disposing of the ashes of the dead, was by depositing them on the floor of the barrow, or in a little hollow, cut in the native chalk. The funeralurn in which the ashes of the dead were secured, was the refinement of a later age. The bones, when burnt, were collected, and placed within the urn, which was deposited, in almost all cases, with its mouth downwards, in a hollow cut in the chalk; of these urns, which are far from uncommon, the larger are found to contain the burnt bones of the deceased, and the smaller are supposed to have held some description of food. SINGULAR COFFINS IN THE ROCK 66 NEAR LOWER HEYSHAM, LAN CASHIRE. LOWER HEYSHAM, near which these curious excavations are found, is situated close to the sea-coast, about five miles to the east of Lancaster. Mr. Daniel, in his Tour round Great Britain, describes it as a beautiful village planted on one side of a little valley, of a livelier verdure than is often to be met with on the coast." "A prettier composition of scenery of a simple and placid character I have seldom seen. The cottages are disposed without any formality, at various elevations, on the side of a steep bank, with small gardens and -orchards between them, and honeysuckles creeping round the doors and casements, and other simple decorations. An ancient church and a ruined chapel, which stand near it, on a rock over the sea, gave dignity and moral interest to the scene, and completed one of the prettiest pictures that can be imagined." The ruined chapel mentioned above is a small building nine yards long and two and a half square, very rudely put together; but with sufficient strength, though in a very exposed situation, to have resisted the storms of winter through many centuries. A plain semicircular arch over the entrance, denotes its Saxon origin. It is dedicated to St. Patrick; but by whom it was founded, or on what occasion, is not known. Near it six curious coffins are found, hollowed out in the rock with the head and general form of the body defined. They are all nearly of an equal size, and were designed for persons of short stature. One of them has a groove on the inside for a lid, and a small square hole above the head, in which proThere bably was fixed the cross. is nothing on record relating to these remains, and tradition is quite silent on the subject. The chapel stands close to the sea, and may have been erected here and dedicated to St. Patrick, to move, according to the superstitions of the Romish church, the intercession of the saint for those who may have pe rished by shipwreck, and whose bodies may have been laid in the coffins in the rock. It would appear, from the remains of tombs which are still in existence in the churchyard, that the little village of Heysham was once a place of greater note than it is at present. The author we have already quoted says, many tombstones and fragments of them are scattered about the churchyard, which, from the symbols and ornaments on them, are evidently of no modern date. They have all outlived the memory of those for whom they were designed, and are now subjects rather of meditation than of description. A sword and a cross are the more frequent symbols by which they are distinguished; but I remarked upon one a sword and a harp. An altar tomb, which had the appearance of having been very long under the ground, was lately dug up here. It is enriched on every side with sculpture, representing lions' heads, and groups of men and various animals, which probably had, or were intended to have, some meaning; but they are now so blurred and mutilated, and their postures and actions rendered so equivocal, that it would be idle to lavish a conjecture upon them. A zigzag moulding, and some other ornaments, denote the tomb to be Saxon; but it bears no sign by which we can discover or guess at the personage to whose memory it was erected. It was in a tolerable state of preservation when first taken from the ground, but has become injured by exposure to the air, and disfigured in its ornamental parts by a coat of vegetation. the scourge of imposture-the ponderous hammer that smote the brazen idolatry of his age...The Reformer of Christian morals has been forgotten in the Reformer of papal abuse: and thus his memory has been left open to the suggestion that he is to be honoured as the antagonist of popery, not as the advocate of Christ,-fitted to join with politicians, and with princes in their resistance to encroachment, rather than to band (as he ought to be joined) with saints and confessors in bearing testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus." THE CURFEW. Oft on a plat of rising ground THE Word Curfew is derived from the Norman word, carrefou, or couvrefeu, and is now considered by us to mean the signal for extinguishing fires. Pasquier says it is derived from carfou, or garefou, as being intended to advertise the peo WICKLIFFE'S CHAIR. THE chair in which Wickliffe, the great precursor of the Reformation, expired, is still preserved in Lutterworth church, together with the pulpit from which he was accus-ple to secure themselves from the tomed to preach, a piece of his cloak, robbers and revellers of the night. and an oak table which belonged to him. The CURFEW BELL is commonly, though I think erroneously, supposed to have been introduced in England by William the Conqueror. It is true, that one of his laws ordered all his subjects to extinguish their fires and lights, and retire to rest, at eight o'clock, at which hour the