PRESENTED TO THE LIBRARY BY .Presbyter ian.College... fH-p ' • XG,1 \/ .G O M-G.ILL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ACC. NO. 292103 'r~ yr® THE INVESTIGATOR; OR JANUARY AND APRIL, 1823 44 Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pare, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report.” EDITED BY THE REV. WILLIAM BENGO’ COLLYER, D.D. LL.D. F.A.S. THE REV. THOMAS RAFFLES, LL.D. (of LIVERPOOL,) AND JAMES BALDWIN BROWN, ESQ. LL.D. LONDON: Printed at the Caxton Press, by Henry Fisher. PUBLISHED BY THOMAS AND GEORGE UNDERWOOD, 32, FLEET-STREET ; OGLE, DUNCAN, AND CO., AND SHERWOOD AND CO., PATERNOS¬ TER-ROW ; BLACK, KINGSBURY, PARBURY, AND ALLEN, LEADEN- HALL-STREET ; F. WESTLEY, STATIONERS* COURT ; B. I. HOLDSWORTH, st. Paul’s church-yard; waugh and innes, Edinburgh; wood, MARLBOROUGH-STREET, DUBLIN; AND MANNING, CHAPEL-LANE, BELFAST. 1 ,1'M ,M ;»».• , • A . . * CONTENTS OF NUMBER XI. BIOGRAPHY. Memoir of the Life of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. the Friend who supplied Dr. Franklin with the cele¬ brated Massachusetts Papers. By David Hosack, M.D., Professor of Medicine in the University of New-York ESSAYS, &c. An Essay on the Agriculture of the Israelites, Part V. I ranslation of the Cinghalese Book, called Rajewaliye, (Rajavali) a History of Ceylon, compiled from the Historiographic Records of the Kingdom. Part V. Communicated by Sir Alexander Johnstone, Knt. late Chief Justice of that Island - Prayers, and Fragments of Prayers, composed by John Hou ard, the Philanthropist, found amongst his papers at Cherson, immediately after his decease Some account of Major General Lyman, and the singular misfortunes of his Family. By the late President Dwight - - - Letter from Lord John Russel, M.P. to the Editors ORIGINAL LETTERS FROM EMINENT PERSONS. From the Rev. John Berridge to the Rev. Mr. Woodgate REVIEW. The Liberal, Verse and Prose from the South - Mrs. Schimmelpenninck’s Biblical Fragments Gell on the Idiom of the Hebrew Language An Essay on the Evils of Scandal, Slander, and Misrepre¬ sentation PAGE 39 51 60 64 74 75 78 108 ib. 124 )C\ >2 i 03 CONTENTS. A Picture of Ancient Times. By S. E. Thomson A Sketch of Modern History. By the same Author O’Donnoughue’s Christian Minister’s Farewell Mason’s Poetical Essays - American Literature and Intelligence PAGE 132 POETRY. Lines written on the Sea of Ice - The Hebrew Mourner. By the late Rev. J. W. Eastburn of New-York To Thomas Campbell, Esq. suggested by reading the Pleasures of Hope ------- Spring - - - 135 Philosophical and Literary Intelligence List of New Publications - Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence ANECDOTES. Singular Fate of an Extortioner ----- 201 John Wessel - -- -- -- - 202 Khan Zigand - -- -- -- - ib. Obituary - -- -- -- -- 203 John Stewart, Esq. ------ 203 Rev. Edward Daniel Clarke, LL.D. - - - 205 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence - - - - 207 Summary of Missionary Proceedings - - - - 221 Political Retrospect - - - - - - - 232 CONTENTS OF NUMBER XII. biography. Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821 ESSAYS, &c. A Few Reasons for Baptizing Children, in a Letter address- ed to a Friend. By the Rev. Joint Roberts, of -LLanbrynmair - S ° me ^ e ^ ar ^ s ° n the Infl uence of Regulations connected dienrv he f C ° u Ct, i° n ° f Customs ’ a "d on the Inexpe- diency of multiplying Official Oaths - - . Add Sociedes ChriStian Females ’ in Favour of Missionary SOm FWt COU f ° f Connection or Sympathy between Discoveries M ^ neU _ sm : Electro-Magnetic A S °!-I'n'V p , reac ]! e , < ? b y Mr. Matthew Henry, as a Fare- Snhct^ t0 i HS Fellow - St udents in Gray’s-Inn, in 1687 ubst “ c e of a Report °n the Condition of the Population, p of the district of Lumba Selapan, in Sumatra. ommumcated by Sir T. S. Raffles, Knt., Lt.-Gov. of Fort Marlborough ’ uv * Substance of a Report on the Condition of the Population same B ftS ’ “ Sumatra * Communicated by the PAGE 237 - 252 257 - 263 269 - 278 - 294 - 301 ORIGINAL LETTERS FROM EMINENT PERSONS. Bishop Warburton to Dr. Doddridge Hr. Watts to the same - _ The Rev. Samuel Clark to the same - he Rev. Hugh Farmer to the Rev. Mr. Fownes - REVIEW. 0 * U “'First"p^h 1 addressed to the Members of the mJAer d d"“ Church .' n Ba[tim « re ' By Samuel Notes on Rio de Janeiro, and the Southern Parts of Brazil. By JOHN Luccock - . Essays. By Father Fitz-Eustace, a Mendicant Friar ’ - 310 - 311 - 312 - 3-13 316 335 341 CONTENTS. Jerusalem Delivered. Book IV. From the Italian of Tasso. ByJ. H.Wiffen - Religious Novels and Tales. Happiness; a Tale for the Grave and the Gay - No Enthusiasm; a Tale of the present Times The Vicar of Iver; a Tale The French Protestant; a Tale The Privileges and Obligations of Christian Parents and their Children, adduced from a View of the Abrahamic Covenant. By John Bruce - The Seaman’s Prayer Book. By Capt. Scoresby PAGE 356 366 ib. ib. ib. 396 398 American Literature and Intelligence Sermon to Lunatics - Sermon on the Cessation of the Yellow Fever at New- York. 401 ib. 405 POETRY. A Funeral Anthem - ~ Drachenfels; a Legend of the Rhine - 420 Philosophical and Literary Intelligence ... - 426 List of New Publications - - - - - 433 Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence - 439 Anecdotes. The Emperor Augustus ------ 447 Tamerlane - ib. Dr. Dale - -- -- -- - ib. Rev. Lawrence Echard ----- 448 Dr. Goldsmith - - - - - - ib. Generous Heroism of an Italian Peasant - 449 Obituary. William Blair, Esq. ------ ib. Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence - 450 Summary of Missionary Proceedings - 459 Political Retrospect ------- 468 THE INVESTIGATOR. JAJSUARY , 1823. A Biographical Memoir o/Hugh Williamson, M.D.LL.D. i Lember of the V 'eic -1 ork Historical Society ; Correspond- wg Secretary of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Hew-Lork; Member oj the American Philosophical Society; of the Holland Society oj Sciences; of the Society oj' Arts aitd Sciences of Utrecht, Sc. Sc. By David Hosack, M.D. LL.D. Professor of the Institutes and Practice of Medicine in the University of New-York; Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh ; Member of the Philosophical and Historical Societies of New-York, Philadelphia, Boston, &c. Dr. Williamson was a native of the state of Pennsyl¬ vania, he was born on the 5th day of December, 1735, in in \v est Nottingham township, near Octarara river, which di\ ides Chester from Lancaster county. His parents were natives of Ireland, but their earlier ancestors, it is believed, came originally from Scotland. His father, John William¬ son, was an industrious tradesman, who had pursued his business of a clothier in the city of Dublin. He came to America, and settled in Chester county, about the year 1730. The mother of Dr. Williamson, Mary Davi¬ son, was a native of Derry; with her father, George Davison, she came to this country, when a child about three years of age : on their way to America they were captured and plun¬ dered on the coast, by Theach, the noted pirate Blackbeard ; upon being released, “they arrived in Philadelphia. She died about fifteen years since, having attained her 90th year. The parents of Dr. Williamson were married in the year 1731, shortly after his father’s arrival in this country; and ten children, viz. six sons and four daughters, were the fruits of that connection. Hugh was their eldest son. His parents were both distinguished for their undeviating integrity—their habits of industry and frugality—their great moral worth, and attention to the duties of religion. Of this parentage. Dr. Williamson was justly proud, believ¬ ing, with the Roman poet, “--nee census, nec clarum nomen avorum, Sed probitas magnos ingeniumque facit.” Ovid. Epist. — Pont. I. 9. v. 39. B ,VOJL. VI.—NO. 11. 9 Memoir o/’Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. His father, observing that Hugh was of a slender, deli¬ cate constitution, and that he was not likely to attain to that vigour that would enable him to support himself by manual labour, resolved to give him a liberal education. After having received the common preparatory instruction of a country school near his father’s house, he was sent at an early age to learn the languages at an academy established at New-London Cross Roads, under the direction of that very eminent scholar, the Rev. Francis Alison, justly enti¬ tled, from his talents, learning, and discipline, the Busby of the western hemisphere. At that period, I may remark, the means of instruction in the middle colonies were contined to grammar schools or academies; for the University of Cambridge, Massachu¬ setts,* the College of W illiam and Mary, in Virginia/f and Yale College, in Connecticut,^ were the only regularly organized establishments at that time in this country ; for neither in New-Jersey,^ Pennsylvania,|| New-York,^[ nor Maryland, had any public measures been taken for the pro¬ motion of literature: what was done was exclusively the result of individual exertion. But although the colonies just mentioned did not enjoy the benefits of regularly organized collegiate institutions, yet they possessed, in their academies and grammar schools, the most ample means of instruction in classical literature, and in most of the sciences constituting the usual education preparatory to the study of the learned professions. Mr. Williamson enjoyed the-advantages of being educated in one of the most celebrated of these institutions, then under the care of Dr. Alison; which academy, upon the removal of that gentleman to the station of Vice-Provost and Professor of Moral Philosophy, in the College of Phi¬ ladelphia, was afterwards transferred to Newark, in the state of Delaware, under the direction of his pupil, the Rev. Alexander M'Dowell. In the school of Dr. Alison, and of his successor Mr. M‘Dowell, Mr. Williamson remain¬ ed until he had made great proficiency in all those branches of learning that were considered necessary for his admission into college. In the prosecution of his studies, while at school, he distinguished himself by his diligence, his love of order, and his correct moral and religious deportment; for, even Established in 1638. + Established in 1690. J Established in § 1 College of New-Jersey, was established in 1746. II College of Philadelphia, in 1753. IT King’s, now Columbio, College, in 1754. 