (< " E. Thomason, Esq.' 182 1831. "53, Manchester Street, London, 2 Mai, 1831. " Mon cher Monsieur, *' Permettez moi de vous recommandre encore un ami, le porteur de ma lettre ; ami des arts et tres connoisseur. " II vous parlera de quelques objets dont il a besoin, et aussi de ce dont je vous ai parle en passant a Bir- mingham. *' J'espere que votre famille est en bonne sante. Sovez persuade de ma haute consideration, et reconnoissance de votre obligeance *' Votre tres sincere serviteur. <^>^!l^^ "^C^^^ct^^ " E. Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." '* Londres, le 22 Avril (4 Mai), 1831, ** Monsieur, *' L'Empereur, mon auguste Maitre, voulant vous donner un temoignage de sa satisfaction avec laquelle Sa Majeste Imperiale a daigne agreer votre collection de medailles, j'ai I'honneur, Monsieur, de vous trans- mettre, d'ordre de I'Empereur, un vase en vermeil. " Veuiller, Monsieur, m' accuser la reception de cet envoi, et recevoir en meme tems I'assurance de ma par- faite consideration. " A Mons. Edouard Thomason, Vice Consul de Russie." PEESENTEB BYTME EMFEROR OF M,USSIA= zi :^ A Silver- Gilt Cup, Presented to the Author bj^"^ His Jjfipej^ial ^M^ajesty the H rnpcro/^ jVieh/^la^s: 1S3 "London, May 4tb, 1831. 1831 *' Dear Sir, " I have the pleasure of gratefully ac- knovvledGfinof the receipt of the twentv-four very beautiful medallions that surround the centre subject of your Shield of Faith. May I take the liberty of requesting that you Avill permit one of your artists to make a drawing at my expense of the Crucifixion as you have represented it, and I will, on its receipt, place the w^hole in an engraver's hands. " Until after the Reform Bill is settled, I cannot take any steps for forwarding the order of Civil JVIerit. As I originally drafted it, only one class was proposed ; but on submitting it to some high and influential personages, they stated that it would not have the least chance of being adopted unless there were three or four classes ; I was, therefore, reluctantly obliged to introduce that modification. •' 1 have the honor to be, dear Sir, " With sincere admiration and respect, " Your very obliged and obedient servant. •' Edward Thomason, Esq." " Aranjuez, 14 de Mayo, de 1831. " El Rey N. Sr. ha recibido la exposicion que V. le ha dirigido, y asimismo los cinco tomos que contienen la seorunda serie de medallas ilustrativas dela Sa^rada Escri- tura, y S. M. se ha dignado aceptarlas con el irevor aprecio. 184 1831. " De su Real orden lo digo a V. para su inteli- gencia. '• Dios gue a V. m. a. /%'<^-'^'**-o^>^ ^^/^rZ^yZ^^yC,)^^ <^4X>^P, ^^a'^%^ " Sr. Don Eduardo Thomason." "London, May 16, 1831. "Dear Sir, " In answer to your letter, dated May 11th, I have the honour to inform you that the Emperor has received the collection of medals illustrative of the Holy Scriptures, and I hope to be able soon to tell you some- thing" more about it. " Believe me, dear Sir, vour's truly, Madrid, 1st June, 1831. " Sir, " The case of books whicb you directed to me for the King of Spain has arrived, and been delivered to his Majesty. I transcribe over-leaf the letter acknow- ledging receipt which has been addressed to me by the Spanish Secretary of State, who has also informed me verbally that the books have given much satisfaction. " I am, Sir, your very obedient servant. £yC£>»^ ^C " E. Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." Fi^esented to the Author by Ifis Majesty louts FhillippeO 185 "AraBJuch; 14th May, 1831. 1831. " Sir, "The King, my august master, has received the books containing medallion illustrations of the Holy Scriptures, which has been presented to H. M. by his Vice-Consul at Birmingham; and H.M. has been pleased to accept them with the highest approbation of their merit. " 1 have the honor, &c., (Signed) " Palais Royal, 80 Juin, 1831. " ]Monsieur, " Le Roi a recu il y a deja quelque tems cinq boites renfermans la belle collection de medailles d'un nouveau metal que vous avez bien voulu lui destiner. S. M. les a examinees elle meme et en a fort admire le travail qui est d'une execution si parfaite. Elle m'a ordonne de vous en temoigner. Monsieur, toute sa satis- faction, et m'a charge de vous en offrir une marque par- ticuliere choisie parmi les produits de nos fabriques. " J'ai riionneur de vous prevenir qu'une garniture de cheminee, composee d'une grande pendale surmontee d'une coupe, et de deux grands candelabres a six lumi- eres, vient de vous etre addressee par ordre du Roi, aux soins de Messieurs Ph. Bevot and Co., a Calais. J'ai attendu que ces objets pussent confectionnes pour vous transmettre. Monsieur, les remerciement de S. M., qui a ete charmee que vos belles medailles vinient enricher sa collection du Palais Royal. " Je vous prie, Monsieur, de vouloir bien m'annoncer 186 1831. reception des deux caisses qui renferment les objets ci- dessus designes. " J'ai I'honneur d'etre, avec une consideration tres distinguee, " Monsieur, " Votre tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur, " Le Secretaire du Cabinet, ** M. Edward Thomason" "Tiddesley, July *21st. " My dear Sir, •* Count Munster has asked me to in- troduce two Hanoverian gentlemen, the bearers of this letter, to some friend of mine in your town, for the pur- pose of showing them, or to put them in the way of seeing its principal curiosities and manufactures. Their names are Mr. Jordan and Mr. Werlesth j I believe they have some charge under the Hanoverian Govern- ment in the mining districts of their country. " As Count Munster was very anxious to assist them, I have ventured to take the liberty of asking your kind services in shewing your own most interesting establish- ment ; and if you could further do them the kindness of asking any one of the Wardens of the proof house who may be at home to shew them that process, you would still further oblige me. You will, perhaps, have the goodness to sketch out f jr them a list of the things best worth seeing. **I remain, my dear Sir, " Very faithfully yours, ;^g ^/•;////7f)^\V;>^'^ ^ Presented R? the AuthorfyB^i^JfaJesty ZouLy Fhillippe. 187 '' If turf, and plantations, and cattle have any delights 1831. for you, I should be most happy to do the honour of this place to you at any time. *' Edward Thomason, Esq." " Kensington Palace, ^23rd July, 1831. " Sir, " Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria have received with much in- terest the prospectus of the series of Medals you sent me to lay before their Royal Highnesses, evincing, as it does, the native talent brought forward. " I am. Sir, *' Your most obedient humble servant, " Mr. Thomason, Birmingham." "36, Nottingham Place, July 23, 1831. *• My dear Sir, *' I had the pleasure of receiving a letter from you, enclosing your prospectus of an undertaking which unites every thing that is good with every thing that is useful, particularly in that part of the education of children where the foundation of their future conduct is to be laid ; and I do not hesitate in stating, as my my humble opinion, that the completion of such a work will render more beneficial service to this country than anything that has been given to the world since the translation of the Bible itself; for, as vou verv iustlv 188 1831. remark, that 'medals speak all languages,' so you have accomplished a pleasing method of introducing the most important epochs of the Bible to all nations and all capa- cities. If I had received it before this day (Saturday), I should have endeavoured to have an article about it in this week's ' Spectator,' but that must be postponed. " I wrote a hasty letter of introduction to you by General Santada, a very intelligent man, from Mexico, who is travelling for his amusement over England and Scotland. " Pray present our united and very best remembrances to Mrs. Thomason, and " Believe me to remain, *' Yours very truly. " E. Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." " Whitehall, August 16, 1831. S( Sir, " With reference to Sir Robert Peel's note to you of the 14th July, 1830, I am directed by Lord Mel- bourne to inform you, in reply to your letter of the 12th instant, on the subject of your being allowed to wear certain foreign orders of merit, that you should apply to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for this per- 189 1831. mission, through the Ministers of the countries from the Governments of which you have obtained these orders. " I am, Sir, *' Your obedient servant, <( Edward Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." " Oxton^ Exeter, 26th August, 18.S1. " Dear Sir, " I have many apologies to make for not having sooner acknowledged the receipt of your handsome series of medals, illustrative of the Scripture History. The more I dwell on them, the more I am deliohted with the skill, taste, and feeling which pervades the whole ; and all to whom I have shewn them are at the same time delighted and proud that the conception and execution of such a work should have emanated from Birmino-ham. " I should have had the pleasure of enclosing a draft for the amount, but I had no items of some few things Mrs. Beaumont Swete and myself purchased at your establishment which were not paid for. " We feel exceedingly obliged by your kindness and attention when we were at Birmingham, and regretted much that being pressed for time (which, indeed, was not our own), prevented our availing ourselves of your letter of introduction, but I shall never pass through your town again without claiming the privilege of an old acquaintance to make myself known to you again ; and 190 should anything bring you so far South as Devon, I 1^31. I trust you will do me the favour of letting me know, should you be in my vicinity. *' I shall be obliged if you will favour me with the particulars of my debt to you, and your banker in Lon- don, to whom it may be paid. " 1 remain, dear Sir, " Yours very faithfully, " Edward Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." The five volumes, containing the sixty silver Bible Medals, were so much admired after my presenting them at the levee, that 1 struck off a series of them in verv rich gilt for my private collection, which I kept in my library. Lady Granville called at my establishment, to inspect my manufactory. Along a gallery in the great vase room was the private way to my library, and I begged her ladyship would do me the favour to go and look at this recently finished rich gilt series. She was much astonished, and remarked that she little thouo^ht that she should have lived to see the Word of God im- pressed on gold. After examining the series some time, her ladyship exclaimed, " O that I had invented and done a w^ork like this, my soul should live I " No other individual is in possession of a similar gilt series, except my esteemed friend, Sir William Ingilbv, Bart., of Ripley Castle. (« 191 Brighton, Aug. 28, 1831. 1831. " Sir, *' Allow me to return vou many thanks for your loyal and beautiful medal, which I will place with the other specimens of art you have, from time to time, so kindly presented me with. '* I have the honour to be, " Sir, ** Your obedient servant, *' Edward Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." " Leamington, 31st August. (( Sir, (( I hope you will be at liberty on Monday next, to shew your beautiful manufactorv to some fi'iends of mine, whom I shall accompany ; and am, " Sir, •' Your obedient servant, •' Edward Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." 192 1831. *' 4, Queen Ann Street, London, Sept. 1st, 1831. " Sir, " Being instructed by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the kingdom of Bavaria to liave the enclosed letter delivered into your hands, I hasten to comply with his Excellency's desire ; and I beg leave, at the same time, to acquaint you that a collection of medals which it is his Bavarian Majesty's intention to make you a present of is just now arrived in London. I shall feel much oblio-ed to vou for letting- me know how I am to dispose of these medals — whether I am to send them to you to Birmingham, or whether you prefer their being delivered to some agent whom you might have or appoint to receive them here from me. " I have the honour to be, « Sir, *' Your most obedient humble servant. '* Edward Thomason, Esq." «29th Sept., 183L '* Dear Sir, " I have this day received your packet from Lord Bloorafield, which I will forward. I have also received the beautiful coronation medal which vou have had the 193 kindness to send, and 1 beg to express to you my best 1831. thanks for your ofreat kindness on this occasion. " I am, My dear Sir, " Your very obedient and oblinfed seryant, n /7^ " E. Thomason, Esq., Birming-ham." " Albion Hotel, Monday night, half-past nine o'clock. " My dear Sir, " I regret that the lateness of the hour of my arrival, and my bein«- oblifjed to start for London at five o'clock in the morning, prevents me from having the pleasure of paying a visit to your amiable wife and your- self. I am going to see my dear boys, who are at school at Blackheath. "When I next visit Birmino-ham, thev will probably be with me, and I shall feel gratified at paying you a visit. This letter will be handed to vou by my friend, Mr. Savage, who will make you a visit from me. As he has never seen Birmingham, I am desirous he should see your establishment, and request you may be so kind as to let him view it. " I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to Mrs, VOL. II. O 194 1831. Thomason and you the assurances of my esteem and regard, and remain, *' My dear Sir, *' Very truly yours. *• P.S. I am gratified to tell you the Marquis of Anglesey was in good health on Sunday, and I need not tell you he is universally beloved in Ireland ; indeed, no man that I have known had ever taken so lively an interest in the welfare and prosperity of that unfortu- nate and heretofore misgoverned country, as the amiable Marquis does." "London, the 23rd of November, 1831. •• Sir, " I feel great pleasure in informing you, that the King has been pleased to grant you the Order of the Red Eagle, fourth class, which I have the honour to en- close you herewith. " You will have the kindness to fill up and return me the accompanying paper. " I offer you my sincere congratulations upon this occasion, and have the honour to be. Sir, " Your obedient servant. '* Edward Thomason, Esq. •• His Prussian Majesty's Consul, Birmingham." Th^ Hed Eagl^ of ^ussioy. [ 195 " By order of his Royal Majesty, the General Com- 1831, missary for the Home Department certifies that his Majesty has been pleased to nominate Mr. Edward Tho- mason, his Vice-Consul at Birmingham, a member of the Red Eajrle Order of the fourth class ; in confirma- tion whereof this document has been delivered accord- inoflv, furnished with the customary seal of office. " Berlin, 24th August, 1831. " General Royal Commission for Affairs of the Royal Prussian State." "London, January 28th, 1832. ** Dear Sir, " I return you my best thanks for your kind information. The history of the sconces is this ; when they were first spoken of, in the year 1830, in his Majesty's presence, in St. George's Hall, Mr. Bridge, of Ludgate Hill, happened to be in sight, and he was called up to say what such things would cost in silver, the design not being then further proceeded upon than in my imagination. I was desired to make it out, in order to enable a proper estimate being made. " In the course of time this was done by cutting paper on boards full size, and trying them to their places till I got them to my mind. From these, Messrs Rundell and Bridge made out smaller sketches, and showed them to his Majesty, one of which was approved of ; thev then made a large model and estimates, one of which was for o 2 196 1832. or-molu, but so expensive that it was not for a moment sanctioned in the highest quarters. I then observed, that my wish was only for brass, and I had considered that about £50 each would be about the expense, accord- ing to my notions. " You will please to observe that I have nothing to do with the ordering or payment, it being entirely in the Lord Chamberlain's hands. " I have a notion that Messrs. R. and B. sent an estimate for £50 each, with two burners each ; but at this time the Lords of the Treasury insisted upon the Lord Chamberlain's Office putting up to competition all the furniture that was required, and amongst the rest the sconces ; and they sent from the Treasury a list of persons in the several trades to be called upon. " Unfortunately, I was also compelled to make designs for curtains, sofas, chairs, grates, &;c. I refused, but was obliged to give way. " Li consequence of this, I had a fresh model of the sconces made in plaster, full size, which, with other instructions, and patterns of various articles, were sent to Buckingham Palace, where all the persons to com- pete were admitted to make their estimates. " I have now told you all I know of the business, but will leave off here, and go to the Lord Chamberlain's office, and endeavour to learn the result. *' I am induced to do this in order to make you some return for your information, and I shall make use of it to prevent the sconces being spoiled, if possible. " I beg leave to assure you that I never considered they would be cast in one piece ; gave no directions, but left it to be decided by the workmen to be employed whe- ther to hammer, stamp, or cast the (not forty-eight) but 197 twenty-four shields, with lamps of four burners each, and 1832. not the royal arms, but the arms or cross of St. George. " I learn at the Lord Chamberlain's office, that no decision has been come to — no orders given out. I do not know who is the lowest, nor even the names of the competitors. " Under these circumstances, I conceive that persons are onlv takinof soundings at Birminoham. Now vou have the whole story. " Yours trulv, " Edward Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." " Rome, Feb. 10, 183^2. " Dear Sir, "I have delayed answering your letter in hopes of being able to send you some positive answer to the commission with which vou honoured me. On the first opportunity after its receipt, I called upon the Under Secretary of State, the very person you mention as having- visited vour establishment when in Enoland as Nuncio to the Netherlands. Monsignor Cappaccini instantly remembered your name, and most kindly took charge of the memorial I presented to him. He observed, what had instantly struck me upon the perusal of your letter, that the apparent neglect in acknow- ledging your present arose from the death of Pope Pius yill., and the retirement of Cardinal Albani from office. IVIonsignor Cappaccini had occasion to write to me a short time ago, upon other business, and mentioned in his note that he hoped soon to be able to give me 198 1832. some answer on your affair. Not having yet received it, I felt it my duty to wait no longer in giving you an answer, that you might not consider me guilty of neglect. As soon as I shall have it in my power to communicate some further and more satisfactory infor- mation, I shall have great pleasure in doing so. *' I have the honour to remain, dear Sir, *' Yours very sincerely, "Edward Thomason, Esq." " Madrid, ^23d Feb., 1832. " Sir, " With reference to the communication which you made to me on the 14th of September last, I have the satisfaction now to inform you that his Catholic Ma- jesty has been pleased to confer on you, in proof of his approbation of the work which you presented to him through me, the Cross of the Royal American Order of Isabel the Catholic, as I am informed by a letter ad- dressed to me this day by the Count de la Alcadia, his Majesty's Secretary of State. " As soon as the act by which this mark of favour is conferred shall have been passed, the Spanish Minister in London will be put in possession of the decoration, with orders to transmit it to vou. " I am. Sir, your very obedient servant. (( E. Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." Isahei . tjt^ Oitheuc of Spattu 199 "3, Paragon, Richmond, March 31, 1832. 1832. " Sir, " On my way through Birmingham, I had the pleasure of walking through your rooms ; and though nothing more than an Jiumhle individual, I venture to take up my pen in the hope that an acknowledgment of your polite civilities in explaining to me the many fine specimens of the belle arti I witnessed in my stroll through those rooms will, nevertheless, not prove quite unacceptable to you. I can assure you I was much struck by seeing such an impulse to the fine arts given to my countrymen by the good taste and force of your talents. Allow me to add, that I was personally much gratified by the liberal manner in which you sacrificed your valuable time to a chance passenger (as I may say), who had not even the usual credentials of a letter of introduction ; but I felt no surprise, for great talents are usually accompanied with much urbanitv. " I shall conclude this note with assurinof vou that should any business bring you up to town during my residence here, few things would give me greater satis- faction than to see you at my cottage, and to discuss the probable advance of the fine arts in this country at our leisure, over a bottle of wine and a lesf of mutton. I trust, therefore, you will make a little memorandum, headed ' Richmond,' when next you visit the metropolis. " I have the honour to remain, " Your obliged and obedient servant, " Edward Thomason, Esq." 200 ^832. "London, 2Sd April, 1832. " His Excellency the Secretary for the Foreign Depart- ment, in date of the lOth March, addresses me as fol- lows . — " ' Enclosed I send you, by his Majesty's order, to be forwarded to the individual concerned therein, the dip- loma of Knight of the Royal Order of ' Ysabel laCatolica' (Elizabeth the Catholic), granted to Mr. Edward Tho- mason, Spanish V:ce-Consul in Birmingham, and a copy of the statutes of said order.' *' That I may fulfil the preceding Royal disposition, and to prevent against this diploma and statutes being mislaid, it would be desirable that you should authorize one of your correspondents here to apply for, and send the same to vou bv a safe conveyance. "On an occasion so flattering as the present, I sincerely wish you my most heartful joy ; and hoping for frequent opportunities to repeat it in future, I have the honour of subscribino- mvself vour obedient servant, " Don Fernando 7° por la Gracia de Dios Rey de Cas- tillo, de Leon, de Aragon, de las dos Sicilias, de Jerusalem, de Navarra, de Granada, de Toledo, de Valencia, de Galicia, de Mallorea, de Menorca, de Sevilla, de Cer- dena, de Cordoba, de Corcega, de Mercia, de Taen, de los Algarbes, de Algeciras, de Gibraltar, de las Yslas de Canaria, de las Indias Orientales y Occidentales, Yslas y Tierra firme del Mar Oceano, Archidugne de Austria, bugne de Borgona, de Barbante, y de Milan, Conde de Apsburg, de Flandes, Tirol, y Barcelona, Senor de Viz- cay a, y de Molina, &c. Gete Soberano, y Fundador de la" Real Orden Americana de Isabel la Catolica, Aten- diende a las circumstancias g' Concurren en Vos Mr. mm TTie J^zi^/^/ne/i^ of /hn^. ifv bronze'. 