The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 10, Issue 281 | Page 8

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St. Martin's, near Canterbury.
[Illustration: St. Martin's, near Canterbury.]
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THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH ERECTED IN ENGLAND.
(For the Mirror.)
The venerable and interesting church of St. Martin is situated on the side of a hill, (named from it,) at the distance of little more than a quarter of a mile from the dilapidated walls of Canterbury. It is generally believed to have been erected by the Christian soldiers in the Roman army, about the time of king Lucius, A.D. 182, and hence is justly esteemed as the first Christian church erected in Britain, and indeed nothing appears to contradict this assertion; for the Britons, before the arrival of the Romans, were, as is well known, in a state of barbarism and idolatry, and their habitations huts of clay and turf; and as to its being built after their departure, I do not think it at all likely, for England was then ravaged and overrun by the warlike clans of its mountain neighbours, and consequently its inhabitants had not time or inclination to erect buildings, when their lives and property were daily in danger. Their successors, the early Saxons, too, I think, cannot claim any pretensions to St. Martin, they being heathens, and unacquainted with the Christian religion. Nor could they, entirely ignorant of Roman materials, have built an edifice completely composed with them.
Here then was a Christian church and a Christian congregation established in Britain full 415 years before Augustin's arrival; but as St. Martin, bishop of Tours, died in the year 395, this church could not have been erected in his honour; but it might afterwards have been dedicated to him by Luidhard, chaplain to Bertha, wife of Ethelbert, the Kentish king; and this is the more likely, as Luidhard himself was a French bishop.
In conclusion, it may not be unnecessary to state, that though the papists consider Augustin as the apostle of the English, they do not acknowledge him as their first instructor in Christianity; for, as it appears in their service for May 26, Lucius, a British king, wrote to St. Eleutherius, (who was elected priest A.D. 177,) desiring that he might be numbered among the Christians. By whom or by what means this conversion was effected does not appear; but, however, in reply to it, Eleutherius sent the monks Damian and Fryatius into Britain, from whom the king and many of his subjects received the gospel.
SAGITTARIUS.
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PICTURE OF LIBERTY.
(For the Mirror.)
O, Liberty! thou goddess, heav'nly bright! Profuse of bliss, and pregnant with delight, External pleasures in thy presence reign.
ADDISON.
Aristo tells a pretty story of a fairy, who, by some mysterious law of her nature, was condemned to appear, at certain seasons, in the form of a foul and poisonous snake. Those who injured her during the period of her disguise were for ever excluded from participation in the blessings which she bestowed. But to those who, in spite of her loathsome aspect, pitied and protected her, she afterwards revealed herself in the beautiful and celestial form which was natural to her, accompanied their steps, granted all their wishes, filled their houses with wealth, made them happy in love and victorious in war. Such a spirit is Liberty. At times she takes the form of a hateful reptile; she grovels, she hisses, she stings; but woe to those who in disgust shall venture to crush her! And happy are those who, having dared to receive her in her degraded and frightful shape, shall at length be rewarded by her in the time of her beauty and glory!--_See Edin. Rev. vol._ xlii. _p._ 332.
P.T.W.
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FIRST AND LAST.
(From the Italian.)
One single truth before he died Poor Dick could only boast; "Alas, I die!" he faintly cried, And then--gave up the ghost!
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FRENCH GAMING HOUSES.
(For the Mirror.)
Dicing-houses, where cheaters meet, and cozen young men out of their money.
_Lord Herbert._
Begin with a guinea, and end with a mortgage.
_Cumberland._
What more than madness reigns, When one short sitting many hundreds drains, When not enough is left him to supply Board wages, or a footman's livery.
_Dryden's Juvenal._
Gaming finds a man a cully, and leaves him a knave.
_Tom Brown._
The last "nine days' wonder" is the excess to which gaming is carried among the higher circles of this country; but I much doubt whether the present expositions of such enormity in a neighbouring nation will work the desired effect on Englishmen.
Popular prejudices are obstinate points to combat; but every one who has had opportunities for observation, must allow, that in their taste for gaming, the French and English character are widely different. In France, every one plays at cards, or dominoes, and at all hours in the day, in every caf��, wine-shop, and road-side inn throughout the country. I remember to have frequently seen, in the