burning fuel and ascending flames, to pour forth their aspirations to heaven, and to declare,' as long as their words were audible and intelligible, their trust in God's mercy and their Redeemer's love; it was not intended that this monument should merely commemorate their holy lives or their heroic deaths, or the energies of that excellent spirit within them, which enabled them to make a good confession and bear witness to the truths which they had taught and defended, even to the last moments of exhausted and expiring nature. If these alone had been the subjects of the proposed memorial, it appeared to many that too much honour would have been paid to the creature and too little to the Creator; too much to the sufferers, and too little to him who supported them under their sufferings; too much to the champions of the Reformation, and too little to the heavenly power which upheld them in their conflict, and ensured the triumph of their cause. In short, it was urged (and urged successfully) that the structure should be one which was to serve two purposes, that it should be a church as well as a monument; an edifice to the glory of God as a place of worship, and an edifice greatly commemorative of his servants as an honorary and respectful testimonial; one in which congregations might bless and praise the God of their fathers for having restored sound scriptural doctrines and apostolical discipline to the Anglican part of the Church Catholic, and which should bring to mind, at the same time, by the aid of sculpture and inscription. the personal acts, sufferings, and services of the holy men employed by the Almighty in bringing about this great restoration.

That which was finally and unanimously resolved upon, March 5, 1840, and has now been, in the main, completed, effects these two great purposes by separate and distinct structures. The original resolution of Jan. 31, 1839, would have coupled and combined them both in one and the same building, the memorial-monument, as here represented, will be in honour of the martyrs, the memorial-aisle, which may hereafter be engraved, will be to the glory of God: but, at the same time such a connexion and correspondence will be maintained between the aisle and the monument, by means of their close contiguity to each other, and their conformity in point of architectural character, and especially by their proximity to the spot where the martyrs yielded their bodies to be burned (for St. Mary Magdalene Church is nearly opposite to it), that it will be at once perceived, that both aisle and monument are but parts of the same testimonial; both results of the same thankfulness to God and his servants, both evidences of one and the same spirit of religious gratitude for the mercy and blessing of the Reformation.

"The beautiful design which forms the subject of our frontispiece, is at once a proof of Messrs. Scott's and Moffat's clear conception of the sort of monument which the Memorial Committee proposed to erect to the Martyrs' memory; of their thorough knowledge of the architecture which prevailed at the close of the thirteenth, and the beginning of the fourteenth century; and of their masterly manner of giving new combinations to the parts and appendages of the style belonging to that period. This design exhibits a monument of the Eleanor sort, hexagonal in its geometrical constructions, and in its form and character, bearing a general resemblance to that at Wal

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tham. It is raised on an hexagonal platform of steps; its shaft, like all the monuments of this sort, consists of three stories, stages, or sets off, with a terminating member; its basement story is the least decorated, and the most substantial; the two stories above it the lightest, and the most adorned; there is, moreover, such an admirable grouping, and compages of buttresses, pediments, canopies, crockets, finials,--such gracefulness in the form or mode of their ascent,—such a beautiful convergency of all the three stories, and their several parts and appendages, to the apex or extreme point, that it appeared to the Committee to fulfil, and more than fulfil, their most sanguine hopes.

The style of the monument belongs in the latter part of the reign of Edward I. and the commencement of Edward II.- a period which includes many of the most exquisite works remaining in the country, among which may be reckoned the Chapter House of York, a great portion of Exeter Cathedral, the tower and spire of Salisbury, the monuments to Aymer de Valence, and of Edward Crouchback and his lady in Westminster Abbey, the steeple of St. Mary's, Oxford, and the choir of Merton College; but the works most closely connected with the present monument, and supplying the most appropriate authorities for its construction, are the memorial monuments erected by Edward the First to Queen Eleanor, and those celebrated marketcrosses, once the pride of Coventry and Abingdon, but now no longer existing, which were built upon the principles of the Eleanor crosses, and are known to have been copied from them.