201 EduardoThomason, mi Vice Consul en Birmingham, tube 1832. a bien concederos por mi real de creto de vinte y uno del corriente la Cruz de laballero de la espresada Real Orden Americana de Isabel la Catolica, libre de todo servicio pecuniacio y persuadiendome que por la calidades que OS hicieron digno de est elevade honor y por el celo acia mcstra persona qui tenees acreditado, os esmerarus en obseroas puntualmente los Estatutos de Ella y li de- mas que pueda contribuir al mayor lustre y esplendor de la misma para conservaros en mestra gracia : os concede los privilegios honores y distinctiones que os corresponden al tenor de los misonos estatutos. Y mando a Vice Presi- dent de la Asamblea Suprema de la propria Orden a los Verryes, Governadores yCapitanes Generales deEspagna e Indias a gnienes requir ie reis con est mi Real Titulo qui por si o por medio di, un Calallero di esta misma Orden, de enalguiera otra de las enutro militares y de la de St. Juan n otra personu constituida en degnedad militar o politicse a quien dieren comision, procedun a receivros Caballero daros las insignias de la orden, observando en est acto las ceremonias que para ello tcngo prescriptus, a aiyo fin os espido este mi Real Titulo, de que se tra de tomar razon en la Const adurea de la Orden. firnando por oho Vice Presidente y dos Caballeros Grandes princes Vocales de ella, retendudo por el Secretario general in- ternio de la misma que lo estambien mio con gercicio de Decretos v sillado con el de las armas de la Orden in Palacio a riente y siete de fibrero de mil ochocientos treinta y dos. a ffliU' 202 1832. " lo D. Alasco Atoiiexo Secretario del Rey nuestro Senor, Lohia enexibar por sa mandade el Fat ca Careiller Eleflany de Pexia. " V.M. Concede la Cruz de Cabelleros de la Real Or- den Americana de Isabel la Catolica, a Mr. Eduardo Thomason, Vice Consul de Espagna en Birmingham." "Londres, 23 de Abril, de 1832. " El Exmo Senor Secretario de Estado y del Despache, con fecha de 10 de Marco ultimo me dice lo que signe : " ' Adjuntas y de Real Orden remito a V.S. para que los liao-a llesfar a manos del interesado el Diploma de Caballero de la Real Orden de Isabel la Catolica, expe- dido a Mr. Eduardo Thomason, Vice Consul de Espana, en Birmingham, y un egemplar de los estatutos de la misma orden.* " A fin de que yo pueda egecutar la precedente Real Orden y para evitar el extravio del pliego que contiene los des referidos diploma, y egemplar de los estatutas, sera muy conveniente se sirva v. autorviar alguno de sus corresponsales de su contianra para que lo recoja y lo dereja a v. del modo que sea mas segura. " Con un motivo tan lisongero dir a v. mi mas cordial enhorabuena, y quedo deseando ocasiones de poder repe- tirsela confrecuencia. " Tengo el honor de ser su seq. ser. Q. B. S. M. " Senor D. Eduardo Thomason." (( '203 London, 23d April, 1832. 1832. " Dear Sir, ** You will perceive, by the annexed com- munication, that his Excellency, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of his Catholic Majesty has sent me a Diploma of the Order of Isabel la Catolica, and a copy of the statutes of the same Order, which his Majesty has deigned to confer on vou. These documents are readv for deli- very to any person who may call here for the same on vour behalf. "Tendering vou mv sincerest cong-ratulations for this distinction, " I remain, dear Sir, " Your most obedient servant, " Edward Thomason, Esq." " Uxbridge House, April 14, 1832. " Sir, " The Lord Lieutenant being much pressed with business, has directed me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 5th inst., and to assure you that, if referred to, it will give his Excellency much pleasure to bear testimony to your merit. " I have the honour to be. Sir, *• Your verv obedient humble servant. ** E. Thomason, Esq." 204^ «' Oxford, May 2, 1832. " My dear Sir, " I beg leave to transmit to you the Report, herewith inclosed, of the proceedings of the British Asso- ciation for the advancement of science, formed last year at York, and adjourned to Oxford, to re-assemble during the week that begins on the 18th of June next. " You will see, by the excellent speech of Mr. Vernon Harcourt, what are the objects and the plan of this Association. Since the list was printed, large and im- portant additions have been made to the number of our members ; and should you wish to enrol your name amongst us, I shall have great pleasure in proposing it to the committee. Have the kindness, also, to inform me whether it will be in your power to attend the meet- ing here in June. " Should there be any other scientific gentleman in Birmingham whom you think likely to wish to attend the meeting as members, or to send any scientific communi- cation to it, I should be obliged if you will mention to them the circumstances of this meeting, and the request contained in the printed letter respecting papers that authors are desirous to have read. *' I remain, my dear Sir, " Always truly yours. « E. Thomason, Esq. 205 " Constantinople, May I7, 1832. 1832. " Dear Sir, " The Ambassador being about to dispatch a messenger to England, 1 avail myself of the oppor- tunity, though in haste, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of March 2i. It came to hand on the 14th instant by the ship ' Post Boy,' which brought the case directed to Sir Stratford Canning, to whom it was imme- diately delivered, his Excellency having come to town for a few davs. " Yesterday, yours of the 28th February came to hand by the ' Henry' brig, your former letter of the 2d March, by post, having previously arrived. I have not yet received the case, as it is among the cargo, which has not yet been landed. I will disburse all the charges attendinof your box of medals, and will, bv a future opportunity, address you respecting the patterns which you mention having packed up with my things. " Your letter for Mr. Beck will be forwarded on the 19th ; and I have the pleasure to enclose one I have received from Persia to your address, which I believe is from him. " I remain, dear Sir, *' Yours truly, " Edward Thomason, Esq." " LiNNESKA SaMFUNDET. som bar till foremal Naturalhistoriens beframjande ej mindre i vettenskap ligt hanseende an synnerligast i dess SOf) 1832. tillampning, kallar harmed till sin ledamot Herr Consul Edward Thomason, i forhoppning om Dess Nit for Sam- fundets andamal. Stockholm, d. 23 Maj, 1832. " Pa Linneska Samfundets vao^nar, n. V. Ordforande. r => Secreterare." "Cambridge, May 25, 1832. '* My dear Sir, " According to your desire, expressed in your letter, I have examined all the antiques which were brought over by Dr. Clarke and presented to the University, but I can find nothing at all resembling it ; nor can I, on enquiry, discover that Dr. Clarke pre- sented any to any private college. I have seen a work which explains the meaning and origin of all the stones which Dr. C. brought over, and this one is not among them. I would just suggest that it might be found in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford, where I know a great many antiquities are deposited. With respect to the mythological subject of the vase, I rather imagine that it represents the labours of Hercules, The winged per- sonage on the left is Mercury, and the apple in his hand may represent one of the golden apples of the Hesperides. The next, with the lion's skin on his arm, no doubt, is Hercules. The female next may be either Omphale, or 207 Hippolyte, Queen of the Amazons, and the horses may 1832. be the horses of Diomedes, all which concerned the labours of Hercules ; but it is impossible to decide for certain until the whole circumference of the vase is examined. If it is any where in England, it is either at the Bodleian, Oxford, or the British Museum, or in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries ; but I can learn nothing of it here. " May I beg your acceptance of the inclosed ancient coins, perhaps they may not be uninteresting to a lover of antiquity like yourself. The largest is a medal of Agrippa, the friend of Augustus. I have never met with so perfect a medal before : it will need now and then a little brushing, as the damp rather tarnishes the beautiful antique bronze. *' The other two are Greek, and were brought from the Archipelago by the Rev. T. Hughes, of Emanuel College, Cambridge. The one which is indented on one side is of great antiquity, of which that indentation is always a sign ; and the other is one of great rarity, being very seldom to be met with. Pinkerton marked the latter R. R. R., his notation for very great rarity, and affixed the exorbitant price of £4 ; but such a price is, in my~opinion, ridiculous, as, if ever to be bought at all, they will be purchased for a small price, because their rarity is unknown. Should you consider them worth your acceptance, they are quite at your service. " I remain, dear Sir, " Yours truly. 1832. 208 " Russian Consulate General, London, •25th May, 1832. (( Sir, " H. I. M. the Emperor having been pleased to order that Russian Consuls in foreign ports, proceeding on their official duties on board Russian men-of-war or merchant vessels, should adopt the flag of the Imperial navy yachts, I hand you herewith a drawing of the said flag for your information. '* I remain, Sir, " Your most obedient humble servant, " Edward Thomason, Esq., Russian Agent Consular, Birmingham. " Meshud, 1st June, 1832. (( Sir, " You will learn from the letter of Mr. W. Beck the honour which his Royal Highness Abbas Murza, Prince Royal of Persia, has been graciously pleased to confer on you. I am commanded further to state that, in consideration of his Royal Highness's high opinion of your judgment and ability shown in your present, '209 should, at any future time, articles of English manu- 1832. facture be required, you will receive his Royal High- ness's commands on the subject. " I have the honour to be, « Sir, ,'Your obedient humble servant, " E. Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." Translation of a Ruckum from his Royal Highness Abbas Meerza, Prince Royal of Persia, conferring the Order of the Lion and Sun upon Sir Edward Thomason, of Birmingham, in England. The translation by Capt. Macdonald, Commandant of Escort to the English Mis- sion at the Court of Persia. William G. Beck, In the service of his Royal Highness Abbas Meerza, Prince Roval of Persia. " In consideration of the friendship and harmony esta- blished on a firm and permanent basis between the powerful nation of Persia and the brilliant realm of England, and of the opening offered to the servitors and well-wishers of both, on either side, to the distinctions and favours granted in the other ; and, beside, as our royal heart is deeply interested in, and desirous for, the advancement of those proficient in science and arts of a rare and novel invention : ur^ed bv these reasons on the present occasion, when the high and great in station, the celebrated for genius and wisdom, of skill surpassino- his cotemporaries of the Christian world, Mr. Edward VOL. II. P 210 1832. Thomason, resident in the town of Birmingham, has sent us, from this distant English city, as specimens of excel- lency in his line, a series of medals impressed with like- nesses of the prophets, on whom be the blessing of God ; in whose exertion he has shown his matchless genius, and which, on examination, have offered us infinite de- light, and have met the perfect approbation of our enlightened heart : — " We have done him the honour to present him with a Star of the Order of the I>ion and Sun, as an encou- ragement to stimulate the talent he has displayed in the arts and sciences. " (Sealed by) " His Roval Highness Abbas Meerza, Heir- Apparent of Persia." *' Constantinople, June 7th, 1832. " Sir, ** Agreeably to your request, I have sent in the five volumes of medals and your letter to the Sultan. I sent them by one of the interpreters of the Embassy to his Highness's private Secretary, Mustafa Efi'endi. This gentleman was much pleased with the medals, and readily undertook to present them to his Sovereign. I have since ascertained that the Sultan received them with satisfaction, and keeps them by him ; but no message upon the subject has yet reached me from his Highness. You must be aware that it is no small matter for the ' Commander of the Faithful' to accept a present of which the character is in many respects so decidedly Christian. It was, indeed, a delicate question vvith me whether I could venture to have the medals presented to him at all. =^taMffi^ffl^ The Order or iJie Siui S Zm/i ot' Persia. '2 II " It would give me pleasure to be tlie cliaimel of some 1832. distinct acknowledgement to you from the Sultan ; but at jDresent I have nothing further to say, nor must you allow yourself to be disappointed if the Sultan maintains his silence. *' I am, Sir, ** Your very sincere and obedient servant. " Edward Thomason, Esq., Birmingham." *' Lord Chamberlain's Office, June 'ZJ, 1832. '* Sir, " I have to acquaint you that the Fees due to the Officers and Servants of His Majesty's Household on your receiving the honour of Knighthood amount to £108 : 2s. 8d., and I beg you will favour me with a draft for that sum, or have the goodness to inform me when the proper person may wait on you for it, in order that the necessary notification may appear in the Gazette. " I have the honour to be. Sir, " Your obedient servant, " Receiver of Fees of Honour for the Officers, &c., of His Majesty's Household." " The fees are in my possession. William Martin, £108 : 2s. 8d. " June 28, 1832. •• Sir Edward Thomason, &c." p 2 1832. «' To my very old and highly esteemed Friend, Sir Edward Thomason, Knt. " Dear Sir, " I conofratulate you on the honour So lately conferr'd by our Monarch (the donor), AYho, judging most wisely where merit w^as due, The badge of true Knighthood bestowed upon you ; And feeling as all other amateurs felt, Rewards you with title, gilt spurs, sword, and belt ! I remember the time (fifty years since, when boys) Your name at Soho 'gan to make a great noise ; And w hen to * the toy shop of Europe' you came, Each season's exalted a Thomason's fame. As an Artist whose works o'er the globe have been whirl'd. Your renown has extended all over the world ! No wonder His Majesty then thought it rioht (High-talented Edward) to make you a Knight! " I am. Sir, yours very faithfully. " A Septuagenarian. '♦ Belle Vue Place, Leamington Spa, July 2, 1832." " London, 1st July, 1832. "Dear Sir, : " When on Tuesday last I addressed you by a title you have so long and so greatly merited by the common consent of all who have the honour to be acquainted with you, or have visited your splendid esta- blishments, I was not aware that twenty-four hours later his Majesty was about to confirm the title. Long may you and Lady Thomason continue to enjoy it wdth health 213 and happiness. I think you ought to obtain the rank of 1832. Count Palatine, and Knight of the Golden Spur, from Rome, as it will give you a right to a coronet and sup- porters to your arms, a star on your breast, and a hand- some large cross suspended by a broad red riband round the neck. As you have doubtless many acquaintances at Rome possessing influence, your reputation will obtain it for you without difficulty. Should you write to them on the subject, it will save you time if at the same time you send them '* 1. Your Christian and surname, rank, date and place of birth, and present residence. " 2. The Christian and surname of your father, and his place of residence. " 3. The Christian and surname of your mother. " 4. The copy of your arms coloured, or an exact de- scription of them. " 5. A drawing of the supporters you make choice of. *' All these are necessary, as well to shew that the party is worthy of the honour, as to prove the identity of the party in the succession of ages, the whole being en- registered in the Chancellerie of the Order. " In Germanv, ladies are admitted in certain Orders, and to w-ear the decorations of the Orders to which their husbands belong. " I feel oblio-ed bv your hint as to the best means of turning Mr. Dariet's process in gilding to account. It is precisely w'hat I have been endeavouring to obtain in vain these six months. The jewellers and silversmiths here all say no gilder can purchase it, as they are none of them rich men. This has forced me to adopt the only alternative ; to set up a person on whom I can rely as gilder, and send for gilders from France. It is what I 214 1832. would willingly have avoided, but without it I saw no means of utilitizing a most valuable discovery. One half of the gold, at least, is saved, and I understand two- thirds of the mercury and labour, with superior effect. " Tin can be gilded perfectly and easily by the new process, but it remains to be proved whether the heat re- quired to volatilize the mercury will not also fuse the tin ; I think it possible, but experience alone can pronounce. " I leave here for Yorkshire to-morrow, and shall take Birmingham in my way back, when I will have the honour of paying my respects to you. If there be any respecta- ble gilder at Birmingham whose honour could be relied on, I should be glad to treat with him. " Are you acquainted with the newly discovered pro- cess of case-hardening iron instantaneously ? If not, I shall have great pleasure in communicating it to you. *' I have the honour to be, "Yours verv trulv. " I expect to be at Birmingham before the 15th inst." " Saville Row, August 18, 1832. «' My dear Sir Edward, " This is the first opportunity afforded me of congratulating you upon the distinction that has been so properly and so worthily bestowed on you by His Majesty, and I hope you may live long and happv in the enjoyment of it. This will be handed to vou by a very dear and particular friend of mine, IMr. Moore, of York Terrace. There is a great pleasure in introducing one man of taste to another, and I am there- 215 fore highly gratified in being able to make you acquainted 1832 with each other. I know no one better able to form a correct judgment upon, and therefore to appreciate properly, the various great works you have made ; and I shall personally be obliged by any attentions you can pay him in shewing your establishment to him and his family. My family circle are taking in good air, and I hope health, on the top of Highgate Hill. Were they here, they would cordially unite with me in kindest re- gards to Lady T. and your circle. Believe me, •* Yours most faithfully, •' Sir Edward Thomason, Knt." *' Armv Medical Board, London, 9th July, 183;^. " My dear Sir, "Neither I, nor Lady M., nor my son, have forgotten your great kindness to us in our visits to Birmingham, more particularly in the visit of my son and myself last year. You may remember that, in our conversation, I predicted what has happened, and expressed my perfect conviction that the honour you sought, and for which you had such pre-eminent claims, would be granted, when your wishes were made known in the highest quarter. It is true I am not so much known to you as many of your numerous friends ; but I beg to assure you that none of them can more sincerely rejoice than I do on the occasion of the honour and distinction recently conferred upon you by His Majesty. The conferring this distinction on you, in my humble opinion, reflects 216 1832. honour on those who advised it as well as on yourself, who have done so much for the arts, and done so much credit to vour countrv. Ladv M. and mv son desire to join me in kindest w^ishes, as well as in congratulations. " And I now am, " My dear Sir, " Very truly yours, '^ Jn^ " Sir E. Thomason, Birminohaui." " Rome, Sept. 4, 1832. " Sir, " I was duly honoured with your letter of the 23d of last April, and immediately made enquiries on the subject of it. I was very sorry to find that the death of the late Pope, and consequent retirement of Cardinal Albani from the office of Secretary of State, had been the cause of so much apparent neglect in noticing your very handsome present to His Holiness. I saw Dr. Wiseman, and also Mons. Cappaccini, and had likewise an audience of the present Pope, when I mentioned vour communication to him. His Holiness expressed himself fully sensible of your attention, and of the value of your admirable productions of art, and seemed anxious to give you some mark of his sense of the same. I have been lately informed by Mons. Cappaccini that His Holiness means to request your acceptance of a curious piece of ancient mosaic, disco- vered during the pontificate of Leo XH., at Cacchinola, which he flatters himself may be a valuable acquisition to vour museum, and which is now in the hands of an 217 artist to be framed, and when finished I shall have much 1832. pleasure in forwarding- it to England with as little delay as possible. Mons. Cappaccini speaks with gratitude of the attentions he received when he had the pleasure of seeing you ; a satisfaction which I had some years ago, in company with my friends and relations, IMr. Blount, and the late Sir T. Constable, of Tixall. *' Believe me. Sir, " Your verv humble servant. " To the Chevalier E. Thomason, Birmingham." " Finlagan, Londonderry, Ireland, September 18, 1832. " Dear Sir, " By an unfortunate fatality, your kind letter of the 22nd January, 1831, only arrived at my residence in this country on the 11th inst. It appears to have been mislaid in a Government Office, where it was sent by my agent in London to