3 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. at that early age, he had imbibed from his parents and in¬ structors, a due sense of that “ intimate connection which subsists between letters and morality, between sensibility and taste, between an improved mind "and a virtuous heart.”* Accordingly, under the impulse of these first impressions, through life, he “---all his study bent To worship God aright, and know his works.” Thus prepared under the care of his eminent teachers, he retired from the seminary of Dr. Alison, and, at his father’s house, applied himself to the study of Euclid’s Elements, of which, in a short time, he became master. I may here observe, that he discovered, very early in life, a strong attachment to mathematical reasoning, and to that order and precision, which the science of mathematics impresses upon the mind: but his absolute want of a poetical talent was not less perceptible. The father now proposed to send his son to Europe, to finish his education, that had been so successfully begun ; but as a charter had been obtained for the academy in Phila¬ delphia, about the time he was to have sailed, it was con¬ cluded that he should immediately proceed to that city. Accordingly, he entered in the first class in the College of Philadelphia, where he remained four years; and at the first commencement held in that college, on the 17th day of May, 1757, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. It is an evidence of the talents, the industry, and of the suc¬ cess, with which Mr. Williamson prosecuted his collegiate studies, and of the high estimation in which he was held by the professors and trustees of the university, that during the time he passed at college, he was successively employed as a teacher, both in the Latin and English schools connected with that institution. A little anterior to this period, his father and family had removed to Shippensburgh, Cumber¬ land county. His father died in the same year that his son received his first degree. Hugh was appointed his sole executor, and, upon the event of his father’s death, took up his residence with his mother at Shippensburgh, where he remained about tw ? o years, during which period he, in a great degree, devoted himself to the settlement of his father’s estate, personally collecting the debts that were due to it, and which w ere very much scattered. Bv the fatigue * Johnson. 4 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. of body, in connection with the distress of mind he expe¬ rienced upon the death of his father, his constitution received a shock which induced an alarming hypochondria¬ sis, that was only relieved by travelling, and a release from the anxiety and care which his attention to business had imposed. As has already been intimated, Mr. Williamson’s mind was early impressed with a sense of religion. It is a remark of an excellent writer, who duly appreciates this union of the intellectual faculties with purity of moral character and conduct in life, “ That knowledge only is of value which exalts the virtue, multiplies the comforts, soothes the sorrow, and improves the general felicity of human intercourse.”* With Mr. Williamson, this sentiment was not a mere specu¬ lative opinion; it entered into the daily practice and pur¬ suits of his life, and that love of truth and virtue which philosophy had taught him as a dignified sentiment, Chris¬ tianity consecrated as a religious duty. With this frame of mind, it was his original intention, and he considered it his duty, to prepare himself for the ministry, at the same time believing that occupation to be the most honourable and useful in which he could be engaged, and for which his piety and education had peculiarly qualified him. “It was remarkable,” says a communication which I have received from his family, “ that before he entered upon the study of divinity, while yet quite a young man, he visited and prayed with the sick in the neighbourhood, and it was pleasing to the pious of those days to remark the fervency and devo¬ tion with which this young layman approached the throne of grace.” During the period of his residence with his mother, then a widow, he devoted all his time not occupied by the business of his father’s estate, to the study of divi¬ nity, frequently visiting Dr. Samuel Finley, an eminent divine, who at that time preached at East Nottingham town¬ ship, Chester county, and who then directed his pursuits. In 1759, Mr. Williamson went to Connecticut, where he still pursued his theological studies, and was licensed to preach the gospel. After his return from Connecticut, he was also admitted a member of the presbytery of Philadelphia. He preached but a short time, not exceeding two years, and then his preaching must have been only occasional; he never was ordained, or took charge of a congregation, for his health did not permit him to perform the stated duties of a pastor. The infirm state of his health in early life * Wakefield. 