66 had recently seen, and the woman observed that he was a betterlooking man, and not so thin as him up there." A priest was standing there with folded arms; and it was evident from his look and attitude that he regarded the multitude with no kindly aspect. For ourselves, we gazed with pleasure upon this noble work of art, which seemed to us a worthy homage to so great and good a man; but we liked still better to think of him in his early days of childhood at Fontaine, dwelling in the tranquil companionship of nature, and gathering in wisdom and strength for the battle-field of life; nor can we ever remember without a feeling of thankful gladness our visit on this pleasant autumn day to the birthplace of St. Bernard. MONUMENTS IN ST PAUL'S. ACCOUNT of a curious relic discovered and taken from an ancient Tomb in St. Paul's Cathedral. The account is derived from an old manuscript of the seventeenth century. In Ecclesia Sancti Pauli. At the upper end of the south vault above stairs, it is worthy not to be forgotten, that within these few years (viz. anno. 1608) a stone being taken up and a vault digged to inter the body of Sir Richard Swale, there was found a coffin, having within it the corpse of one Sir Gerard Braybroke, a famous knight who lived in the reigns of King Edward III. and King Richard II., and was there buried almost two hundred and fifty years before, which appears not by any monument remaining above ground, but by the Pope's pardon granted to the said Sir Gerard and his lady, engrossed on parchment, and laid betwixt the wooden coffin and the lead upon his breast. The true copy of which pardon I having procured, is here following presented to your view in Latin, according to the original. And besides, there were found certain herbs with the said pardon, which retained their perfect scent or odour, as is credibly reported by some that saw and smelt them, which is both strange and memorable. This pardon, they say, was shown to King James (I.), who, after he had seen it, they say he commanded it should be put into the coffin again with the corpse of the knight, who, he said, "had, it was probable, paid dear enough for it." The following is the translation of the pardon as given in the MS. : "Boniface IX., Bishop of Rome, servant of the servants of God; to the noble gentleman our well-beloved son, Gerard Braybroke the younger, within the diocese of Lincoln, Knight; and to the noble lady our wellbeloved daughter, Elizabeth his wife, sendeth greeting and apostolical benediction. The love of your devotion, wherewith ye respectively reverence us and the Roman Church, hath so wrought, that we do vouchsafe graciously to hear your petitions; those especially which concern your souls' health: hence it is, that we being inclined to your supplications, do give permission that the confessor, whom either of you shall think meet to be chosen, may be able by the tenour of these presents, once only in the very issue of life and death, to grant unto your devotion by the authority apostolical, full remission of all your sins, for the which ye have in heart been sorry, and whereof ye shall have made confession by word of mouth. Provided that ye persist and abide in the sincerity of the apostolical faith, and of the Holy Roman Church, and in the obedience and devotion of us or the bishops of Rome, canonically entering and succeeding us. Yet so as for those sins, whereof in this life satisfaction is to be made to others, your said confessor do enjoin ye by yourselves severally, if you survive, or by your heirs, if then happily ye depart this life, to satisfy. Which satisfaction 'ye or they are bound to perform according to the promises. And lest, by reason of this grace, ye become more prone to commit unlawful acts hereafter, which God forbid! our will is, if by chance upon the confidence and hope of pardon, ye commit the like, that is, concerning these sins so committed, the pardon aforesaid should in nowise help. Be it therefore lawful for no man whatsoever to infringe this writing containing our grant and pleasure, or boldly to countermand it. But if any shall presume to attempt it, let him know that he shall incur the indignation of Almighty God, and of his blessed apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. "Dated at Rome, at St. Peter's, the 5th of June, in the second year of our popedom, A.D. 1390.” Sealed with a ball of lead. The following inscription was found upon a monument fixed to a pillar in old St. Paul's Cathedral, and is taken from the same manuscript : "William Lambe, so sometime was my name, By whose favoure, from Gentleman to Esquire, Joan, Alice, and Joan; for so they came to hand, In wively truth none stedfast more could be, Who though in Earth death's force did once dissever, O Lambe of God, which sinne did take away That, at the day, when Lambes and Goats shall sever, To say the Lord's prayer before you goe hence." LIBERIA. It is not yet forty years ago since an association was formed at Washington, designated the American Colonization Society, for colonizing the free people of colour of the United States. It was hoped by the founders of this society, that many slaves would be made free by their owners, in order that they might be sent to the colony-a hope which has not been disappointed. Liberia-the oak growing from this acorn-with the virtuallyincluded colony at Cape Palmas, is now a territory of not less than twenty thousand square miles, with a population of about twelve thousand colonists and three hundred and forty thousand natives. The whole of the coast from the colony of Sierra Leone to Cape Palmas-a distance of about five hundred miles-is under the jurisdiction of the new commonwealth. Monrovia, the capital of Liberia a town of two thousand inhabitants, with a fort, a lighthouse, a courthouse, schools, churches, and literary associations-occupies the site of what was once the chief slave-mart of the Grain Coast; and as a proof of the perseverance, and still more of the philanthropy, which has been manifested in this undertaking, nearly one hundred white men have perished whilst helping to found the colony of Liberia. After an attempt to occupy Sherboro Island, the American flag was hoisted on