be franked. My friend, Lieut. Drummond, of the Roval Eno-ineers, discovered it on the 8th, and forwarded it to me through the Secretarv of State. " It has afforded me the highest gratification to learn from you that my suggestions upon a subject of the first importance should have been considered worthy of your QIS 1882. marked attention. The production of such a work as you allude to, illustrative of the Divine Wisdom in the redemp- tion of this world by our Lord Jesus Christ, must be a source of the sublimest satisfaction to yourself, as contribu- ting, in an eminent degree, to promote the glory of God. That stupendous event appears to me to have been a primary part of the providential system of God towards mankind. For the accomplishment of the salvation of all such as shall be redeemed, this world was created, and a mysterious system of providence carried into execution. For the accomplishment of it, the Son of God condescended to become incarnate, (thus * God was manifest in the flesh,') to lead a life of humiliation and suffering, to die on the cross, and to be buried in the tomb. For the accomplishment of it. He rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, (thus * He led captivity captive, and received gifts for men,') and having sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. He makes unceasing and effectual intercession. *' I therefore say with the Apostle, ' I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, desiring above all things to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom,' &c. For this end I am in the constant habit of searching the Scriptures daily. I find, as the result of all my research, that Christ, from all eternity, became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him ; whilst on earth He explained His own character as the pro- pitiation of sin and the Saviour of sinners, the willing- ness of God to pardon, justify, and accept them on account of His righteousness, through faith in Him, accompanied by repentance, and followed by holiness of heart and life. 219 " He tau"ht mankind that their character bv nature 1832. is sinful and odious to God, and that their own obe- dience can never be accepted as an expiation for their sin or a ground of their justification. That unless they are born again of the spirit of God, and possess a new and spiritual character, they cannot see the kingdom of God ; and that in acquiring this character they become His disciples indeed, and prove themselves to be such by ' doing whatsoever He hath commanded.' " In my humble view of the Christian religion, all these things united constitute that character which, being assumed, those who before Avere apostates return to God and lo their obedience of His will, and may evan- gelically claim, through His promise, a title to eternal life, which, after all that can be said or done, is, in the present, the ' one thing needful' of the everlasting gospel. '* As I take for granted, from the kind manner in which you write of my former communication on the subject of our holy religion, that some of my practical views of Christianity may not be unacceptable, I have taken the liberty of again addressing you, and I believe I do so to you as a gentleman of England who has recently received a distinguished mark of His Majesty's royal favour. From seeing an account of this in the public journals, I presume I have the honour of ad- dressing you as Sir Edward Thomason, and I beg leave to say it will afford me great pleasure to hear from you, either by post to this address, or under cover to my friend, the Hon. and Rev. the Dean of Down, kc, &c., which envelope should be sealed and enclosed in another to the Right Hon. the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Stephen's Green, Dublin, in order to come free of post- 220 1832. age ; but a single letter will be better sent by post direct to my address here. " I have the honour to be, dear Sir, *' Most faithfully yours, " Commander, R.N. " Sir E. Thomason, Birmingham." 't>' "29, Grosvenor Square, Sept. 18th, 1832. " Dear Sir, " The Sultan entrusted me, on leaving Constantinople, with a diamond snuif-box for you, and I beg you will name some one in London to whom I may consiofn it for safe transmission to vour hands. I have much pleasure in conveying to you this mark of his Im- perial Highness's munificence ; and, in stating my wish that a suitable return should be made for the beautiful set of medals you sent him through me, I did but ex- press the high esteem in which I hold your ingenuity and public spirit, distinguished even in a town which ranks among the first in England for both those qualities. You may justly feel proud of being the first individual who has ever received the thanks of a Turkish Emperor for a work of art exhibiting the principal events of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. " I am, dear Sir, with every good wish, " Your faithful and obedient servant, " Sir Edward Thomason, Knt." A superb Gold fjtajneled, Snu/fBoJc, Set with B rilliant Diamonds, F?^esented to the Author by Alahmoud ? 7^ Sultcijv of the Ottoman Znipire^. 221 "December 1, 183^2. 1832, "Dear Sir Edward, " Gratified as I have been by the splendid and truly interesting museum of arts which you have formed, I beg to ofter for your acceptance, and as a literary and graphic relic to be placed on your shrine, a volume which 1 have published, and which you will find, OQ perusal, is devoted to the cause of art. " Wishing you many years enjoyment of health, with all the comforts of life in unison with your good domestic partner, in which Mrs. B. cordially joins, " I remain. Sir Edward, " Yours verv trulv, "Sir Edw^ard Thomason." " Royal Asiatic Society's House, " No. 14, Grafton Street, Bond Street. "London, 1st of December, 1832. " Sir, " I have the pleasure of transmitting to you the thanks of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, for your donation of a piece of an ele- phant's tusk, having an iron musket ball lodged in the interior of it, which was presented at the General Meet- ino; of the Societv that was held this dav, " I have the honour to be, Sir, " With great respect, " Your most obedient Servant, ■^Lu^^^-i^<^^W^,Si^^-^:J:<^^'^i-^ Secretary. " To Sir Edward Thomason, Knt." 222 ^■^'^2. "Rome, Dec. 8th, 1832. "Sir, *' I was duly favoured with your polite letter of 4th October, and was happy to find that my wish to serve you had given you so much satisfaction. I have now in my custody the beautiful piece of mosaic, which his Holiness has charged me to have conveyed to you with every mark of that attention and condescension due to you, which I hereby beg leave to express. I flatter my- self you will find it a very valuable addition to your collection, and have no doubt it will be much admired by the lovers of the fine arts in England, as it has been by those who have seen it here. It was discovered in the ruins which have been examined in the grounds of a villa in this neighbourhood, which belonged to the late Pope Leo the Twelfth, called Cicliignola. I should have sent it off before this time, had I liked to have trusted it to the first mode of conveyance that presented itself; this circumstance, and the season of the year, determined me to keep it till I could hear again from you, to know if there is any particular house in Leghorn to which you would prefer having it sent, to be forwarded to England ; and from thence, if you would wish it, to be sent to London, or to Liverpool, and to whose care in either place you would like it to be consigned. " Waiting your answer to the above particulars, " I remain. Sir, "Your very humble servant. ^a<- " The Chevalier Thoiiiason, &c., See." ^1<1^ DtSCOVCffO IN THE ftUi»-S Qf-^Ht P*\.ACt OF PCE LEO.Xtl.Al THE ViLL* CCMICNOl-* - PRESENTED HI POPE CRECORV.XVI SIR EDWARD THOMASON. ^ >^ _■ OAlAJ/'J/llAlfl'i g nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn -[ uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu (^- A REAL PIETRA DURA MOSAIC, ABOUT 2 FEET SQUARE. 223 "The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and 1832- Ireland, " 14, Grafton Street, Bond Street, " London, 20th December, 1832. "Mr. Graves C. Haughton, Secretary to the Royal Asiatic Society, presents his compliments to Sir Edward Thomason, and would feel obliged if Sir Edward could inform him whether the tusk in which the ball was found was taken from an African or an Indian elephant, as the ball has very much the appearance of the match - lock balls used in India, and it w^ould be curious to ascertain that fact, and any others connected with it, if possible. " In the Museum of the East India Company is a specimen somewhat resembling- that presented bv Sir Edward Thomason to the Roval Asiatic Socictv, but in which the ball is oblonor instead of round." " Finlagan, Londonderry, Ireland, 22nd Dec. 1832. " Dear Sir, *' Your highly interesting letter and enclo- sure of the 29th September last, reached me through mv relation, the Dean of Down, after considerable delav on his part, and I have now to return you my most sincere thanks for the communication. *' I have to congratulate you on the completion of vour magnificent work of the medals : the orratifvino- and successful result of your presents to foreign sovereio-ns ; and, above all, on the sublime prospect held out of many converts to Christianity by means of those beautiful illus- trations of the Holy Scriptures, which you have accom- plished, doubtless, at great expense and trouble. 224 1832. " In considering the purpose, the means, and the end, of such a splendid production of British art, it must be acknowledged, in every Christian country, a work of in- estimable utility. As to the purpose, it serves to promote the glory of God, by the series of remarkable facts lead- ing to the most stupendous event that ever happened — the atonement of the Son of God, whereby the redemp- tion of this world was effected, and finished by His glorious Ascension into heaven, where, ' having sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. He saves, to the uttermost, all them that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.' "Then, as to the means used ; they obviously do benefit to many by giving employment, and diffusing Christian knowledge among them. Lastly, as to the end, it is, I trust, and will be, attended with incalculable profit to yourself as the projector, as w^ell as with important ad- vantages to all who are disposed to avail themselves of a work so admirably calculated to illustrate the wavs of God towards man, in accordance with the sacred reve- lation which He has made of His providential scheme of deliverance for the fallen race of Adam. " These Scriptural Medals will go forth to the world, convevino- alono- with them the renown of British art, unrivalled in this splendid specimen ; and the work itself, in the hands of true Christians, will allure the mind to serious investigation, in obedience to that all impor- tant and universal command of the Redeemer, viz., ' Search the Scriptures ; these are they which testify of me.' " As I take for granted you wish as much publicity as possible for the work, I can have it noticed in the public '225 journals of this country, under the head of Fine Arts ; 18-32. or, in case you desire to have it before the public as an advertisement, I shall be happy to get it done for you. *' Any exertion that I can make in my sphere for the extension of Christian knowledge shall be done, for it is a great happiness to be disposed to co-operate, however humbly, with all such as may be justly termed public benefactors, among whom you have the honour of being highlv distinguished, as having consecrated time, talents, and faculties to the olorv of God and the benefit of mankind. " I have some thoughts of going to England, perhaps in February next ; if you should be in Birmingham at that period, I shall be very happy to revisit your esta- blishment there, and, congratulate you in person on the completion of your magnificent work of the medals, shield, &c. In hopes of an answer to this address, " I have the honour to be, dear Sir, " Your faithful and obsdient servant. " Commander, R.N. " P.S. I should not wish you to write again under cover to the Dean of Down, as he is absent from home, and the delay of course great. I shall be most happy to hear from you by post direct, without enclosing to any member of Parliament. "London, December 2?, 1832. " Dear Sir, " Your business is a verv easy one. The firm of our house at Leghorn is Bell, De Yongli, and Co., VOL. II. y 226 1832. and they will readily at end to any matter you entrust to tliem. You may write to them yourself, if you think proper ; but as we shall mention that they will probably have something sent to their care for vou, you may save yourself that trouble, and only write to his Eminence the Cardinal that on placing the mosaic with Messrs. Bell, De Yongh, and Co., they will do every thing else needful. *' The insurance for the sum of £200 shall be attended to as soon as we hear of the shipment. *' Always at your commands, we remain, " Dear Sir, *' Yours obedient, '* Sir Edward Thomason, Birmingham." " Rome, January 15, 1833. *♦ Sir, " I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th September last, which reached me only last week. ** To meet your wishes with as little delay as possible, I have had a conference with his Eminence Cardinal Bernetti, Secretary of State, and with Monsignor Capac- cini, his substitute, on the subject. " I have learnt that the five folio volumes which you forwarded to his Eminence the Cardinal Albani, to be submitted to his Holiness the late Pope Pius the VIII., reached their destination a few days only previous to the death of his Holiness. The heirs, therefore, considering this present as part of the personal inhe- /•*^ *^ t ritance of his Holiness, they have disposed of it, 1833. without leaving to his successor, the present reigning- Pontiff, any knowledge of the work. " I have also understood that a short time ago vou sub- mitted to his Hiohness, the reio-ning Pontiff, another specimen of medals, for which present His Holiness condescended to forward to you, through the most valued medium of Cardinal Weld, a piece of mosaic, as a token of his Holiness's pleasure in receiving the medals. " This is all I have been able to do in the matter, and in congratulating you on your laudatory occupation, I beg you will command my service in this country, " And believe me, Sir, " Your most obedient servant. J^f^K/^'hy/^t^^ " To Sir Edward Thomason, ^~-== \ \. ■ / ^ -^ m \ -\ J[^/ie ,,Jiisf7za/t ^Me^la/ of Dit'iniiy. 231 "Londres, le 6 Fevrier, 1833. 1833. " Monsieur, " Je m'etais empresse en son tems de soumettre a a Sa Majeste Imperiale la collection de medailles repre- sentant des sujets tires des saintes ecritures que vous aviez temoigne le desir d'offrir a I'Empereur. " Sa Majeste a egalement apprecie et I'interet que presente cette belle collection, et I'intention que vous a parle a la lui offrir. Elle a ordonne qu'elle soit deposee au cabinet Imperiale des Antiques et Medailles en memo tems qu'elle a daigne me charger de vous remercier en son nom de 1' attention de la lui avoir offerte, et de vous transmettre, comme une marque de la satisfaction qu' elle a eprouvee, la cijointe medaille en or. " Je suis charm e, Monsieur, de me trouver dans le cas de vous faire une communication aussi flatteuse, et je saisis cette occasion pour vous renouveller I'assurance de ma consideration distinguee. *' Mons. Thomason, Vice Consul d' Autriche, a Birmino^ham." o " London, Feb. 6, 1833. " Sir, •' Will you allow me to introduce to your notice, and to solicit your attention to the bearer of these lines. La Comte Louis de St. Leu, son of the late King of Hol- land, Louis Bonaparte, who, with his friend, a Milanese gentleman, is making a tour of curiosity. I know you will be glad to show him what is within your own power, 23 2 1833. and I shall be obliged to you if you can put him in the way of seeing what is most worthy to a stranger in your town. Hoping you will excuse this trouble, " I am, Sir, your obedient servant. ** Sir E. Thomason, Knt.'* ''TuniB^ Feb. 8, 1833. " Sir, " Your medals, as vou describe them, sixtv in number, are now in the Royal Palace of this city, and have been accepted by his Sardinian Majesty, to whom I had the case forwarded agreeably to your desire. I have not seen them yet, but I am told that they are very beautiful specimens of the numismatic art. I read your petition myself to the Grand Master of the Household, and left it with him. The Queen understands English, and will, I doubt not, read it to his Majesty, " For your obliging oflPer of services, of allowing any friends of mine to see your establishment, I beg to offer you my thanks, and I am, vvith great truth, Sir, " Your most^obedient humble servant, ♦' Sir E. Thomason." " Londres, le 6 Fevrier, 1833. " Monsieur, " J'ai regu les dessins des objets qui se fabriquent dans vos ateliers, que vous avez eu la bonte de m'en- voyer. Je ne manquerai pas, selon vos intentions, de les faire connaitre aux artistes de I'Egypte, qui sont cepen- Q33 dant tres-loin d'etre capables de faire les belles choses 1833. que j'ai vu dans vos riches magasins. Je suis sur qu'ils vous en seront reconnaissants et vous en remercie, raoi-meme, Monsieur, pour eux. " Je montrerai aussi vos dessins au Vice-Roi, et lui parlerai de la beaut e de vos travaux. Je ne laisserai pas echapper cette occasion de lui rappeler I'envoi que vous lui avez fait, et je ne doute pas qu'il ne s'empresse de vous en temoigner sa reconnaissance. " Quant amoi, Monsieur, je suis on nepeut plus satis- fait de la maniere bienveillante avec laquelle vous nous avez accueilli, mes compagnons de voyage et moi ; je n'oublierai jamais les politesses que vous nous avez faites et les chefs-d'-oeuvres dent vous etes I'auteur. Je me trouverai tres-heureux, Monsieur, si en Egypt, je pou- vais trouver I'occasion de vous etre agreable en quelque chose. " Je vous remercie des voeux que vous faites pour mon heureux voyage, et veuillez agreer ceux que je forme pour votre bonheur, en vous priant de me croire, Mon- sieur, avec la plus parfaite consideration, " Votre tres-humble et tres-obeissant serviteur, " P. S. Presentez, je vous prie, mes respectueuses salutations a Madame Thomason. " Je quitterai Londres Lundi prochain 18 du courant, pour me rendre a Paris et de la en Egypt. '* A Mons. Edward Thomason, a Birmino-ham." 234 1833. " East India House, 28th February, 1833. "Sir, " I am commanded by the Court of Directors of the East India Company to acknowledge your memorial, stating- your desire to present to the Emperor of China a series of your medals (contained in five splendid volumes) illustrative of the Holy Scriptures, and re- questing the Court's assistance to enable you to carry it into efifect. " The Court direct me to acquaint you that they will have pleasure in forwarding your views so far as may be in their power, and will accordingly be prepared to transmit this specimen of British art to Canton, with instructions to their Select Committee to use their best endeavours to procure its presentation to the Emperor, as the offering of its author. " I have the honour to be, " Sir, " Your most obedient humble servant. ** Sir Edward Thomason." «* Devonshire Street, March 5th, 1833. - Sir, " I have had the honour to receive your letter, and am gratified to find that your application to the Court of Directors has met with that attention it so well merited. *• Your address to the Emperor of China upon this oc- casion appears to me quite unexceptionable. It does not appear to me to be necessary to introduce into the Eng- QS5 lish letter any of the peculiarities of Chinese phraseology ; 1833. but I shall write to my friend, the Rev. Dr. Morrison, at Canton (to whom the duty of translating your letter into Chinese will devolve), to request of him to take every pains to do justice to it, and to render it as accept- able as possible to the Chinese monarch. " I shall also write to the chief of the British Factory on the subject, and hope that, by the return of the ships next year, you may have an account of the honourable reception of your splendid donation. " I have the honour to be. Sir, " Your most obedient servant, .i^^^^^^l^^^!!^^^^^^ " Sir Edward Thomason, &c. &c." " Washington, March 13, 1833. ♦'Sir, " I beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of a box from you containing- a series of medals ; I lost no time in complying with your request to present these medals, together with your letter, to the President of the United States, and I have great satisfaction in mention- ing to you that his Excellency received them with an expression of sincere thanks and gratitude ; and he de- sired me to state to you that he would take an early op- portunity of writing to you upon the subject. " I have the honour to be, Sir, " Your most obedient humble servant. iX^^:>^^ " H. B. M. Charge d'Affaires." 