public monument and at every fa c red fhrine. Thefe, at lead: at firft, were harmlefs 
memorials of divine truth: fet up as a repeated annunciation of one of the primary myf- 
teries of the Chriftian faith : — an explicit reference to the firft principle of evangelical 
belief : was efteemed from the earlieft ages, as the moil hallowed fymbol cf “ The 
beginning of the gofpel of Chrift.” 
it is an engaging reprefentation in itfelf and was confecrated to religion in primae- 
val rites, before the light of the gofpel dawned . 
“ A beautiful female carefling an infant,” fays an eminent Antiquarian, “ is one of 
<c the happieft fymbols of that kind and intelligent Nature, which nouriihes the uni- 
<£ verfe. This was fculptured on Egyptian monuments, and placed in their fan Chi a - 
cc ries, as conveying the moft grateful idea of that affectionate care which cherifhes 
tc the creation, conlidered as the offspring of God and under the guardianfhip of pa- 
tc rental goodnefs.” 
It is evident thefe fublime ideas of the mofl momentous principle of natural religion 
blending with evangelical truths, contributed to that deep homage, wherewith tire fta- 
tues of the Virgin were regarded; and perhaps intelligent men, judging that the Mother 
of our Lord appeared a more accefiible objeCt of popular devotion, and that piety to 
her was more eafily apprehended and expreffed, than veneration towards the Supreme, 
Effential, Univerfal Caufe ; indulged an opinion fimilar to that of a modern traveller, 
' equally remarkable for found fenle and ingenuity ; who, fpeaking of the enthufiafm of the 
Italians, fays, “ What a hard-hearted thing philofophy is ! requiring of the world, a 
<c worlhip fo purely fpiritual, that the generality of mankind know not where to fix the 
“ affeCtions of their hearts in prayer : but fet before them a beautiful woman with a child 
<c in her arms, to whom they may prefer their petitions ; and they then know what they 
are about,” 
But whatever the fpeculative opinions actually were, their various energy was con- 
fpicuous in exciting and preferving alive, for many ages, a pre-eminent degree of 
veneration for the perfon and the ftatues of the Holy Virgin, 
And whatever the gradations may have been, in the change of the prevailing fpirit of 
enthufiafm, which occafioned fo complete a reverfe in the fyftem of religious tenets, 
as fubverted, during the former century, the whole order of the Catholic eftablifhments in 
North Britain ; it is apparent that the firft violence of the reforming zeal was directed 
againft thefe ftatues. 
If the leaders of the ecclefiaftical revolution confidered the profound refpeCt paid to 
the Virgin Mary, as any thing derogatory to the pure worfhip of the omnipotent; 
J t offers a grand apology for their indignation and refentment; and is almort fufficient 
to authorize their laying wafte thole altars, which they looked on as trophies of a fyf- 
tem, which divided the homage due to God alone. The acknowledgment of one su- 
preme being, has often proved the moft powerfully actuating principle of the human 
mind ; and when brought into competition with all the influence of the world obftruCt- 
lr >g its progrefs, has been found to triumph in the moft confpicuous and diftinguifhed 
manner. 
But alas ! the praife of that fublime view cannot be, without humiliating limitations, 
granted. 
In many refpeCts the deftroying zeal of the conceived reformation, was a blind and la- 
mentable phrenzy, involving equally in the devaftations which it occafioned to the fhrines 
°f Mary, the moft facred monuments raifed in honour of the great author of Chriftia- 
nity. And it is remarkable that this was not only the occafional effeCt of popular tu- 
mult, but likewife proceeded from the maxims that fwayed the councils of the power - 
ml and the learned. 
, The cold deliberation wherewith they fet about defacing the memorials of “The 
^ame, and of the Cross and Passion of our Lord — as a teftimony of their zeal for 
rnterefts of his gofpel— is one of thofe inexplicable phenomena in the religious and 
moral world, which often elude our underftanding. 
D d 
« The 
