august.' On the reverse is Jupiter holding in his raised hand a thunderbolt, and trampling a kneeling figure, with serpent-like feet, having the legend IOVI FVLGERATORI To Jupiter the thunderer.' The prostrate figure designates Christianity, and the figure of Jupiter brandishing his thunderbolt, is taken probably from Ovid's description; he is dashing down the Christians with the same fire as he hurled down the Titans, who had equally but vainly tried to dispossess him of heaven. The figure of this coin is very remarkable, and has a resemblance so strong as to identify it with the Abrasax on the Gnostic gems, with serpent-like feet, supposed to be the god of the Christians. We see him here then disarmed of his weapons, the very being which the Christians were supposed to adore, and this single sect and its impure idol bringing destruction on the whole of the Christian church. In the exergue, PECVNIA ROMA, "the money of Rome."-pp. 86–88.

A similar coin was struck by Maximian to commemorate his part in the persecutions of the period, and in the attempts to exterminate Christianity. Its spirit, however, which from these efforts was nearly extinct, became stronger and more vigorous than ever in the succeeding era of Constantine, of whose character and conversion a short but satisfactory sketch is given, and whose efforts in the cause of the religion he had espoused are commemorated on several highly interesting coins. After he had adopted the cross as his ensign, and formed on the spot where his miraculous conversion took place the celebrated Labarum, or Christian standard, as a substitute for the Roman eagle, he struck, we are told, " upon his future coins an impress and legend, alluding to the extraordinary events of his conversion, and no more traces are to be found on them of Pagan emblems." In the reign of the emperor Julian, the Christian emblems were again abolished, and the coins of the empire exhibited the heathen emblems of former emperors, and others borrowed from Egyptian superstitions. His successor Jovian, however, who had been educated in the principles of Christianity, and who firmly adhered to its doctrines, displayed once more the prohibited Labarum, and made a public profession of his faith, rebuilding the Christian churches, and removing from them the heathen idols of his predecessor. "On the island of Corfu," Dr. Walsh remarks, "is still standing one of the temples he erected, with a very imperfect inscription on a tablet in the frieze over the gate, which I copied, intimating what he had done." It is to the following effect:

"I, Jovian, having powerful faith as the auxiliary of my attempts, have built this sacred temple to thee, blessed Ruler on High!—overturning the heathen altars and shrines of the Greeks, I present this offering to thee, O King! with an unworthy hand."

A view of this temple as it stands at present is prefixed to the volume; it is interesting, because no account of it has yet been found in any author, and because it is undoubtedly one of the earliest edifices erected expressly for Christian worship.

Before the time of Theodosius, the doctor observes,

"A Victory surmounting a cross was universal; after this time it disappeared, and the cross was always seen in its place. He seems therefore to have first established the use of that emblem, which other Christian monarchs, as well as our own, bear at this day at their coronation. From this period heathen mythology sunk into general contempt, and forsaking the cities, where the inquisitive minds of cultivated men had detected and exposed its absurdities, it retired among the remote 'Pagi,' or villages, where it continued to linger a little longer, and its professors were denominated Pagani,' or Pagans,' and the superstition itself · Paganism,' an appellation which it retains to this day. Theodosius divided his empire between his sons Arcadius and Honorius, giving to the former the East, of which Constantinople was the capital; and to the latter the West, of which Rome was the capital. The Christian world was thus divided into two empires and two churches; the first distinction has been long since obliterated, but the second yet subsists. He died in 395, after a reign of sixteen years, having justly acquired the appellation of the Great.

"The annexed coin represents the emperor in armour, with a spear and shield: the legend, DOMINVS THEODOSIVS, PERPETVVS, FELIX, AVGVSTVS. The

reverse represents him in armour, holding in his right hand the Labarum, and in

STVSP FAVO

his left the globe, surmounted by a cross; beside him is a star, with the legend, GLORIA ORVIS, for ORBIS, TERRARVM-the Glory of the earth. In the exergue letters THESSALONICE OBSIGNATA, coined at Thessalonica.""_pp. 118-120.

The next remarkable coin, interesting as being the first that bore the image of our Saviour, was struck in the reign of Justinius Rhinometus, of whom we quote the following anecdote, together with the engraving of the coin, and the doctor's description of it.

"He was a man of a cruel and implacable character, and was attacked and taken prisoner by Leontius, who mutilated him by cutting off his nose, and from thence he was called Rhinometus. He was afterwards overtaken by a storm at sea, and his confessor directed him to pray for and promise forgiveness to his enemies. His prayer was, May I now perish if I spare one of them!' which determination he religiously kept when restored to the crown. He affected, notwithstanding, much piety, and was the first to introduce upon his coins the image of our Saviour, copied, it should appear, from a brazen statue of him over one of the churches, which was afterwards the cause of much tumult. Justinian died in the year 711, leaving behind him a very atrocious character.