236 ^®33- *' Washington, March 9 th, 183^. "Sir, *' I have received the medals you have been good enough to send me. They are interesting and beautiful specimens, creditable to the state of the arts in England, and to your own taste and enterprize ; exhi- biting in the new world, for its emulation, a splendid proof of improvement in the old, in one of the most diffi- cult departments of human industry. " The progress and perfection of those branches of the arts which require genius in the conception, and great skill in the execution, and the interchange of their pro- ductions, are interesting to all countries. Literature, science, and the arts, constitute a public stock, to which the contributions may be unequal, but from which each nation may appropriate to itself, without injury to others, whatever can be usefully applied. " Accept my thanks for this distinguished mark of your attention, and for the kind terms in which your sen- timents have been conveyed. " With respect, I am. Sir, " Your obedient humble servant, ** Sir Edward Thomason." *' Londres, le 26 Mars, 1833. " Monsieur, " J'attendai toujours I'envoi du dejeuner que j'avais commande dans votre fabrique, pour vous remercier de I'aimable accueil que vous m'avez fait pendant mon sejour a Birmingham. Mais attendant en vain depuis six 237 semaines ce que vous deviez m'envoyer, je ne veux pas tar- 1833. der plus long terns a vous exprimer ma reeonnoissance de I'affabilite que vous m'avez temoignee. Je vous prie de dire a vos commis de m' expedier le dejeuner le plutot possible et d'y joindre une tasse d'or plaquet faite sur le meme model que le reste. " Recevez I'expression de mes sentiments distinguees. *' Mons. E. Thomason, Birmingham." ''Rome, March 12th, 1833. '* Sir, '• I have the pleasure to inform you that I have had advice from Leohorn, that the case containinof the mosaic picture, presented to you by his Holiness, Gregory the XVI., has arrived safe there, and would be forwarded, agreeably to your directions, to London as soon as pos- sible. Its arrival there, must depend, of course, upon wind and weather, and the other delays incidental to a sea voyage at this season of the year. That it may ar- rive safe, and give you all the expected satisfaction, is the sincere hope of, Sir, " Your very sincere servan"^, Sir E. Thomason, &c., &c." Q3S ^®^^* "Coburg Hotel, 23d March, 1833. " My dear Sir, " I have been very remiss in not thank- ing you and Lady Thomason, in my own and Mrs. Baber's name, for the very handsome present of the pyrites (diamond) specimens, but I have been so much occupied by business that would not allow of postpone- ment, to say nothing of the numerous visitors we are obliged to receive now that the period of our departure is so nigh, that I have not had leisure to write rav ac- knowledgements sooner. You will scarcely believe the CD ^ admiration this present has excited, for I invariably mention the source from whence it came, and the cour- teous treatment I received from you and Ladv Thoma- son. I have made many inquiries in town, and cannot learn that the pyrites were ever before worked up as you have done; though it is admitted, by all who have seen it, that it would be in universal requisition, if offered for sale. I have been expecting to hear from Sir George Staunton that he had heard from you on the subject of the medals. He said that he should think it an honour to be addressed by a gentleman of your distinguished merits, and would do all in his power to promote your wishes ; but it would be necessary to be extremely cau- tious as to the manner in which the thinsf was done. He proposed taking the opinion of the Court of Direc- tors of the East India Company ; but all this, and much more, you will have under his own pen when you write to him. AVe leaye town on Saturday for Gravesend, and sail on Sunday ; and, as I said before, if you will favour me with your commands in India, nothing will o-ive me more pleasure than to render you any and every 239 service in my power. Mrs. B. joins me in kindest 1833. reorards to vourself and Lady Thomason, and I am " Yours ever faithfully, ** Sir Edward Thomason, Birmingham." (copy.) " Birmingham, March 27, 1833. *' The Honourable Court of Directors of the East India Company. " Gentlemen, ** I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your kind communication in a letter from Mr. Auber, under date the 28th of February, and 1 beg to return you my orate ful and sincere thanks for vour politeness to make such an arrano^ement as may possibly lead to the eftect that my present may reach the hands of his Celes- tial Majesty the Emperor of China. I avail myself of your liberahty, and I have the honour to send you the series herewith, together with my petition to the Emperor. " The medals are arranged in five splendid volumes, lined with rich satin, the outer covers richly gilt, and adapted for royalty. The five volumes are then put into a polished rosewood case ; the rosewood case is protected by a leather case, with a silken cover put over, and at- tached to the leather ; the whole sewed up in embroidery, and addressed in gold letters to his Celestial Majesty, homaoe of Sir Edward Thomason. "The petition is folded upon a roll of white satin, supported by wood in the interior, and put into a 240 1833. gilt leather case, which will preserve it from getting o , of shape. " I have the honour to remain, *' Gentlemen, " Your very faithful, obliged, and very humble servant, " Edward Thomason, Kt/' " Windsor Castle, March 30, 1833. " Sir, " I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 28th instant, which, together with your petition, and the Medallic History of England, I have laid before the Queen, and am honoured with her Ma- jesty's commands to say that she is very sensible of this mark of your attention, and that she receives, with much pleasure, this beautifully executed and ingenious work, upon which her Majesty cannot bestow too much praise. •* I have the honour to be, '* Sir, *' Your most obedient servant. " Sir Edward Thomason, Birmingham." «' Devonshire Street, April 15, 1833. " Sir, " I have had the honour to receive your letter, and am happy that everything is now finally arranged for the transmission of your present to China. I shall s( )t forget to write on the subject to my friends at Can- 1833 - jn, and have the honour to be, " Sir, " Your most faithful servant. " Sir Edward Thomason, &c. &c." *' Florence, April 25th, 1833. *' My dear Sir, " The bearer, Prince Jerome Pignatelli, is a very particular friend of mine ; he is about going to Endand to see a country he has not yet visited, and as Birmingham is too interesting a place to escape the at- tention of a traveller, I take the liberty of giving him these few lines, trusting to your usual politeness, and knowing that no person can better put him upon the way of seeing everything that is worth notice. Believe me, much at your service, " My dear Sir. " Yours most sincerely, " Sir E. Thomason, Kt." " Windsor Castle, June 8, 1833. " Sir, " I have to apologise for my apparent inatten- tion, in not having replied sooner to your letter ; but having been honoured with the Queen's command to VOL. II. R 242 1833. transmit to you the accompanying medal, which her Ma- jesty has been graciously pleased to order for you as a special mark of her Majesty's approbation, I delayed writing until the medal was completed. " It will, I doubt not, greatly enhance the value of this medal in your estimation, to know that it was en- graved in compliment to her Majesty, under the parti- cular direction of Mr. Chantrey, after. his admired bust of the King, and that, although it has been otherwise published, none but such as bear the emblem of royalty on the reverse are struck by her Majesty's special com- mand. *' 1 have the honour to be, - Sir, '* Your most obedient servant. ^^^^1^^^!^/^ " Sir Edward Thomason, &c., Birmingham." "June, 1833. " Dear Sir, " We shall not easily forget the high pleasure we received to-day at your interesting establishment. It is enough to make one envy the heads that wear a crown, for the first time, merely for the favour of adequately paying tribute to merit such as yours. " I am, dear Sir, very truly yours, " To Sir Edward Thomason, Knt." 2i3 LINES WRITTEN BY MISS CHARLOTTE A. EATON, 1B33 On seeing the splendid Bronze Vase, and Series of Medals, May 25ih. " Princes and heroes perish from the earth, And leave, at best, a questionable name ; The mind that gives triumphant genius birth, Wins for itself imperishable fame. ** Trophies of sanguinary actions pass, And fade the wasting breath of time before ; But art's proud monuments, enshrined in brass, Shall last when time itself shall be no more." " The humble petition of Sir Edward Thomason, of Birmino'ham, in Enoland, a Knio-ht of Great Britain, a Knight Chevalier of seven Foreign Orders, to his Celestial and Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China, &c., &c., &c. " Sheweth, — *' That your petitioner has, for more than thirty years, endeavoured in all that has laid in his power to improve the arts, sciences, and manufactures, and your petitioner has at his establishment unique works of art, the admi- ration of all strangers visiting your petitioner's manufac- tories. Your petitioner has, after much study, labour, and expense, completed a unique work of art in a series of sixty large medals, illustrative of the Holy Scriptures, the allegory of which is embodied from pictures of the ancient masters, Rubens, Raphael, Guide, Domine- chino, Michael Angelo, &c. And your petitioner has had the gratification to present to your petitioner's own Sovereign, King William the Fourth, a series in five volumes, struck from the dies, which his Most Gracious R 2 244 1833. Majesty was pleased to accept at the levee, and to ex- press his Royal approval. "Your petitioner knowing, in common with all the whole world, your Celestial and Imperial Majesty's love, admiration, and encouragement in everything which be- longs to classical taste and improvement in the fine arts, humbly hopes, and is animated in flattering himself, that your Celestial and Imperial Majesty will condescend and deign to accept the five folio volumes herewith, contain- ing the unique series of the sixty large fine bronzed medals, the work of British artists in your petitioner's manufactory ; and your petitioner humbly begs permis- sion to set forth in the subjoined leaf the allegorical sub- jects of the sixty medals. " And your petitioner humbly hopes that Almighty God may preserve your Celestial and Imperial Majesty to enjoy a long and happy reign, and for which your petitioner will for ever pray," &c., &c., &c. " Ministero e Real Segreteria di Stato della Presidenza del Consioflio de' Ministri. " Ripartimento degli Ordini Cavallereschi. " NapoH, 10 Luglio, 1833. " Sua Maesta il Re, mio Signore, prendendo in considerazione le pregevoli qualita che distinguono la di Leipersona, e I'estese cognizioni, che la rendano merite- vole de' particolari riguardi, si e degnata accordarle la Croce di Cavaliere di grazia del Real Ordine Costanti- niano. " Nel Real Nome, e con mio particolar piacere le par- 245 ticipo questa Sovrana degnazione per sua intelligenza, c 1833 regolamento, e perche facci accudire presso questa Real Seg-reteria e Ministero di Stato per las pedizione del cor- rispondente Magistral Diploma. " 8iff. B. Eduardo Thomason." " Rl. Maggiordomia iMaggiore, e Soprantendenza Generale di Casa Reale. " 2d Ripartimento. "Napoli, 12 Luglio, 1833. •* Signor Cavaliere, " Rispondo al gentile suo fogiio del 3 Giugno ultimo tendente a prendez notizia di una spedi- zione anteriormente fattami per Sua Maesta il Re mio Siguore, di un cblletto contenenti in cinque volumi una serie di sessanta medaglie rappresentanti fatti della sagra scrittura d'appresso le opere de' pui insigni pittori. Debbo adunque ragguagliarla che il divisato colletto non che I'aggiuntovi piego erano pervenuti nelle mie mani pochi giorni prima deil'arrivo della seconda sua lettera, e che mi sono dato la debita premura di passare il tutto alia Maesta Sua, che lia veduto con grandissimo piacere la perfezione e la squisitezza di gusto con cui e' stata con- dotta questa opera. E per darle una chiara testimoni- anza del suo Reale ^radimento e del conto in cui tiene le costanti cure che Ella impiega per lo avanzamento delle arti, si e degnata nominarla Cavaliere di grazia del suo inclito ed antico ordine Costantiniano. Avendomi quindi il Consigliere Ministro di Stato Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri, alle cui attri cuzioni apparten- gono i Reali Ordini Cavallereschi, fatto tenere d'ordine della Maesta Sua il Reale Rcscritto di nomina, io o-lielo 246 1833, trasmetto qui' acchiuso riserbandomi d'inviarle il corris- pondente Magistrale Diploma, die il cennato Ministro ha promesso inviarmi appena adempito. Mi ha inoltre la M. S, incaricato d'inviarle nello stesso tempo, come adempio, un esemplare le gato de' nove volumi finora usciti in luce dell' opera che pubblicasi sotto i suoi Ileali auspicii contenente la descrizione del Reale Museo Bor- bonico. " Profitto intanto di questa opportunita per esternarlc il piacere da me provato nell' essere il mezzo di farle pervenire la nuova della novella distinzione accordata al suo merito. '* II Maggiordomo maggiore di S. M. Soprantendente Generale di Casa Reale. ** Sisrnor Cavaliere Eduardo Thomason, Birmingham." " Ministero c Real Segreteria di Stato della Presi- denza del Consiglio de' Ministri. " Ripartimento degli Ordini Cavallereschi. " Napoli 13 Luglio, 1833. " Essendossi Sua Maesta il Re, mio Sign ore, degnato di essentarlo dal pagamento de dritti in Ducati cento, stabilite perlo spedizione del Real Diploma di Cavaliere di grazio del Real Ordine Costantiniano ; cui EUo e stato promosso dalla Maesta suo ; nel Real Nome ne la prevengo per sua intelligenza eregolomento, rimettendole il cennato Real Diploma. *'Sig, D. Eduardo Thomasson." o > 2 o ;« ilj cl o a. UJ > O o X I- < 1- o o o o CQ q: o CD ■n o it: O < >- o or Uj _i Q. 'Si U X I- 247 '* Rl. Maggiordomia Maggiore, e Soprantendeiiza Gene- 1833. rale di Casa Reale. " Ripartimento. *'Napoli 14, Luglio 1833. " Signer Cavaliere, " In continuazione della lettera che ho avuto il piacere dirigerle a' 12 orl corrente, io migo sol- luito di qui auhiuderle il magistral diploma, con cui Sua Maesta il Re mio augusto Signore si e degnata nominarla Cavaliere di Grazia del Real Ordine Costantiniano in at- testato del dissinso suo merito e della soddisfagione che ha intesa pel dono rimessogli delle sessanta medaglie rappresentanti fatti della sagra scrittura. " He Maggiordomo Maggiore, " Soprantendente Generale di Casa Reale, V rn^ eJc ^ yO t^.^ y^ a^^^o " Al Sig. Cavaliere Eduardo Thomason, Birminirham." o '* Londres, 28 Aout, 1833. " Monsieur le Chevalier, " J'ai I'honneur, par ordrc de Sa Majeste le Roi des deux Siciles, mon auguste maitre, de vous faire par- venir le pacquet ci-joint, contenant le diplome par lequel Sa Majeste vous a decore de son Ordre Royal Constan- tinien. Sa Majeste en outre a ordonne qu'on vous addresse un paquet contenant un exemplaire de I'ouvrage qui se public a Naples sous ses auspices, et qui contient la de- scription du Musee Royal Bourbon, dont 9 volumes ont deja parus. " Sa Majeste pour vous temoigner. Monsieur Ic Che- 248 1833 valier, sa vive satisfaction, et sa reconnoissance pour la collection de meclailles dont vous lui avez fait hommage, vous prie d'accepter la decoration cy dessus mentionnee, ainsi que la description du Musee Bourbon. Je vous prie, Monsieur, de m'indiquer la maniere de vous expe- dier la caissette qui contient les volumes, et d'avoir la bonte de m'accuser la reception de cette lettre, et du paquet qui y est joint. " J'ai I'honneur d'etre, avec une parfaite estime, " Monsieur le Chevalier, " Votre tres obedient serviteur, " M. le Chevalier Thomason, Birminofham.' C5 "Ferdinandus IIus. Dei gratia. Utriusque Siciliae Regni et Hierusalem Rex, &c., Parma Placentias Castri Dux, &c., &c., Magnus Etruria3 Princeps Hereditarius, Sec, &c., &c., Sacri Equestris Ordinis et Inclitse Milita- ris Religionis Constantinianse Sancti Georgii Sub Divi Basiliiregula Magnus M agister Egregio Viro, Nobisque dilecto Equiti Edwardo Thomason Salutem, et prospera annia. " Ut tibi benigna voluntas Nostra manifestetur prop- ter egregiam indolam tuam, accaetera Virtutum merita, quibus apud nos commendaris, Te inter Equites ex gra- tia Nostra Realis Ordinis Constantiniani cooptare de- crevinus Quapropter nos magnus Magister eaqua polle- mus auctoritate supremoquejure quoda praedecessoribus Nostres accepinus, et Gentium consensione praesertin Summorum Roman se Ecclesiae Pontificum communitum, et in perpetuum confirmatum gerinus, scientes, et pru- The Vi'tlir n/.S. fen shnitifie. 249 dentes Te Ed uardum Thomason, Equitem ex oratia Nostri 1833. juditi ordinis ConstantiiiiaDi dicimus, creamus, Constitui- mus, et declaramus, et Equitem albo adsaibimus in eadem Sacra Militari Coiistantiniana Religione subtitulo Sancti Georgii, et sub Divi Basilie regula, ita at in posterum ejusdem Sacrae Religionis Miles dicaris, appelleris et nuncuperis, et Nostrorum Equitum, et Militum con- sortio et cuicumque coctui admittaris, prout admissum, et aggregatum esse prsecipimus cum omnibus juribus, honoribus, et oneribus ad eamdum Religiosam Militiam Spectantibus. Quare omnes et singulos Serenissimos Reges, Respublicus, Duces, et Principes, Marchiones, Comites, et Barones, Gentium Prsefactos, et Exercituum Rectores, nee non Communitates, et Universitates Te- narum, Oppidorum, Castrorum, Locorum, coramque Gu- bernatores, Potestates, Rectores, et alios quoscumque Judices tam Ecclesiasticos, quam Sseculares ad quos Te forsan divertere pervenire quocunque transire, interque commuari contig'erit in domino hortamur serogamus ut Tibe efficacis defensionis prsesidio operum donat, ut his Privilegus, et Gratise Nostrse efFectu uti, potiri et gan- dere valeas, Teque adeorum liberum usum admittant, videantque ne quid molestia^ perturbationes aut detri- menti capias, vices quidem Benevolentise Nostrse recep- turi Quibus omnibus ut certa habeatur fides, hoc Diploma a Nobis, et a Nostro Consiliario Ministro Status, Minis- trorum Consilii Preside recognitum signoque Nostro munitum exarari mandavimus. — Datum Neapoli sexto idus Julius, MDCccxxxiii. "Ferdinandus Magnus Magister, Carole fearro. " Diploma Equitatus ex gratia Realis Ordinis Constan- tiani pro Eduardo Thomason." 250 1R33. " Dio decimatertia mensis folii 1833, pro expednois clinch hojoy Diplomatj nil Solvet V. S. pretusa Anmiery txthe Rey perceptus, Videt Eques magnse erunt Letiva fiscus." TRANSLATIONS. Letter from the Duke of Graltieri, dated Naples, 10th Julv, 1833. ** His Majesty the King, my master, taking into con- sideration the valuable qualities by which you are dis- tinguished, and the extended acquirements which render you deserving of particular respect, has deigned to award you the Cross of Cavalier, by courtesy, of the Royal Constantinian Order. " In his royal name, and to my great individual satis- faction, I impart to you this sovereign appointment for your information and guidance, and in order that you may apply to the Minister of State's Royal Secretary's Office here, for the due expedition of the regular magis- tral diploma. " (Signed) " II Duca di Graltieri." Dispatch from the 2d Department of the R. Major- domo-in-Chief and Superintendent-General of the Royal Household. "Naples, 12th July, 1833. *' Sir Knight, " I reply to your agreeable sheet of the 3d June last, invoking the notice of an anterior expedi- tion, addressed to me for the King my master, of a col- 251 lection, in five volumes, comprising a series of sixty 1333. medals, depicting facts of the sacred scriptures, after designs of the most eminent painters. I have to acquaint you, that the said collection, with its accompanying papers, reached my hands but a few days prior to your second letter, and that, with appropriate eagerness, I laid the whole before his Majesty, who, with the utmost satisfaction, beheld the perfection and exquisite taste displayed in the entire management of this work, and who, to give you a lively testimony of his royal approba- tion and sense of your constant zeal in promoting the fine arts, has been pleased to nominate you a Cavalier, by courtesy, of his renowned and ancient Constantinian Order. " Thereupon, the Counsellor, Minister of State, and President of the Council of Ministers, in whose attribu- tions are all the royal orders of knighthood, having, by his IVIajesty's command, transmitted to me his royal re- script of nomination, I forward it to you, here inclosed, purposing to send you the regular Magistral Diploma, as soon as it shall be drawn up in due form. " His Majesty at the same time commissioned me to forward you one copy, bound up, of the nine volumes hitherto published under his royal auspices, and con- taining a description of the Royal Museo Borbonico. " Meanwhile, I take advantage of this opportunity to express the great pleasure it affords me to be the medium of communicating to vou this intellioence of the distinc- tion awarded to your merit. " The Major-domo-in-Chief of H. M. Superintendant-General of the Roval Household, " (Signed) Principe di Bisignano." ^52 1833. Dispatch from the Office of the Ministry of the Royal Secretary of State, and Presidency of the Council of Ministers, dated Naples, 13th July, 1833. " His Majesty the King, my master, having been pleased to exempt you from the payment of the dues established on the expedition of Royal Diploma of Cava- lier, by courtesy, of the Royal Constantinian Order, to which you have been promoted by his Majesty, in his royal name I give you notice thereof for your information and guidance, transmitting you likewise the said royal diploma. *' (Signed) " II Duca di Graltieri." Dispatch from the Office of the Major-domo-in-Chief, Superintendant-General of the Royal Household. *' Naples, 14th July, 1833. '* Sir Knight, " In continuation of the letter which I had the pleasure of addressing you on the 12th instant, I am anxious to enclose vou herewith the Mao-istral Diploma with which his Majesty, my august master, has deigned to nominate you a Cavalier, by courtesy, of the Royal Constantinian Order, in acknowledgement of your distinguished merit, and of his satisfaction, experienced in the homage you have made him of your sixty medals descriptive of incidents taken from the Sacred Scriptures. " The Major-domo-in-Chief, Superintendant-General of the Roval Household, " (Signed) Principe di Bisignano." 253 Letter from the Count dc Ludolf, in French. 