The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-07-30 00:00:00

MARINERS' CHURCH.

SIR,—I attended the Sunday afternoon service at the
re-opening of the Mariner's Church, and a more affecting
scene I have seldom witnessed. It was indeed most grati-
fying to see such a class as nearly 700 sailors, with their
families, crowding to the House of God on his holy day :
and the spirit with which they joined so reverently, so
audibly, and so devotionally in the prayers and responses
was to me truly delightful—to their minister it must have
been doubly so. The beautiful simplicity and earnestness
with which the preacher instructed them in the Gospel of
Christ seemed to be fully appreciated by the breathless at-
tention w►th which the audience hung upon his lips.
Oh ! what a spectacle. I thought it was acceptable for
angels to look upon. But after the sermon, when their
strong voices heartily united in singing that inimitable
hymn, " Christ the seaman's stay," I confess my feelings
were entirely overpowered. I could not help wishing
that there was a Mariners' Church in every one of our
docks ! nor could I express the ardent desire that the
sailors' friends, the merchants, had all been there to
partake of my joy. I shall not easily forget, while gazing
on some of their veteran countenances, seeing the big
tear rolling down their cheeks, with their eyes closed, and
their throats almost choked. Surely here was evidence of
the power of Divine Grace on the human heart. But I
must forbear to proceed. May God in mercy long pre-
serve the Mariners' Church a blessing to the seamen fre-
quenting this port ; and may Liverpool ever keep up such
a movement to the glory of God, an instrument for pro-
moting the happiness of man.
I am, Sir, yours truly, R.
Liverpool, July, 1850.

'
INTERESTING RELlC.—There has lately been found
among the remains of Wenlock Abbey, Shropshire, a most
interesting antiquarian relic, in the shape of an enormous
stone coffin, supposed to have contained the ashes of one
of the "great men" of the neighbourhood. The abbey,
which was formerly one of the richest in England, was
besieged in the time of the Commonwealth by Oliver
Cromwell's army, and the present ruins, still very exten-
sive, are well worthy of a visit from the passing traveller.
One part of them is converted into a gentlemanly resi-
dence, and another constitutes the parish church of
Much Wenlock. This church is now undergoing repairs.
and it was in the process of levelling the flooring that
the workmen came across this remnant of former days.
The coffin is hewn out of solid stone, weighs upwards of
a ton, and is shaped to the form of the body, which in this
instance must have been carried to it. Along with the
coffin there were found some parts of a skeleton, consist-
ing of the jaw-bone, and thigh and leg bones, add which
were of great size and in good preservation, but the thigh
bone appears to have been fractured The se have since
been re-interred, but the coffin still re. mains on view for
the edification of the curious. Some idea may be formed
of the proportions of the living man from the following
dimensions of the internal structure of the coffin :—length,
a little over six feet four inches; breadth across the
shoulders, two feet. Verily, they were " slants ia those
days 1"i-0w-respondent.

r For CEYLON,
,:-..... The LYDIA
WILLIAM A vzs,--Idaster;
4.014 i 477 tons resist pply to
.6.. C. W. and F. SHAND.
First ship.—Has room for a few tons of light freight.
For CALCUTTA,
• The splendid Ship CAMERTONIAN,
fif' \ Built LEONARD SPEAR, Commander;
.-..„)+,-.4 at Workington ; registers 543 tons, and
- r>,.•.- - classed at Lloyd's A 1 -e years ;is cop-
pered and copper- ed ; sails remarkably fast,
and is in every respe most desirable conveyance.—For
terms of freight assage apply to
IMRIE and TOMLINSON.