5 Memoir q/‘Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. made it very questionable whether his lungs would bear the exertions of public speaking: these apprehensions were now verified, for he became much troubled with pains and strictures of his chest, which led him to abandon the pro¬ fession that was the first object of his choice, and to which he was, from a sense of duty, attached. The memorable controversy, too, which took place about that period in the Presbyterian church, between the adherents of Mr. Whit¬ field, and those who considered themselves as the old and more orthodox party, also proved to him a source of dis¬ gust, and had great influence in withdrawing him from his theological pursuits : he accordingly left the pulpit, and entered upon the study of medicine. To this science, it appears, he also had already manifested some predilection: his nephew remarks upon this subject, “ My mother can give but little information respecting the Doctor’s study of medicine; she however believes, that this science must have been a favourite study with him long before he had determined to attend to it regularly, as she found him, when studying divinity, giving directions respecting inoculation for the small-pox.” In the year 1760, he received the degree of Master of Arts, in the College of Philadelphia, and was immediately after appointed the professor of mathematics in that institu¬ tion. He accepted the professorship, regarding it a most honourable appointment, but without any intention of neg¬ lecting his medical studies. It had been observed of him very early in life, that he had a strong natural fondness for mathematical investigation, and it was remarked, that while he was a student in college, all his public exercises and disputations partook so much of the mathematical form of reasoning, that he was considered by his fellow students as an adroit and obstinate antagonist. At the same time, as already hinted, it was equally observable that he had no talent for versification. 1 have often heard him remark, that the first part of a Spanish proverb implied a severe censure upon him, viz. that “ he is a fool who cannot make one verse • he is a fool who will make two.” On the 8th of October, 1763, Mr. Williamson gave notice of his intended resignation of his professorship; and in 1764 he left his native country for Europe, for the purpose of prosecuting his medical studies at the University of Edin¬ burgh. He remained in that city, enjoying the advantages of instruction afforded by the lectures of the elder Monro, VVhytte, Cullen, Home, Alston, and Dr. John Gregory, the 6 Memoir oj Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. author of the “ Legacy,” and father of the late distinguished professor of the practice of physic in that celebrated seat of learning. During his stay in Edinburgh, Mr. \Y illiamson was occasionally confined to his chamber or bed, by inter¬ mitting fevers and pains in the breast, so much so that he had nearly resolved to make a visit to Lisbon, or some other warm climate; but recovering from these complaints at the close of the lectures, he left Edinburgh, and made a tour through the northern parts of Scotland, after which he proceeded to London, where he remained twelve months, diligently pur¬ suing his studies, and, as at Edinburgh, by his zeal attract¬ ing the notice and kind attentions of his instructors. From London he crossed over to Holland, and proceeded to Utrecht, where he completed his medical education. Hav¬ ing passed the usual examination, in which he displayed his classical aud medical attainments, and having submitted to the professors of that university a Latin thesis, he obtained a degree of Doctor of Medicine. He afterwards amused himself with a tour on the continent, from which he returned to his native country in a state of health considerably improved. After his return, Dr. Williamson practised medicine in Philadelphia for some years with great success, as it respected the health of his patients, but with painful effects as it regarded his own. By the occasional loss of sleep, to which he was necessarily exposed, his constitution soon became considerably impaired, and so acute was his sensi¬ bility to the sufferings of the sick, that he seldom had a patient, in imminent danger, that he did not experience.a febrile excitement of the system. He therefore resolved to abandon medicine, and to attempt the relief of his constitu¬ tion by mercantile pursuits. Fortunately for the interests of science, and, I may add, for our country, this resolution was not carried into effect until some years after this period. In the mean time, Dr. Williamson remained in the city of Philadelphia, devoted to his favourite literary and philoso¬ phical investigations. Shortly after this time, the attention of the philosophers, both of Europe and America, was directed to an event which was about to take place, of great importance to astronomical science and to navigation : I refer to the transit of Venus over the sun’s disk, which occurred on the third day of June, 1769 ; “ a phenomenon which had never been seen but twice by any inhabitant of our earth; which would never be seen again by any person then living; and on 7 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. which depended very important astronomical consequen¬ ces.”