breathes. When the skin was removed, | this orifice would admit the open hand. The mouth was wide, provided with lips, and the jaws were armed with teeth, sharp, but rather inward, projecting an inch and a half from the gums, an inch in diameter at the root, and two inches asunder. The tongue was the size of that of a full-grown ox; the roof of the mouth hard, rough, and of a dark green. The eyes were larger than those of an ox. Two pectoral fins, hard and strong, about two feet and a half in length, and pointed, bent inwards; these were articulated with the shoulder-blades by the ball-andsocket joint, as the upper part of the arm in the human subject. On the back was a protuberance of solid fat, like a fin, two feet high, diminishing towards the tail. The flesh was black-red; the heart about the bulk of an ox's; the lungs and liver large in proportion. In the stomach were found the remains of various fishes, as the John-dory, (Zeus auratus,) a conger-eel, (Muræna conger,) and the squind (Sepia octopodia) or cuttle-fish, with several of their fine transparent eyes. The weight of the greater of these creatures must have been nearly a ton and a half. The fat was from one to two and a half inches thick, under the forehead, seven inches. The blubber of both yielded ninety gallons of oil, of which the larger furnished two-thirds. The stomachs were preserved and dried to make drum-tops, for which it is said their texture is admirably adapted. Bennet and Tyerman. A HINDOO CONVERT. ON the 14th of December, a young convert, Gopeenath Nundi, a well-educated Hindoo was baptized, under very affecting circumstances. The Calcutta Christian Observer" remarks: His baptism had been postponed for a week, in consequence of his being imprisoned by his own family; who have since, by an advertisement in the native newspapers, in the bitterest language, cast him off for ever. Having found means to apprise some of his friends of his situation, his brothers were threatened with an application to the magistrate from fear of the consequences to themselves, they let him out under a guard, with the promise of returning in the evening. Accordingly, though with a perfect knowledge of their intention again to confine him, and though the promise was extorted from him by force, he returned at the appointed hour, accompanied by some friends who might witness if any violence was used to him. And here, certainly, the scene, as described by an eye-witness, must have been particularly affecting. His brothers and neighbours gathered round him, persuading him to remain: from arguments they proceeded to threats and abuse; from abuse to the offer of bribes, unlimited command of money, perfect freedom of action and thought; nay, not the slightest objection to his belief of Christianity, if he did but stop short of the public profession. Finding all in vain, thay made a strong appeal to his feelings, calling him by the tenderest names, putting him in mind of all that he was giving up, and telling him that he would break the heart of his poor old mother, who had but a few years to live. Just at that moment, his mother, who was probably within hearing, broke out into a howl of agony, which none who heard are likely to forget. The young man himself burst into tears, threw out his arms, and walked hastily away, saying, "I cannot stay!" Though he had made steady and satisfactory progress since he came under Mr. Duff's tuition, we were not prepared for a display of such decision and strength of character in a situation so trying. Of his baptism it is said— The ordinance was administered in Mr. Duff's Lecture Room, in the presence of a numerous and most respectable audience, among whom we observed a considerable proportion of natives. After prayer by the Rev. Mr. Mackey, the baboo was questioned by Mr. Duff as to his renunciation of idolatry, his belief in Christianity, his knowledge of its doctrines, and his resolution to follow and abide by them; to all which he made clear and satisfactory answers, rendered impressive by his evident sincerity and the earnestness of his manner. Mr. Duff then administered the ordinance, after a short and solemn prayer; after which he addressed the natives present, earnestly urging on them the reasonableness of Christianity, and the necessity of at least inquiring into its truths; and beseeching them, from the example of some among them, and the imminent danger of delay, to enter on the search at once. It was evident that his words produced a considerable effect on many of them.