has been lost. Error has trembled on her throne and her prophetic soul even now writhes in dread anticipation of her fate. That throne she must abandon; the rightful majesty so long expelled returns with a crown of insufferable brightness, too dazzling for the misty eye-balls of falsehood, and of her impious train to look upon. The mightiest names are enrolled in her list of worthies. Law she has emancipated from the trammels of feudal barbarism; science from the restrictions of the schools; and religion from the manacles of superstition. Self-evident truths, as they were once deemed, are now denounced as exploded puerilities; and men whose names were synonymous with infamy, Gali leo and Milton, and others, are heard with admiration and reverence. The minds, even of the common vulgar, are no longer confined within the narrow prejudices which once seemed to be their sad and perpetual inheritance. Bold and singular opinions walk abroad with fearless independence challenging investigation;-the press is comparatively free, and nothing but licentiousness, treason, and blasphemy are prohibited or restrained. The present age, thanks to the achievements of the wise and good, may be considered as the commencement of the Millenium of truth. Ancient and forgotten doctrines which were uttered in unheeding ears, or which were heard only to be reprobated; possessing still the vigour of immortality which obscurity and neglect could never impair, because they were homogenous parts of that truth, every particle of which must live for ever, now venture

forth, favoured by the spirit of the age, to plead for themselves; and though their progress is confessedly slow, and they have still to contend with inveterate prejudice, yet every day enlarges the sphere of their influence, and increases the weight of their authority.

It has, also, sometimes happened, in furtherance of the cause of knowledge and consequently of happiness, that the errors and evils which, for centuries, have triumphed over the human mind, and perverted the laws and institutions of society, have at length run themselves out; or circumstances have arisen to expose their absurdity, or to abrogate their power.

A great vital question involving the interests of morality and religion, and deeply affecting the well being of the community, it is probable will be brought under discussion by the unhappy differences which prevail between the most illustrious personages in the realm, and which agitate, in an unexampled and most alarming degree, the feelings and passions of the whole nation.

It will, perhaps, not be deemed too much to affirm, that if the laws regarding royal marriages had been consonant either with reason or religion, or if the subject of divorce, as it regards the community in general, had been properly understood and embodied in our canon and civil codes that what we now so deeply deplore, could not have taken place; and that the two distinguished individuals who occupy a station of such distressing celebrity,

could never have been obtruded upon the public, under circumstances so agonizing to their feelings, and so injurious to their dignity.

If, however, from this lamented and partial calamity, general benefit should arise and the public mind should be enlightened to the right understanding of the nature of the marriage contract, and the limits of the obligation which it imposes, and that public mind so enlightened, should express its will in the high court of Parliament, abrogating every irrational, impolitic, and anti-Christian canon and statute, the domestic misfortunes of the royal family will have a mitigation and relief which will reconcile the illustrious sufferers to the evils which they endure; because they will enjoy the generous consolation of knowing that these evils can never again be inflicted, either upon the prince or the people.

Alas! how many thousands, as well as their majesties, are the victims of a barbarism as foreign from the spirit and improvement of the age, as it is repugnant to the mild and equitable requirements of the Christian law-giver. In how many miserable families, are the greatest and best ends of marriage altogether frustrated! Yet, can the injured obtain no redress; and their wretchedness is aggravated by the bitter reflection, that it can terminate only with life.

The present work of Milton is re-published, because it is the only book on this great and momentous subject, which is at the same time full and

compendious; which argues the whole question with fairness and impartiality, appealing to every principle of reason, and every dictate of scripture ; which is learned, and yet popular; which cites the best authorities, and refutes the strongest objections; and which will amply re-pay every reader that sits down to its perusal, if not by making him a convert to its doctrines, yet by enriching his mind with various knowledge, and delighting his imagination with the charms of wit and eloquence.

It was originally addressed to the Parliament of England; and though it failed in the principal object which its author purposed, yet it was read and approved by philosophers and statesmen. Nor was it wholly without effect; there were not a few who embraced the Doctrine, and obeyed the Discipline of Divorce.*

* Dr. Symmons, perhaps the most impartial biographer of Milton, says "On the subject of Divorce, he makes out a strong case, and fights with arguments which cannot be easily repelled. The whole context of the Holy Scriptures, the laws of the first Christian Emperors, the opinions of some of the most eminent reformers, and a projected statute of Edward the Sixth, are adduced by him for the purpose of demonstrating that by the laws of God, and by the inferences of the most virtuous and enlightened men, the power of divorce ought not to be rigidly restricted to those causes, which render the nuptial state unfruitful, or which taint it with a spurious offspring. Regarding mutual support as the principal object of this union, he contends that whatever defrauds it of these ends, essentially vitiates the contract, and must necessarily justify its dissolution. 1

It was violently attacked by the Presbyterian Clergy; nor can such a writer as Milton, ever prove acceptable to the bigots of any sect.

Whether our senators and the people at large are prepared to meet this great subject, and fearlessly to act upon the dictates of truth and charity; or whether, devoted to established custom and ancient institutions, they resolve not to change an iota of things as they are; yet will the present work, if read with attention, abate certain popular prejudices, and assuage certain irritable feelings which have betrayed a large portion of our people into the expression of something like injustice towards one suffering party, and induced them to give all their sympathy and regret, with an inconsiderate zeal, to the woes and misfortunes of the other.

Without venturing to anticipate the topics which form the basis of the following tracts, and without

Though his arguments failed, and indeed, they could not reasonably hope to produce general conviction, their effect was far from inconsiderable; and a party distinguished by the name of Miltonists, attested the power of his pen, and gave consequence to his pleading for divorce. The legislature however, coinciding evidently with a large majority of the nation, seem to have considered the evil resulting from the indissolubleness of marriage, as not to be weighed against the greater good; and their wisdom permitted the abilities of Milton to be exerted in vain against that condition of the contract, which provided the most effectually for the interest of the offspring, and which offered the best means of intimately blending the fortunes, the tempers, and the manners of the parents."