for the purpose. Having finished his cells, he resolved upon consecrating his chapel; and to give greater dignity to his hermitage, he admitted several young persons to witness the ceremony. Towards evening he escorted his visitors over the stream, that flowed in the valley; and, having landed them safely on the opposite side, fell into the water, as he returned, and was drowned! (A. D. 1708.)

There are several convents in Switzerland beautifully situated among which we may instance the Benedictine abbey of Einsidlin, in the canton of Schweitz; to which upwards of 90,000 pilgrims resort every year. St. Alderic, who built a hermitage in the isle of Ufnau, in the lake of Zurich, not far from Rapperschuyl, attained such a high character for sanctity, that the peasants believe him to have been capable of walking on the surface of the lake; and to have been fed from heaven.

In the Valais, there are a multitude of convents: perched, here and there, on agreeable summits. Their white steeples give an exceedingly agreeable variety to the rough forms of the rocks and mountains, which rise on each side. There are said to be not so many convents in any road of Italy, traversing the breadth, as are collected in this one valley. No traveller, that has seen them, ever remembers them but with pleasure.

Most of the monasteries in the Holy Land are embosomed among olive, fig, and pomegranate trees; and in Greece they are situated among forests, and on the sides of mountains; always commanding beautiful prospects. How solemn are those, standing among the sublime solitudes of Mount Athos! And how beautifully situated is the Basilian convent of the Virgin of Jerusalem, overlooking the mountains of Locri, and the plains, watered by the Cephisus ;—the monastery of Elias, standing on the site of the ancient temple of Delphos ;—and that of the All Holy Virgin in the valley of Sagara in the Thebaid; a valley, immortalised as the spot

on which Hesiod kept his sheep. And what traveller but pauses with enthusiasín, as he beholds the monastery of St. Nicolo, in a recess of Mount Helicon, near the fountain of Aganippe, and the grove of the muses: or when he sees the convent of St. Cypriani, rising near a dell, shaded by the olives of Hymettus, abounding in bees?

In spite of all the calumnies, propagated against the DERVISES of the East, there is reason to suppose, that they constitute a valuable order of men. "The ordinances of a Dervise," says Sadi, "consist in prayer and gratitude;"charity; content; a belief in the unity and providence of the Deity; a resignation to his dispensations; and a brotherly love to all mankind." In the Mogul States they are called Fakers; and they were once so highly esteemed, that Aurenzebe signified his intention of belonging to their order, before he obtained possession of the throne. De Pages gives an interesting account of those he voyaged with along the coast of Persia. Their discourse he found moral and intelligent; they showed indifference at the moment of death; and seemed to entertain" no notion of glory," says De Pages," or even of duty, where separated from moral rectitude, and the principles of a simple and charitable mind." Other writers describe their lives, as being remarkable for austerity, poverty, and chastity. They go open breasted, and bare legged: they travel much from one province to another; they frequently sing praises to Mahomet; and accompany their hymns with the flute: an instrument, the invention of which they ascribe to Jacob; to whom they consecrate it.

Marco Polo relates, that there was in his time a class of hermits, in the province of Kesmur, who practised great abstinence. These hermits are mentioned by Abu'lfayl, who describes them, as being exemplary devotees themselves; yet reviling no persons, on account of their religion as abstaining totally from flesh of all kinds; having no intercourse with women; and deriving one of their principal pleasures from

the amusement of planting fruit trees on the public roads, for the benefit of travellers. Many of their peculiarities remind us of the ancient Magi of Persia; who, according to Philo Judæus, were diligent inquirers into Nature; and whose time was chiefly passed in meditation. A circumstance from which Vossius seems inclined to derive the etymology of their title.

In Hindostan there are Dervises, retired in solitudes, whence they never move. Their continual prayer consists of the following sentence: "Almighty Father! look down upon me: I love not the world, but thee: and all this penance is for the love of thee."

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The JOGHI of East Malabar a retire, also, to caves and rocks. Never speaking to women, they have no possessions: they practise the greatest austerities; and believe in the existence of only one God:-While the Mahometan sect, called ESRAKITES, founding their creed upon the doctrine of Plato, delight in music, and in composing spiritual hymns; and place happiness in the contemplation of divine excellence.