It is true that the Eleanor monument at Waltham has been followed by Messrs. Scott and Moffatt in its hexagonal principle, according to the instructions given by the Committee; but the design is very far from being a copy of that structure. In general proportions it must be said to be much more harmonious, the lowest story of that at Waltham being too wide and heavy; it is also much more lofty, reaching the height of seventy feet, if its base of steps be included, whereas that at Waltham does not exceed forty-five; it is in detail more carefully worked out, although its decorations do not run into the florid style; in its basement-story greater strength and boldness are given to the mouldings, more projection to the buttresses, and an increased depth to the receding pannels. It is also proposed to give to the lowest story, as nearest the spectator's eye, a more elaborate finish, so as to bring out with full effect the heraldic and commemorative devices with which it is to be charged. With respect to the enrichments of the second story, the three principal niches are increased in width, and more open on all sides, than those at Waltham, so as to let out the statues more freely and fully than the statues of Queen Eleanor ; the triangular blank niches in the alternate sides are proportionably diminished. The three principal niches are to receive the statues of the martyred prelates, and the acknowledgements of all the subscribers are due to Sir Francis Chantrey for having most kindly consented to give the aid of his exact judgment and consummate skill in superintending the designs and workings of the statues.

The third stage or story (or that portion which is above the statuestory) is also superior to that at Waltham, by reason of the better convergency of the parts, and the happier termination of the whole.

This excellent specimen of our national architecture is placed at the north end of St. Mary Magdalen Churchyard. When seen at a distance by those who enter Oxford from the north, and are descending the avenne of St. Giles's, it presents itself as an object graceful from its pyramidal form, its proportions, and elevation; whilst on a nearer and still nearer approach, it arrests the attention, not merely as a work of art, in which architecture and sculpture have combined their powers of expression, but rather as a work of mindful gratitude for God's mercies to our Church and nation, by the instrumentality of the lives and deaths of the Martyred Bishops; as a monument bearing witness to the sense entertained of those mercies, and of the Martyrs' sufferings by those who have contributed to erect it. It must be added, that the site chosen for its erection has the advantage of being near the area purchased by the University for the Taylor and Randolph building; and when these works are completed, a new feature and a new interest will be given to the locality by the Martyrs' Memorial.

Such, then, has been the success of these able architects, in the accomplishment of what may be called the monumental part of the memorial; for it must be borne in mind that it consists of two parts, one dedicated to religious service, and one to historical commemoration. The large and populous parish of St. Mary Magdalen has long experienced the want of church room for its inhabitants. Its church stands close and nearly opposite to the spot on which the Martyrs suffered; and as soon as it was found to be impossible to procure the site for another church in that neighbourhood, the attention of the Memorial Committee was directed to the only other way which presented itself for the execution of the religious part of the undertaking, and that was to take down the small aisle on the north side of St. Mary Magdalen Church, and by enlargement and extension so to increase the number of its sittings, and so to improve the facilities of hearing and seeing the officiating minister, as to make it, in its provisions for the due performance of public worship, equal to what was originally meant to be provided by a separate place of worship.'

SLEEPING IN JESUS.

THIS expression, "sleeping in Jesus," is one of the most tender that can be conceived. Death was never described as a sleep, in the sense of a natural and short repose, to be succeeded by the morn of a new and glorious day, till the gospel so proclaimed it. The image of sleep, indeed, as of a stern, interminable state of inactivity and silence, had been long known; but that of sleep, as of a child in the arms of a mother, to be followed by the trump of a blessed resurrection-dawn, was first announced in the Christian revelation. Death is now only a brief repose: the body resting from its labours, and the soul being present with the Lord in holiness and felicity.-Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta.

THE MINISTER'S LETTER.*

HOW CAN I GET TO HEAVEN ?

HAVE you never asked this question before? Never? What! Can I believe it? You, a reasonable creature, knowing full well that you cannot always live here, being certain that you must die some day, and yet never enquired, how you could get to heaven. Have yon acted in this way about the things of this world? No. You know you have not. You have taken the greatest pains to make a necessary provision for yourself, and wife, and family, if you have them. You have taken a great deal of trouble too, and perhaps put yourself to a great deal of inconvenience, in order to provide for your maintenance; and yet you have been neglecting what is of far greater consequence than your body, or your wife, or your children, or anything that concerns your earthly happiness or comfort.

