III. The Epistles of Ignatius. These are seven: namely, to the churches in Ephesus, Magnesia, Trallae, Rome, Philadelphia, Smyrna, and to Polycarp. In these epistles we find the following references to baptism. To the Ephesians, section eighteenth, the writer says, respecting Jesus, "who was born and was baptized that by his suffering he might purify the water." In the epistle to the church in Smyrna, section first, he speaks of Jesus as having been baptized that he might fulfil all righteousness; and in section eighth, he says, "it is not lawful to baptize in the absence of the bishop." In the epistle to Polycarp, section sixth, addressing Polycarp's church, he says, "Please him for whom you are soldiers, from whom also ye receive your wages. Let no one of you be a deserter. Let your baptism remain as weapons, faith as a helmet, love as a spear, patience as your panoply." In these, which are all the instances furnished by these letters of reference to baptism, no allusion obviously is made to infant baptism.

It is worth while to notice, that in the epistles to the church in Magnesia, sections eighth and tenth, and in that to the church in Philadelphia, section sixth, the writer introduces earnest warnings against the efforts with which some Judaizing teachers sought to corrupt the Christian faith. In such connections, as also in similar ones of the New Testament, had infant baptism been a current Christian practice, the mention of it, as holding a place similar to that of the Jewish circumcision, would have been so natural, that the entire absence of the most remote allusion to it, casts deep suspicion on the

To the epistles of Ignatius is appended an account of his martyrdom. This contains no allusion to infant baptism.

IV. The epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians. This contains no allusion to baptism at all. Nor does any occur in the epistle appended to this, giving an account of Polycarp's martyrdom.

V. The Shepherd of Hermas, a work divided into three books: the first consisting of four Visions; the second, of twelve Commandments; the third, of ten Similitudes.

Several references to baptism occur in this work, without a solitary allusion to infant baptism. In Book I., Vision III., section III., as the church is likened to a tower, the question is proposed, "Wherefore was the tower built on the waters?" In reply it is said, "Hear for what reason the tower was built on the waters. Because your life has been made safe, and will be made so by means of water;" a recognition, no doubt, of the commonly believed necessity of baptism to salvation and to union with the church. In accordance with this belief of the necessity of baptism to entrance into the kingdom of God, is the figment (minutely expanded in Book III., Similitude IX., section XVI.) that even the righteous men who had died during the Old Testament dispensation could not be admitted into the kingdom of God, unless the apostles and teachers who made known the Son of God had, after their decease, preached to them the gospel and baptized them in Hades. "For," says this sapient writer, "before a man receives the name of the Son of God, he is appointed to death; but when he receives that seal, he is liberated from death and assigned to life. That seal is the water, into which men descend doomed (bound

the custom of eastern merchants, in which were deposited provisions and other comforts for the journey; how probable that some one, tempted by the beauty and costliness of the cup, expecting never to return to Egypt, had slipped it into his sack! The steward pursues them; charges them with the theft, descants on their ingratitude, and demands the surrender of the stolen article. They all deny the offence; Search, Search, they exclaim, Search and see, and if it be found on ony one of us, let the culprit die, and the rest of us be your slaves. The sack of Reuben, the eldest, is emptied on the earth; its contents are spread out and examined there is nothing that is not his own. The sack of Simeon is opened; he has long been in confinement, and Benjamin looks on anxiously hoping that his brother has not been tempted to retaliate for his causeless detention; but all is well. The sacks of others are searched in like manner; but everything is satisfactory, and the countenances of the brethren brighten as the investigation proceeds. At length it is Benjamin's turn. How glad he is! His brethren are all clear, and of his own innocence he is certain. With what alacrity he empties his sack; when lo, the cup! "The cup was found in Benjamin's sack."

friendship of the Almighty! Of Him whose eyes are in every place, whose knowledge is unerring, whose power has no bounds! He can deliver in every emergency, and cause light to shine forth out of darkness. How important it is to be reconciled to Him, and able to confide in his love! How needful it is to commit ourselves every morning to his protection and care! In all our ways, it behoves us to acknowledge him, for it is only as he guards us that we are safe. Innocence is no security against the violent man, the deceitful man, the unreasonable man. We are only safe from overwhelming calamities, when preserved by God's providential goodness.

What a lesson does this incident afford to all who are ever engaged in the administration of justice! Every juror, on whose decision the lives or liberties of fellow men are dependent should ponder well this case, and keep it in his memory. No man should be convicted of whose guilt any doubt can be reasonably entertained. Many an innocent man has been executed, and the mistake has not been discovered, till it was too late to rectify it. A striking parallel to the case of Benjamin occurred some years ago at Canterbury. A French refugee, named Du Moulin, who resided in that city, was indicted for coining. "On his trial it was proved that he had often been detected in uttering false gold, and that he had made a practice of returning counterfeit coins to persons of whom he had taken money, on pretence of his having received those pieces from them. On searching his premises when he was apprehended, a great number of counterfeit coins had been found in a drawer by themselves, and others packed up in different parcels with good money; and on further search, some aqua regia, several files, a pair of moulds, and

been discovered in a flask. On this evidence he was convicted, and sentenced to die. But a few days before he was to be executed, one Williams, a seal engraver, was killed by a fall from his horse. His wife, who was pregnant and near the time of her delivery, miscarried from the fright, and sensible that she could not live, she sent for the wife of Du Moulin, to communicate to her a most important discovery relating to his unfortunate case. She told her that Williams had been one of four persons whom she named, who had lived for many years by counterfeiting gold coin; that one of those persons had lived as a servant with Du Moulin, and being provided by his accomplices with false keys, had disposed of a considerable quantity of bad money, by opening his master's escritoir, and exchanging it for good money which he found there. Soon after Williams' wife had given this information she expired in great distress of mind. The parties, however, whom she had accused were immediately taken up, and one of them turned king's evidence. The two others continued for a time to assert their innocence, especially he who had been Du Moulin's servant. But at length, some corroborating circumstance being unexpectedly produced, he burst into tears, and confessed his guilt. Being asked how the tools came to be in his master's escritoir, he said that when the officers came to apprehend his master, he was afraid they would be found in his own possession, and therefore, opening the escritoir with his false key, he had himself placed them there, and had just time to shut the escritoir again before the officers entered the room. A pardon

that of Benjamin, divine Providence interposed on behalf of an innocent man; but in others, alas! the irreparable blow has been struck before the fatal error was discovered.

The ten brethren who had accompanied Benjamin to Egypt were all present on this occasion, and their case was also distressing. Their reputation was involved, and their liberty was endangered. The ruler before whom they had to appear, though generous was austere and stern; he seemed to be rather capricious, and he had entertained strange suspicions respecting them before. What view he might take of these circumstances, and what sentence he might pronounce, it was not possible to anticipate. Whether any of them would ever see their wives and children again was doubtful. If the issue were as favourable as they could reasonably hope with respect to themselves, how melancholy would be the intelligence they must convey to their father! They knew how he had felt formerly when he lost Joseph; how unwilling he had been to part with Benjamin; and how responsible they had made themselves. See them retrace their steps, slowly and solemnly returning towards the palace. Judah ponders as he walks on the course he must adopt, and arranges in his own mind an address to the irritated governor. Sadly do they all revolve within themselves the bearings of the event both on the future and on the past. The ten brethren of the supposed culprit had even more to distress them than he had himself. They had to endure the upbraidings of a guilty conscience; not in reference to Benjamin indeed, but in reference to a