* This subject had already engaged the attention of the astronomers of the other hemisphere, and measures, preparatory to that event, had been adopted; for in the latter part of the year 1767, it had been resolved by the Royal Society of London, to send persons to the South Seas, as a part of the world peculiarly favourable for observ¬ ing the expected transit. This phenomenon, which pre¬ sented to the American mathematicians and astronomers an ample occasion for the display of their abilities in these departments of science, as might be expected, attracted great attention in the colonies. At a meeting of the Ame¬ rican Philosophical Society, held on the 7th day of January, 1769, Dr. Hugh Williamson was appointed a member of a committee, consisting of Mr. David Rittenhouse, the Rev. Dr. Ewing, Dr. Smith, provost of the college, Mr. Charles Thompson, and some others, eminently skilled in mathema¬ tics and astronomy, to observe that rare phenomenon, as it was aptly styled by Dr. Smith. The contacts of the limbs of Venus and the sun, as observed and drawn up by Dr. Williamson, together with the determination of the sun’s parallax and distance, as derived from those observations, are communicated to the world in the first volume of the Transactions of the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia. The observations published on that memorable occasion, by the Rev. Dr. Ewing, Mr. David Rittenhouse, the Rev. Dr. Smith, by Professor Winthrop, of Massachusetts, as well as those by Dr. Williamson, and other American astro¬ nomers, were considered by the philosophers of Europe, as highly creditable to their authors, and of great importance to the cause of science. By the astronomer royal, the Rev. Mr. Nevil Maskelyne, they were referred to with peculiar notice and approbation : “ I thank you,” says that eminent philosopher to his correspondent, the Hon. Thomas Penn, “ for the account of the Pennsylvanian observations of the transit, which seem excellent and complete, and do honour to the gentlemen w ho made them, and those w ho promoted the undertaking.” Soon after this event, the Philosophical Society of Phila¬ delphia, sensible of the correctness and ability with which the labours referred to had been conducted, and desirous of obtaining additional means of settling the longitude of Philadelphia, Norriton, and other places which had been the sites of their former observations of the transit of Venus, * Rush’s Eulogium on Dr. Rittenhouse. 8 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. appointed the same committee, of which Dr. Williamson had been an active member, to observe the transit of Mer¬ cury, which was to take place on the 9th day of November of the same year. The observations of Dr. Williamson, with the elements of his calculation of that transit, are also contained in the same important volume of the American Transactions. In the month of September, of the same momentous year, a considerable degree of public alarm was excited by the appearance of a remarkable comet. Its tail was of vast extent, subtending an arch of ten or fifteen degrees. Dr. Williamson, who had reflected much upon subjects of this nature, could not allow himself to believe that comets, more than other heavenly bodies, were destructive masses of fire. Having considered the subject with great attention, he pre¬ sented to the American Philosophical Society a theory which seems to have been perfectly new, and which he ever claimed as his own. He alleged, that the lucid tail of that comet, which must have been many millions of miles in length, was nothing else than the atmosphere of the comet thrown behind the nucleus as it approached the sun, and illuminated by the refracted rays of the sun’s light. I have often heard him remark, that from night to night, with his telescope, he traced a spot immediately behind the nucleus, in which there was not any observable light. Hence he' inferred, that comets, instead of being infinitely hotter than melted iron, were, in all probability, like Jupiter and Saturn, habitable planets, and in their greatest and least distance from the sun might afford a comfortable residence for people, not materially differing from the inhabitants of this earth in the capacity of bearing cold or heat. This idea of comets gives a prodigious extent to our ideas of the rational beings with which this solar system may be inhabited. It was not, without rnncirlorolvln 9 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. sophical Society of New-York. He concludes that interest¬ ing communication with the following exalted view of his subject: “ Having ventured an opinion that every planet and every comet in our system is inhabited, we have only taken a very imperfect view of the astonishing w T orks of the Divine Architect. There are about