1833. "London, 28th August, 1833. " Sir Knight, " I have the honour, by order of his Majesty the King of the Two Sicilies, my august master, to forward you the accompanying packet containing the diplomas, by means of which his Majesty has decorated you with his Royal Constantinian Order ; his Majesty has likewise given directions that there should be sent to you a copy of the work which is publishing at Naples, under his auspices, containing a description of the Royal Museum Borbonicum, whereof nine volumes are now come out. His Majesty, to express his lively satisfac- tion and grateful sense of the homage vou have made him of your collection of scripture medals, requests you to accept the above-named decoration, along with this description of the Museum Borbonicum. " I beg of you, Sir, to point out to me in what way I may transmit to you the box containing these volumes, and to be good enough to advise me reception of this letter, with the accompanying packet. " I have the honour to be, with much esteem, " Sir Knight, " Your most obedient servant, " (Signed) The Count Ludolf/' Diploma of Knighthood in Latin. " Ferdinand IL, by the grace of God King of both Sicilies, and Jerusalem, &c., Duke of Parma, Placentia, Castri, &c., Great Hereditary Prince of Etruria, &c. &c. &c., of the Holy and Renowned Equestrian Order of the Military Constantinian Religion ; to St. George, and the Divine Basilius, subservient Grand IM aster; to the 2.54 1833 eminent, and by us much esteemed Knight, Edward Thomason, health and all prosperity. " To the end that our favourable disposition towards you, and the sense we entertain of your eminent skill and good qualities may be made manifest, We have de- creed your admission as a Knight, ex-gratia, of our Royal Constantinian Order. " Wherefore, we, the Grand Master thereof, by virtue of the authority derived from our predecessors, ratified and confirmed in perpetuity by the assent of nations, but more especially by the supreme Pontiffs of the Romish Church, do hereby designate, create, constitute, and ap- point thee, Edward Thomason, a Knight, ex-gratia, of our renowned Constantinian Order, and we enroll you on the white table of the said holv Constantinian Mili- tary Religion, under the trophy of St. George, and or- dinances of the Divine Basilius, in order that you mav be henceforward called, named, and entitled a soldier of this sacred religion, and be admitted into all fellowship and military domesticity of its members. Thus received and aggregated, we invest you with all the rights, honours, and obligations appertaining to the said reli- gious military community and its functions. In pursu- ance of which appointment — To all and singular Kings, Republics, Leaders, Princes, Marquisses, Counts, and Barons, Prefects of Tribes, Rectors of Armies, as well as Communities and Universities of the Lands, Towns, Castles, and Places, with their Governors, Authorities, Rectors, and all other Arbiters whatsoever, ecclesiastic or secular, where you might chance to pass through, or dwell within, we exhort in the Lord, and invoke for you aid and protection, with free participation and enjoy- ment of those privileges and favour we wish you to ex- 255 pcriciicc in our behalf, as well as all defence from injury, 1833. annoyance, or detriment, and such as we ourselves reci- procally would accord. *' In testimony whereof, and that due faith may here- unto be given, we have ordered this diploma to be reoistered under our own manual sii>-naturc, and en- graved on our Ministerial Council's rolls, with the attestation of our Minister President of the Council. " Given at Naples, the 10th day of July, 1833. «' (Signed) "Ferdinandus, Magnus Magister, "Carolus Avastro. " The Knight of the Great Cross Leliria Fiscus." Visa on the reverse. "The 13th July, 1833, for the direct expedition of this diploma. No fees to pay, " (Signed) " Antonio Valle, " Roval Receiver-General." *' London, 5th Sept., 1833. "Sir, " I wrote to you some days ago, sending the Royal Patent of his Sicilian Majesty, my gracious Sove- reign, with which he has invested you with the insignia of his Order, called Constantiniano, and of the satis- faction with wiiich he has accepted the collection of medals you have presented to his Majesty, as I had already stated to you. The books will be sent to you as soon as they shall reach my hands. Have the kindness 256 1833. to acknowledge to me the receipt of my former and the present letter. I remain, witli sincere esteem, Sir, " Your obliged servant, Y " Sir E. Thomason," " 133, Salisbury Square, 6th Sept., 1833. •' Dear Sir Edward, " You will perceive by the paper dis- patched herewith that I have not been slow in apprecia- ting the merits of your elegant present of the medallic History of England. Twenty-five years since I re- proached our countrymen with this apathy, this insensi- bility ; and it shall not be my fault if they be not roused to that sense of excellence which pervades even the humbler classes in other countries. 1 have preached in the desert these twenty-five years the vast importance of linear drawing. I would have every one who is taught to read taught to draw, for I scarcely know a single art or trade in which the arts of design do not enter \ our workmen are pre-eminent in skill, but inferior in taste. Look at the heterogeneous things called ornaments ; they are monstrosities which may be safely worshipped with- out a breach of any article of the Decalogue, for they are like nothing * that is in Heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth ;' and it is due to you to say, that when Monsieur Danet and I visited Birmingham, vours was the only establish- 257 merit in which we recognised any rational attempt at 1833. purity of taste. " In the periodical I am about to commence, I shall, in every number, endeavour to cultivate a national feeling for the higher branches of art. I will sow good seed in profusion, and some of it will be sure to germinate. " I shall be glad to hold you out as an example of the good that may be done in this respect ; but I have only very imperfect data, and if vou would oblige me by letting Mr. Thomason write out, under vour dictation, what vou have done in medallic history, and indeed on any other subject that has occupied your attention, I will endea- vour to make them known more extensively, and by thus affording at one view the precept and the example, the public will be taught how to appreciate excellence. I would have thrown into my article an account of the Shield of Faith, but the cursory view of it in an establish- ment in which varied excellence meets your eye on every side, 1 could merely refer to it. You will, perhaps, fa- vour me with an account of the subjects, and also of the history of your cast of the Warwick Vase. The public will peruse the statement with great interest. I think, on consideration, that a medal of two inches across wdll be amply large enough, and the difficulties of execution and danger of the dies will be considerably diminished. You will pardon my asking you if you consider that you are perfectly equal to the French mint in the composition of the bronze metal, the colouring, &c. The reason why I hint this is, that M. Danet has given me the whole process of their mint from first to last, and it is much at your service. Have you any objection to letting me have a copy translation of the Schah's letter, and trusting to my prudence as to the use I shall make of it ? 1 congratu- VOL. II. S 258 1833. late you on your new honour. You are a star of the first magnitude in the opinion of all those whose opinions are worth having. As the occasion on which this last order was sent you cannot but be honourable to be known, per- haps you will favour me with it. I thank you sincerely for mentioning Mr. Norris's name to me ; I shall write to him. T beg my most respectful compliments to Lady Thomason, and tell her she may eat fish, fruit, and ve- getables as the best cholera preventives. I gained a proud victory on this ground over the wooden-headed Board of Health, and am happy to have been able to save a deserving class of the public from being ruined a second time by ignorant quackery. Eat food of easy digestion, like the proscribed articles ; avoid the sudden changes of our variable atmosphere, and you will be long preserved to improve our taste, and enjoy that reputation which you have so nobly attained. " I have the honour to be, " Dear Sir Edward, " Yours most faithfully, ** Sir Edward Thomason, &c." " Office of Committee of Privv Council for Trade, Whitehall, Sept. 9, 1833. « Sir, " I beg' to introduce to vou the bearer of this letter, Monsieur Thiers, a distinguished member of the French Cabinet, and Minister for Commerce and Public Works ; together with Monsieur David and Monsieur Ditmar, official gentlemen connected with the important department over which Monsieur Thiers presides, who 2.59 have arrived in this country for the purpose of visiting 1833. some of our principal manufacturing and commercial establishments. " From respect to the public situation and high cha- racter of Monsieur Thiers, and from a knowledge of the kindness and attention shewn to persons connected with His Majesty's Government who have visited France with similar views, I am extremely anxious that every facilitv should be afforded to these gentlemen in the object of their visit ; and I am the more induced to urge this wish on the present occasion from a conviction that the political and commercial interests of both countries will be best consulted by an intimate know- ledge, on the part of men in power, of their respective condition and capabilities, and more especially by every illustration which can be given of the advantages arising from freedom in undertakings of industry, ingenuity, and commerce. *' I reo-ret the absence of iSIr. Paulett Thomson, who would, no doubt, have cordially joined with me in this request ; and *' I am. Sir, " Your most obedient servant, " Sir Edward Thomason." " Board of Trade, London, September 9, 1833. " My dear Sir, " Mens. Thiers, Minister du Com- merce to His Majesty the King of the French, is desirous of seeing the principal seats of British manu- s 2 260 1833. factures, and Lord Auckland has caused him to he furnished with an official letter of introduction to vour- self, under the impression that no other gentleman in Birmingham is better able or would be more willing to give interest to the visit of M. Thiers to your town. " I beg leave to add, what I am sure, however, is but little needed, my private introduction of iMons. Thiers, and to express my anxious wish that he may find you at home, in which case I am certain that he will be enabled to see everything deserving of notice, and which his limited time will allow him to visit, in Birmingham. " I hope very shortly to have the pleasure of paying my personal respects to you, and in the meanwhile remain, •' My dear Sir, *' Your very faithful servant. " To Sir Edward Thomason, &c., &c., &c." "London, lyth September, 1833. *• Sir, "I have received the favour of your letter of the 10th instant, as well as your petition of thanks, di- rected to my gracious Sovereign, which I carefully sent to Naples with my dispatches. I will avail myself of the first opportunity to send you the books which his Majesty has ordered to be presented to you, and will not fail to consign them to the care of Mr. Joshua Storrs. Havino- 261 fulfilled, in this manner, all my Sovereign's commands, 1833. and put you in possession of the distinctions he has be- stowed to your person, which you deserved so well, I shall feel very happy to have many other opportunities to be useful to you, and to assure you of my warm esteem for your person, and to have been the instrument of my Sovereio-n's benevolence to you, so well deserved. " I have the honour to remain. Sir, " Your most obedient servant, " Sir Edward Thomason." '* Port-au-Prince, le 19 Septembre, 1833. " Monsieur le Chevalier, " J'ai regu la lettre que vous m'avez fait I'honneur de m'ecrire le 16 Janvier dernier, pour m'adresser une caisse de medailles historiques, destinee au President d'Haiti. Cette caisse m'est bien parvenue, par les soins de M.M. Daniel et Thomas Willis, de Liverpool, aux quels j'en ai accuse reception, et je me suis empresse de la presenter, en votre nom, ainsi que votre petition, au President d'Haiti, qui a admire le beau travail que vous avez execute dans soixante medailles explicatives de la Bible, d'apres les dessins des grands maitres ; S, C. en acceptant le chef-d'oeuvre de I'art, que vous avez bien voulu lui offrir, me charge de vous exprimer. Monsieur le Chevalier, combien elle est sensible a I'attention que vous avez eue de lui envoyer le produit de votre travail ; elle me charge de plus de vous assurer qu'elle ne man- quera pas, a son tour, de vous offrir le temoignage de sa haute satisfaction pour votre present auquel elle attache un grand prix. 262 3833. " Plusieurs de raes compatriotes de distinction, qui ont vu vos medaiUes ayant temoigne le desir de eonnaitre la valeur des diverses series frappecs, soit sur I'argent d'allemagne dit German silver, on sur le bronze, m'ont prie de vous en demander des details. " J'aurais ete aussi bien aise de savoir si, dans votre manufacture, vous vous occupez de confectionner, en argent d'allemagne, des utensiles de menage, tels que cuillers, fourchettes, chandeliers, pots, cuvettes, et autres articles qui peuvent se fabriquer avec ce metal, et en meme terns ce que cela couterait (poid de marc) I'once ; ces renseignemens que je vous prie de m'envoyer le plus prochainement qu'il vous sera possible, pourront vous procurer des commandes avantageuses. " Je profite avec empressement. Monsieur le Cheva- liar, de I'occasion qui se presente de vous prior de rece- voir I'assurance de ma consideration distinguee. " J'ai I'honneur d'etre, " Votre tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur, •' A Edward Thomason, Ecuyer, Chevalier des Ordres de la Grande Bretagne, Manufac- turier. Church Street, a Birmingham." " Leamington, September 20, 183.S. " Sir, *' I have long wished to pay my visit to you, and have always been disappointed till now. I shall Q63 pass through Birmingham in my way to Hagley, and 1833. mean to take my chance of shaking you by the hand, as I shall be there about twelve o'clock ; but do not let this keep you at home. I am too lame to go over any of the manufactures, and shall confine my visit to your interior, as I must be at an early dinner on account of Lord Spencer, who I am to meet there. " I am, yours, very faithfully, ^^^ " Sir Edward Thomason, Birmingham." " September '24th, 1833. " Sir, "I beg to ofter you my best thanks for your obliging letter respecting our proposed visit to the dif- ferent manufactories at Birmingham, which Lady Den- bigh and myself are looking forward to, at some future, and I trust not very distant time, with much pleasure. We must, however, arrange it for some summer excur- sion, and during Lord Fielding's vacation, as he would derive not only so much amusement but so much valua- ble information from the many interesting exhibitions in your great manufacturing city, under your kind and able guidance. ** It has afforded me much pleasure to learn that you have received, even since 1 had the pleasure of seeing you lately, so many highly honourable testimonials of merit from foreign powers. They are not only grati- fying to yourself and to your friends, but must be con- sidered as highly valuable in a national point of view, as proving to England that native talent is rewarded and 1833. appreciated abroad, and thus acting as a powerful stimu- lus to the arts and manufactures of this country. '* I have the honour to be, Sir, " Your obedient, humble servant, '* Sir Edward Thomason, &c.'* '* Stratford-on-Avon, 15th Nov., 1833. " Sir Edward Thomason, " When I was at Birmingham lately with a friend, you was so kind to show me the valuable ffems you had received from the several potentates in Europe, with w^hich I was much gratified and obliged. I called on you to-day to make you a present, but, unfortunately, did not meet with you at home ; I have therefore taken the liberty of leaving it for you, hoping you will not think it unworthy your acceptance. It is a piece of Shakespear's mulberry wood, and a part of the real tree planted by the immortal bard. My father was living at Stratford at the time the tree was cut down, and was present when the arm (from which the inclosed piece was taken) was cut from the tree. I can, therefore, take upon myself to vouch for this piece being a part of the identical tree planted by Shakespear himself. " I have the honour to be, " Sir Edward, " Your most obliged and most humble servant " Sir E. Thomason." (( Extract, Factory Letter from China, dated l6tli 1833. November, 1833. Para. 59. It will be seen in our consultations in this department, under date the 31st October, that on receiving the case of medals alluded to, from the Hon. Company's ship * Rose,' we lost no time in adopting such measures as we conceived best calculated to accomplish 8ir Edward Thomason's object. " 60. As a preliminary step, the President, in an in- terview with Howqua, explained Sir Edward Thomason's wishes, and requested he would communicate them to the Vicerov, throug'h w hose medium the fulfilment thereof appeared practicable, Howqua promised to explain all that had been stated, and to show to the Viceroy a trans- lation of the petition to the Emperor that accompanies them, and when he had done so to furnish the Com- mittee with the result. " 6l. On the 4th November, the box of medals was delivered to Howqua, who promised to use his best en- deavours to ensure their reachino- their destination." Extract, China Factory Consultations, the 31st October, 1833. *' By the Hon. Company's ship * Rose,' whose packets reached Canton vesterdav, we received the case of medals alluded to in the Hon. Court's letter of the 3d Mav, 1833, which Sir Edward Thomason was desirous should be presented to the Emperor of China, as a specimen of that branch of the arts of Great Britain with which he is particularly connected ; and, in accordance with the directions of the Hon. Court, we lost no time in adopt- ing such measures as we conceived best calculated to accomplish Sir Edward Thomason's object. "266 *' As a preliminary step, the President had to day an interview with Howqua, to whom he fully explained the business, and requested he would communicate it to the Viceroy, through whose medium the fulfilment of Sir Edward Thomason's wishes alone appeared practicable. Howqua promised to explain all that had been stated to him respecting these medals, and to shew to the Viceroy a translation of the petition to the Emperor that accom- panies them, and, Avhen he had done so, to furnish the Committee with the result." " Extract, China Factory Consultations, the 4th November, 1833. " The President then deUvered to Howqua the Box of Medals sent out in the ' Rose,' from Sir Edward Thomason, for presentation to the Emperor, and he pro- mised to use his best endeavours towards their reaching their destination." " India House, the 25th Nov., 1834. presents his compli- ments to Sir Edward Thomason, and trusts that the foregoing extracts from the official records will afford the information which he wants on the subject of the box of medals sent to the Emperor of China. The extract of 4th November last is the latest intellio'ence. Should Sir. E. Thomason wish to write to Mr. Davis, who was President, Mr. Auber will with pleasure forward his commands the first opportunity." /w> I /' -^"a-a 3A MaBABAviH! VOCJOE' O'' t '^'% o'- A LARGE SILVER MES'AL.TO COMMEMORATE: THE ENTP.AN'CE OF PRSNCE ORLOFF ifvTO MOSCOW TO APPEASE TH> DISCONTENT Of THE IN'HABiTANTS WHILST THE PLaGUE .Vv AS « A SlN G TKSIRE. PBESENTED BV THC PP^!MCE LIEVEN THE: WV.BASSADOR Of RUSSIA. 2G7 « Londres, le 24 Novembre, 1833. 1833. " Monsieur, " La presente lettre vouz sera remise par Monsieur le Comte de Traun, que je recommande a votre obligeance en voux priant de lui etre utile a Bir- minj,*-ham et de vouloir bien le munir de quelques lettres de recommendation pour Manchester. " Je saisis cette occasion, Monsieur, pour vous accuser reception de votre lettre du 7 %-^ '* Minister of Foreign Affairs. " To the Royal Vice-Consul, Mr. Thomason, Highborn, &c., Birmingham." 301 "Londres, le 23 Mars, 1835. 1835. '* Monsieur, " Si je ne vous ai pas repondu a la lettre qui vous me lit riionneur de m'adresser le dix Mars. C'est que j'ai ete occupee d'apres ce que je vois par son inclus a vous adressee par M. Eddowes Bowman, je'erois que c'est I'homme qu' il nous faut d'autant plus qui soit re- commande par vous. " Quant a ce qui dit sera privee de la societe et en peut lui observer que dans une capitale comme Constanti- nople ne sera pas sans doute isole il trouve toujours des ressources les plus ou moins que dans sa patrie, quant a sontraitements il faut qu'il s'explique ses termes par ecrit; c'est apres je vous dirai, bien entendu que ses occupa- tions lorsqu' il sera sur les lieux ne seront que de dinger les travaux pour les fonderies des machins et faire les boulets, organiser les ouvriers quisont deja asscz familiers aveclesmins,et dedonner desmodeles de different machins a construire pour etre employee pour les services et d'etablir les moulins a vent. " Aoreez je vous prie Monsieur I'assurance de ma par- faite consideration, " J'ai I'honneur de vous saluer, *' P.S. Pour votre nomination comme Vice-Consul de Sa Hautesse je sentirai certainement un plaisir de vous racommender vivement a mon successeur qui vient d'ar- river de Constantinople ; j'en sui persuade que vous remplirai ce poste parfaitement bien et que vous rendra 302 1835. des services importants a I'empire par votre position dans cette ville industrieuse. Adieu." " Chevalier E, Thomason." " Au Port-au-Prince, le ler Mai, 1835, an 32d de I'lndependance. " Jean-Pierre Boyer, President Haiti, '* A Monsieur le Chevalier Edouard Thomason, Church Street, a Birmingham. " Monsieur, *' Le General Inginac m'a remis dans le Temps, avec votre lettre, une collection de 60. medailles ou vous avez retrace avec un talent admirable, les principaux evenemens de I'histoire sainte. L'idee seule de cette grande enterprise etait deja, par elle meme, une concep- tion unique en son genre, mais la perfection avec laquelle vous I'avez executee est un vrai prodige ; aussi, c'est avec une vive satisfaction que je vous exprime ici le sentimens d'admiration que votre ouvrage a fait naitre en moi. " Sensible a I'offrande que vous m'avez addressee, et desirant vous donner un temoignage d'interet, j'ai fait expedier pour le Havre sur la barque FrauQaise laZelima, a la recommandation de M.M. Reid, Irving, et Co., de Londres, une quantite de six millieres de cafe, a votre disposition, dont ces messieurs vous tiendrons compte. Vous me ferez plaisir en acceptant cette faible marque de ma satisfaction. 