Curfew was appointed to be rung, but the regulation existed in the monasteries long be Had Lutterworth nothing else to distinguish it, its name would be indelibly recorded in history as having had for its rector this eminent man-eminent not only as the great forerunner of the Reformation, but as a devout and sincere Christian. "The imperfect justice," says Mr. Le Bas, in his splendid Life of this great man, "hitherto ren-fore his time; and although it was dered to the memory of Wickliffe, not, perhaps, obligatory on the inas a man of deep religious affections, habitants of the adjoining villages, may, in part, be the effect of that yet was highly conducive to the peculiar interest which attaches to general safety, when the cottages his character as the antagonist of were composed entirely of timber. a corrupt hierarchy. We have been Henry, in his History of Great Briaccustomed to regard him chiefly as tain, says there is sufficient evi dence that the same custom pre- | OVER, at all times interesting, is pe vailed in most parts of Europe at this period, and was intended as a precaution against fires, which were then very frequent and very fatal, when so many houses were built of wood; and Peshall, in his History of the City of Oxford, affirms that the custom of ringing the bell, at Carfax, every night at eight o'clock (called Curfew Bell, or Cover-fire Bell), was by order of King Alfred, the restorer of our University, who ordained that all the inhabitants of Oxford should, at the ringing of that bell, cover up their fires and go to bed; which custom is observed to this day and the bell as constantly rings at eight as Great Tom tolls at nine. In order to reconcile these accounts of Henry and Peshall with the assertions set forth by most other writers, of its introduction by the Norman conqueror, we may, I think, be justified in supposing that the custom existed in England prior to his reign, but that, under the loose and careless sway of the Saxon monarchs, it had fallen gradually into disuse, and was eagerly revived by William, as a means of securing his usurpation. : The custom of ringing the eight o'clock, or Curfew, bell, is still kept up, or was till lately, in many towns in England, though the obligation it was intended to enforce, viz., the extinguishing the fires, &c., and the pains and penalties consequent upon the transgression of the law, were abolished in the year 1110 by Henry the First, who wished to conciliate his subjects, by relieving them from some of the grievous burdens imposed by his father. THE PASSOVER, AS CELEBRATED BY THE MODERN JEWS. An account of the manner in which the modern Jews celebrate the PASS culiarly appropriate at the present season of Easter. Our narration is taken from ALLEN's Modern Ju daism, in which is to be found a very full history of the sentiments and observances of that extraordinary people. The Feast of the Passover begins on the fifteenth day of their month Nisan, and continues, with those Jews who live in or near Jerusalem, seven days; and with those in all other places, eight days. The Sabbath immediately before the Passover is called the great Sabbath. On that day, the Rabbi, or teacher of each synagogue, delivers a lecture, in which he explains the rules to be observed on the approaching festival. During the whole time, they are required to abstain from leavened bread, (that is, bread with anything put into the dough to make it ferment, or rise,) and to suffer no leaven to remain in their houses. On the thirteenth day of the month, in the evening, the most careful and minute search is made by the master of each family, through every part of his house, in order to clear it of leavened bread, and every other particle of leaven. All that can be found is collected together in a ve sel, carefully preserved during the night, and, together with the vessel in which it is deposited, is solemnly burnt a little before noon the next day. No vessels are to be used at the Passover that have had any leaven in them; and, therefore, the kitchen-utensils used at other times are to be put away, and their places to be supplied by new vessels, or by some that are kept from one Passover to another, and never used but upon that occasion. For the same reason, the kitchen tables and chairs, shelves and cupboards, undergo a thorough purification, first with hot water, and then with cold. After the burning of the leaven, | are their "bitter herbs." Near the salad is placed a cruet of vinegar, and some salt and water. They have also a dish made to represent the bricks which their forefathers had to make in Egypt. This is a thick paste, composed of apples, almonds, nuts, and figs, dressed in wine, and seasoned with cinnamon. Every Jew who can afford wine, also, provides some for this great occasion. they make unleavened cakes, as many as will be wanted during the festival, to be in the place of all common bread. Amongst other rules for preparing the grain for these cakes, the meal is to be baulted, that is, in the presence of a Jew, and the dough is not to be left a moment without working or kneading, lest any the least fermentation should take place. The cakes are commonly round, thin, and full of little holes, and, in general, they consist of flour and water only; but the more wealthy and dainty Jews enrich them with eggs and sugar: cakes of this latter kind, however, are not allowed to be eaten on the first day of the festival. They are also forbidden to drink any liquor made from grain, or