more than this, she is related to have wrought a miracle of a more substantial kind. "There was a scarcity of bread in her father's house: Rose commended the case to God in a short prayer. She then opened the bread-pan, and found it full of loaves, which an apparition said did not come from the family kneading-trough. Another time, when there was want of honey, Rose found a cup quite full of new-made honey, to the great astonishment of all the family; and the more so, because this honey, sent from heaven by a miracle, lasted the whole family for daily use for eight whole months. Again, Rose's father was in great difficulty because his creditor had sued him for a debt of fifty pounds. Rose prayed, and a stranger appeared who brought her the money wrapped up in a cloth."

We will add one more miracle, because it seems to rest more directly and entirely upon the authority of the Roman Church :

"The inspectors, who were deputed by the congregation of rites at Rome to visit her relics, upon opening the coffin, which had been buried fifteen years, found that the flesh had dried upon the bones, and that they exhaled the odour of roses."

Now these pretended miracles of Rose have been twice examined into at Rome, and on both occasions has the infallibility of the Church of Rome been pledged to the truth of them." The sanctity of Rose being well known through all the world by these, and many other notable proofs," Pope IX. decreed her beatification; and again, on the 19th of April, 1671, the following decree was signed at Rome by Clement X., and thirty-five cardinals, and published to all the world :

To the honour of the holy and undivided Trinity, and the exaltation of the Catholic faith, by the authority of Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; of the blessed apostles and our own, with the advice and unanimous consent of our venerable brethren, cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops, in the court of Rome, we have decided that the blessed Rose, daughter of Mary, and Virgin of Lima (of the holiness of whose life, and sincerity of faith, and eminency in working miracles, abundant evidence has been produced), is to be a saint; and we have decreed that her name is to be inserted in the catalogue of holy virgins, as by the tenor of these presents we do decree, decide, and insert, appointing that every year, on the 30th day of August, her memory shall be celebrated in the Universal Church among the holy virgins. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

The infallibility of the Roman Church is pledged to the truth of these miracles recorded of Rose, just as much as that of Father Foley and Cir Aubert is pledged to that of the Youghal impostures.

We remember once to have put the question respecting these pretended miracles of Rose to a well-educated Romanist: "Do you believe them?" And what was his reply? He was ashamed to say that he did believe them; and yet he did not choose to stultify himself by saying, that an authority, which he maintained to be infallible, had put forth that as certain truth, in the most holy name of the blessed Trinity, which he believed to be altogether false. His reply was, that there was a difference between legenda and credenda, and that these miracles were not among

the credenda, but only among the legenda of the Church of Rome; and perhaps, if we had enquired concerning Father Foley's letter, in which he asserts so positively the truth of the Youghal imposture, we might have received a like answer-that the Reverend Father's words were of two sorts: one sort of them only being credenda, or to be believed; the other sort merely audienda or legenda-in plain English, that the Church of Rome and her priests are NOT ALWAYS to be believed, not even when they speak advisedly and deliberately, and ex cathedra, and seek to confirm what they say upon oath, and by a solemn appeal to the most holy name of God!

We can indeed heartily concur with the editor of the Tablet, that in investigating and exposing the Youghal impostures, he has done good service to the Church. He has made it appear that every man must judge of facts for himself, if he is to escape the impositions of the priests of the Church of Rome; and he will do a yet greater service to the Church, if he will go on to detect and expose, with the same boldness and effect, the tricks and contrivances by which the Tyrolese wonders have hitherto been enabled to impose upon their credulous visitors.

The pretended miracles of the Roman Church is a subject well worthy the consideration of every enquirer after truth. We commend the little volume before us as capable of affording complete satisfaction on this subject. It is a careful and well digested compilation of unquestionable documentary evidence. It establishes an intention to deceive. It puts forth a most complete and successful exposure of a diabolical and blasphemous imposture. It sets before the world a Romish layman exercising his own private judgment in accusing and convicting two Roman priests of fraud and blasphemy. It brings forward the tardy sentence of the Roman bishop, declaring the imposture to be "NO MIRACLE," six weeks after the fraud had been discovered. It shows the anxiety of the Church of Rome to throw a veil over the unsuccessful attempt at imposition; and drags to light her wish to screen the impostor, by allowing Father Foley to remain President of the College, and by declaring it to be sin to speak of his unsuccessful attempts to deceive the faithful of his own communion, and to entrap the credulous of other creeds.