While a love of Nature engenders and fosters the highest regard for public and private liberty, it calls forth many of the latent resources of the mind, and adds proportionably to its strength. It confirms men in the habits of virtue; leads them to desire a more intimate knowledge of themselves; and produces a decided contempt, for the unlawful pleasures of an idle world. By virtue of association it excites, too, that ardent love of greatness, in action and sentiment, which characterises a liberal and heroic spirit. Innumerable are the instances, in which the Highlanders of Scotland have evinced the power of scenery to excite to noble deeds: and who will doubt, but that the landscapes in the Peloponnesus, and in the neighbourhood of Athens, Rome, and Florence, have had decided effects upon those illustrious cities? Many a man, who has been censured for idless, or cashiered for inattention, Phillips' Account of Malabar, p. 16.

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among the dull swamps of Holland and Flanders, would have felt himself equal to the command of armies in Italy, Switzerland, or Greece.

Noble scenes, however, are not always indicative of noble actions in the persons who live amongst them; neither of learning or of genius. On the other hand, the University of Cambridge is situate in the land of teal, ruffs, and reeves; wild ducks and wild geese; also of commons and plains. Yet what men it has reared! Many battles have been fought there ; and the plains and scenery, we witness there, are the plains and scenery of Pharsalia; the chief difference, according to Dr. Clarke, being, that in Cambridgeshire are ravens and crows, while near Pharsalia there are eagles and vultures. Great and good men may live

In swampy fens,

Where putrefaction into life ferments,
And breathes destructive myriads ;

And that important battles may be won in a marsh, is attested by the tune, the song, and the history of Morva Rhydlan.

The bold character of the scenery, by which the Monks of St. Bernard are surrounded, gives an important stimulus to their benevolence, activity, and fortitude. These holy men, at the risk of their personal safety, will encounter the greatest vicissitudes of toil and danger, in order to assist those unfortunate travellers, who sink into the gulfs of ice and snow, which render the passes of the Alps of St. Bernard, so difficult and dangerous. Animated by benevolence, kept alive by those characters of sublimity, which, in the strongest language, declare the actual presence of a Deity, in the dead of night they will quit their convent, and, accompanied by dogs, and lighted only by lanthorns, they will grope their way over immense masses of ice, to rescue a human being from the danger of perishing with cold; or from the more dreadful

fate of sinking into gulfs, from which it were impossible ever to rescue them.

Of all religious orders, one of the most useful to humanity, and therefore one of the most agreeable to the spirit of virtue, was that of the Brothers of Redemption. The object of these holy men was directed to the duty of travelling from province to province, to collect money, for the purpose of ransoming Christians, detained at Algiers, Tripoli, Tunis, and Morocco. The founders of this order were Matha of Provence, and Felix of Valois. They abstained entirely from flesh; went barefoot; were clothed in white; and bore on their breasts a cross of red, blue, and white colours, as symbols of the Trinity. Their matins were at midnight.

The Benedictine abbey of CLUGNY was so extensive and magnificent, that one pope, one emperor, one king, and an ex-queen; two dukes, two heirs-apparent, two patriarchs, twelve cardinals, three archbishops, and fifteen bishops; six counts, with several lords and abbots, with their respective retinues, are said to have been entertained at the same time, without any one of the monks being put out of his place. The situation of this abbey was worthy its extent and magnificence. When Arnold d'Ossat, the celebrated diplomatist, visited it, he was charmed beyond measure. Having been made a cardinal, Cardinal de Joyeuse sent him a sum of money, a chariot, horses, and a damask bed to sleep upon. D'Ossat returned them all ;-expressing a determination never to renounce the life of modesty and abstinence, he had always been accustomed to.

In Italy the towers of Chiaravalle, near Pavia, command a view rich and luxuriant beyond the powers of painting. Different from this splendid establishment is that of La Trappe. The abbey, in which the brethren of this order waste their miserable lives, is situate in the forest of Bellegarde. The road to it is dark and intricate: a silence, chilling, and undisturbed, prevails in every part: and every object seems in