-Missionary Reg. See Explanation of Engraving on page 304. ENGLISH HISTORY. EDWARD IV. EDWARD was proclaimed king on March 4, 1461; but it was not a time for coronation festivities, or for the ceremonies which usually attend an accession to the throne. The spirit of murderous ferocity had extended to the nation at large, and the inhabitants of England were eager to imbrue their hands in one another's blood. Awful, indeed, is such a state of affairs! The prophetic declaration is applicable; "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ?" Edward saw that no time was to be lost. On the days which followed his accession, he sent his leading supporters in succession towards the northern counties, whither the queen had retired; and on March 12, he set forward with the main body of his army. The Lancasterian forces were concentrated at York. Early in the morning of the 29th, Clifford, with a body of cavalry, surprised and slew Lord Fitzwalter at Ferry-bridge. Edward, desiring to prevent any panic fear from this disaster, proclaimed leave for all to depart who were unwilling to fight, and promised rewards to such as were faithful. Clifford, while retiring to York, was killed by an arrow which struck his throat as he was loosening his armour, probably shot from a bow drawn at a venture, but it was directed home to this vindictive and sanguinary Lancasterian. The Earl of Warwick stabbed his horse at the head of his troops, and declared he would conquer or die in the field of battle. The two armies marched upon each other. The Yorkists were 50,000, and the Lancasterians 60,000 in number; and this shows that the struggle was now felt to involve the nation at large, while neither party sought to avoid the dreadful shock. It was, indeed, "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision," Joel iii. 14; and the command given in the preceding verse was also in a measure applicable on this occasion; 66 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great." Turner says, "These were the largest armies of Englishmen that had ever yet disputed with each other for a sovereign. It was the eve of Palm-Sunday, the commencement of the most solemn and affecting week of the Christian year; a season that rebuked with silent eloquence the purposes and the spirit of both. But the two hosts were too eager for revenge and victory to moralize." The armies came in sight of each other at nine in the morning, near Towton, a village eight miles to the A A south of York. Some hours were spent | lime nature, and defy the laws and wishes in marshalling the hosts, during which of its mighty and benign Original. It is they shouted defiance to each other. At inconsistent for man to complain of the four in the afternoon the combat began; evils of this life, and yet to sanction, and three hours after, when the evening panegyrize, or practise warfare, the most shades came on, each side maintained its extensive of those human miseries with ground. “The faint twilight disappeared, which mankind have deliberately afflicted and darkness followed, yet both were themselves." But we may go further, still fighting, and too furious to leave off. and point to the blood-stained field of In vain resting nature summoned them Towton, as showing how the human to pause. They continued as far as they heart is deceitful above all things, and could the dismal struggle all night, dis- desperately wicked. Many a one who turbing its awful repose with the groans then imbrued his hand in the blood of a of dying misery; the fierce clashing of parent or relative, would perhaps a few arms at times enlightening the gloom by days or weeks before have exclaimed, like the sparks struck out in their collision. Hazael of old, "Is thy servant a dog, What light could be obtained from fires that he should do this great thing?" and torches in some important stations, was supplied. This midnight combat produced much disorder in both armies, but gave advantage to neither. cheerful dawn appeared, but only to reanimate them to pursue the demon work of rage and death. The sun again rose, and proceeded onward to his noon, and yet the dreadful battle continued with lavish, but still with indecisive slaughter." The Both armies were nearly exhausted, but neither had given way. At this critical moment, the Duke of Norfolk, the hereditary opponent of the house of Lancaster, arrived, with an additional force, and then the battle was decided in favour of Edward. The ground was covered with snow; but the white robe of nature was crimsoned with human gore. Upon this field were laid from 30,000 to 40,000 human corpses; nor was it a common field of battle: sons had there perished by the hands of their fathers, and fathers by the hands of their sons; masters, servants, relatives, lords, and dependants, had all been engaged against each other in this work of butchery, and Satan must have greatly rejoiced at this uncommon scene of crime and carnage! The husbandman, as he breaks the soil of this field of diabolical slaughter, still frequently turns up some remains of the horrid implements then used, or the mouldering bones of those who fell on that occasion. Turner remarks, "The human heart revolts from this mass of blood and death and as wars are evils of our own and not of nature's production, we may blush or tremble in contemplating these works of our self-will; that the Divine image within us should, for vile passions and sordid interests, thus defile its sub Many of the haughty and ferocious nobles of that period fell in the battle of Towton; among them were the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, and several barons. Henry and his queen fled to Berwick, and afterwards found an asylum in Scotland. The Earls of Devon and Wilts, with other nobles, were murdered after the battle, at York, which city Edward