"In the annexed coin, the obverse represents the bust of Christ, holding in his left hand the Gospel, or perhaps the Prophets, which he seems to be explaining by

the pointed finger of his right hand; his head is crowned with rays. The legend with a mixture of Greek and Gothic letter, JESUS CHRISTVS, REX REGNANTIVM-Jesus Christ, the King of kings.' On the reverse the emperor is represented in barred vestments, his head surmounted with a common cross, and holding in his right hand the cross of Justinian. The legend, DOMINVS JVSTINIANVS SERVVS CHRISTI- Lord Justinian, servant of Christ.' In the exergue CONOB, as in the former."-pp. 127-128.

In the succeeding reigns of Leo and Constantine Copronymous, all the impressions of the virgin and even of the Saviour were erased from the coins as idolatrous; "but they retained every where the great sign of salvation, the cross." These impressions were again introduced, after a century or two, when the zeal of the reformers abated, by Johannes Zemisces-an engraving of one of whose coins we also copy.

"The annexed coin exhibits on the obverse the image of our Saviour, with a book, his head circled with glory-on each side is IC, XC, the Greek initials and

termination of Jesus Christ. The obverse represents the virgin, her hands expanded,

and her head surrounded with a nimbus, with the letters MP, OY Mnrηp Oɛov, the mother of God.""

Dr. Walsh then observes, in conclusion,

"From this time till the destruction of the lower empire by the Turks, the coins that have been found are very irregular and imperfect; they either have no legend to designate to whom they belong, or they are wrapped up in an obscure and uncertain monogram, that at best is but a subject of mere conjecture; few coins of the great families of the Comneni and the Paleologi are to be found; and one known to belong to the last Constantine, has not yet, I believe, been discovered. The image of the Virgin, still held her place on the coins, though a compromise was made with the churches, which continues at the present day. The Greeks, moreover, in their contests, succeeded in establishing many points of doctrine and discipline, approximating to those which the Protestants adopted at the Reformation. They reject the infallibility of any individual in their church. They do not hold as canonical the Apocryphal books. They do not believe in an intermediate state, where sins are purged by fire or other means. They use leavened bread formed into a loaf at the Eucharist. They give the elements of both kinds to the laity. Their secular priests may be married men."-p. 135.

We have extracted this passage, which occurs very near the conclusion of this excellent volume, on account of the remarkable and important declarations which it contains. The subjects here alluded to involve questions of very considerable interest; and the statements respecting the various points of the doctrine and discipline of the Greek church, which Dr. Walsh has only cursorily noticed, open a field for much useful speculation and inquiry. We do not quote these assertions and opinions of the doctor with any intention of questioning his authority, or of intimating a doubt of the correctness of his positions-but simply, to require information. The declaration that the Greeks reject the infallibility of any individual of their church, and in particular that they do not hold as canonical the Apocryphal books, appear to us points to which attention may be very advantageously directed, and which are of infinitely too much importance to be dismissed in a paragraph. The subject is one which it would be impossible to enlarge upon in this department of our publication; but it is one which has perhaps never been satisfactorily investigated, and on which much knowledge of a peculiar and attractive character is yet to be gleaned. We feel that we should be committing an act of injustice both to Dr. Walsh and to our readers, were we to close this volume without testifying our desire to see this subject more fully explained and examined than it could conveniently have been, either in the essay before us or in this imperfect notice of it.

In the truth of the concluding paragraph of the essay we cordially concur.

"The Greeks, with their usual refinement, adhere to the letter of the law and reject all graven images; but it seems a strange anomaly that those who profess to feel a horror at bowing to wood and stone, should kneel without scruple to paint and canvass."-p. 136.

In taking leave of this volume, and presenting our thanks to the accomplished and indefatigable author of it, for the profit and pleasure which we have derived from its perusal, we cannot refrain from adding to the length of

this article, by quoting a passage from the "Addenda," respecting the opinions still entertained in the east on the subject of amulets.

"But the evil most dreaded, and the pregnant source of all the rest, is an evil eye. This is a superstition perhaps the earliest entertained in the world, and the most widely diffused, and which yet continues in the East in its full force, firmly fixed in the minds of every class and denomination of the people, who evince an extraordinary solicitude to evade its effects, which are not confined to any particular injury, but extend to every misfortune which a man can sustain in his person, property, or destiny. One of these is very remarkable, and the Turks in particular are most anxious to avert it. When a wedding takes place they imagine that some person in the company may, by a glance of the eye, at once destroy their connubial happiness, and stories of this kind are every day told and believed. One of the janissaries of the English palace communicated to me a case of this kind which had just happened to his son-in-law, à fine young man, who lay under this influence but was afterwards restored by the efficacy of some charms made for him by a dervish. Imagination had probably a powerful effect in causing and curing the malady. To avert these and similar consequences various talismans are devised: the most common is a little figure of blue beads or glass, in various shapes, suspended to the thing to be protected. It is imagined that this conspicuous object will attract the first glance of the evil eye, and so its malignity will be expended on it."-pp. 138-139.

THE LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. By Mrs. A. T. Thomson; author of the "Memoirs of the Court of Henry the Eighth." Longman and Co.

