his labours in the vineyard, he was so much afraid of being carried away by the Devil, that he lay between two virgins every night, trusting that their chastity

.............................................All pure and unpolluted

As snow new sifted through a northern sky,
And kiss'd by the cold breeze,........

would shield him from the fangs of the fiend.-But alas! the Father of Sin ultimately proved himself the lord of the ascendant, for ROBERT was publicly accused and convicted of having formed more links with posterity, than his monastic vow, and the canons of the holy Catholic Church, seemed to sanction, or even to tolerate.

How diametrically different was the conduct of THOMAS, the second of that name, and the twentyseventh Archbishop of York, who, being advised by his physicians, for the sake of his health, to frequent the society of the ladies, declined every kind of intercourse with them, " because," said the holy prelate, "I prefer my modesty to life." "Salutem carnis tandem morituræ immortale pudicitiæ decus non committam."

FRENCH PROTESTANTS. THE HOLY FAMILY.

DURING my long residence in various parts of France, I was much connected with the Protestants of the country; and I may aver, that I never knew

an individual among them, of either sex, who was not, more or less, a valuable character, possessing all the good qualities of their nation, without the slightest possible tinge of their blemishes. I always connected them with the idea, which we are apt to form of the primitive Christians.

During the. autumnal recess from studies, in the year 1778, I left Paris for the purpose of visiting Switzerland. I was in company with a young French Nobleman, who had been in that country before. Upon the persecution of the French Protestants, a Commercial Hall was built for their encouragement at Bern, in which was a white marble slab with the following inscription, which I merely introduce on account of a circumstance, that should never have been, in any manner, connected with it.

"Témpore quo crassa clericorum ignorantia, cum gratiâ et privilegio Regis, in verum Dei cultum fureret, atque draconum operâ eos, quos Huguenotos vocant, ferro, flammâ et omnis generis cruce e regno pelleret, Supremus Magistratus e ruderibus cænobii, olim Prædicatorum, has ædes extruxit, ut Pietatem simul et Artem, Galliâ exulantes, hospitalibus tectis exciperent. Faxit D. O. M, ut Charitatis hoc opifi cium sit Patriæ incremento!"

Which may be thus Englished:

"When the gross ignorance of the clergy, supported by the King's favour and authority, exerted it's rage against the true worship of God; and by the agency of dragoons, when fire, sword, and every species of torture drove those, whom they called Huguenots, out of the kingdom, the Supreme Magistrates of this city built this house upon the ruins of the

ancient Monastery of the Dominican Friars, in order that Piety and Industry, banished at the same time from France, might here find an asylum. May it please the most great and good God, that this work of Charity do promote the true interest of our native land !"

In the year 1692, the French Ambassador prevailed on the Magistrates to remove the offensive: marble, which I saw, eighty-six years after, in the most degraded state, serving as a hearth-stone in the kitchen of the inn, where I resided, while I remained at Bern!" What a falling off was there !",

Wherever the victims of the sultan Louis, and of his minister, the ferocious Louvois, took refuge, thither they carried civilization, amenity of manners, the mild and gentle arts of peace, talents, industry, evangelical religion, and every social virtue. They added a hundred fold to the riches of Holland; they greatly contributed to the accession of consequence which electoral Prussia obtained in process of time; they built the new town of Hesse Cassel, and caused: it to vie, in miniature, with the capital of France; nor is England less indebted to those illustrious exiles, whose offspring have not degenerated; for, in whatever country they are found, they are known by their industry, their spirit of toleration, and their virtuous proceedings.

This assertion cannot be more triumphantly illustrated, than by the bare mention of the family of LA TOUCHE. This truly distinguished house has

been established in Ireland ever since the impolitic revocation of the edict of Nantz; and the aboriginal Irish, who adhere so tenaciously to names and dignified ancestry, pride themselves not less for numbering the LA TOUCHES among their countrymen, than they do for their own Milesian descent ;— a sacred consideration, not to be censured with impunity!-In effect, the family, here alluded to, seem to be the chosen agents of Providence in that portion of the United Kingdom; like the sun, a LA TOUCHE Vivifies, cheers, invigorates all around him; he runs his daily career of wide beneficence, and exists, as it were, only for the advantage of his fellow-creatures.

The following incident, however trifling in itself, will place, in its true point of view, the opinion which the Irish, of all religious persuasions, entertain concerning this respectable and respected family.

During the too short vice-regal administration of a certain illustrious Peer, well known for his tolerant system of politics, Doctor TROY, the titular Archbishop of Dublin, was a frequent and welcome guest at the Castle. A few months before the period alluded to, the principal Roman Catholics of the Irish Capital formed a charitable society, for the purpose of administering relief to families, who had fallen from opulence into decay.-Numbers experienced the excellent effects of the confraternity's exertions. Doc tor TROY was chief manager of the institution, which

the members conceived to be under the particular auspices of the HOLY FAMILY-viz. of J. C. the VIRGIN MOTHER and St. JOSEPH !

The Doctor, being seated at a card-table, and complimented by a Lady of great quality on the success of the benevolent establishment, was asked by her what the Roman Catholics understood by the HOLY FAMILY, thus answered her-" The Holy Family, my Lady, are the LA TOUCHES of the other world-the benefactors of the human race! !

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

DIGNITIES greatly influence men's conduct.BALDWIN, a poor, and, long, an unprotected monk, became, by regular gradations, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Primate of all England. His new honours so altered his general conduct, that Pope URBAN III. writing to him on ecclesiastical affairs, addressed the letter in the following manner :— "Balduino, Monacho ferventissimo, Abbati calido, Episcopo tepido, Archiepiscopo remisso." To Baldwin, who was a most pious Monk, a zealous Abbot, a lukewarm Bishop, and who is now a careless Archbishop!

MECENAS, &c.

THE portrait of MECENAS, as drawn by an elegant Latin historian, is a master-piece of it's kind.