Cape Montserrado, on the 25th of April 1822. A storm soon burst upon the infant colony; for in November a thousand savages, armed with muskets and cutlasses, attacked the feeble settlement. Happily the governor was a man of singular energy and prudence. The attack was repelled, though the fate of the colonists seemed sealed in the early part of the contest. Very shortly afterwards, a second and still fiercer attack was made, but this also was defeated. The colonists were now in a critical situation. A besieging force without, with provisions for only fifteen days and but two rounds of ammunition for their guns within, was a situation to try their faith and fortitude. The discharge of a cannon in the night, was heard on board a British ship, and so strange a sound aroused curiosity. In the morning a boat was sent on shore. This led to the acceptance of terms of peace by the hostile chiefs, who were glad to accede to the proposals made by Major Laing, the African traveller, as they had already suffered two defeats from the colonists. The colonists soon began to be dissatisfied with their exclusion from the public administration of their concerns. A special agent came over from America, and laid before them the plan of a constitution; this was gladly acceded to, and henceforth all public officers, except the governor and two magistrates, were to be elected under certain regulations by the colonists. The colony was now designated Liberia, and its chief town was named Monrovia. New emigrants formed new settlements, and after some failures, agricultural labours were put into successful operation. The Colonization Society had now to pass through a fiery ordeal. It was denounced as a slaveholders' association. Its real object was declared to be the clearance of the free coloured population from the American states, that their presence might not alarm the slave-owners, nor incite the slaves to procure their freedom. As the result of this outcry, the society became bankrupt. This decline began in about the year 1830; but the favourable accounts which came from the colony brought about a reaction; and at length, in the Report of January 1846, the directors were able to announce that the society was out of debt, and that it had a surplus in its funds. But we are anticipating events. In 1839 the Colonization Society furnished the colony with a new constitution; the governor was appointed and paid by the society, and a lieutenant-governor was elected by the colonists. Liberia now numbered nine towns, with twenty-one churches, ten day and many Sunday schools. There were four printing-presses, and two newspapers, one of which had been established ten years ago. The import duties levied by the colonial legislature became a subject of complaint with British traders. The British government denied the right of a private association to impose these taxes; this led to the establishment of Liberia as an independent self-governing republic in 1847. The flag of the commonwealth is striped with white and red, with a star in the centre of a square blue ground in its upper and inner corner; the seal is a dove on the wing with an open scroll in its claws, and a ship under sail at sunrise beneath, and a palm tree on one side, with a plough and a spade at its foot. The motto, "The love of liberty brought us here," lies above these emblems. Joseph John Roberts, a coloured man, was elected the first president. The legislature consists of a senate and a house of representatives. Two members from each of the three counties of the State constitute the senate, each member retaining his seat for four years; the representatives are apportioned to the counties, according to their population, and every town of ten thousand inhabitants is to have a representative. Compensation is given both to senators and representatives. The president is elected by the people for the space of two years, but the judges hold their office so long as they conduct themselves well. Citizenship is restricted to men of colour. In 1848, President Roberts visited America, and was very well received. He then came to England, where the new state was at once recognised; a beautiful cutter was presented to it by the British government. The following extract relative to this visit is highly interesting :— "I do not recollect whether I have already told you of the very interesting interview which Mr. Roberts had with the Bishop of London, and also what took place at the Prussian ambassador's house, where the president dined with Lord Ashley, Mr. Gurney, and others. The bishop was exceedingly interested in what the president told him, and took down notes of the conversation, which filled three sides of a large sheet of paper. He promised all the aid in missionary efforts possible. At Chevalier Bunsen's table, Mr. Roberts sat beside the excellent and benevolent Lord Ashley, who was very minute in his inquiries about Liberia, and the suppression of the slave-trade. Mr. Roberts told him, the most effectual way to put down the latter would be to purchase the Gallinas territory, which is between the Sierra Leone colony and the republic of Liberia, and thus seven hundred miles of coast would be for ever guaranteed against the slave-trade. His lordship asked how much money would buy it? to which Mr. Roberts replied, 2000l. would be ample to do the thing perfectly. Lord Ashley said the enterprise must be set about immediately; and, after they rose from the table, he went to Mr. Gurney, and proposed to him to buy and present this territory to the new republic. Mr. Gurney received the proposition favourably, and requested Mr. Roberts to call upon him in Lombard Street next morning, when Mr. Gurney gave him an obligation for half the amount, 1000l., and a kind of promise, that if the British government did not make the purchase for President Roberts, he himself would see that the purchase was made on his own responsibility, if he could not get some friends to join him in effecting this important object. I have now the pleasure to add, that when I called upon Mr. Gurney a few days ago, he informed me that such arrangements have been made as will secure the acquisition of the Gallinas to the republic of Liberia." |