And there have aged pilgrims stood, (Now safely pass’d o’er Jordan’s flood, And gain’d blest Canaan’s shore,) Each burthen there they seem’d to cast, As if each danger they had pass’d, And all their toil was o’er. And last I’ve seen the funeral train, Like mourners on a desert plain, Come slowly with their load:— I’ve stood beside the silent bier, And watch’d the trickling kindred tear Fall in death’s drear abode. Oh! when I view that sacred tower, At morning or at evening hour, By pure devotion led, I love to meditate awhile— I think I see some angels smile Above the peaceful dead! _Chelsea_, 1867. GEORGE BRYAN. PARISH REGISTERS. We now come to an exceedingly interesting subject, interesting alike, both to old and young, when we consider the very small population of the parish three centuries back compared with the present time now numbering about 70,000. Many of the early records of Parish Registers, will be found often written in so quaint a style as to be almost amusing, still they carry with them solemn thoughts, if rightly regarded, which ought to produce a salutary effect. When we read, too, the inscriptions on the monuments in our cathedrals, old churches, and in our cemeteries, and find ourselves actually walking over the remains of noblemen, statesmen, and others—some celebrated for their noble and gallant conduct, or for hospitality and munificence, and many for their devotion to the study of theology, literature, the fine arts, &c.—we become, as it were, rivetted to the sacred spot, and whatever pleasing historical associations may occur to the mind, they are involuntarily mingled with reflections of a far more solemn character. * * * * * The first institution of Parish Registers in England commenced in 1501, 16th of Henry VIII., although the keeping of them was not strictly enjoined till the injunction of Lord Cromwell, 30th of Henry VIII., but he being considered as a favourer of innovations in religion, the good intent of them was much misrepresented, and his order rarely attended to by the clergy. A second order of this kind was issued in the second year of Edward VI., 1547, though perhaps little complied with. A third order is found in the statutes of the National Synod, by Cardinal Pole, about 1555, and the last and most successful in the 1st, 7th, and 39th years of Elizabeth. * * * * *