The Poetry of Sacred and Legendary Art

{187} Fraser's Magazine, March, 1849. -- "Sacred and Legendary Art. " By Mrs. Jameson. 2 vols. London. 1848, Longman and Co.

Much attention has been excited this year by the alleged fulfilment of a prophecy that the Papal power was to receive its death-blow -- in temporal matters, at least -- during the past year 1848. For ourselves, we have no more faith in Mr. Fleming, the obsolete author, who has so suddenly revived in the public esteem, than we have in many other interpreters of prophecy. Their shallow and bigoted views of past history are enough to damp our faith in their discernment of the future. It does seem that people ought to understand what has been, before they predict what will be. History is "the track of God's footsteps through time; " it is in His dealings with our forefathers that we may expect to find the laws by which He will deal with us. Not that Mr. Fleming's conjecture must be false; among a thousand guesses there ought surely to be one right one.