the eunuch said, "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" And Philip said, "If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest." And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," and he baptized him." (Acts viii., 35-38.)

6. "Ananias said unto him, Brother Saul, the Lord hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized." (Acts ix., 18.)

7. "Cornelius and his household baptized." 47, 48.)

8. "Lydia baptized." (Acts xvi., 15.)

(Acts X.,

9. "The jailer and all his baptized." (Acts xvi., 33.) 10. "Corinthians who believed baptized." (Acts xviii., 8; comp. 1 Cor. i., 14-16.)

11. "John's disciple at Ephesus, who had hitherto received only the baptism of John, 'baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus."" (Acts xix., 5.)

12. "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins." (Acts xxii., 16.)

13. "Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death! Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into His death, that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For in that He died, He died unto sin once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Wherefore count ye yourselves also dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. vi., 3, 4, 10, 11.)

14. 66

By one Spirit were we all baptized into one Body." (1 Cor., xii., 13.)

15. "Ye are all the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Gal. iii., 26, 27.)

16. "In whom ye were circumcised with the circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which also ye were raised with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who raised Him from the dead." (Col. ii., 11, 12.)

17. "There is one Body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism; one God and Father of all." (Eph. iv. 4-6.)

18. "Leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again the foundation of the doctrine of baptisms." (Heb. vi., 1, 2.)

19. "While the ark was a preparing, in which eight souls were saved by water. As an antitype to which Baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

iii., 20, 21.)

(1 Pet.

I have not here transcribed any passages (such as John iii., 5, Eph. v., 26, Tit. iii., 5,) about whose reference to baptism there could be any question. But even in these alone, what weighty value and necessity is ascribed to his Sacrament! We may notice, firstly, that, according to the commandment of the Lord, and the practice consequent thereon of His Apostles and other ministers, Baptism was invariably and immediately administered to all who believed the Gospel-message preached to them. (See 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.) Secondly, the important place it holds in the argument of the Apostolic Epistles (see 13, 14, 15, 16), the " one Baptism" being placed side by side with the one Body, one Spirit, one Hope--one Lord, one Faith, one God and Father, which together with it make up the sevenfold unity of the Church (see 17), and the doctrine concerning it being ranked among those "principles of the doctrine of Christ," in which we ought to be thoroughly grounded, that we may leave them behind and go on to perfection. (See 18.) Thirdly, the various and important benefits ascribed to it, either alone or in conjunction with certain conditions in the recipient, as Salvation (see 2, 19), Death and Resurrection with Christ (see 13, 16, 19), Remission and washing away of Sins (see 3, 12), Admission into the Body of Christ (see 14), Participation of the Holy Ghost. (See 3, 6.)

On each of these points I propose to treat in the next number. R. H.

A MIRACULOUS SHOT.

THE hero of this brief narrative, Von Wynk, was a Hottentot, and the story of his fearful and perilous shot is given

in his own words. He said: It is now more than two years since, in the very place where we stand, I ventured to take one of the most daring shots that ever was hazarded. My wife was sitting in the house near the door, and the children were playing about her. I was without, near the house, busied in doing something to a waggon, when suddenly, though it was mid-day, an enormous lion appeared, came up, and laid himself quietly down in the shade, upon the very threshold of the door. Either frozen with fear, or aware of the danger attending any attempt to fly, my wife remained motionless in her place, whilst the children took refuge in her lap. The cry they uttered attracted my attention, and I hastened towards the door; but my astonishment may be well conceived when I found the entrance barred in such a manner. Although the animal had not seen me, yet escape, unarmed as I was, appeared to be impossible; and, scarcely knowing what I meant to do, I glided gently towards the side of the house up to the window of my chamber, where I knew that my loaded gun was standing. By a happy chance, I had set it in a corner close by the window, so that I could reach it with my hand; for, as you may see, the opening is too small to admit of my having got in; and, still more fortunately, the door of the room was open, so that I could see the whole danger of the scene. The lion was beginning to move, perhaps with the intention of making a spring; there was, therefore, no longer any time for reflection; so I called softly to the mother not to be afraid, and, invoking the name of the Lord, I fired my piece. The ball passed directly over my boy's head, and lodged in the lion's forehead, immediately above his eyes, which shot forth as it were sparks of fire; and he streched himself on the ground and never stirred more.