LETTERS ON PROPHECY.-No. XI.
To the Editor of the Churchman.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.

SIR-Before passing from the prophecies of Daniel to those of the New Testament, there are some general maxims to be drawn from the interpretations already established, which have a most important bearing on the parts that remain still in dispute. These laws of interpretation I will now endeavour briefly to unfold, as they result, by an easy induction, from the previous steps of this enquiry. I. THE LAW OF DEPARTURE is the first of the maxims which are established by the facts that have been already proved. It may be thus stated: "Every detailed prophecy must be viewed as commencing with the chief present or next preceding event, at the time

when it is given, unless direct proof to the contrary can be brought forward." The vision of the great image was given at the commencement of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and it opens with the empire of Babylon in the height of its power. The next vision, of the four beasts, dates from the first year of Belshazzar; and it opens with the same empire of Babylon, but its first prophetic action is the plucking of the eagle wings of the lion. The third vision, of the ram, was in the third year of Belshazzar, and the seventh of Cyrus in Persia; and it opens with the triumphant conquests of this latter prince. The prophecy of the Scripture of truth was in the third year of Cyrus at Babylon; and it opens with the reign of that prince, as successor to Darius, and with a retrospective allusion to the first year of Darius, which was only four years previous. Lastly, the prophecy of the seventy weeks, though it actually commences with the decree of Artaxerxes, yet begins virtually with the decree of Cyrus, only two years after its own date. For it is plain, that before the event that decree, from its general accordance with the terms of the prophecy, and as forming the close of the captivity, would be viewed by the faithful Israelites as the probable date of the main term; and, therefore, is practically, if not strictly, included in the prophecy. And the actual date itself is only eighty years later than the vision-a short period when compared with the range of the predicted events.

These five visions of Daniel all concur, therefore, in suggesting the maxim of interpretation I have given above: and the same conclusion may be drawn from the reason of the case alone. In fact, if the commencement of an historical prophecy were to be taken indefinitely, backward or forward, we shall have scarce any means whatever of fixing its true interpretation. The correspondence of one single event with the terms of the prophecy, can, in very few cases, be so striking and decisive as to insure, of itself, the truth of the application. We are left in just the same uncertainty with the pilot who has nothing but the ship's way to guide him, and yet is ignorant of the place from which the vessel but last parted. Every reason that can be assigned for the revelation of these prophecies to the Church concurs with the testimony of fact in establishing this first law of interpretation.

II. THE LAW OF CONTINUITY is the second general maxim which may be derived from the previous enquiry. Each prophecy of Daniel, so far as we have at present traced its certain meaning, proceeds in continuous order, without any considerable gap or omission. Thus the visions of the image and of the four beasts are continuous, at least for the respective intervals, B.C. 603—A.d. 320 ; and B.C. 535-A.D. 320; or for eight or nine centuries in each case. The visions of the ram and of the Scripture of truth are, in like manner, continuous through the space, B.C. 553-200 and B.c. 534160, or between three and four centuries. It is true, there is one apparent break in the last of these; but it is apparent only, being supplied by the previous vision, upon which the other is a comment. The general principle is very conspicuous throughout, and we may

reasonably gather, from the observed facts, the following inference: "Each separate prophecy is to viewed as continuous, unless when there can be assigned some strong internal proof that the continuity is broken."

This same principle, which results from a close induction, so far as we have yet been able to carry it, is confirmed by reason, when we reflect upon the objects for which the prophecies are given. These, as respects the Church of God, are mainly the two followingto guide her hopes with regard to God's providence in all that is future, and to strengthen her faith in the divine prescience in all that is past. But if we suppose, at pleasure, breaks of indefinite length in the midst of prophecies apparently continuous, both these great purposes are defeated. The Church can then gather no certain anticipations of the future, nor sure conviction of the fulfilment of what is past. Each vision is thus changed, from its true character of a compressed, but simple and comprehensive history, into a chaos of particulars, which each commentator will be able to mould into a thousand fantastic forms, and to interpose ages of separation between events which are the most intimately united in the visions.