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And, what is this you have been neglecting? You have neglected to ask, how you could get to heaven. Why, I can hardly believe it. And will hardly be able to believe it yourself, when you think a little more about it. Now, say to yourself, WHAT AM I? A creature of God put into this world for a certain space of time-how long I know not. I have a body which is liable to all kinds of accidents, and any day, or any moment, that body might be killed, and I should be dead. At all events, that body is growing older every day, and at last it must die. And I have a soul too, that will never die. That soul will be living somewhere, when my body is dead.'

Now, my dear friend, as that body will someday die, and that soul will live elsewhere, I wish to ask you very plainly, • WHERE WILL THAT SOUL LIVE? Where can it live? You answer mein heaven or hell. That answer is quite right. But, suppose I ask you again, Where do you think that soul will live? You reply, I hope in heaven. I hope so too. But one more word, my friend. You hope your soul will go to heaven, and yet you have never asked how you can get to heaven. Do you suppose it possible that you can ever get to heaven without knowing the way there? It is impossible, quite impossible. There is a heaven, and there is a way to that heaven. Every man that has gone to heaven, has first learnt the way, and all who would not learn the way, have never found it.

Now, my dear friend, I do not know who you are. I do not know what your calling may be, but this I know, that you are one of God's creatures, and that you are made up of a body that is every day nearer its last long home, and a never-dying soul too, that is hastening on at a very rapid rate to heaven or to hell. And is it of no consequence to you, whether you pass away to heaven or to hell? My dear fellow-man, does it not at all concern you, whether you find yourself in a pit burning with fire and brimstone, writhing in inconceivable agony under torments that will have no end, dwelling for ever in the company ef devils, and all the damned spirits that God, in his wrath, has turned down into that bottomless abyss? What!

*A Tract by the Rev. D. Barclay Bevan, M. A. published by his permission in the Christian Guardian.

Is it of no consequence to you, whether that burning lake of fire be your everlasting place, OR, whether you pass your eternity in the presence of a blessed God, in the company of angels and happy spirits, and there in that glorious heaven, sing the praises of God for ever and ever?

Dear Reader, I am not wrong, am I, when I fancy I hear you answer, Yes, it is of conseqnence to me, of very great consequence too; it will make a very great difference to me, whether I go to heaven or to hell?' Then, my friend, do I hear you asking, How can I get to heaven?' Well, if it is the first time in your life you have ever asked that question, it is better to ask it late, than never to ask it at all. For depend upon it, that had you died before this time, you must have been in hell at this very moment. Oh! what a mercy then that you have ever been led to ask, how you could get to heaven.

Then do you in truth ask me, really wishing to know? Do you really desire to know, how you may get to heaven, when you have done with this world? I will gladly tell you. I will gladly tell you. But remember, that what I say is only what God has told me to say. It is the God of heaven who is going to speak to you now; therefore, before you read another word, first say, "O God, make me believe, and lay to heart what I am going to read.'

Let me then first tell you, how you cannot get to heaven. If you are a man that swears, that damns people's souls, and wishes them in hell; that makes use of the name of God to no purpose, it is impossible that you can get to heaven; for God has written, "I will not hold him guiltless," which means, that man's guilt shall keep him in hell for ever. Or if you are a drunkard, you can never get to heaven, for God has plainly written, "No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God." Or if you are a Sabbath-breaker, never going to church, working upon the Sabbath-day, idling away your time, and making but little difference between the Sabbath and the other days of the week, you can never get to heaven. Or if you are a thief, or liar, or fornicator, or a man of unclean ways and words, you can never get to heaven; for God has declared that no such character shall ever enter heaven. Or if you are living as most people do, you can never get to heaven. It is very easy for men to say, ⚫ that they will take their chance with the rest, and no doubt they will fare no worse than others.' Oh, but when they find themselves in hell, they will wish to the bottom of their hearts that they had lived very differently, and thought about God and their poor suffering souls.

My dear reader; I beseech you to believe, that if you are living an ungodly or careless life, you can never get to heaven. It is impossible. You may go on swearing, and cursing, and Sabbathbreaking, and drinking, and lying, thinking all the time to repent some day, and that that will do. But you may never repent.

You may go on putting off and putting off the time of your repentance, till the day of your death really comes, and then it may be too late. Or it may be, that God will keep you in your hardened state, and then you will never wish to be different.

But now let me tell you how you may get to heaven. You must forsake your ungodly life. You must give it up.

Whatever sin you