Armenian, even passing him in the street, or on the road, without a feeling of sincere respect and almost fondness a tribute which their constancy and sufferings for religion justly claimed; but of which they were the unconscious recipients : yet I do not propose to panegyrise them at the expense of truth.

There is somewhat against them yet. I do not refer to the state of their ecclesiastical government -the patriarch of which resides in the monastery of Echmiazan, three leagues from Erivan, having forty-two archbishops subjected to his jurisdiction, and an annual revenue, it is said, of six hundred thousand crowns; but, to his praise be it recorded, there is no mark of opulence or pomp in his external appearance, nor in his domestic economy; his table is plain; nor is he distinguished from the monks with whom he lives, but by his superior power and authority. He attains the patriarchal dignity by the suffrages of the assembled bishops. The prelates of this church, when they have performed their liturgy, cultivate their garden; and the austerity of their life increases in just proportion to the elevation of their rank. But the Bible Christian will complain, that though possessed of the Sacred Oracles, and professing the religion which came down from heaven, these Armenians sought not to communicate their doctrines among the people with whom they sojourned; and were satisfied, if tolerated to observe their own rites, and permitted to pursue the lucre of mer

chandize, and the gain of traffic. They maintained a distinction from others, by their religion, but they did not seek to distinguish their religion by its genuine characteristics-benevolence, extension, and universality. They put their candle under a bushel; their light did not shine before men. They have a church in each of the three presidencies, at Chinsurah, Dacca and Sydabad, but it is for themselves; and the services of their liturgic worship are performed in the vernacular dialect of their original country.

They had evidently attained to a high place in the esteem of Heber, who held brotherly conference with their bishop; but it is possible he might regard them more for what they may yet become, than for what they have been or done. And the demonstration which they gave of their respect for his memory, though highly complimentary, was not a satisfactory display of their knowledge or scriptural piety: they had mass, or a very similar service, with prayers, for three days, at Calcutta, after they heard of his death, for the repose of his soul. However, they have not assimilated to the other corruptions of Rome, nor the superstitions of the Greek church. They are generally represented as Eutychians, or Monosophytes; and affirm that the manhood of Christ was of a divine and incorruptible substance; but I imagine these are the errors rather of their theoretical men, who glory in the antiquity of their religion, and who, with a very small portion of real knowledge, speculate and lose themselves in vague abstractions. The people are not generally enlightened, far less learned. The natives of Armenia are represented as ignorant, and the exiles are more occupied with commerce than with literature.

The Armenian church is one of the most attractive objects on the esplanade, between Fort St. George and the Black Town of Madras. Besides the place of congregational worship, other buildings and apartments form the edifice; and the whole is enclosed by a wall. The walls are chunamed, or coated with Indian plaster, which gives a neat and most respectable appearance to the toutensemble. The entrance is guarded by a gate, kept shut, except at times of assembly. The principal building is surmounted by a low conical dome, with brass or gilded ornaments. The whole structure cannot be described as possessing much architectural ornament: yet it is an interesting, though unpretending edifice, and has been finished with marked propriety. There is a quiet taste and an unobtrusive air about it, which is pleasing. The court is paved, and kept perfectly clean. I never was present in the chapel to witness their service; but shall borrow the following description from Major S-, who describes, from personal observation, the Armenian forms in Calcutta.

"The church, in the inside, was divided in the middle by a blue iron railing, with gilt heads. The men of the congregation place themselves in front of this; the women behind, and farthes from the altar: just below the steps of which sits the presiding priest, in the eastern fashion, on his carpet. A veil of embroidery hangs down before the altar, and paintings adorn all the chapel walls. When the veil is lifted up, you see priests in gorgeous robes, and servitors with bells, staves overlaid with their round laminæ of gold at the top, and censers of incense. The altar is highly ornamented, has a scripture-piece painted over it; and the whole scene has an air of theatrical solemnity, not suited for a place of worship.

"In the course of the worship, they carry a painting of the crucifixion round the chapel in procession. When they administer the sacrament, they give small portions of the bread to all the congregation, who receive it with great reverence; taste, then wrap it up in linen, and carry it away with them after the service. The bishop always first blesses the elements. The service closes by the officiating priest reading a lesson from the Gospel. The book, which is a small volume with covers of solid silver, wrapped in a napkin of gold tissue, is brought forth with much ceremony, and placed on a portable stand in the body of the chapel. When the priest has concluded, all the men and women draw near in succession, kiss the book with great reverence, and quietly withdraw. In the midst of the service, came in a rude hardy-looking man, who bowed his knee with little appearance of awe, and gazed round him with a fearless curiosity. His bare head, with a profusion of brown sun-tinged

hair, naked throat, brown jacket, with full short trowsers of the same, gathered just below the knee, and a red sash, marked him an Armenian sailor from some port in the Red Sea, or Persian Gulf. Throughout the whole service, the silence, the fixed attention, devotional countenances, and low prostrations of all, surprise you. In few Roman Catholic chapels have I seen such solemn worship as in this Armenian one. The absence of images, the distribution of the bread, and the reading of the Scriptures, are the features which particularly mark the distinction in the daily service of the two churches."

To employ again the phraseology of my quondam ciceroni: "These females with pale complexions, so as almost to indicate sickliness, with full, black, and expressive eyes, and countenances pensive, modest, and interesting, are Armenian women retiring from worship. You mark their costume. A small tiara-formed cap, with a jewelled front, is hooded over with a fine shawl, whose large and graceful folds falling behind, cover the body, and almost conceal their forms: that fine-looking young man, of fair complexion, in a clean white vest, with a dark blue sash, and a high cap of black velvet, with many points, is an Armenian gentleman; and the low stout man, in a purple robe, and mitre cap, with a long black bushy beard, who is speaking to him, is a priest from Armenia." They are almost everywhere respectable, industrious, and enterprising; and in Madras, are generally possessed of