Constantine. The fortifications of Galata, which might afford a shelter to the Latins, were prudently destroyed; but the damage of the Turkish cannon was soon repaired; and, before the month of August, great quantities of lime had been burnt, for the restoration of the walls of the capital. As the entire property of the soil and buildings, whether public or private, profane or sacred, was now transferred to the conqueror, he first separated a space of eight furlongs from the point of the triangle for the establishment of his seraglio, or palace. It is here, in the bosom of luxury, that the grand signior (as he has been emphatically named, by the Italians) appears to reign over Europe and Asia; but his person on the shores of the Bosphorus may not always be secure from the insults of a hostile navy. In the new character of a mosque, the cathedral of St. Sophia was endowed with an ample revenue, crowned with lofty minarets, and surrounded with groves and fountains, for the devotion and refreshment of the Moslems. The same model was imitated in the jami, or royal mosques; and the first of these was built, by Mohammed himself, on the ruins of the church of the holy apostles, and the tombs of the Greek emperors. On the third day after the conquest, the grave of Abou Ayub, or Job, who had fallen in the first siege of the Arabs, was revealed in a vision; and it is before the sepulchre of the martyr, that the new Sultans are girded with the sword of empire. Constantinople no longer appertains to the Roman historian; nor shall I enumerate the civil and religious edifices that were profaned or erected by its Turkish masters. The population was speedily renewed; and, before the end of September, five thousand families of Anatolia and Romania had obeyed the royal mandate, which enjoined them, under pain of death, to occupy their new habitations in the capital. The throne of Mohammed was guarded by the numbers and fidelity of his Moslem subjects. But his rational policy aspired to collect the remnant of the Greeks; and they returned, in crowds, as soon as they were assured of their lives, their liberties, and the free exercise of their religion. In the election and investiture of a Patriarch, the ceremonial of the By

zantine court was revived and imitated. With a mixtu of satisfaction and horror, they beheld the Sultan on his throne; who delivered into the hands of Gennadius the crosier, or pastoral staff, the symbol of his ecclesiastic office; who conducted the Patriarch to the gate of t seraglio, presented him with a horse, richly caparisoned and directed the viziers and bashaws, to lead him to the palace, which had been allotted for his residence. Th churches of Constantinople were shared between the two religions; their limits were marked; and, till it was ir fringed by Selim, the grandson of Mohammed, the Greel enjoyed, above sixty years, the benefit of this equal part tion. Encouraged by the ministers of the divan, wh wished to elude the fanaticism of the Sultan, the Chri tian advocates presumed to allege, that this division ha been an act, not of generosity, but of justice; not a con cession, but a compact; and that, if one-half of the city had been taken by storm, the other moiety had surrendered on the faith of a sacred capitulation. The original grant had indeed been consumed by fire; but the loss was supplied by the testimony of three aged Janizaries, who remembered the transaction; and their venal oaths are of more weight in the opinion of Cantemir, than the positive and unanimous consent of the history of the times.

THE APPEARANCE OF MARTIN LUTHER BEFORE THE DIET OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE, AT WORMS, IN THE YEAR 1521.

THIS account is taken from the History of the German Reformation, by Philip Marheinecke, D. D. Professor of Theology in the University of Berlin, 2 vols. Berlin, 1816. The work relates the various events, as far as possible, in he words of eye-witnesses, correspondents, or other conemporaries. It has, therefore, a peculiar intrinsic as well

external character of originality, which gives to the pasage relating to Luther's appearance at Worms, a very vely interest. Every reader, whether Protestant or Roman Catholic, will admit, that Luther's Declaration, at Worms, was an act of great historical importance. It is one of those events, to which we must necessarily recur, in contemplating the main features of the history of mankind'; -one of those acts, for which preparation has been made, by a long succession of changes and movements, and the effects of which, in turn, are visible for centuries ;-one of those acts, in fine, by which a new order of things comes to be irrevocably established, and a portion of mankind pledged to its support. Such acts can sometimes be traced by the shrewd historian, only; for it is not necessary, that they should manifest themselves as striking events, speaking directly to every mind. When, however, they unite with their historical importance a dramatic interest, as is the case with the present one; when mighty interests are personated by emperors, and cardinals, and a humble monk, or a nation is visibly represented by an august Diet, and we not only feel convinced of the great importance of the event, but see it acted out before us, in distinct, contrasting forms; then, indeed, they acquire the highest interest of which history admits.