BIOGRAPHIES are, perhaps, the most pleasant of all books, and this is one of the pleasantest of biographies. It is written in a glowing and graceful style, and yet with a strength and fearlessness that even now, when the "weaker sex" is almost becoming the stronger, we could scarcely have expected to characterize a female pen. Just and discriminative estimates of character, bold and elevated sentiments, rapid reviews of events both political and moral, meet our eye in every page of this admirable volume. We could hardly point out a single line that should be altered or omitted, nor would it be very easy to find a passage where the addition of one would not be rather an injury than an improvement. We can give no higher praise than this opinion conveys; if we could, we should be disposed to offer it, in the same spirit of sincerity and justice.

With our author's estimate of the preceding biographies of Ralegh we entirely agree. They are either too heavy and desultory, or too meagre and concise. A work like the present was, therefore, much wanted; and if it were not, the manner in which it is executed would at once supersede every other biography of the illustrious and unfortunate Ralegh. The volume, we have little doubt, will be the means of making the character of this accomplished man better known and understood by the general reader than it could otherwise have been. No person of his time, surrounded as he was by the greatest and the wisest men that ever lived, by Shakspeare and Bacon, by Spenser, Selden, Camden, and Ben Jonson, excites so much personal interest as Ralegh, by his successes and misfortunes; none was so variously, and few more eminently gifted. His personal beauty and accomplishments corresponded with the better graces of his mind. Though a philosopher he was a soldier, and though a courtier he was independent. He was a scholar and a patriot-a poet and a mathematician-the follower and flatterer of nobles, and a citizen of the world. Never was genius more golden in its promise, or more unhappy in its results. He who had been the observed of all observers, whose whole existence had been a thirst for glory, and who had won and worn the trophies of his labour and genius, lived to see his schemes ridiculed, his character reviled, his fortunes broken; and he died, after many years' imprisonment, upon a scaffold-a martyr to his own genius, the victim of envy and intrigue. Of his conduct during that solemn farce, his trial, in which Coke played so desperate and disgraceful a part, Mrs. Thomson says:

"It was well observed by an eye-witness, that he served for a whole act, and played all the parts himself. Borne down on all sides, he appeared truly great during the whole of this scene, which lasted from eight in the morning until seven in the evening. Humble without servility, serious, yet not dejected, towards the jury not fawning, nor believing nor hoping in them,' he stood before his enemies with the collected and commanding appearance of one who rather loves life than fears death,' and who seeks to rescue his name from infamy in the serenity and dignity of a blameless conscience. All who beheld him were astonished that a man of his known spirit could brook the insults which he received with a degree of calmness which threw the opprobrium from himself upon his opponents. Yet, although it was said that he seemed to cast himself for every weariness, afraid to detain the company too long,' he seems to have left no effort unemployed to manifest his innocence; and such were the temper, wit, and address which he displayed, that, had it not been for the sad cause of these exertions, it would have been one of the most brilliant and successful days of his life."

Her review of his character and writings, which concludes the volume, is no less critically just than it is elegantly and powerfully written. We are content to leave the character of Ralegh in the hands of such a biographer. Several letters from Ralegh and his contemporaries, copied from the originals in the State Paper Office, are appended to the volume.

THE ARMENIANS, A TALE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. In 3 vols. By Charles Mac Farlane, Esq. Saunders and Otley.

Ir is seldom that we meet, as in the present instance, with a work that combines the graces and attractions of a tale of the imagination with the more solid advantages of historical truth and national portraiture. "The Armenians" -which is modelled in some respects upon "Anastasius," and is dedicated to the author of that splendid work-is a picture at once of reality and romance, and, if we are not mistaken, will captivate all classes of readers-the lover of tales, the lover of travels, and the lover even of laughter. It is, we will venture to say, as accurate and erudite, as full of research and observation, as the ponderous quarto; yet it comes before us in the form of three light volumes, under the seductive semblance of a work of fiction. "In the Armenians," the author says, "I have taken up a very singular people, of whom little has been known hitherto; and, by notes attached to my story, I have endeavoured to convey information as well as amusement." Of the story he remarks-" It would have been easy to find or to fancy a more complicated tale; but I have mainly considered this as a medium for description, domestic and scenic.' The story, nevertheless, is one of considerable interest-an interest which derives additional strength from the circumstance of its being true. The young prince, Constantine Ghika, whom the suspicious and arbitrary tyranny of the Porte had detained as hostage for his father, the hospodar of Wallachia, being very imprudently in love with the beautiful daughter of an Armenian banker, is opposed upon religious grounds by her family. The ardour of the young Greek, however, overleaps all considerations of caste and consequences; and having secured the heart of the lovely Armenian, he determines on having her hand also. Neither bolt nor bar can keep him out; he is ready to assume every disguise, possible or impossible, to obtain even a glimpse of her. An amusing incident arises out of his transformation into a boatman, in which capacity he accompanies his mistress and her family on a fishing excursion. Upon landing to take refreshments, the pretended boatman is observed to have lost an eyebrow, and the next minute it is found entangled in the dress of the beautiful Armenian. In his eagerness to seize the opportunity of a moment to testify his devotion, he had dropped it upon her bosom. At length, finding all hopes of conciliation at an end, he carries off his lovely prize and marries her. The very next morning they are again torn asunder; the unhappy prince is banished, and dies of the plague, and the noble-minded, yet timid and trusting