entered immediately, and took down the heads of his father and Salisbury from the Micklegate-bar. After subduing the northern counties, Edward returned towards London, and on June 29 he was crowned. So jealous was he of his new dignity as to resent even a jocular remark which might appear to reflect upon it: a grocer named Walker, having lightly declared he would make his son heir to "the Crown,' "the sign by which his shop was distinguished, paid for his jest with his life, being condemned and executed for treason! In November, the Parliament met. The nobility of the land were now so nearly exterminated by battle, the scaffold, banishment, or attainder, that only one duke, four earls, one viscount, and twenty-nine barons were summoned, and only sixteen seem to have been present. But nineteen prelates and mitred abbots attended, and they might have considered the empty seats of the lay nobility as the result, in many respects, of the doctrines of falsehood and error they had so long taught. Yet even these acts of slaughter were over-ruled for good, though no excuse is thereby afforded to the perpetrators. The feudal nobility, who had so long oppressed the commons of the land, were now for the most part extinct, or too much weakened to retain the iron rule they had so long enforced; and Edward, ascending the throne by the national voice, though entitled thereto by hereditary succession, found it necessary to obtain the public favour by several beneficial enactments, which especially promoted the welfare of the middle classes. One statute, which forbade the numerous bands of lawless retainers hitherto engaged by the nobility, did much for the good of the lower classes, by directing them to more peaceable occupations than that of waiting in dependence and wretchedness on the beck of a feudal despot, to execute his unlawful biddings. The restless queen did not allow the land to remain quiet. She visited France in the following spring, and in October she landed near Newcastle, with a band of foreign adventurers; but the country did not respond to her call. The king and Warwick advanced to meet her; she re-embarked, and was shipwrecked; some of her followers were cast ashore, and destroyed, but she escaped; and, after committing some acts of hostility, with the aid of a Scottish force, returned to France. Her cause now seemed so hopeless, that Somerset made terms with Edward, and joined him against the queen. The interval of rest was but short. In 1464, there were commotions in many parts of England, in which the clergy were active; probably, like Demetrius of old, they had found that their craft was endangered by the principles which threatened their power and temporal possessions, and which the king and the Yorkist nobles eagerly listened to. They had forsaken the cause of Lancaster, when it became too weak to gratify their unholy desires; but they found the house of York disposed to limit their influence, and the threatened danger induced them once more to patronize the family of Bolingbroke. The queen landed; after joining Henry, she led an invading army from the north, and was joined by Somerset and many of her English adherents. A battle was fought on Hedgely-moor on April 25, 1464, unfavourable to the Lancasterians; and Montague, the brother of Warwick, wholly defeated them on May 8, at Hexham, after a short but hard-fought struggle. Somerset was taken, and beheaded; other nobles also perished on the scaffold. Henry vi. was some time afterwards seized at Waddington-hall, in Lancashire, where he had concealed himself. He was led to London, and carried in triumph to the Tower, his legs bound to his horse's stirrups. Queen Margaret and her nobles fled again to the continent. Comines has recorded, that he saw the Duke of Exeter in Flanders, barefoot and barelegged, begging his bread from door to door. The proud nobles of England, like those of Judah of old, might be thus described: "Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished." Many of lower rank were raised by Edward to occupy their places; for, though merciless to the leaders amongst his enemies, he proclaimed a general amnesty to all who would submit; and this gave him a hold upon the hearts of the people at large. Other rapid changes were at hand. Edward was disposed to listen to the dictates of his passions, rather than to the common maxims of prudence and worldly wisdom. A few days before the battle of Hexham, he privately married Lady Elizabeth Grey, the daughter of Jacquette, of Luxembourg, by her second husband, Lord Rivers, the widow of Sir John Grey, who fell as a Lancasterian at the second battle of St. Albans. The king sought her favour on dishonourable terms, but she refused to listen to them, and he privately made her his wife. The union was not avowed till the autumn; in the following spring she was crowned queen. This highly displeased Warwick, who had been engaged in considering the expediency of various foreign matrimonial alliances for Edward. The old aristocracy, though reduced in number, were still disposed to maintain their power, and the more so as the youthful monarch owed his elevation to their assistance, and had