66

A SINGULAR CHARACTER.

In the parish register of Streatham, there is the following entry : Russel, buried April 14, 1772.-N.B. This person was always known under the guise or habit of a woman, and answered to the name of Elizabeth, as registered in this

parish, November 21, 1669, but at death proved to be a

man."

In speaking of this extraordinary person, it will be necessary to make constant use of the masculine gender, however oddly it may sometimes be combined, in order to avoid confusion among the relative pronouns. If the various adventures of Russel's life had been collected by any contemporary, it would have formed a volume as entertaining as those of the celebrated Bampfylde Moore Carew, whom he accompanied in many of his rambles, and from whom, probably, he first took the hint of disguising his sex, in order to answer some temporary purpose.

Upon examining the parish register, we found that John Russell had three daughters and two sons: William born in 1668, and Thomas in 1672. There is no reason to doubt therefore that our hero is one of these two sons; and that when he assumed the female dress, he assumed also the name of his sister Elizabeth, who may probably have died in her infancy, or have settled in a remote part of the country; for under this name he applied for a certificate of his baptism.

At an early period of his life he attached himself to the gipsies, and, being of a rambling disposition, he visited most parts of the Continent as a stroller or vagabond. When advanced in years he settled at Chipstead, in Kent, where he kept a large shop. Sometimes he travelled the country with goods in the character of a married woman, having changed his maiden name for that of his husbands, who carried the pack; and to his death, he was reputed a widow, and known familiarly as "Bet Page."

In the course of his travels he attached himself to itinerant physicians, learned their nostrums and practised their art. His long experience gained him the character of an infallible doctress, to which profession he added that of an astrologer, and he practised both with great profit; yet such was his extravagance, that he died worth only six shillings. It was a common custom with him to spend whatever he had in his pocket at an ale-house where he usually treated his companions. About twelve months before his death he returned to his native place to reside; and his extraordinary age procured him the notice of many of the most respectable families in the neighbourhood, but particularly of Mr. Thrale, the friend of Dr. Johnson, in whose kitchen he was frequently entertained;

VOL. XIII.

P

and Dr. Johnson, who found him a shrewd, active person, with a most retentive memory, was very fond of conversing with him.

His faculties were so little impaired by age that, only a few days before his death, he had planned another ramble, in which his landlord's son was to have accompanied him. His death was very sudden; and the surprise of his neighbours may be imagined upon finding that the person who, as long as the memory of anyone then living could reach, had been always reputed a woman, was discovered to be a man.

It may be observed that, supposing him to have been the younger son of John Russell, he would have been one hundred years old; but, if he had been the elder son, his age would have been one hundred and four. He himself always asserted that he was one hundred and eight. He had a mixture of the habits and employments of both sexes; for, although he could drink hard with men, whose company he chiefly preferred, yet he was an excellent sempstress, and he was celebrated for making a good shirt. There was, however, a wildness and eccentricity in his general conduct which seemed to border on insanity; and we may fairly conclude, at least, to use a favourite expression of Anthony Wood, that he "had a rambling head and a crazy pate."

SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

(Continued from p. 175.)

WE have given this important case as much prominence as our limited space would admit; and we now record the Conclusion of the controversy, abridged from the Edinburgh newspapers. The Daily Scotsman, of Wednesday, May 25th, says with apparent exultation ;

"THE General assembly this morning, after a very able and creditable debate, did a very sensible thing, in sustaining, by a majority of 30, the appeal of Dr. Lee from the findings of the Presbytery of Edinburgh and Synod of Mid-Lothian regarding the alleged innovations in public worship; recalling these findings, except on one unimportant point; and