308 (( llecevez, Monsieur, I'assurance de ma haute con- 1835. si deration, 17, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, June, 1837. « Sir, *' I beg leave to acknowledge, with many thanks, your series of medals sent to the Secretaries of the So- ciety for Promoting Christian Knowledge, together with a letter from you on the subject. A large proportion of those you were so kind as to send were placed in the hands of some of the district secretaries of the Society, at a meeting held here ; and I can assure you, that a very general admiration was expressed at the beautiful appearance of these metallic tracts. The object is a most excellent and benevolent one. " Mr. Parker concurs with me in thinking that, ad- mirable as the principle may be, considerable care and judgment will be necessary to work it out on any large scale, and that entire accuracy should be found in the quotations from scripture. 304 1833. <« I take the liberty, which I am sure you will pardon, to notice that, in many instances, the texts are given im- perfectly ; as for instance — * Beware lest any may spoil you through false philosophy, after the tradition of men, and not after Christ/ ** A reference to Coloss. ii. 8, will satisfy you of the incompleteness of this extract. " 'For what unll it profit a man if he ^ gain, &c.' — — putting will for shall, and leaving out shall after- wards. Mark viii. Si5. " In John xiv. 16, at the end, the important words * for ever,' are omitted. " Acts X. 34, 35. ' In every nation' is omitted, and * accepted oy^ ' instead of ^ with\ inserted, &c. " It seems to me a matter of consequence, in stating that we furnish texts, to do it exactly, and not to be con- tent with supplying the meaning, though this may strike other persons with less force. The portion remaining in the Secretaries' hands will be sent to the National So- ciety for distribution. ** I must again apologize for the observations I have ventured to make ; and, with Mr. Parker's best acknow- ledgements added to my own, " I have the honour to be Sir, *' Your most obedient, humble servant, 0. ^u- " Assistant Secretary. ** Sir Edward Thomason.' 305 - " Russian Consulate, IH3; London, 13th June, 1835. " Sir, " I beer leave to introduce to the honour of vour acquaintance the bearer, L. F. Hesse, Esq., Inspector of the Royal Buildings at Berlin, and to lay claim to your kind notice, as well as good offices, in his behalf. " Mr. Hesse, recommended to me by his Excellency Baron Bulow, proposes to visit, in company with another German gentleman, Mr. M. L. Linan, from Frankfort, the principal cities of the United Kingdom, and would no doubt deem it a oreat favour if, bv means of Your extensive connexions all over the country, you could promote his object, viz., the getting access to the most renowned buildings, both public and private. *' I trust you will pardon my putting you probably to some little trouble, and believe that I shall, at all times, be happy to be of similar service to you, remaining re- spectfully " Sir, " Your most obedient servant, " Russian Consul General. " To Sir Edward Thomason, Knt., &c., Birminoham." o *' St. James's Place, 15th June, 1835. "Dear Sir Edward Thomason, " Permit me to introduce to you Mr. Syndicus Sieveheng, Secretary of State at Hamburg, and Envoy VOL. 11. 306 1835. from the Hanse Towns to the Diet at Frankfort, who is making a rapid run through England to see the rail- roads and manufactories. You will much oblige me by permitting him to see whatever is most interesting in your House ; and every process performed there is so. You will, I need not say, find Mr. Sieveheng a very su- perior and well informed gentleman. The offices he holds are a warrantv for his talents and intelligence, known and valued in both hemispheres. He speaks the modern languages of Europe, and English like a native. ** Believe me, *' Your most obliged and faithful friend, -^>^ ** Sir Edward Thomason, &c. &c. " Mons. le Chevalier, " J'ai I'honneur de vous informer que j'ai reqn la decoration de Tordre Leopold qui vous est destinee. Je vous prie de vouloir bien m'indiquer une personne a qui je puisse la remettre a Londres, contre recepisse en attendant que je vous fasse parvenir le reyu imprime que vous aurez a remplir. " Ao-reez, Monsieur le Chevalier, I'assurance de ma consideration distinguee. >g^7r> "Mons. Chevalier E. Thomason." 27ni Ore/fr ot' Leopold 7. of t^ie Be^^ians 307 " London, 6th Jiilv, 18.S.5. 1835. " Sir, " We beg to state, in reply to your letter of the 4th instant, that Mr. Coquierre, the nephew of the President of Hayti, has sent us the duplicate of a bill of lading for a quantity of coffee, per Zelima, out of which he directs us to hold at your disposal the proceeds of 6000lbs., when we shall have received them ; but the bill of lading being made out by him to the order of Mr. V\\ Davidson, of Havre, as consignee, we have no power over the coffee until the remittance for it comes into our hands. The Zelima is arrived at Havre, but, we believe, has not begun to unload. '* We are respectfully. Sir, *' Your obedient servants, Oi^C-' Sir Edward Thomason, Birmingham." (( London, July 14, 1835. *' Dear Sir, *' The Baron de I'Ostende, and three other French officers, are about to visit Birmingham. You will oblige me much if you can render them any service. •' I am, yours truly, «* Sir E. Thomason." x2 SOS lS;^.s. •' Loiulros, \c 21. .hiillot. 1S3.'). " MonsiiMir \c ChcMiVicv, " Le Priiu'o Kstorha/v qui on co inonuMit ost a fairo uno tournoo dans \c Comiv dc I Vn'onshiiv, m'a ilonnc avant son ilopart, Taiirooablo oonunission do vous rooonniianilor on son non\ lo C'onito Pal \'ornio, i»-cn- tilhomnio Milanois, ijul t'ai: on Ano-lotorro un vovan"e pour son inst motion. 1,'Anibassailour ospcro quo vous voudro/ bion, Monsiour lo C'bovalior. Taoouoillir avoo la bionvoillanoo quo ronooniront aupros do vous tons los voyaiiours. " J'approuvo un plaisir partioulior do protiter ootte oooasion pour vous roitoror I'oxprossion do la hauto os- timo avoo laquollo j'ai Thonnour il'otro. " ^lonsionr lo Cliovalior, " A'otro tros dovouo sorvitour. C^CC<^C-t^ ( t_^rioliton, Smiday ovonin^:, .hdy -Jlitli, ISo,-). " Mv doar Sir Kdward. •* I rourot to say that tlio Duko o( Catnbrido-e has ohangod his mind, and will not oomo to Birniinghani, or visit tho railway, as intondod. " 1 havo oivon tho lottors I havo roooivod on this occasion to Mr. Sauuiol llutton, to show vou. 309 " I rerrret that vou have had anv trouble on the occa- 1^35. gion, but it has been no fault of inlrje. " '^'our->^ faithfullv, ** Sir Edward 'J hornason, &c. &c. ** Alton Towers, Jnh '2'j, 183-5. " Sir, "I was rnuob mortified by learning, on my re- turn home, that you liad been refused admittance to the house durinf/ our absence. It v.as not r/enerallv shown then, but certainly an exception ought to have been made in your favour, and I will take care that a similar disappointment shall not occur again. " Should vou come this wav v/hile we are here, I shall have much plea.-Jire in sljowin^r it vou mvself. " I have the honour to remain, Sir, " "^'our most obedient servant, *• Sir K. Thoraason, Birmingham." Windsor Castle, Aug. 17th, lS3o. Sir, "I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, together with the medal, and the ]>apers accompanying it. 310 1835. " I assure you that it was not without considerable regret that I felt myself compelled to relinquish the ex- cursion I had proposed to make to the Manchester and Liverpool railway, combining with it also the intention of visiting Birmingham, and of having an opportunity of viewing the various manufacturing establishments which it is so well known to possess ; among these, I am well aware of the importance of the one over which you preside, and I am fully convinced that both my attention would have been attracted, and my admiration excited, by an inspection of the numerous remarkable objects, either of machinery or of invention, which distinguish Birmingham. " I cannot omit to offer you my best thanks for the medal which you have been good enough to transmit, and at the same time to add that I still preserve the hope of being enabled, at some future period, of making my per- sonal acknowledgements to you, at Birmingham, for this gratifying mark of attention. " I remain, Sir, '* Yours very sincerely. .^^^Cf:/ *' Sir E, Thomason." At this period (September), it appeared to me that metallic tracts would be more frequently read, and be better recollected, then the lengthened printed ones w^hich are diffused among the working classes by mil- lions yearly, as they would contain correct quotations from the scriptures, and be stamped upon a material inde- 311 structible. It is said that above one-half of the present 1S35. printed tracts are destroyed without their being even looked into. Conceiving that my plan might be produc- tive of much moral good, I had one hundred steel dies engraved, fifty with texts from the Bible, and fifty with texts from the Testament ; and these one hundred dies were made the exact size of the mint halfpence. To carry my design into practice, I purposed weekly to strike about 10,000 of the mint halfpence, on either side, with a scriptural text (vvithout any regard to pro- fit), and the cashier to pay them away in the manner of the current coin to the workpeople, as part of their wasfes, each Saturdav. I found, however, on the first trial, that my views were obstructed by an existing law, that the defacing the current coin of the realm was for- bidden. I therefore struck off large quantities the exact size of the halfpenny, and placed fifty, as Bible truths, in one small bronzed box, and fifty Testamental truths in ano- ther. The followiDo- are the one hundred texts which I quoted. This was the last production of mine in my establishment, as, at this juncture, I disposed of my Esta- blishment to Messrs. Whitgrave and Collis. Bible Truths. Know ye that the Lord he is God ; it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves ; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (Psalms.) If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat ; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink. (Prov.) Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. (Prov.) Hold up my goiiigs in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. (Psalms.) 312 J 835 From the rising up of the sun, unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised. (Psalms.) The Lord is merciful and gracious; slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. (Psalms.) Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. (Prov.) Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. (Prov.) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that publisheth good tidings. (Isaiah.) that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare the wonders that He doeth for the children of men. (Prov.) 1 know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. (Job.) Happy is the man whom God correcteth, therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty. (Job.) I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit; which leadeth thee the w^ay that thou shouldst go. (Isaiah.) If thou seek the Lord, he will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. (Chron.) The Lord is good ; a strong-hold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth them that trust in him. (Nat.) Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man. (Psalms.) 1 will wait for the Lord ; my soul doth wait ; and in His word do I hope. (Psalms.) Every word of God is pure ; He is a shield to them that trust in him. (Prov.) The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. (Prov.) Rin-hteousness exalteth a nation ; but sin is a reproach to any people. (Prov.) 313 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not 1835. unto thine own understanding. (Prov.) Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. (Jer.) Know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind. (Chron.) The Lord is far from the wicked, and He heareth the prayei' of the righteous. (Prov.) Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name ; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. (Psalms.) My voice shalt thou hear in the morning. O Lord, early in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee. (Psalms.) In God have I put my trust, I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. (Psalms.) The Lord is a God of knowledge ; by him actions are weighed. (Samuel.) He that seeketh the truth sheweth forth righteousness ; and a false witness sheweth deceit. (Prov.) Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord ; but they that deal truly are his delight. (Prov.) That which I see not, teach thou me ; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more. (Psalms.) The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlast- ing upon them that fear him. (Psalms.) Seek the Lord while he may be found ; call ye upon him while He is near. (Isaiah.) Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. (Eccl.) Set not thine heart upon goods unjustly gotten, for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity. (Eccl.) God shall bring every work unto judgment, whether it be good or whether it be evil. (Eccl.) 314 1835. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace. (Psalms.) There is no peace on earth, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. (Isaiah.) The triumph of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment. (Job.) Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. (Prov.) Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed ; save me, O Lord, and I shall be saved, for Thou art my praise. (Jer.) Wait upon the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. (Psalms.) The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation. (Prov.) The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. (Prov.) The Lord of hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Psalms.) The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. (Psalms.) When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to have peace with him. (Prov.) He that hath pity on the poor, lendeth unto the Lord ; and that which he hath given. He will pay him again. (Psalms.) The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. (Prov.) The Lord is good, a strong-hold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth them that trust in him. (Nem.) Testamental Truths. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he Cometh, shall find well doing. (Matt.) 315 Nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest ; 1^35 neither anything hid that shall not be made known. (Luke.) For what will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul. (Mark.) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Be not deceived ; evil communications corrupt good manners. (Cor.) Let love be without dissimulation ; abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good. (Rom.) God is no respecter of persons ; but he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted by him. (Acts.) Peter said. Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts.) Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and power, and might, be unto our God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev.) At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and things on earth. (Phil.) Above all things, my brethren, swear not ; neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other oath. (James.) Jesus said. There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke.) Seek not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink ; but rather seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. (Luke.) Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavv laden, and I will give you rest, saith the Lord. (Matt.) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the king- dom of heaven. (Matt.) If ye hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will ye be persuaded though one rose from the dead. (Matt.) 316 1835. Jesus said unto his disciples, Go and teach all nations, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (Matt.) Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good work, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. (Matt.) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us ; but if we confess, God is faithful to forgive us our sins. (John.) If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him ; and if he repent, forgive him. (Luke.) When thou doest alms, let not thy right hand know what thy left hand doeth. (Matt.) Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefuUy use you. (Luke.) Beware lest any man spoil you through false philoso- phy, after the tradition of men, and not after Christ. (Coll.) And there came a voice from Heaven, saying. Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Mark.) Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever : a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. (Heb.) Jesus said, I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you. (John.) Judge not, and ye shall not be judged ; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned ; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. (Luke.) Jesus said. Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. (Luke.) Be ye merciful, as your Father who is in heaven is also merciful. (Luke.) The second great commandment is. Love thy neigh- bour as thyself. (Matt.) 317 Jesus said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 1835. all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (Matt.) Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land. (Matt.) Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land. (Ephes.) Add to your knowledge, temperance ; to temperance, patience ; to patience, godliness ; to brotherly love, kind- ness. (Peter.) He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Matt.) Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. (Matt.) Jesus said. Thou shalt love the Lord thv God with thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (Matt.) Let no man defraud his brother in any matter, for the Lord is the avenger of all such. (Thes.) The Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salva- tion to every one that believeth in him. (Rom.) Exhort servants to be obedient unto their masters, shewing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doc- trine of Christ. (Titus.) Earnestly contend for the faith, for there are ungodly men perverting the grace of God, and denying the cross of Christ. (Jude.) Jesus said. He that heareth my word, and believeth in him that sent me, hath everlasting life. (John.) Be not deceived, God is not mocked ; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Gal.) Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God the Father. (Phil.) Recompense no man for evil ; provide things honest in the sight of all men. (Rom.) 318 183.5. Every one that doetli evil hateth the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (John.) Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches ; but in the living God. (Tim.) Watch, for ye know not the day or the hour when the Son of God Cometh. (Matt.) If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, that man's religion is vain. (James.) The wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. (Rom.) "New Royal Hotel, Sept. 8th. ^^^a^*^^^ ^""^c-t^-^^y^^ present her compliments to Mr. Thomason, She was so engrossed by the many beautiful things she saw at his house yesterday, that she delayed, till too late, making the request which causes her present importunity. She would feel most particu- larly obliged by Mr. Thomason's writing a line in the accompanying leaf of her album, which contains the autographs of many interesting characters. If Mr. Thomason is so kind as to indulge her with his, she begs he will add the date and his name. " Lady Murray has many apologies to make for taking this liberty. She does not leave Birmingham till Friday. *' E. Thomason, Esq." "Leigh Park, Havant, Oct. 8th, 1835. « Sir, " I have had the honour to receive your letter, and am happy to give you every information on the sub- ject of your inquiry in my power. I suspect that your K:4.:f,iiS J^ -■ v; * -if' 3 < X 2 S cc ui lU QC h- 10 I o a. X o >" cc o o < u. z < (A o en o X h o oc < Q in ^19 diappointinent in not receiving any further reports from 1835. China, relative to the disposal of your interesting present to the Emperor of China, arises from the unfortunate disputes between the two Governments, which com- menced immediately upon the establishment of the sys- tem of free trade, and the abolition of the Company*s factory ; and which, up to the period of the last accounts from China, remained still unadjusted. "Mr. Davis, the last President in China, was suc- ceeded by Lord Napier, as King's Superintendent ; and Mr. Davis was reappointed in the character of Superin- tendent upon the death of that nobleman. Mr. Davis returned shortly after to England, and is now residing at Mortlake, in Surrey. The present Superintendent in China is Sir George Robinson, Bart. ; but, as the Chi- nese still obstinately refuse to recognize him in that character, I presume he has no official communication with them. If it had not been for these untoward cir- cumstances, I am persuaded you would have received, long since, a satisfactory acknowledgement of the receipt of your splendid donation. *• I have the honour to be, " Sir, ** Your most obedient servant. " Sir Edward Thomason, &c." *' Caire, le 26 Octobre, 1835. " Monsieur. *' J'ai re9u successivement les trois lettres que vous m'avez fait I'honneur de m'ecrire, et 320 1836. dont la derniere etait datee du 28 Fevrier dernier ; je vous ai accuse reception des deux premieres, et vous ne devez attribuer le retard que j'ai mis a repondre a la troisieme qu'a la facheuse circonstance de la peste, qui a ravage I'Egypte pendant cinq mois. " L'objet principal de vos lettres etait d'avoir des informations a I'egard du cadeau que vous avez envoy e au Vice-Roi en Decembre, 1832, et que vous avez ad- dresse a M. Boghos-Youssouf. Les nombreuses occupa- tions de ce ministre I'ont, sans doute, empeche de vous ecrire. Toutefois je lui ai communique ce dont vous m'avez fait part, et si vous n'avez pas encore re^u la reponse que vous desirez, je ne doute point qu'elle ne vous parvienne promptement. ** Veuillez bien, Monsieur, disposer de moi en toute occasion, et agreez I'assurance de ma consideration la plus distinguee. '-a^^.