obtained as good a security for his life as the honour and truth of the chancellor could give, he told him it was the Bishop of London who maintained him, by purchasing the first impression of his Testament. The chancellor smiled, and said he believed that he spoke the truth.

CRANMER'S BIBLE.

WHEN Archbishop Cranmer's edition of the Bible was printed in 1538, and fixed to a desk in all parochial churches, the ardour with which men flocked to read it was incredible. They who could, procured it; and they who could not, crowded to read it, or to hear it read in churches, where it was common to see little assemblies of mechanics meeting together for that purpose after the labour of the day. Many even learned to read in their old age, that they might have the pleasure of instructing themselves from the Scriptures. Mr. Fox mentions two apprentices who joined each his little stock and bought a Bible, which at every interval of leisure they read; but being afraid of their master, who was a zealous Papist, they kept it under the straw of their bed.

KING EDWARD AND THE SWORDS.

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KING EDWARD AND THE SWORDS.

IN the dawning of the glorious day of the Reformation, the Lord raised up the eminently religious king, Edward VI., to engage in that excellent work. He had a very high esteem for the Holy Scriptures, according to which this great and good work was to be squared, and which had been, by the enemies and murderers of souls, long concealed from the nation. When, therefore, at his coronation, the swords were delivered to him, as King of England, France, and Ireland; having received them, he said, "There is yet another sword to be delivered to me;" at which the lords wondering, "I mean," said he, "the Sacred Bible, which is the sword of the Spirit, and without which we are nothing, neither can we do anything." And as he prized the Word of God himself, so he soon restored it to his people; and that they might all have opportunity to peruse the inspired writings, he ordered a large Bible in English, with the paraphrase of Erasmus on the Gospels, to be set up in every church, in which, at all times, those that could might go and read, and those that could not read might go and hear.

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WHERE DID HE GET THAT LAW?

WHERE DID HE GET THAT LAW? IN a city in one of the Northern States of America lived a lawyer of great eminence. He was notoriously profane. He had a negro boy, at whom his neighbours used to hear him swear with awful violence. One day this gentleman met an elder of the Presbyterian Church, who was also a lawyer, and said to him, “ I wish, sir, to examine into the truth of the Christian religion. What books would you advise me to read on the evidences of Christianity?

The elder, surprised at the inquiry, replied, "That is a question, sir, which you ought to have settled long ago. You ought not to have put off a subject so important to this late period

of life."

"It is too late," said the inquirer. "I never knew much about it, but I always supposed that Christianity was rejected by the great majority of learned men. I intend, however, now to examine the subject thoroughly myself. I have upon me, as my physician says, a mortal disease, under which I may live a year and a half or two years, but not probably longer. What books, sir, would you advise me to read?"

"The Bible," said the elder.

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"I believe you don't understand me," resumed the unbeliever, surprised in his turn: "I wish to investigate the truth of the Bible."

"I would advise you, sir," repeated the elder, "to read the Bible. And," he continued, "I will

give you my reasons. Most infidels are very ignorant of the Scriptures: now to reason on any subject with correctness, we must understand what it is about which we reason. In the next place, I consider the internal evidence of the truth of the Scriptures stronger than the external." "And where shall I begin?" inquired the unbeliever.

"At the New Testament ?"

"No,” replied the elder; "at the beginning— at Genesis."

The infidel bought a commentary, went home, and sat down to the serious study of the Scriptures. He applied all his strong and well-disciplined powers of mind to the Bible, to try rigidly but impartially its truth.

As he went on in his perusal, he received occasional calls from the elder. The infidel freely remarked upon what he had read, and stated his objections. He liked this passagehe thought that touching and beautiful-but he could not credit a third.

One evening the elder called, and found the

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WHERE DID HE GET THAT LAW?

unbeliever at his house, or office, walking the room with a dejected look, his mind apparently absorbed in thought. He continued, not noticing that any one had come in, busily to trace and retrace his steps. The elder at length spoke.

"You seem, sir," said he, "to be in a brown study. Of what are you thinking?”

"I have been reading,” replied the infidel, "the moral law."

"Well, what do you think of it?" asked the elder.

"I will tell you what I used to think,” answered the infidel. "I supposed that Moses was the leader of a horde of banditti; that having a strong mind, he acquired great influence over a superstitious people; and that on Mount Sinai he played off some sort of fire-works, to the amazement of his ignorant followers, who imagined, in their mingled fear and superstition, that the exhibition was supernatural."

"But what do you think now?" interposed the elder.

"I have been looking," said the infidel, "into the nature of that law. I have been trying to see whether I could add anything to it, or take anything from it, so as to make it better. Sir, I cannot. It is perfect.