III. THE LAW OF PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT is a third principle, which flows naturally from the previous conclusions. The first vision, of the great image, gives a short and comprehensive survey of the world's kingdoms, from the time of the prophet down to the establishment of the visible reign of Messiah. The second vision traverses the same space; but the emblems are more full, and the historical description is more complete. In the history of the three first empires, features are introduced which did not appear before the eagle wings of the lion, the ribs or tusks in the mouth of the bear, and the four heads and the four wings of the leopard. The same expansion is still more evident in the account of the fourth empire. A strange and mysterious power is exhibited to us, of which there was no mention in the former vision.

Again, the third vision of the ram is confined to the second and third empires; since the first empire was far gone in its decline when the prophecy was given, and the fourth had its history mainly reserved for the fuller predictions of the New Testament. But the second and third kingdoms are both of them presented here with a much greater variety of distinctive features than in the two previous visions. Again, the predictions that relate to the third empire receive a further expansion in the last vision, of the Scripture of truth, and are there unfolded with an uncommon minuteness of historic detail. The same law, therefore, prevails uniformly in every part. The Spirit of God seems thus, in the word of prophecy, to imitate his own operations in the natural universe. From the seed of the first promise, he unfolds more and more, in successive predictions, the spreading outlines of Divine Providence, and thus bestows on the Church a gradual and ever-growing insight into the counsels of his wisdom. The same principle which obtains in these visions of Daniel will re-appear, with equal distinctness, in the further prophecies of the New Testament.

IV. THE LAW OF PROPHETICAL PERSPECTIVE is a fourth principle which may be plainly detected in these visions. Distant events are described more briefly in comparison with those which are near at hand. The revelations of prophecy thus follow the same law with the natural landscape. In the first vision, the empire of Babylon, which lasted only seventy years, occupies the same space with the two centuries of the Persian monarchy. The five centuries of the three first kingdoms fill nearly the same space with the remaining period of two thousand years. In the second vision we have a similar disproportion. The same law is still more observable in the last chapters. The interval of less than four centuries, from Cyrus to Antiochus Epiphanes, is of greater length than the remainder of the history, though it reaches to the time of the resurrection. The principle was clearly apprehended and well expressed by Bengelius. Prophecy (he says) is like the painting of some landscape, which, in the foreground, notes distinctly the houses, bridges and hills; but, in the distance, contracts into narrow compass valleys and mountains of the widest extent; for of such a kind must the prospect into the future be, on their part who read the prophecy; and to this the prophecy itself is suited."

This law, like the former, has an evident basis of reasons, in the great ends for which the prophecies are given to the Church. It may be traced from the first promise in Eden to the latest revelations of the word of God. In the Apocalypse, for instance, how short is the space occupied by the more distant millennium, compared with the description of previous events which were nearer at hand!

These four maxims, drawn by a strict induction from the parts of these visions which are demonstrably fulfilled, and confirmed by every principle of reason, are an important help towards the sound interpretation of the remaining portions. They will serve to exclude many fanciful expositions, and to give unity and steadiness of aim to the course of enquiry. The last of them alone is an effectual refutation of the novel theories of the Futurist interpreters. As the one law of the planetary velocities, when ascertained, extinguished for ever the theory of the vortices, so are these modern expositions condemned at once by their utter contradiction of this evident law of the divine prophecies.

V. There is one further remark of some interest, which, although previously unnoticed, seems to yield an indirect confirmation of the strongest kind to the general conclusions which have been already drawn on the true meaning of the visions.

The enquiry, then, may naturally be made, why the prophecies of Daniel should unfold with such peculiar fulness the events of history between the death of Alexander and the retreat of Antiochus (B.C. 301-168). The fact has already been established. It has even been made, more than once, a source of infidel objections to the genuineness of the whole book. Gibbon alleges that the minuteness of the detail is so unlike the general character of prophecy, as to form a clear evidence that the account was written after the events, and falsely ascribed to the prophet. Now, if a reason can be assigned,