^^ *' A Monsieur Chevalier Ed. Thomason, a Birmingham." " Royal Prussian General Consulate, London, l6th Feb., 1836. " Sir, " I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 8th instant, by which you are pleased to apprize me of your intention to retire from business, and to reside a distance from Birmincrham, " This intimation, though affording pride and con- gratulation to yourself, family, and friends, must yet be Presented, to cfve ^uthyor^ by Jfis J?nperial Ma/esiy. the £m.peror JVtchala,s-<^ .3'21 a source of regret to those Foreio-n Governments which 1836. o o you have represented as Vice Consul to their unqualified satisfaction and approbation. That of Prussia has re- ceived many proofs of your obliging readiness to serve her subjects visiting your famed city, and I am desired by our minister, Baron Bulow, to add his testimony in this respect to mine, with many good wishes for your future health and happiness. " I remain, very respectfully, Sir, '* Your most obedient servant. *' His Prussian Majesty's Consul General, *' To Sir Edward Thomason, Knight, &c., Birmingham." (Copy.) " Dover Street, London, 2d Dec. 1836. " Monsieur, " L'Empereur, mon maitre, desirant vous don- ner une marque de sa bienveillance, je suis charge de vous remettre la bague en diamans ci-jointe ornee du chiffre de sa Majeste Imperiale. " En vous assurant du plaisir que j'eprouve. Monsieur, a m'acquitter aupres de vous de cette communication je saisis I'occasion pour vous offrir I'expression de ma con- sideration tres distinguee. " Le Baron de Maltitz." " Sir Edward Thomason." VOL. II. Y 3^2 1837. «' East India House, January 26, 1837. " Sir, " Having laid before the Court of Directors of the East India Company your letter, dated the 2nd instant, requesting that the series of medals illustrative of the Holy Scriptures, which were forwarded to Canton at your request in 1833, intended as a present to the Emperor of China, may be restored to you in consequence of his Majesty having refused to accept them, I am commanded to inform you, in reply, that instructions have been issued to the agents at China to return the medals to this country by an early opportunity. " I have the honour to be. Sir, " Your most obedient humble servant. *' Sir Edward Thomason." 1838. *« East ludia House, 10th May, 1838. " Sir, " Adverting to the shipment of a series of me- dals, in May, 1833, intended as a present to the Emperor of China, which, as his Majesty refused to accept them, you requested might be restored to you, I am com- manded to inform you that the medals have been returned to this country by the ship Alexander Baring, and are now in the East India Company's warehouse, in New Street, Bishopsgate Street. The Company's Agents in China having placed the medals under the care of the commander of the said W' M: — isiM^ I. w & fM tj 1- i z Ul en < a. Z o o o z < c hi _i a. -1 < o < Ul X 1- < s H 323 vessel, Capt. N. de St. Croix, no charge has been made i838. for freight ; the Company, have, however, according to the practice observed in similar cases, granted a donation of five guineas to the commander, which I am to request may be reimbursed to the Company. The medals being liable to a Customs duty of £5 per cent, on the value, unless proof be given of their having been regularly exported, it will be necessary that you .should empower an agent to clear them. '* I have the honour to be. Sir, *' Your most obedient humble servant. ** Sir Edward Thomason, &c. &c." (Copied from the Hereford Times Newspaper, May, 1838.) At a general meeting, last week, at Ludlow, of the members of the Literary and Scientific Society, there existed an apparent feeling of condolence on the death of their general Chairman, and influential and effective member, Andrew Knight, Esq., of Downton Castle. No sooner had Charles Walker, Esq., been called to take the presidency, when Sir Edward Thomason rose, and said — " In rising. Sir, to intrude myself upon this meeting before you open the business for which we are convened together this day, I wish to give vent to those feelings which arise within me at this moment, in consequence of the void and blank we all feel on the loss w^hich the y2 324 1838. members of this Society have sustained by the recent death of our highly-gifted and talented associate, the late Andrew Knight, Esq. *' When we reflect, Sir, upon the great usefulness he was to mankind, the intellectual abilities with which he was endowed — that he possessed a mind enriched with attainments of science, and with admirable powers of genius ; and by his being distinguished for his readi- ness to communicate his extensive knowledge to others ; this country feels an irreparable loss. ** Sir, his indefatigable application to general science led his master mind to apply such valuable acquirements to the improvement in horticulture and agricultural pur- suits, that produced the knowledge of the various ways which the laws of vegetable life are made applicable to the augmentation of the comforts and luxuries of man- kind. For the soundness of his judgment, and the great experience in a long, arduous, and successful career in his numerous experiments by galvanic, hydraulic, and pneumatic influence on vegetable economy, carried him on to the important discovery, that should the population of this country be doubled, there might be produced, by his methods, a redundancy of food suflicient to supply the wants required. " In private life, Sir, he was amiable and courteous in his manners, and unblemished in his moral character ; with such virtues, and great personal accomplishments^ his society was courted by the most distinguished men of science of all countries, and his renown was familiar throughout most parts of the world. Sir, he was the kindest of husbands, the most aflfectionate of fathers, and a trulv liberal and indulgent landlord. 325 *' Sir, the hand of charity he daily held out to relieve 1838. the wants and distresses of the needy ; and at this mo- ment, for miles around Uownton Castle, the poor are wiping the tears of regret from the mournful cheek for the loss of their great benefactor. " Indeed, Sir, his numerous virtues entitle him to immortality. His mortal body is now returned to its kindred earth, whilst his soul will ascend to God who gave it." The Chairman proposed, and it was unanimously adopted, that, as this speech of Sir Edward embodied the sentiments of the meeting, it should be entered upon the minute book of the proprietary. " Hanover, October 19th, 1838. ♦* Sir, " I have been favoured with the receipt of your letter of the 13th of August last, and have now the honour to acquaint you that I have received his Majesty the King of Hanover's command to convey to you his Majesty's most gracious acknowledgement for the trans- mission of the five volumes containing the most perfect series of real copper bronzes, certainly the finest work- manship that ever has been produced of the kind on the continent. " The King, being anxious to present to you as a mark of his appreciation of the talents thus displayed the decoration of his Royal Guelphic Order, has directed me to assure you that whenever you will send to me a notification from vour Government, bv which it will appear that her Majesty the Queen has granted unto 326 1839. you the permission to accept and wear the said order, the decoration shall forthwith be transmitted to you. *' I have the honour to remain, " With great regard, Sir, '* Your most obedient servant, ^tyy^^^-TX " To Sir Edward Thomason, Kt., &c., &c., &c., Ludlow, Shropshire." " 13, Charlotte Street, Bedford Square, 5th April, 1839. « Sir, *' I have to acknowledge the favour of your obliging letter of the 6th February, which I would have answered immediately, had my franking friends been in town. " The whole of my Dictionary of Arts, &c., being now published, I hope that you will be able to find, under the articles * Pottery and Porcelain,' the information which you sought for in vain under ' China.' Your ob- servations will be of use to me by teaching me the pro- priety of introducing all the synonymes connected with the several manufactures ; for had I referred under the word * China' to * Porcelain,' no reader could have felt disappointed, as seem to have been. " I am well aware that both the useful and the fine arts of this country are under deep obligations to you, during your brilliant career as a great manufacturer at Birming^ham. The AVarwick Vase alone will immor- 327 talize your name. I should have been most happy to 1840. have had an opportunity of conversing with you upon the subjects of metallurgy, bronzing, gilding, silvering, kc, before publishing my recent work ; but I hope to be able to profit by your polite invitation to visit you in your rural retreat, and to improve a new edition of my Dic- tionary by the stores of practical knowledge thus ac- quired. ** I remain, Sir, " Your most faithful servant. " Sir E. Thomason, Knight." " The Wine Waggons on the Duke of Wellington's Dinner Tahle^ at the dinner given hy the Duke to the Officers to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo. — We should scarcely have felt ourselves justified in dis- tino-uishinsf these necessarv adjuncts from the usual paraphernalia of a dining table, did we not know that the Duke sets a high value upon them as having been the present of George IV,, whose critical taste is apparent in their unique and appropriate construction. On a carriage, the body of which is made of gold, and the handle (or pole) of inlaid mother of pearl, two circular stands for bottles are placed, each of which is constructed of fac similes of the various medals of the battles which were presented to the King by foreign potentates. There is nothing like them in this country, and they are accordingly much prized."— Standard, Friday, June 19, 1840. Now the facts are as follows : — Many years since, 328 1841. Lord Rolle called upon me at my establishment, and said that he had dined with his Majesty, George IV., the day before, and that his Majesty was pleased to remark that he regretted that his noble guests who sat on either side of him were constrained to rise from their seats to pass the wine ; and observed to him (Lord Rolle), as you have said that you are going to Birming- ham to-morrow, you had better call upon Thomason, who may invent some plan to obviate this inconvenience. I suggested to Lord Rolle that decanter stands upon wheels was, in my opinion, the only method to be adopted ; and as I held the beautiful dies containing the victories of the late war, forty in number, viz., from the landing in Portugal to the capture of Paris, and the settling of Napoleon at St. Helena, I recommended to place these medals around the flat perpendicular edges of the bottle stands, which would fill up four, thereby adapting them to two waggons, the whole made of silver and richly gilt, and each waggon to have four beautifully ornamented wheels. His lordship approved of my sug- gestions, and requested that no time should be lost in executing them ; and, when done, to forward them to the Marquis of Conyngham. On their arrival, his Majesty expressed his entire approbation of the thought. Some time afterwards the King presented them to the Duke of Wellington. ** London, 28th April, 184iL "My dear Sir Edward, " I have the gratifying pleasure to inform you that his Majesty the Emperor of Russia has graciously been pleased to present you, as a reward for the services ren- dered by you whilst Russian Consular Agent at Bir- ONE OF THE 4-4-6 BRONZED M EOA LS , PR ESE NT E D BY HIS IMPERIAL MAJESry, THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS. 329 mingham, five collections of the medals struck in Russia 1841. in commemoration of the principal events of the history of that empire. " These medals are now with me, and I shall deliver them to any one you may choose to appoint against a duplicate receipt signed by yourself. *' Please to accept my sincere congratulations on this occasion of his Imperial Majesty's favour, and believe me to remain, with reiterated sentiments of regard and esteem, " My dear Sir Edward, '* Your most obedient servant, *♦ Sir Edward Thomason.' TRANSLATION OF THE CATALOGUE OF RUSSIAN MEDALS INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. The Grand Dukes. 1. Riuryk, or Rioryk. 2. Oleg, a relation of Rioryk. 3. Igor, son of Priuryk, or Riurykowicz. 4. Saint Olga, the wife of Igor. 5. Swiatoslaw I., son of Igor, or Igorowicz. 6. laropolk I., son of Swiatoslaw, or Swiatoslawouriz. 7. Wlodimir I., son of Saint Swiatoslaw. 330 1841. 8. Swiatopolk I., son of Wlodimir or Taropolk. 9. laroslaw I., son of Wlodimir. 10. Iziaslaw I., son of laroslaw. 11. Swiatoslaw II., son of laroslaw. 12. Wsewolod I., son of laroslaw II., and Igor II., son of laroslaw II. 13. Swiatopolk II., son of Michail Iziaslaw. 14. Wlodimir II. Wsewolodowicz Monomach. 15. Mstislaw. Wladimirowicz. 16. laropolk II. Wlodimirowicz. 17. Wiaczeslaw. Wlodzimcrowicz. 18. Wsewolod II. Olgowicz, grandson of Swiatoslaw laroslawicz. 19. Iziaslaw II. Mstislawicz. 20. lurij I. Wladimirowicz Dolgorukii. 21. Andrei I. luriewicz Bohulubskoi. 22. Wsewolod III. luriewicz. 23. Konstantin. Wsewolodowicz. 24. lurii II. Wsewolodowicz. 25. laroslaw II. Wsewolodowicz. 26. Saint Alexander I. laroslawicz Newski. 27. laroslaw III. laroslawicz Twerski. 28. Wasilii I. laroslawicz. 29. Dimitri I. Alexandrowicz. 30. Andrei II. Alexandrowicz. 31. Daniil. Alexandrowicz. 32. Michail. laroslawocricz. 33. lurii III. Danitowicz of Moskaw. 34. Alexander II. Michailowicz Twerski. 35. loan I. Danilowicz. 36. Semion. loanowicz. 37. loan II. loanowicz. 38. Dimitri II. Konstantinowicz Suzdalski. 331 39. Dimitri III. loanovvicz. 1841. 40. Bazilii II. Dimitrowicz. 41. Bazilii III. Bazilewicz. 42. loan III. Bazilewicz. 43. Bazilii IV. loanowicz. The Czars. 44. loan. Bazvlewicz. 45. Feodor. loannovvicz. 46. Borys. Feoclorowicz. 47. Feodor. Borisowicz Godunow. 48. Bazili loanowicz Szuiski. 49. Michail Feodorowicz. 50. Alexy Michailowicz. 51. Feodor Alexiewicz. 52. loan Alexiewicz. Emperors and Empresses. 53. Peter I. the Great. Alexiewiz. 54. Katharina I, Alexierwne. 55. Peter II. Alexierwicz. 56. Anna I. loannowna. 57. Elisabeth a I. Peterowna. 58. Peter III. Feodorowicz. 59. Katharina II. Alexieiowna. 60. Pawel I. Petrowicz. 61. Alexander I. Pawlowicz. Reign of the Grand Duke Riuryk. 61. The death of Gostomysl, and his advice, to take for their prince the Grand-Duke Riuryk. Year 860. " Prevent disorder by advice." 332 1841. 62. The reception of the Deputies of Nowogrod by the Wariags. 860. " Come and give us advice." 63. The entrance of Riuryk and his brethren upon the Russian territory. " Renowned for gallantry and wisdom." 64. Stara Ladoga was fortified in the year 861. *' So he began." 65. Their being received by all the Russian authori- ties. 861. ** Hope is the cause of joy." 66. Sinens died on the White Lake. 864i. " Gone without a heir." 67. Truwor died in Izborsk. 864, " Remembered till to-day." 68. The incorporation of the White Lake and Izborsk with Nowogrod. 864. " Unite again." 69. He transferred his seat from Ladoga to Nowo- grod Wielki. 864 *' Foreseeing the good." 70. Riuryk introduced Law Courts and Justice. ** With judgments and justice." 71. Riuryk sent chief magistrates to the towns. *' Fix the power through officers of the law." 72. Riuryk took the title of Grand Duke. '* By name and acts or deeds." 73. He reigned over the Wariago- Russians. " He ruled both countries." 74. The Goranics and Polanics ask Riuryk to give them a Sovereign. " Deeds create confidence." 75. He gave to the Polanics and Gornics his son-in- law, Oskald. ** Confidence is not in vain." 76. Oskald asked and obtained leave to go to Czaro- grod. " Over land and seas." 77. Oskald fought with Poland and the Drewlans. ** He rose and defended." 333 78. Oskald went against the Greeks. 865. "He 1841, went towards Czaroffrod." 79. He suppressed the revolt of the Nowogrodians. " And conquered at once." 80. He recommended his son and country to Oleg, Prince of Urmansk. " Great to the end." 81. Died at Nowogrod. 879- " Too soon." 82. Marriage of Riuryk with Efanda, Princess of Urmansk. " Virtue and Love." Reign of the Grand Duke Igor. 83. Regency of Oleg, Prince of Urmansk. 879. " Sage, skilled, valiant." 84. Oleg visits the Russinian lands. " Inquisitive of manners." 85. Oleg built the town of Moskow. 880. "In- cipient establishment." 86. Oleg took the town of Smolensk with Kriwicza. 881. •* He came, he defeated." (Venit, vicit.) 87. On the union of North and South Russia. 883. "By inheritance." 88. Imposing contributions on Nowogrod, Drewlan, Siewieran, and Radzimicz. 884. " Augment industry by ways and means." 89. Building of towns throughout Russia. " He builds everywhere." 90. The grassing of the Ugres beyond Kiiow. ** From the east to the west." 91. Marriage of Igor with Olga. 904, " By birth, virtue, and beauty." 92. Entrance of Oleg in Greece. 906. " He goes towards glory." 334 1841. gjj. Oleg takes many towns in Greece. 906. ** The expected event happened." 94. Oleg draws near Konstantinople. 906. " He dares." 95. On the peace with the Greeks. 906-. " Con- tributions, comfort, and commerce." 96. The meeting of Oleg with the Greek Emperor, and the treaty of peace confirmed by an interview. 97- Oleg is called by the nation the most sage. *' The undertaking- is crowned with success." 98. Another agreement and treaty with the Greeks. 912, Monday, Sept. 5th. " Increase of comforts." 99. Oleg died, 912, and was buried on the mountain Sczekowica. " Glory does not perish." 100. Igor concludes a treaty with the Pieczeniegi. 915. *' Prevent disorder." 101. Swiatoslaw w^as born. 920. "Universal joy and hope." 102. The expedition of Igor, in boats, to Constanti- nople. 941. " To correct the disorderly." 103. The victories of Igor on land and sea. 941. " He conquers." 104. Igor breaks through the Greek ranks ; he sits down in the boat. '* Being surrounded, he went through." 105. Igor makes another expedition upon the Greeks. *' He did not tire himself." 106. The Greeks pay a contribution to Igor. 944. " Asked without a war." lOy. The agreement of the Greeks with Igor. 94^5, 20th April. " Augment the comforts." 108. Peace increases everywhere industry and com- merce. 945. " The daughters of peace are born." 335 109. Igor died, 945 ; buried near Korostena, in the 1841. forest. " Deep mourning." Reign of the Grand Duke Swiatoslaw. 110. Swiatoslaw takes the reins of North and South Russia. 94o. " By valour he keeps the peace." 111. Swiatoslaw arranges the army. " Discipline, order, obedience." 112. He receives Deputies from the Drewlans, beg- ging forgiveness. " Forgiveness does not mend." 113. Swiatoslaw and Olg-a o^o to Drewlan. 946. " Thev confide in truth." 114. Swiatoslaw and Olga introduce order in Drew- lan. 946. " He shines everywhere." 115. Olga forms departments in Mscie, Pola, and Lug, and imposes taxes. 947* " Arrange your advan- tages." 116. Olga builds the town of Pskow, and peoples it ; she gives for that purpose gold and silver. " She builds and peoples with liberality." 117. Olga builds towns and villages, and forms de- partments of them. 947' " Forseeing the good." 118. Swiatoslaw's third son is born, Wlodzimir. 947. " Born for that purpose." 119. Olga is desirous to be baptized. 954. " Un- derstanding truth." 120. Olga goes by sea to Constantinople. 955. " The road to salvation." 121. The Greek Emperor Constantin VI. receives Olga with great festivities and friendship. 955. ' ' Worth to have many kingdoms." 122. The Baptizm of the Grand Duchess Olga in Constantinople. 955. " Hear and understand." 336 1841. 123. After being baptized, Olga returned to Kiiovv. 956. <* Faith, Hope, and Charity." 124. Olga persuades her son to be baptized. 958. " The voice of salvation." 125. Greek Deputies ask for military assistance. 956. '* They want the help of the mighty." 126. He undertook an expedition against the Kozars ; he beat them, and conquered the town Bialowicze. 965. " He went, conquered, and put under his power." 127. Swiatoslaw conquered the lassies, the Kasogs, and with the prisoners he peopled Kiiow. 965. " He colonized the conquered." 128. In union with the Greeks and Hungarians, he conquered the Bulgares, the Kozars, the Kosogs, lassies. 967. *' The act of the triple alliance." 129. Swiatoslaw took eighty towns from the Bulgares, the Kozars, the Kosogs, and the lassies. 967. " Towns form countries." 130. Marriage with Preslawa, a Hungarian Princess. *' Strengthen your bonds by marriage." 131. From the marriage of Swiataslaw with Preslawa, the Hungarian Princess, were born laropelk and Oleg. " By a double tie." 132. The Peczeniegies besieged Kiiow ; Olga saved the town, with her three grandchildren, by the help of Preticz and the chiefs. 968. " Saved by energy." 133. Swiatoslaw conquering the Peczeniegs, made peace with them. 969. " He hastens the peace by conquest." 134. Olga dies in the 84th year of her age. 969. Buried in Kiiow, in the church called Dziesiencina. " Eternally benedict." 135. Pereiastawiec, on the Danube, was taken from 337 the Bulgares by storm. 97 1 • " He came again, and 1841. took it." 136. Svviatoslaw declared war to tlie Greeks. 971* " For untruth." 137. Swiatoslaw gained a victory over the Greeks. 971* " In honour of the fatherland." 138. Svviatoslaw took towns in Thracia. 971- " He leads himself." 139. Svviatoslaw distributes the presents accepted from the Greeks between those who served him. 971. " He distributes o-old and silver." 140. Svviatoslaw accepts arms from the Greeks. 971. *' For defending truth." 141. The enterprizes, acts, and virtues, are highly extolled by the Greeks. " He augments the glory of the country." 142. The Greeks pay, according to the agreement, the contribution to Svviatoslaw near Constantinople. 971- "Owing, according to agreement. 143. The peace with the Greeks, 11th June, 971, in the town Destra. " Eternal peace." 144. Svviatoslaw is sailing from the Danube towards the Dnieper. 971- " His own road." 145. Died in a battle with the Peczenieois on the cataracts of the Dnieper. 97-- " Eternally renowned to many.'* The Reign of the Grand Duke Iaropolk. 