increased their influence by his grants. But their heavy yoke was galling to Edward: instigated possibly by his new queen, he ventured to displace a few of the nobles from their offices, to appoint some of her newlyennobled relatives in their stead, and to marry several young females whom the late wars had rendered heiresses, to his own immediate partisans and connexions. This disgusted Warwick and many of the ancient nobility, who were anxious to increase and strengthen their power. The king was also displeased with his brother Clarence for having married the eldest daughter of Warwick. All these proceedings, combined with several other causes for discontent, rendered the king making earl as ready to pull down Edward as he had been to set him up. The sudden change of feeling manifested by the nobility was in reality treachery; yet we cannot but conclude that the Romish system of religion increased the prevalence of these crimes, by their excuses and absolutions, which lulled the remorse of conscience, and expiated every shade of crime by the performance of certain conditions. In the year 1468, the chancellor declared to the parliament the king's intention to enter into a war with France. Edward seems to have thought that he could, like Henry v., confirm his own position by engaging unquiet minds in foreign warfare; but the English aristocracy were not to be thus diverted; and Louis XI., the King of France, took wise measures to prevent the invasion of his kingdom. About the middle of 1469, a tumultuary insurrection broke out in the northern counties. The manifesto set forth by the rebels, implied that their proceedings were directed by their leaders against the newly-created nobility, and that the ecclesiastics felt their possessions in danger. It was rather an effort to limit the proceedings of Edward, than an attempt for the advantage of the house of Lancaster. Edward hastened to meet the main body of the insurgents; but Pembroke, on his march to join the king, was intercepted by another force at Hedgcote, near Banbury. The Yorkists were defeated, principally because a dispute among themselves weakened their force. The father and brother of the new queen, with several other nobles, were put to death. The insurgents met with no further op- | position, and Warwick gained possession of King Edward. A reconciliation was effected; but Warwick felt that his only chance of ultimate safety was to take up heartily the cause of Henry; and this state of repose was of short duration. It was purchased by complying with the demands of the Nevills; but Edward saved himself from again being held as a prisoner, by withdrawing from the residence of the archbishop. On receiving an intimation that armed men were in readiness to seize him after supper, he made an excuse to withdraw, and mounting a horse, rode off to Windsor. The parties were again outwardly reconciled by the mediation of the Duchess of York, | who was mother to Edward, and the aunt of Warwick. Another insurrection broke out in March. Edward hastened to meet the rebels, and defeated them in Rutlandshire. Warwick took arms; his intentions were not clear, but Clarence and himself were shortly after denounced as traitors, and fled to France. Here the king-maker negotiated with Queen Margaret. With much reluctance she consented to enter into a treaty with the earl, agreeing that Prince Edward, her son, should marry the second daughter of the earl, when Warwick had recovered the kingdom for Henry. We cannot enter minutely into the events that followed. Edward was a careless, dissolute prince, fond of dress, festivity, and amusement. Confident in his own power and ability, he took no precautions to intercept an expedition which Warwick fitted out, though informed as to its object and destination; while his love of pleasure increased his unpopularity. Lord Fitzhugh began a rebellion in the north. Edward hastened to meet a retiring enemy, but he would have fallen into the power of another band, if he had not been timely warned by a minstrel and a priest. Meanwhile, Warwick landed, and issued a proclamation, declaring Henry vi. to be the only rightful king, and summoning the nation to rise in his behalf. Edward was at Doncaster, collecting his forces, when, while sitting at dinner, he was warned that treachery prevailed in his army, and that the Marquis Montague, formerly the Earl of Northumberland, was addressing the troops in favour of Henry. He found it necessary to flee instantly with a few attendants to Lynn, where they embarked in three ships then in port, and steered for Holland. Pursued by some Easterling vessels, he escaped captivity only by running his vessel on shore, and by the timely interposition of the ruler of the district. Thus in eleven days after the landing of the kingmaking earl, Edward was a destitute fugitive, unable even to pay his passage but by leaving a furred robe as a pledge for future recompence! But Warwick felt that this change was likely to have a violent re-action, and to produce the very opposite effect to that which he desired. He eagerly pressed the arrival of Margaret and her son, and took care to prepare for the arrival of |