POPE LEO Xx.

To insure friends in the sacred college, Leo in one day created thirty-one cardinals; among whom were several of his relations. We aretold that several who contributed to Leo's hilarity in festive hours, were more distinguished by devotion to the pleasures of the table, than by intellectual endowments. Well might his successor Adrian VI. be astonished at Leo's luxury, parti cularly at the expenses incurred for peacock sau sages, which seem to have been a favourite dish. But we are also assured his holiness was very temperate, and only amused himself with seeing others gorge; and at their disappointment, when he imposed some strange uneatable dish on them for an expected dainty. This elegant pontif praised for being the patron of literature and the fine arts, was also pleased with the lowest buf foonery, with the folly and vanity of a dabbler in rhyme, who thought himself honoured by bein; carried in triumph on the back of an elephant and afterwards perpetuating his own and the would-be-poet's disgrace, by a piece of sculpture. which yet disfigures a door of one of the inner chambers of the Vatican. This poor Pope was accused by the friars of preferring pompous entertainments, hunting, music, and other amuse

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ments, to affairs of the utmost importance.
was so devoted to the chase, that his humour
rose and fell with its success; and those who
wished to obtain favour, found a good chace the
best time for making their request. Warton
says, Leo did not receive the sacrament before
he died on which Sannazarius wrote this dis-
tich:

Sacra sub extremâ si forte requiritis horâ,
Cur Leo non potuit sumere? vendiderat.

MINISTER KIRKTON.

Mr. Kirkton, preaching on hymns and spiritual songs, told the people, "There be four "kinds of songs, profane songs, malignant, al"lowable, and spiritual songs. Profane songs:

'My mother sent me to the well; ;
She had better gone hersel;
What I got I dare not tell ;

But kind Robin loves me.'

Malignant songs: such as, 'He Ho Gillie"chrankie,' and The King enjoys his own "again;' against which I have not much to say.

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Thirdly, Allowable songs: like,' Once I lay “with another man's wife;' ye may be allowed, "sirs, to sing this, but I do not say that ye are "allowed to do this, for that's a great deal of

"danger indeed. Lastly, Spiritual songs, which "are the Psalms of David; but the godless pre- ! "lates add to these, Glory to the Father,' the "worst of all I have yet spoken of.”

A CHRISTIAN EMPEROR.

Jovian (the Roman Emperor) would not accept¦ the empire, till upon his declaring that he was & Christian, and that he would not rule over heathens, the soldiers had also declared that they were Christians. He had therefore courage enough to quit for the love of God, not only an inconsiderable employment, but even the most eminent dignity that was then upon earth. He was capable of preferring religion before the whole Roman Empire. It is certain that thou. sands have gone into banishment for the sake of their religion, leaving employments, friends and relations; but the sceptic adds—not their vices. Perhaps so it is not in human nature to be perfect; nor does this alter the question of the reality of religion.

GREGORY THE GREAT.

The accidental sight of English youth exposed for sale in the market place at Rome, excited Gregory the Great's first wishes for the conversion of the Anglo Saxons. He was struck with

their fine and beautiful countenances; he inquired who they were, and was informed that they came from Britain, where the inhabitants were all of the same complexion. When he heard that such an interesting race were still pagans, he groaned heavily, and exclaimed, "Why should the pow"ers of darkness have such splendid subjects! "Why should the mind be so dark when the body "is so beautiful?" On hearing that they were called Angles, the sound immediately associated itself with their personal appearance, " Angles! "that is to say, Angels. They have angel coun"tenances, and ought to join angelic compa"nions."

That such a people ought to be in possession of a religion which Gregory considered to be the noblest gift of happiness to man, was his next association. The name of their province, Deira, was a consonance that struck him: "De ira, " from wrath,-yes, from the wrath of God they "must be plucked and brought to the grace of "Christ." While this new and benevolent idea' was floating in his mind, he heard that their king's name was Ella, and with the ardour of that sincere piety which governed his actions, he exclaimed, "Alleluia! they must sing alleluia "there in praise of their Creator."

CLERICAL NIMROD.

In 1824 a case was tried at Derby which attracted a little attention. We allude to the action, Park v. the Honourable and Reverend Lumley Saville, brought to recover the value of a hunter, sold to the Rev. Defendant for 200 guineas. It is not the mere circumstance of a clergyman's amusing himself with hunters and a pack of hounds, though the pursuit is not perhaps quite apostolical, which leads us to draw the attention of our readers to this case. Though Taylor and Barrow and Tillotson, and Sanderson, and Usher, and other divines of great name, might not choose to indulge in the pleasures of the chase, other times have brought other customs with them, and as the world is satisfied that hunting is a proper ecclesiastical recreation, it is not for us to find fault with it. But hunting, like every thing else, may be pursued too exclusively, and it appears that the Hon. and Rev. Divine's mind ran so much on this object, that he deemed every day alike proper for it. C. Sharp, the Rev. Gentleman's huntsman, cross-examined-"The horse

came on Friday, and you tried him on Sunday? "Yes. Did you try him by the Rev. Defend"ant's order? Yes.-Is that the usual way for "a clergyman's servant to keep the Sunday? No "answer."-Chief Justice Best would seem to