146. Iaropolk began to reign in Kiiow. 97O. " Primitive hope.'* 147. Love and harmony between the brothers. " Tranquillity and love " VOL. II. Z 338 1841. 148. laropolk does not receive the calumniators against Oleg. 975. " Not interrupted in good behaviour." 149. Olg, Prince of Drewlan, died in June. 977« " Mourning and sadness.** 150. He conquered the Peczenigs, and put contribu- tions upon them. 978. " Valorous and strong.** 151. laropolk gave territory to lldegow, Prince of the Peczenigs, in order to build towns and villages. 979. " Taking and setting an example.'* 152. The arriving of Envoys from the Pope to laro- polk. 979. " From distant climes.** 153. The confirmation of former ag'reements and ties with the Greeks. 979. "Union of glory and comfort." 154. Died, in Kiiow. 980. " A day of universal sorrow." The Emperor Peter the Great. 155. On the birth of the Czarewicz Peter Alexiewicz, 30th May, I672. 156. On the ascension upon the throne of the Czar Peter Alexiewicz, 27th April, 1682. 157. The creation and first acts of the Russian Fleet. 1696. 158. The taking of Azow. I696. 159. The abolition of the Riflemen. 1698. 160. The conclusion of the peace of twenty years with the Ottoman Porte. I7OO. 161. The taking of the town of Slisselburg, 21st De- cember, 1702. 162. On the same, 21st December, I702. 163. The taking of Kaniec, 14th May, 1703. 164. The taking of the Swedish schooners. 1703. 339 lC)5, The foundation of the town Saint Peterburir. 1S41. O' 1703. 166. The erection of the Baltic Fleet. 1703. 167. The building of the town of Kronstadt. 1/04. 168. The taking of Derpt. 1704. 169. The taking of Narwa. I704. 170. On the same, the 9th of August. 171. On the same remembrance, the 9th of August. 172. The taking of Mitauen, 4th September, I7O8. 173. The victory near Kalisk. 1706. 174. The victory near Lesno, 28th September, 1705. 175. On the same event. 176. For the Count Apraksyn. I7O8. 177. For the Count Holowin. 178. On the battle of Pultawa, 27th June, I709. 179. On the same. 180. On the taking of the Swedish Army near Pere- woloczna, 30th June, I709. 181. On the same, 30th June, I709. 182. On the building of the Port of Taganrock. 1709. 183. On the taking of the Town of Elblong, 10th February, I7IO. 184. The taking of Wyborg, 14th June. 185. The taking of Riga, 8 th July. 186. The taking of the Fortress of Daneminden, 15th August. 187. The taking of Pernow, 21st of August. 188. The taking of Arenoburg, 15th September. 189. The taking of Kehoholm, 8th September. 190. The taking of Rewla, 14th June. 191. The War in Liefland and Finland, I7IO. 192. On the same memory, I7IO. z 2 340 1841. 193. On the memory of the dominion over the Four Seas, 1171. 194. The starting or moving of the Russian Fleet. 1713. 195. The taking of the town of Abo, 8th Septem- ber, I70.S. 196. The victory near Pelkin, 6th October, 1713. 197« On the memory of the battle near Waza, 29th July, 1714. 198. The taking of the Fortress of Neuszlot, 29th July, 1714. 199. The sea fight near Aland, 27th July, 1714. 200. On the same. 201 The uniting of the Four Fleets, 20th Decem- ber, 171 6. 202. The establishment of the Colleges, 20th De- cember, 1717* 203. On the conquered Freedom of the Country, 20th December, I7I8. 204. On the taking of three Frigates, 14th May, I719. 205. On the taking of four Frigates, 27th July, I72O. 206. The Peace with Sweden. I72I. 207. On the same occasion. 208. On the memory of the Coronation of the Empress Catherine Alexiciow I.; with it a counter-mark. 1724. 209. On the memory of bringing the Remains of Peter the Great, 28th January, 1725; with it a counter. Emperor Peter II. 210. The coronation of the Emperor Peter IL, and with it a counter piece, 25th February, I728. 341 The Empress Anna Iwanowna. 1841. 211. On the coronation of the Empress Anna Iwanowna, 27th April, 1730 ; and with it a counter piece. 212. On the mending of Mint System. 1731. 213. On the memorable deeds in the reign of the Empress Anna Iwanowna. 214. The Peace with the Turcs, 7 th September, 1739 ; and with it a counter. The Empress Elizabeth Pietrowna. 215. The ascension upon the throne of the Empress Elizabeth Pietrowna, 25th November, 174<1. 216. The pardon for offenders of the law, 25th De- cember, 1741. 217. The Coronation of the Empress Elizabeth Pie- trowna, 1742 ; with a counter. 218. The peace with Sweden, 7th August, 1743. 219. The achievement of the Canal of Kronstadt, 30th July, 1752. 220. The abolition of the Inland Excise, 23d De- cember, 1753 221. The remission of debt owing to the Crown, 13th i\Iay, 1754. 222. The cessation of the quarrels about limits among Landowners, 13th May, 1754. 223. Arrangement of New Serbia. I754. 224. Birth of the Czesarewicz the Grand Duke Paul Petrowicz, 20th September, 1754. 225. The establishment of the Imperial Universitv at IMoskou. 1754. 34'2 1841. 226. On the same in 1801, 30tb June. 227. The battles near Frankfurt and Paleyg, 1st August, 1759. 228. The transportation of the Remains of the Em- press Ehzabeth Pietrovvna, 25th December, I76I ; and with it a counter. The Empress Katherine Alexieiowna II. 229. The ascension to the Throne of the Empress Katherine Alexieiowna II, 28th May, I762. 230. To the useful works of the Merchants com- mercing in Kamtschatka, 31st of August, I762. 231. The Coronation of the Empress Catherine II., 31st of August, 1762. 232. The establishment of the School of Education, 1st September, I763. 233. The fixing of the Monetary Scale. I763. 234. The establishment of the Academy of Arts, 28th June, I765 ; and with it a counter. 235. The establishment of the Cavalry School, 11th July, 1766. 236. The medal given to the Deputies who have ar- ranged the project of the New Government, 14th Decem- ber, 1766. 237. The exportation of corn from Liefland to Pe- terburg. 238. On the establishment of the Church of St. Izaak. 239. The inoculation of the Cowpox, the 12th Octo- ber, 1768. 240. The bringing of an enormous stone, 20th January, 1770* 241. The victory near Kaluga, 21st July, I77O. 242. The victory near Czcsma, 24th July, I770. 343 213. The victory over the Turcs. 1770. 1841. 244. Given to Alexis Gregorowicz Orlow, 24th July, 1770. 245. Given to Count Gregor Gregorowicz Orlow. 1771. 246. Given to the Secret Councillor Ian lanowicz Becki, 20th Nov., I772. 247. On the building in Moskaw of the Palace of Kremlin, 1st July, 1773. 248. The Marriage of their Imperial Highnesses, 10th July, 1774. 249. The Peace with the Ottoman Porte, 10th July, 1744; with a counter. 250. On the same occasion, a square one (or quad- rangle). 251. To the General Field Marshal Peter Alexan- drowicz llumiancow, July 1774. 252. The second marriage of his Imperial Highness, 26th September, I776. 253. On the Jubilee, held 1776 ; with a counter. 254. Birth of the Grand Duke Alexander Paw- lowicz, 12th December, 1777. 255. Recompense to the Students of the Academy of Arts, 28th June, I778. 256. On the same occasion. 177^' 257. Birth of the Grand Duke Konstantin Paw- lowicz, 27th April, I779. 258. The Christians leaving the Krimee, 21st May, 1779. 259. To Count Falkenstein, 1st July, I78O. 260. Institution of the new free Economical Societv. 261. On the erection of the Monument to the Em- peror Peter the Great, 6th August, 1782. 344 1841.] 262. On the incorporation of Krim, Taman, and Kuban, 8th April, 1783. ^63. Given to the Students of the Academy of Rus- sia, for extraordinary progress in their studies, 21st October, 1784. 264. A counter piece, for the Members of the same Academy. ^65. For progress in studies to Noble Young Ladies. Q66. Voyage of the Empress to Taganeog, 1st Octo- ber, 1787- 267. The victory over the Turcs, near Kinburg, 1st October, I787. 268. The victory over the Turcs, on water, near Oczakow, 1st June, I788. 269. For bravery, by taking the Swedish battery, near the river Kimen. 270. / To the memory of the expedition of the 271. < Prince Gregor Alexandervvicz Potemkin 272. vTawoicki. 273. The taking of Oczakow, 6th December, I788. 274. On the same occasion. 275 The victory over the Swedes, on the waters of Finland, 13th August, I789. 276. The victory over the Swedes, and the destruc- tion of their fleet, composed of gallies, loth August, 1789. 277. The Peace with Sweden, 3d August, 1790 ; with a counter. 278. The same for the Soldiers, 3d of August. 279. To the memory of the hardships and merits of the Admiral Greig, 15th October, I788. 280. The establishment of the cross or order of St. George, 26th November, 1796. 345 281 . The enlargement of the rights of property. 1841. 28'2. The aoorrandizement of the Russian Fleet, ^Sth July, 1782. 283. To the memory of the introduction of govern- ments or departments, \1fl5. 284. The establishment of the order of St. Wla- dimir. 285. On taking the tutorship of the Czar Trakliia. 286. The permission of free-trade to all nations in Cherson, Sewastopel, and Feodasia. 1784. 287. To the memory of the known merits of Count Suwarow Rymnikski. 1787, 1789, 1790. 288. The taking of Imail, 11th December, 1790. 289. On the same occasion. 290. The Peace with the Ottoman Porte, 3d Dec. 1791 ; and with it a counter. 291. To the same peace, 29th December, 1791. 292. To the memory of the incorporation of Poland. 293. The marriage of the Grand Duke Alexander Pawlowicz. 294. To the memory of the victory in Praga, 24th October, 1794. 295. On the same occasion. The Emperor Paul I. 296. The Coronation of the Emperor Paul I., with a counter. 297. The sign of the order of St. Anna, for the Military. The Emperor Alexander. 298. The Coronation of the Emperor Alexander I., and with it a counter. 346 1841. 299. For services at the time of the Coronation, 10th Sept., 1801. 300. A sign of thanks to the Nobility of Simbirsk, for the active part in building the Hospital, 1801. 301. To the memory of the building of the Church Zobornoi Kazan, 27th August, 1801, 302. A reward for application shewn in exploring the minerals in the mountains of the Caucasus and Ararat. 303. For several inventions, with the representation of a beehive. 304. For several inventions, with the representation of a horn of plenty. 305. For several inventions, with the representation of agricultural instruments. 306. To the memory of the building of Petersburg, the 100th year. 307. To the Councillor of State, Paul Demidow, for his exertions in the study department. 1803. 308. For the sufferings and bravery by taking the town of Hanzi, 23d July, 1804. 309. To the memory of the establishment of the Exchange in Petersburg. 310. The establishment of the Church of Zborow, in Kronstadt. 311. For the University of Dorpat, or Derpt. 312. To the chiefs of the American Nation, with the inscription " To the Friends of Russia." 313. For the love of Creed and Country. 314. To Military of Lower Rank, the sign of the order of Saint George. 315. To the Officers, on the victory of Prussian- Eylau, 27th January, I8O7. 3^7 SIC), To the Civilians employed, and the Soldiers of 1841. the National Army, *' For Creed and Country." 317. To Count Strogonow, from the Academy of Arts, in memory of his advantageous presidency. 1808. 318. For the voyage round the world by the Cap- tains Kruszentterna i Lisianski. 319. To the School of Cadets of the Miners, having distinguished themselves. 320. To Count Strogonow, from the Nobility of St. Petersburg. 321. To the Deputies of New Finland, 17th Nov., 1808. 322. To the Deputies of the Government of Ulea- buro-. 323. To the centennial memory of the battle of Pul- tawa. I8O9. 324. To the Military of Lower Rank, for coming on the Swedish shores. 1809. 325. For traversino- Torneo. 326. For zealous and honourable fulfilment of duties. 327. For taking Bazardzik with Storm, 22d May, 1810. 328 For zeal and sincerity towards the Russian Em- pire. 329. To the Citizens of Uleaburg, for zeal. 330. For the Students of the University of Charkow. 331. For the School of Commerce in Moscou. 332. For the advancement in Silk Manufacture. 333. For their love of the country, to the inhabitants of the Government of Moskou. 1812. 334. To the memory of the trouble of the Empress Maria Feodorowna, with the inscription " Benedict." 348 1841. 335. To the Prince Alexander Wirtemberg, from the National Guard of St. Petersburof. 336. The Portrait of the Emperor, for the Academy of Arts 337. For the Lyceum in Czarskoesielo. 338. The Portrait of the King and Queen of Prussia, I8I7, for visiting Prince William. 339. The Portrait of the King of Prussia, on the occasion of his visiting the Emperor. 340. For the laroslaw Moscou School. 311 To the Chief of Tamara, one of the Sandwich Islands, on the memory of his friendship towards Russia. 342. For the dismissed Soldiers who attain entered the Army, with the inscription, to " The honour of me- rited soldiers." I8O6. 343. On the memory of the year 1812, to the Army. 344. On the same, to the Nobilitv and the Mer- chants. 345. On the same, crosses for the Clerical Order. 346. For the Students of the Chirurgo Medical Acadeiiij. 347. For sending sloops, with the inscription, " Wo- stok and Wirna." 348. ditto ditto ditto, " Odkrytie and Blahonamicny." 349. On the memory of the Reunion of Creed. 350. To the Count Nicholas Pietrowicz Szeremetow, 351. For the College of Finland, with the Portrait of the Grand Duke his Imperial Highness Nicholas Pawlowicz. 352. For the Moscovian Society of Agriculture and Farming. 349 The Emperor Nicholas J. 1841, 353. To the memory of the Death of the Emperor Alexander I. 354. The taking of Paris. 355. Ditto, a small one. 356. On the Coronation of Nicholas the 1st. 357. A comiter-piece. 358. To the jubilee of one hundred years of the Academy of Arts. 359. For the Academy of Sciences, with the Portrait of the Empress Maria Feodorowna. 360. For the inoculation of the Cowpox, for the Free Economical Society. 36 K For the University of Wilna. 3C)2. For the Persian War. 363. To the memory of the Persian Peace. 364. As a recompense to the Manufactories. 365. To the memory of the visit of the Prince Chozrow Mirza. 366. Inoculating- the Cowpox to the inhabitants of Finland. 367. For the War with Turkey. 368. To the Inhabitants of Finland. 369. To the Peace with Turcia, September 2d, 1829. 370. To the Szypres and Sturmaks, for distinction in the Navy, February 12th, 1830. 371 To the memory of the erection of a monument to the Emperor Alexander I. S72, For taking by storm the town of Warsaw. 373. The sira of the Militarv Pohsh Order of the 5th class. 350 1841. 374. The death of the Empress Maria Feodorowna. 375. To the Turkisli Army. 376. To the Imperial Academy of Arts. 377* To the memory of the Emperor Nicholas I.*s visit to the Mint, 27th March, 1834. 378. A reward to the Students to whom is given the analysis of the works written to the Conquerors of the Peace of Dimidow. 379. On the building of the Triumphal Arches, 18th August, 1834. 380. On the building of a Triumphal Monument to the Emperor Alexander I., August 30th, 1834. 381. For the Medico-Chiruro^ical Academv of Wilna. 382. To the Imperial Academy of War. 383. To the jubilee of fifty years of the Russian Academy. 384. To the Society of Improving Forests. 385. To the memory of the visit of the Grand Duke Alexander Mikolajewicz to the Mint, May 28th, 1835. 386. The opening of the union of all the learned institutes. 387- On the institution of the chief Observatory. 388. On the establishment of the University of St. Wlodimir, in Kiiow, in September, 1835. 389. A remuneration to the Students of the Univer- sity, for resolving the given questions. 1836. 390. As a remuneration to the Students of the Aca- demy of Arts. 391. On his jubilee of 50 years, to the Academician Zagorski. Year 1837. 392. For his benevolence, to Major-General Bachtin. 351 393. To the Mining Institution. 1841. 394. To his jubilee of ,50 years, to the Physician of the Emperor, Priul. 395. Kaukasus. 1837- Year 1838. 396. The erection of the Gate of Moskow. 397* The opening of the University of Sankt Peters- burg, 25th March, 1839. 398. To the jubilee of fifty years to the Physician Bush. 399. To the memory of the literary labours, during fifty years, of I. A. Krytow. 400. The extirpation of the Plague in Odessa, 1837. 401. A reward for foreign inventions which are of general use. Year 1839. 402. The restoration of the Winter Palace. 403. The building of the chief Observatory. 404. To the memory of the building of the Church of Christ the Saviour, in Moskou. 405. The Cross of George, for the Prussian troops. Year 1840. 406. The taking by storm of the Fortress Agulgo. 407. To the Imperial School of Jurisprudence. 408. To the memory of the jubilee of the University of Alexander in Finland. 409. To General Major Czertkow. 410. To the memory of the jubilee of the Vice Ad- miral Kruzenstein. 411. To the Societv of Amateurs of Gardening. 35^ 1841. REGISTER OF THE MEDALS TO THE MEMORY OF THE NATIONAL WAR, IN THE YEARS 1812, 1813, AND 1814. 1 . The National Guard. 2. The battle of Boradinsk, 3. The affranchisement or preservation of Moskow. 4. The battle near Malo-Iaroslaw}^ 5. The battle of three days, near Krasno. 6. The battle near Beresina. 7. The retreat of Napoleon over the Niemen. 8. The first step of Alexander over the Russian frontiers. 9. The liberation of Berlin. 10. The Triple Alliance. 11. The battle on the Katzbach Mountains. 12. The battle of Kulm 13. The battle of Leipsic. 14. The liberation of Amsterdam. 15. The march over the Rhine. 16. The battle of Brien. 17. The battle of Arcis-sur-Ob. 18. The battle of Fer-champinois. 19. The bringing down (taking) of Paris. 20. The Peace of Europe. REGISTER OF THE MEDALS TO THE MEMORY OF THE TURKISH AND PERSIAN WARS. 1. The battle of Elisabelhenburof. 18'26. 2. The taking of the fortress of Eriwan. 1829. 3. The occupation of Tauris. 1827. 4. The taking of Kars. 1828. 5. The battle of Acalcvchia, and the takinof of the fortress. 1826. ' 353 6. The complete defeat of the two Turkish corps, or 1841. armies. 1829. 7. The taking of Erzerum. 18*29. 8. The crossino- of the Danube. 18^28. 9. The surrender of the fortresses of Brailow, Varna, and others. 1828. 10. The deed of the brig Mercury. 11. The crossing of the Balkan. 1829. 12. The taking of Adrian ople. Signed by the Registrar. Splendid Imperial Present. — His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia has been graciously pleased to present to Sir Edward Thomason, as a token of his Majesty's approval of Sir Edward's services, and for the manner in which he sustained, for twenty years, the appointment of Russian Vice-Consul at Birmingham, a munificent present of the grand collection of bronzed medals struck in Russia during the last 980 years, in commemoration of the principal events in the history of that great empire : — namely, of the reign of Ruric, 86I ; Oley, 879 ; Igor, Olgar, Sviatoslav, Yaropolk, Vladimir, Suiatopolk, Yaroslav, Isiaslav, Yaropolk II., Vsevolode, Igor II., Vladimir II., Mstislaf, Yaropolk II., Viatches- laf, Vsevolode II., Isiaslav II., Yury, Andrey, Vsevolde III., Constantine, Yury II., Yaroslav II., Alexander, Yaroslav III., Vassili, Dimitri, Andrey II., Daniel I., Michael, Yury III., Alexander II., Ivan I., Simeon, Ivan II., Dimitri II., Dimitri III., Vassili II., Vassili III., Ivan III , Vassal! IV., Ivan IV., first Izar, Theo- dore, iBoris, Theodore II., Uladislas, Michael, Alexey, VOL. II. A A 354 1841. Theodore III., Ivan V., Peter the Great, Catherine I., Peter II., Anne, Ivan V., Elizabeth, Peter III., Cathe- rine IL, Paul, Alexander, Nicholas the present Emperor. Above three hundred of the collection are of the laro-est class, measuring three inches in diameter, the whole constituting about four hundred and fifty in number, and arrived in the highest state of preservation. They ex- hibit the various periods of the improvements made in the numismatic art. The case containing this unique and invaluable collection was opened in the presence of many learned antiquarians, who were unanimous in opi- nion that those of the present century will ever be distin- guished, both in invention and execution, as superior to those constituting the celebrated series of Napoleon. — Hereford Journal^ May 19. (From the Times, December 11.) " Though I have been familiar with the town and neighbourhood of Dublin for twenty years, yet I never visited the Museum until yesterdav. The lonofer one lives, the wiser one grows, says the proverb ; and cer- tainly I am wiser to-day than I was yesterday. Yester- day I was not aware the le Grande Napoleon had ever conquered England, but to-day I have no doubt of the fact. The following is the inscription on this marvellous piece of copper : — ' Au droit est la tete de Napoleon, et au reverse Hercule (meaning Napoleon), soulevant de la terre et etouffant entre ses bras une figure moitie homme et-moitie poisson (signifying England).' Underneath this, ' Descente en Angleterre. Frappe a Londres en 1804. Denon dirixit.' '• Strange enough, this marvellous medal — which may belie and falsify history in after ages — was dug* up in S55 Ireland, probably in the neighbourhood of some of Mr. 1842. O'Connell's ' best peace preserves,' who always can be relied upon in time of need. In speaking of the subject, I must somewhat alter the well-known lines — ' The thing, indeed, is very rich and rare ; One wonders how the d 1 it got there.* " The particulars of this medal, and the reason of my making a copy of the French one, is particularized in page 171, in the year 1819- " Hall Barn Park, Beaconsfield, Dec. 25, 1842. " Dear Sir, '* To account for the delay in replying to your letter of the 12th instant, I must commence by stating that it has only just reached me, having, ten years ago, sold my place in Hertfordshire, and purchased an estate here, *' Major Malcolm has arrived in England; the Queen has ratified the Chinese Treaty, and I suppose the Major is about returning to China. Unfortunately I am not acquainted with Major M., but I know Lord Saltoun intimately ; therefore, if you can get access to Major Malcolm, I shall, with great pleasure, give you a letter to Lord Saltoun (on receipt of your answer to this) in conformity to your wishes. No time should be lost. *' With best wishes for your health, and the compli- ments of the season, " I remain, dear Sir, " Yours, very faithfully, " Edward Thomason, Esq." ^^l<.^