friend who gave away the woman, (the paranymphus is spoken of by Augustin,) came to church, and gave their consent to marriage; and while they performed this public contract, they gave each other their right hands, a custom which is mentioned by Tertullian and Gregory Nazianzen. These rites, accompanied or followed by the benediction of the priest, seem to have been always used in the office of matrimony. Then shall the minister say, Who giveth this woman to be married to this man? T Then shall they give their troth to each other in this manner. The minister, receiving the woman at her father's or friend's hands, shall cause the man with his right hand to take the woman by her right hand, and to say after him as followeth. I M. take thee N. to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto plight thee my troth. ¶ Then shall they loose their hands; and the woman, with her right hand taking the man by his right hand, shall i Augustin. Sermo 293. likewise say after the minister, I N. take thee M. to my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth. Then shall they again loose their hands; and the man shall give unto the woman a ring, laying the same upon the book, with the accustomed duty to the priest and clerk. And the priest, taking the ring, shall deliver it unto the man, to put it upon the fourth finger of the woman's left hand. And the man holding the ring there, and taught by the priest, shall say, With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. ¶Then the man leaving the ring upon the fourth finger of the : Manum retrahendo. Deinde dicat mulier docente sacerdote. I N. take the N. to my wedded husbonde, to have and to holde, fro this day forwarde, for better for wors: for richer for porere in sykenesse and in hele to be bonere and buxum, in bedde and at borde, tyll dethe us departhe: if holy chyrche it woll ordeyne: and therto I plight the my trouthe. Manum retrahendo. Deinde ponat vir aurum, argentum, et annulum super scutam vel librum . . . . accipiens sacerdos annulum tradet ipsum viro: quem vir accipiat manu sua dextera cum tribus principalibus digitis, a manu sua sinistra ; et tenens dexteram sponse docente sacerdote dicat, woman's left hand, they shall both kneel down; and the minister shall say, Let us pray. O Eternal God, Creator and Preserver of all mankind, Giver of all spiritual grace, the Author of everlasting life; send thy blessing upon these thy servants, this man and this woman, whom we bless in thy name; that, as Isaac and Rebecca lived faithfully together, so these persons may surely perform and keep the vow and covenant betwixt them made, (whereof this ring given and received is a token and pledge,) and may ever remain in perfect love and peace together, and live according to thy laws; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. tibus dicat sacerdos benedictionem super eosk. Oremus. Creator et conservator humani generis; dator gratiæ spiritualis; largitor æternæ salutis; tu Domine mitte benedictionem tuam super hunc annulum . . . quem nos in tuo sancto nomine benedicimus : ut quæcunque eum portaverit in tua pace consistat, et in tua voluntate permaneat, et in tuo amore vivat et crescat et senescat, et multiplicetur in longitudinem dierum. Per Dominum 1. The succeeding rites, in which the priest, with a certain formulary, joins their right hands together, and afterwards pronounces the marriage to be complete, are perhaps peculiar to the church of England. The benediction which succeeds this declaration is of ancient use in the English church, as it appears in the manuals of Salisbury and York, though it is in the latter placed in a subsequent part of the office. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, k Manuale Sar. fol. 48. Benedicat vos Deus Pater, custodiat vos Jesus Christus, 1 Ibid. very few forms, and often consisted of nothing more than the affusion of water on the person baptized, with a repetition of the words of baptism. It is unnecessary for me to enter on the discussion relative to the proper ministers of baptism, which has been treated with his usual learning by Bingham, in his Scholastical History of Lay-Baptism. The church of England has not encouraged the practice of baptizing children by the hands of laymen or women, even in urgent cases. But it cannot with reason be apprehended, that infants who depart before baptism can be administered, are without the benefits of that sacrament. Because the catholic church has always · held that the wish to receive baptism is sufficient in a case of necessity; and if the church who hath the power of administering this sacrament, be prevented by the visitation of God from fulfilling her intentions, her desire and wish are sufficient to remove apprehension1. It is needless to make any lengthened observations on the practice of the church of England in the administration of baptism in private. The minister is directed to perform the office, by repeating the Lord's Prayer, and any other collects of the office of public baptism which the time permits. Amongst these it would certainly seem proper that the benedictions beginning "O merciful God, grant that the old Adam," &c. and the following prayer for the sanctification of the font of water should be used. For we observe that in the ancient offices for the baptism of the sick in the church of Constantinople, and in the sacramentary of Gelasius, there is a short form for consecrating the waterm. 1 Hooker, b. viii. 60. m Goar, Rit. Græc. p. 370. Gelasii Sacramentar. Muratori, tom. i. p. 595, &c. Answ. And evermore defend them. Min. Be unto them a tower of strength, Answ. From the face of their enemy. Min. O Lord, hear our prayer. Answ. And let our cry come unto thee. Minister. O God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, bless these thy servants, and sow the seed of eternal life in their hearts; that whatsoever in thy holy word they shall profitably learn, they may in deed fulfil the same. Look, O Lord, mercifully upon them from heaven, and bless them. And as thou didst send thy blessing upon Abraham and Sarah, to their great comfort, so vouchsafe to send thy blessing upon these thy servants; that they obeying thy will, and alway being in safety under thy protection, may abide in thy love unto their lives' end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. O merciful God, and heavenly Father, by whose gracious gift mankind is increased; we beseech thee, assist with thy blessing these two persons, that they may both be fruitful in procreation of children, and Vers. Domine, exaudi orationem meam. Resp. Et clamor meus ad te veniat. Oremus. Deus Abraham, Deus Isaac, Deus Jacob, benedic adolescentes istos et semina semen vitæ æternæ in mentibus eorum, ut quicquid pro utilitate sua didicerint, hoc facere cupiant, per &c. Oremus. Respice Domine de cœlis, et benedic conventionem istam. Et sicut misisti sanctum angelum tuum Raphaelem ad Tobiam et Saram filium Raguelis: ita digneris Domine mittere benedictionem tuam super istos adolescentes, ut in tua voluntate permaneant, et in tua securitate persistant, et in amore tuo vivant et senescant. Ut digni atque pacifici fiant, et multiplicentur in longitudinem dierum, per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen. Respice Domine propitius super hunc famulum tuum, et super hanc famulam tuam, ut in nomine tuo benedictionem cœlestem accipiant, et filios filiorum suorum et filiarum suarum, usque ad tertiam et quar |