that has passed through the process of fermentation. During this season, therefore, their drink is either pure water, or a home-made raisin wine. On the fourteenth day of the month, the first-born son of each family is required to fast, in remembrance of the first-born of the Israelites being delivered, when the Lord smote all the first-born of the Egyptians. In the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, the men assemble in the synagogue, to enter upon the festival with prayers and other appointed observances, during which the women are occupied at home in preparing the tables against their return; and all the most costly furniture which each can procure is then made use of. The table is covered with a clean linen cloth, on which are placed several plates and dishes: on one is laid the shankbone of a shoulder of lamb or kid, but generally lamb, and an egg: on another, three cakes, carefully wrapped in two napkins on a third, some lettuce, chervil, parsley, and celery, wild succory, or horse-radish, These The ceremony then proceeds in this way. The family being seated, the master of the house pronounces a grace or blessing over the table in general, and over the wine in particular; then, leaning on his left. arm, in a somewhat stately manner, so as to show the liberty which the Israelites regained when they came out of Egypt, he drinks a portion of wine; in this also he is followed by the rest of the family or party assembled. Then they dip some of the herbs in vinegar and eat them, whilst the master repeats another blessing. He next unfolds the napkins, and taking the middle cake, breaks it in two, replaces one of the pieces between the two whole cakes, and conceals the other piece under his plate, or under the cushion on which he leans. And for what reason is this? In allusion, as they say, to the circumstance mentioned by Moses, (Exod. xii. 34,) that the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes. He then removes the lamb and the egg from the table, and next the plate, containing the cakes, being lifted up by the hands of the whole company, they joined in saying, "This is the bread of poverty and affliction, which our fathers did eat in Egypt; whosoever hungers let him come and eat; whosoever needs, let him come and eat of the paschal lamb. This year we are here, and the next. God will ing, we shall be in the land of Canaan. This year we are servants, the next, if God will, we shall be free children of the family and lords." The lamb and the egg are then again placed on the table, and another portion of wine is taken; the plate containing the cakes is removed, to lead the children of the family to inquire into the meaning of this festival: if no children are present, some person of riper years puts the question, according to a regular form. This is answered, by an account being given of the captivity, bondage, and slavery of the people of Israel in Egypt, their deliverance by the hand of Moses, and of the institution of the Passover on that occasion. (See Exod. xii.) This history is followed by some psalms and hymns being sung, after which the cakes are again placed on the table, and pieces of them are distributed amongst those present, who, instead of the paschal lamb, the offering of which is now altogether discontinued, eat this unleavened bread, with some of the bitter herbs and part of the paste made in memory of the bricks. The reason they give for not eating the paschal lamb is, that this cannot be lawfully done out of the land of Canaan, or Holy Land, all other countries being unholy and polluted. After the un.eavened bread has been eaten, then follows a plentiful supper. Then some more pieces of the cakes are taken, and two more portions of wine. Each is required to drink, on this occasion, four portions; and every cup of wine, the rabbis or teachers say, is in memory of some special blessing vouchsafed to their forefathers. The fourth, and last cup, is accompanied with some prayers, borrowed from Scripture, calling down the divine vengeance on the heathens, and on all the enemies of Israel. This same course of discourses is repeated on the second night; and the modern Jews profess to consider that all this will be as acceptable in the presence of the Lord as the actual offering of the passover. The first two days, and the last two, are kept as days of high solemnity, being celebrated with great pomp by extraordinary services in the synagogue, and by abstaining from all labour, nearly as strictly as on the Sabbath. The four middle days are not so strictly kept. The last day of the festival is concluded with a peculiar ceremony, called Habdala, in the course of which the master of the house, holding a cup of wine in his hand, repeats a very considerable portion of Scripture, and finishes with drinking, and giving to others to drink, of the cup; after this they are at liberty to return to the use of leavened bread as usual. Such is the Passover, as now observed by the unbelieving Jews. That sacrifice we know has long since been done away, by an infinitely more valuable offering: at this season, nearly 1800 years ago, Christ, the Lamb of God, was slain, to deliver us from a far worse slavery than that of Egypt, and our souls from a far more fatal death than that threatened by the destroying angel; and, as Christians, we have far more reason than the Jews to observe this memorable season, for then "Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."-(1 Cor. v. 7, 8.) D.Í.E. |