liaments, and the Scotch frequently complained that they did not enjoy equal privileges with the English. They grew discontented, and even threatened that they would not submit to another English Soveriegn, unless these grievances were redressed. It was feared that a rebellion might take place, and that the son of James II, who was now called the Pretender, because he made pretensions to the throne, would be made king of Scotland; and therefore, to prevent all this, it was judged expedient to effect a union of the two countries. By the treaty formed at this Union, it was declared, that the Scotch should retain their own laws, and their own mode of worship; and that they should send a certain number of members to Parliament, both to the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. There was a good deal of deliberation before the matter could be finally settled; but at last the treaty was made, and both countries have fonnd the benefit of this Union.

The reign of Anne did not pass without some vexations and troubles, both as regarded herself and her country. The loss of several children, particularly of a son eleven years of age, and then of her husband, Prince George, occasioned her deep grief; and besides these family afflictions, the constant disputes going on between the Whig and Tory parties, preyed

upon her mind, and she sunk into a state of ill health, which terminated in death, after a reign of twelve years. She left no children; and therefore, in accordance with the act of settlement passed in the reign of William III, the crown now passed to the next Protestant heir; and this was George, the Elector of Hanover and Brunswick. His mother was Sophia, daughter of the Elector Palatine, who, you remember, had married the princess Elizabeth, James I's daughter. George, therefore, was the great-grandson of that king; and he had succeeded to the titles of his father Ernest Augustus, Duke of Hanover, and Elector of Brunswick.

But before we commence this new line of kings, and begin to talk of the events of the reign of George I, let us look again at the verses which head our chapter. They speak of the lives of great men, and of the use which ought to be made of them in the way of instruction and example. Now the reigns of William III, and of Anne, were remarkable for the number of distinguished men who then lived and flourished, the honour and the ornament of their age. Statesmen and warriors, men of literature and science, poets and philosophers, and writers on all kinds of subjects, -these were so numerous, that I cannot tell you even the mere names of one half of them.

But I will just single out a few, and give you a little account of each, as I did of some of those celebrated persons who lived at an earlier period, during the reigns of the sovereigns of the House of Stuart. And then, in accordance with our motto, we will endeavour to find some useful lessons for ourselves from these "lives of great men."

The first I will mention shall be the Honourable Robert Boyle, whose name, I dare say, is not quite strange to you. He was one of the greatest philosophers of this country; and he is particularly to be remembered as the inventor of that useful instrument the air-pump. Boyle also wrote several scientific works, and he was one of the founders of the Royal Society. The knowledge of this great man was as extensive as it was deep. Mathematics, chemistry, languages,-in all these he was well versed. He also devoted much of his time to theology, and wrote a valuable work on the study of the Scriptures. No doubt, he experienced throughout his life, much pure pleasure and enjoyment in occupations of such a high and noble kind. It is, however, to a different part of his history and character that I wish just now particularly to draw your attention. I want you to think of Boyle as a good, as well as a great man. A good man he was indeed in the best sense of the term ;-he was one who served God, and

who desired to consecrate his high powers of mind, and his varied knowledge, to the service of the Great Giver. And I will tell you how he did this.

In those days, very little had been attempted of missionary works among the heathen, of which we happily hear so much in our time; and the Bible had been translated into the languages of comparatively very few foreign and distant nations. Now Boyle studied and loved God's word himself, and his great desire was to send it to others afar off, in the tongue which they understood, that they might learn to study and love it also. So, at his own expense, he had the New Testament translated into the Malay language, and then sent it through a great part of the East Indies. But this was not all he did to make the Bible known. He caused a translation to be made of the Scriptures for the use of the people nearer home, the Irish-for there were in the sister country then, and there are still, many but little acquainted with English, and they loved to read, and to hear, as well as to speak, in their own native tongue. This important work had been commenced many years before, by a good bishop named Bedell, who learnt the Irish language in order that he might be better able to instruct his people. But Bedell lived in the time of one of those terrible rebel

lions which have so frequently taken place in Ireland; and the disturbances which followed, and his own ill-health and death, which were in a great degree owing to the sufferings he endured at that time, prevented him from completing the useful work he had undertaken. So it was left for after years; and Boyle, who was himself born in Ireland, had the honour and the happiness of introducing the Irish Bible among his fellow-countrymen. And he did not forget Scotland and Wales; for he gave large contributions to defray the expenses of translations of the Scriptures into the Gaelic and Welsh tongues. These are acts worthy to be remembered and admired in the life of the philosopher Boyle.

And there is another feature in his character which we ought to notice. You will not wonder that a man who so honoured the Bible, reverenced also the Author of the Bible. Boyle did this in a remarkable degree. It is said, that he so honoured the very name of God, that he never pronounced it in conversation without a pause, -a solemn pause. This was

a constant habit with him; and those who knew him most intimately never remembered the time when he omitted it. So careful was he to attend to that command which says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”