god of the aerial regions; prayers were addressed to him for favorable winds and refreshing showers; and Thursday, the fifth day of the week, was dedicated to him.

The inferior deities of the Scandinavians were-Niorder, who presided over the seas, navigation, hunting, and fishing; Isminsul, or the column of the universe; Surtar, prince of the genii of fire; Balder, a son of Odin; Tur, the dispenser of victory; Heimdal, the guardian of the heavens; Hoder the blind, a son of Odin; Vidar, the god of silence, a son of Odin; Braga, the god of poetry; Vati, the formidable archer; Uller, presiding over trials by duel; Hela, the dreadful goddess of death; Torseti decided the differences of gods and men; the Valkyries were goddesses of slaughter; Iduna, the queen of youth; Saga, the goddess of waterfalls; Vara, the witness of oaths; Lofen, the guardian of friendship; Synia, the avenger of broken faith.

The notions the Scandinavians entertained of hell were very remarkable. It was called Niffhien, and consisted of nine vast regions of ice, situated under the North Pole, the entrance to which was guarded by the dog of darkness, similar to the Grecian Cerberus. Loke, the evil genius, who was the cruel enemy of gods and men, with his daughter Hela, the goddess of death; the giantess Angherbode, the messenger of evil; the wolf Femis, a monster, dreaded by the gods, as destined to be their destruction, and the equally formidable serpent, resided in this gloomy abode, which has been described by Gray, in his "Descent of Odin."

THE CELTS AND DRUIDS.

We now come to the religion of the Celts, which was also that of the ancient Germans and Gauls. The Celtic priests were called Druids. All the Celtic nations, like the early Scythians, performed their religious ceremonies in sacred groves; and they regarded the oak and the mistletoe growing upon it with peculiar reverence. Their principal deities were-Teulates, the god of war; Dis, the god of the infernal regions, and the Pluto of after times; and Andate, the god

PLACE OF WORSHIP OF THE ANCIENT DRUIDS, AT STONEHENGE, ENGLAND

PRIVILEGES OF THE DRUIDS.

93

dess of victory. The god of war was the divinity of the greatest importance; upon his altars human victims were sacrificed; and though criminals were deemed the most acceptable offerings, innocent persons were frequently immolated.

Druid is derived from the word deru, which in the Celtic language signifies an oak: because their usual abode was in woods. These priests were most highly revered; they were referred to in all civil as well as religious matters; and so great was their influence in the State, that even kings could not ascend the throne without their approbation. They were divided into four classes-druids, bards, sarronides, and vates or eubages. The first were the supreme chiefs, and so highly reverenced, that the inferior orders could not remain in their presence without permission. The bards, whose Celtic name signifies a singer, celebrated the actions of heroes in verse, which they sang, and accompanied on the harp. The sarronides had the charge of instructing youth, whom they were enjoined to inspire with virtuous sentiments; and the vates or eubages had the care of the sacrifices, and applied themselves particularly to the study of nature.

The Druids enjoyed great privileges; they were exempted from serving in war and paying taxes. Numbers aspired to gain admission into this religious order, for it was open to all ranks; but this was rather difficult, as the candidates were obliged to learn the verses which contained the maxims of their religion and political government. It was unlawful to commit the druidical doctrines to writing; and therefore they were taught, and transmitted from generation to generation, entirely by the poems recited by the Druids, who required a period of fifteen or even twenty years to acquire an adequate knowledge on that subject.

CHAPTER III.

THE PAGAN NATIONS.

The Chinese-The Creeds of Lao-tse and Fo-Confucius-Chinese Festivals→→ Chinese Temples and Pagodas-Chinese Marriages and Funerals-Modern China.

THE CHINESE.

T has been asserted by many influential students that the

unchanged amidst all the innovations which have been grafted upon it during many successive ages; that this system is found to agree, in its most essential parts, with that of the Israelites, before the giving of the law by Moses; and that it may be traced back, by means of regular traditions, even to the renewal of the human race, by the grandsons of Noah. It is affirmed, on the contrary, that the primitive religion of China no longer exists, or exists only in a most degenerated state; that there is at present no national, nor scarcely any State religion in the Empire; and that the articles of faith are as various as the modes of worship. In the face of these conflicting opinions, it is here proposed to give the reader a brief narrative, first, of the principal religious systems which have been introduced into China at different periods, as far as can be ascertained from their own historical records; and next, of their more recent religious observances, and the results following the attempts to introduce Christianity among them.

All accounts of the religious opinions and ceremonies of the Chinese, previous to the time of Confucius, are mixed with fable, and full of uncertainty. Indeed, as their best