The Reformation had begun to extend widely over Germany; the writings of Luther were anxiously read, the more so, perhaps, since they had been prohibited by the Pope. Luther had been excommunicated. The Emperor Charles V. had proposed to the Diet, (that is, to the assembled estates of the Germanic empire,-the electors, dukes, princes, counts, and barons, as well as the prelates,

of the empire, and the delegates of the free imperia cities,) to order the writings of Luther to be sent in, and burned. But the national feeling was very decidedly against such condemnation of writings, on the part of Rome, without sufficient inquiry into them in Germany, and without first giving to Luther a hearing. The Emperor saw himself obliged to grant to the German Reformer a safeconduct, to go, unmolested, to, and return from, Worms, where the Emperor's first Diet was held. This, perhaps, he was the more willing to do, in consideration of the aid he had derived in his election, to the crown of Germany, from the Elector of Saxony, whose subject Luther was. The last named prince had repeatedly declared, that he was unable and unwilling to decide upon Luther's writings, for himself; and that he agreed to what Luther had always asked, a fair hearing; nor was he willing to acknowledge the absolute power of Rome, to decide, in matters of such importance, without patient inquiry into the views of both sides. Before Luther went to Worms, the Pope had already, on the 28th of March, included him and all his adherents, in the famous bull, In Cana Domini.** In other words, Luther had been included by the Pope in the number of condemned and excommunicated heretics, a list of whom is every year publicly read, either by the Pontiff himself, or a delegate. Luther was not intimidated by this act of Papal tyranny; on the contrary, he published a sarcastic reply to, and commentary on, the bull, in the style of the age.

6

To form a just estimate of the character of Luther, we must consider, not only the personal danger, to which he exposed himself, in going to Worms, reminded, by his friends, as he seriously was, of the fate of Huss, but also, the towering courage which it required, for an humble individual, like himself, to take so bold a stand, before the assembled empire, against the Pope and Church. We must recollect the vast political power of the Church, and, what is far more, the immense moral power of a vast institution, entwined, as that was, in a thousand ways, with all the branches of life, with the affections of men, with science, with the very logic of the age, with the arts, poetry, and literature, with all and every thing that occu

* So called, according to the usual mode of naming bulls, because beginning with the words, "In Coena Domini."

pies the mind of man, as well in the higher as in the more ordinary spheres of action and interest. If we consider how early he had to take this bold stand, with what unwavering firmness he did it, and how worthily he acquitted himself, it will probably be admitted, that no act in his life more prominently shows the heroic element in his soul, which, upon close and calm examination, must be considered as one of the foremost traits in his powerful character. The account is taken from Vol. I., beginning with page 255.

THE carriage, in which Luther drove to Worms, had been given him by the town-council of Wittemberg, for which he politely thanked them in a letter. At Weimar, Duke John had furnished him with some travelling money. At Erfurt, his reception was peculiarly solemn. Crotus, then Rector of the University, accompanied by Cobanns Hessen, Curicius Cordus, John Draco, and others, forty in number, all on horseback, with many people on foot, received him at the distance of two (German) miles from Erfurt, and accompanied the carriage which contained Luther and his companions, into the town. At the entrance, and in all the streets of the town, through which the cortége passed, the throng was still greater. He also preached here, at the request of many persons, in the convent of the Augustines. His friend Coban has sung his entry into Erfurt, and sojourn there, in four beautiful Latin poems. At Eisenach, he was taken sick, and was bled, and the burgomaster of the town administered to him a "noble water," after which, he fell asleep. The next morning, he proceeded on his journey. Whenever he entered a town, multitudes met him, desirous to see that bold man, who dared to take a stand against the Pope. Some gave him sore comfort, by saying, that, considering the many cardinals and bishops at Worms, there could be little doubt, but that they would soon burn him to powder, as they had burned Huss, at Constance. But Luther replied, "Though they should kindle fire, between Wittemberg and Worms, whose flames should reach to the heavens, I would still appear in the name of the Lord, and step into the very jaws of Behemoth, and