episcopacy which they profess, ought in the present state of things to resort to the ministry of their indigenous pastors; and the clergymen of English or Irish ordination, without uniting with the Scottish bishops, are, in my judgment, doing nothing better than keeping alive a schism. I find nothing in your tract to alter my mind on these points."

In 1805, the only congregation in the Scottish metropolis which had been hitherto in a state of separation, St. George's, York-place, was united to the church, on the appointment of the Rev. Richard Shannon, of Trinity College, Dublin, to be the

minister.

The see of Edinburgh was at this time vacant by the resignation of Dr. Abernethy Drummond, and it was evident that most important interests were involved in the appointment of his successor. The Scottish Episcopal Church was in a more prosperous situation than she had ever been since the Revolution :-the penal laws removed, acknowledged by the state, and in full communion with the church of England. In this state of things, the former plan of electing a clergyman in English orders to the vacant See was revived, and it received the hearty concurrence of those of Scottish ordination. The choice of the Edinburgh clergy fell on Dr. Sandford, as being the person to whom the Episcopalians were chiefly indebted for the union they enjoyed, and he was accordingly elected and consecrated at Dundee, on the 9th of February, 1806, Bishop Skinner of Aberdeen, Bishop Jolly of Moray, and Bishop Watson of Dunkeld, being the officiating prelates. Dr. Walker, now Bishop Sandford's successor in the See of Edinburgh, preached the ordination sermon, which was afterwards published, and excited considerable interest at the time. The fruits of the election of Bishop Sandford to the episcopate are obvious from the rapid increase of the communion over which he presided. During the time he held the episcopate, from 1806 to 1830, the number of clergy under his jurisdiction increased from seven to twenty-five, of whom, says the author of his memoir, "five, formerly independent, submitted themselves to his control, and seven officiate in congregations recently formed, and sanctioned for the first time by himself."

In 1807, no event of any consequence occurred in the history of Scottish Episcopacy. That year, however, is marked by the death of the Rev. John Skinner, of Longside, Aberdeenshire, the venerable and truly pious incumbent of that humble and rustic district for more than half-a-century. This clergyman was one of those who, as observed in my former paper, was persecuted by the government for his religion, he having been imprisoned in Forfar jail for six months, for no other offence than that of having performed divine service to more than five persons. He was a

profound scholar and theologian; while he was no less distinguished as a Scottish poet; and, as such, he was appreciated by some of the most eminent men of his time, who were his friends and correspondents. His "Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, from the earliest period to the year 1788," although peculiar in style, and defective in arrangement, is the only history of value which we possess. He died in the arms of his son, the late Bishop of Aberdeen, whom he had the happiness to see at the head of the Episcopal College. His memory, his genius, and his virtues, are still cherished by the Scottish Episcopalians; and of him it may be truly said, in the words of the poet, that

In a preceding number I directed my readers' attention to the following facts:

1. That in the Roman buildings the arch was used only for convenience; and instead of courting admiration, shrunk from notice. 2. That the architects of the middle ages did not imitate the Romans only because they could not.

3. That the rib and pointed arch were introduced, not as ornaments, but as necessary deformities.

4. That it was the unavoidable prominence of these features which, by giving taste a compulsory direction, as it were, drove men into the peculiarities of the Gothic, or rather Catholic, style.

This last assertion I illustrated in the history of the rib, which, on its first introduction, was ornamented almost at random, as will readily be perceived in the following specimens (see Plate): No. 1, fig. 1, a rib in Iffley church; fig. 2, a cluster of ribs in St. Peter's church, Oxford; fig. 3, a rib in the north aisle of Romsey Abbey. The designers of these ribs seem to have been feeling their way in the dark; yet, if I am right in fancying that these attempts succeeded one another chronologically, in the order I have assigned to them, even here we may discern a tendency towards the character which ultimately prevailed, the section of fig. 3, if taken half-way between the points a, a, being not unlike that which I took from the aisles of Christ Church chancel. In the progress

It may be here observed, that Mr. Skinner's emoluments never exceeded the above sum; and too many of the present clergy are at present in the same situation. The district in which he spent his long life is a perfect wilderness. The thatched house or dwelling in which he resided is still pointed out to strangers.