three thousand fixed stars visible by the naked eye. Every one of those stars is doubtless a sun, and each of those suns affords light and heat to another system of worlds. Let us only suppose that each of those suns illuminates as many orbs as belong to our system. We shall state the number at two hundred, though it is believed that twice this number of comets, beside the planets, have already been discovered. This would give three hundred thousand worlds. But three thousand is a small number when compared with the whole number of stars that have been discovered. The relative places of fifty thousand stars have been determined by the help of telescopes. Fifty thousand solar systems, each containing at least one hundred worlds! Five millions of worlds, all inhabited by rational beings ! How r do we seem to dwindle into littleness! How small, how few, are the ephemerons of this little globe, when compared with the countless myriads who inhabit five millions of worlds! All those worlds, and every one of their inhabitants, are under the constant care of the Divine Being. Not one of them is neglected. ‘ Great and marvellous are his works! how ter¬ rible his power!’ ” In the following year, (1770,) Dr. W illiamson prepared and published, through the same channel of communica¬ tion,* some observations upon the change of climate that had been remarked to take place more particularly in the middle colonies of North America. The Doctor had ascer¬ tained, that within the last forty or fifty years, the winters had not been so intensely cold, nor the summers so dis¬ agreeably warm, as they had been in the earlier settlement of the country; and that during the same period, a very observable change had also taken place in the character of the prevailing diseases; that the fevers which had, for many years, maintained a fatal reign through many parts of this country, w r ere then evidently on the declineand that inflammatory fevers, with the several diseases of cold sea¬ sons, had been observed to remit their violence as the winters had become more temperate. To account for those v Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, &c. vol. I. p. 336. 2d edition. 10 Memoir o/’Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. facts was the object of that communication. The view taken of this subject—of the face and situation of the country—of the influence of prevailing winds—of the effects of clearing, and the subsequent cultivation of the soil, and the illustra¬ tions that were adduced from the history of the settlement of other parts of the world, and of their progress in agricul¬ ture and civilization, gave an interest to that paper that caused it to be extensively read and circulated. In Europe it received the most respectful notice, and greatly extended the name and fame of its author. In a letter which I have lately received from Mr. Jefferson, whose accuracy of obser¬ vation is only equalled by his extensive researches in litera¬ ture and science, noticing that production of Dr. William¬ son, he observes, “ The memoir in the Philosophical Trans¬ actions, on the change of climate in America, I have ever con¬ sidered as a remarkably ingenious, sound, and satisfactory piece of philosophy.” The publication of this interesting- paper, with those which had preceded it, procured for Dr. Williamson, not only the notice of the various literary institutions of his native country, into which he was shortly after introduced as an honorary member, but they obtained for him abroad the most flattering distinctions. The Hol¬ land Society of Sciences—the Society of Arts and Sciences of Utrecht—conferred upon him, in the most honourable manner, a membership in these distinguished institutions ; and about the same period he received from a foreign university, I believe from Leyden, as the further reward of his literary labours, the degree of Doctor of Laws. I shall again advert to the subject of the last mentioned publication, when I may have occasion to notice the more elaborate observations of Dr. Williamson on climate, one of the w r orks of his later years. New scenes now opened upon his view. From some letters addressed by Dr. W illiamson to his friend, the late Rev. Dr. Ewing, now in the possession of his family, it appears that in 1772, the Doctor made a voyage to the West India islands, for the purpose of collecting subscriptions for the academy of Newark, in the state of Delaware, of which institution he and Dr. Ewing were both trustees. His stay in the islands seems to have been protracted by severe bili¬ ous fevers ; from the effects of which, he almost despaired of recovering his former state of health : his zeal, however, in the cause of literature was not abated, and finally he procured a handsome subscription. On his way home, he passed a short time in Charleston, where he received some 11 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. liberal fees for medical advice. Exceedingly anxious for the prosperity of the academy, while he was yet in the islands, he planned a tour through Great Britain for the benefit of that institution: his project was communicated to the trustees, and received their approbation; accordingly, in the autumn of 1773, Dr. Williamson, in conjunction with Dr. Ewing, afterwards Provost of the University of Penn¬ sylvania, was appointed to make a tour through England, Scotland, and Ireland, to solicit further benefactions for the same academy of Newark. Thus honourably associated, and the reputation they had acquired from their late astro¬ nomical observations having preceded them, they were received with great attention by the literari and other men of influence in Great Britain: a circumstance in itself highly favourable to the object of their mission. Their success, however, was but indifferent, owing to the irritation of the public mind against the colonies, which about that time was already considerable; yet their characters, as men of learning, procured them much personal attention, and some money. The constant hope of accommodation with the colonies, and the example of the King, from whom they received a liberal donation, notwithstanding his great dis¬ pleasure towards his American subjects, encouraged them to persevere in the business of their mission until the autumn of 1775. Hostilities having then commenced, Dr. Ewino- returned to America, leaving Dr. Williamson in London, who determined to remain, and to make some further efforts for the establishment of his favourite academy.—But 1 must return to some circumstances of importance which here claim our notice. The vessel in which Dr. Williamson had engaged a passage for Europe, lay in the harbour of Boston, to which place he had proceeded, and was waiting for her sailing at the very time at which that remarkable circumstance took place, the destruction of the tea of the East India Company. Upon Dr. Williamson’s arrival in England, he was the first to report to the British Government that occurrence; and, after a private interview with Lord Dartmouth, was examined on the subject before his Majesty’s Privy Council: that examination took place on the 19th of February, 1774. On that occasion, Dr. Williamson ventured to declare, that, if the coercive measures of Parliament were persisted in, nothing less than a civil war would be the result. Time soon verified his prediction ; but the want of correct informa¬ tion on the part of the British ministry, as to the state of 12 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. public feeling in this country, seems almost incredible. Lord North himself has been heard to declare, that Dr. Williamson was the first person who, in his hearing, had even intimated the probability of such an event.* * While Dr. Williamson was at Boston, he became acquainted with Messrs. Adams, Warren, Otis, and other selectmen. From Bos¬ ton he sailed for London, on the 22d of December, 1773, in a ship that belonged to Mr. Hancock, a few days after the tea was destroy¬ ed. Governor Hutchinson had sent his dispatches by a brig that sailed some days before the ship. She belonged to a man of other politics. In that brig sailed three gentlemen passengers. The ship arrived six days before the brig. In the mean time, Dr. Williamson, in conversation with Lord Dartmouth, had detailed the events at Boston. The three gentlemen who arrived in the brig, were imme¬ diately examined; and their evidence, signed and sworn to before the Privy Council, was afterwards communicated to Parliament. Dr. Williamson being sent for, was at first examined before two or three public officers, about the 1st of February, 1774, preparatory to his being examined before the Privy Council. From the several ques¬ tions that had been put to him, and the direct answers, he concluded that no satisfactory knowledge could have been acquired of the late incidents in Boston: therefore, when he returned to his lodging, he wrote a regular detail of the several material incidents he had observed in Boston, which included an answer to the several ques¬ tions that had been put to him, and a statement of sundry facts. When he attended the next day at the Horse-Guards, where the Privy Council sat, an officer read to him what had been written as his answer to the questions that had been propounded. He objected to the whole as incorrect, and handed him the narrative he had written. After that officer had informed the Council of the Doctor’s objections to the answers as written, the Doctor was called in; and the Lord President informed him, that they would receive his narrative, but wished to ask him a few more questions. The clerk wrote his answer to one of the questions so very incorrectly, as to convey an idea very different from what was intended—of this the Doctor complained, and the clerk was very properly reprimanded. When the examina¬ tion was finished, an officer (the Attorney-General) handed the Doc¬ tor a book and a pen, that he might swear and sign his name. He laid down the pen—requesting their lordships to believe, that he was not in the habit of saying things that he was not willing to swear— But although he had studied medicine, and not law', he knew so much of the law, as that a w itness should not be examined concerning any fact that might endanger a man’s life, unless the party was pre¬ sent by whom he might be interrogated. This, he said, was counted to be the law in England ; he could not tell w'hether it would pass for d' V / 11 ^ mer * ca : “ But if the measures were about to be pursued by Parliament against America, which out of doors were said to he intended, the time was not far distant, when his native country would be deluaed with blood.'’ “ This hand," said he, “ shall be guiltless of that blood." The Lord Chancellor assured him, that the examination and oath now taken, could not be used against any man who might be prosecuted and tried for life ; and the president declared upon his honour, that had been the custom, time out of mind, to examine witnesses upon 13 Memoir o/'Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. We now come to an event, memorable by the commotion it excited at the time, and by the magnitude of the conse¬ quences which have since arisen from it; I refer to the dis¬ covery of the celebrated Letters of Hutchinson and Oliver : and here I beg leave to call the reader’s notice to a few of the earlier circumstances of the late revolutionary war, in order to communicate a fact hitherto unrevealed. Although the disturbances which originated in the famous stamp act had nearly subsided with the repeal of that noxious measure, and returning sentiments of friendship were every day be¬ coming more manifest, yet new obstacles to a permanent reconciliation appeared, in the attempts of the British ad¬ ministration to render certain officers of the provincial governments dependent on the crown alone. This measure of the court gave particular offence to the colony of Massa¬ chusetts, from the peculiarly obnoxious character of their governor, who at times, impelled by avarice and by the love of dominion, had, in furtherance of his schemes of self¬ aggrandisement, uniformly manifested the most determined support to the views and measures of the mother country. However discreditable to his reputation it may be, certain it is, that Gov. Hutchinson was secretly labouring to subvert the* chartered rights of the colony, whose interests he had sworn to oath before the Privy Council, consequently this could not be consi¬ dered as setting a novel precedent. Dr. Williamson then subscribed the narrative. The examinations of the other three gentlemen were communicated to Parliament, but Dr. W. understood that his exami¬ nation had not been communicated, nor could he think of any reason why it should have been suppressed, unless that he had observed in the course of his narrative, that the selectmen in Boston caused a guaid to be placed over the tea ships, for the double purpose, as they alleged, of preventing the tea from being smuggled on shore, and of preventing evil-minded persons from destroying the ships or tea* for they had determined that both should return to Loudon. As that fact seemed to invalidate the charge of the premeditated intention of the selectmen to destroy the tea, which charge, however, was of great use to the administration in their desire to cripple the town of Boston, it may have caused the suppression of his evidence. It is a remarkable circumstance, that neither Governor Hutchinson, of Massachusetts, nor any other man in the service of the governor should have had the candour to intimate to the Prime Minister that resistance might be the effect of severe measures. In October 1776 Lord North having sent for Mr. Ralph Izard, then in London, and Dr! Williamson, to ask their opinion concerning the operation of a parti¬ cular law, told the Doctor, that he, in presence of the Privy Council was the first person that ever had intimated, in his hearing, the probability of a civil war in America.—The particular facts contained in this note, were communicated to the writer by Dr. Williamson a short time before his decease. 14 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. protect. His agency in procuring the passage ot the stamp act was more than suspected, and apparently upon reason¬ able grounds. The illustrious Franklin, who had recently rendered himself conspicuous by his examination before a committee of the British Privy Council, and who at ibis period resided in London, as agent for the colonies of Penn¬ sylvania and Massachusetts, obtained possession, through the agency of a third, person, of certain letters w ritten by Governor Hutchinson; Secretary Oliver, afterwards Lieu¬ tenant Governor; Charles Paxton, Esquire; and other ser¬ vants of the crown; and sent by them from Boston to i homas Whately, Esquire, Member of Parliament, and a Private Secretary of Lord Grenville. In these letters, the character of the people of Massachusetts was painted in the most odious colours, and their grievances and proceedings mis¬ represented by falsehoods the most glaring and unfounded. It would seem to have been equally the object of Governor Hutchinson and his coadjutors, to furnish excuses for the ministry, already sufficiently disposed to adopt every mea¬ sure of severity towards the colonists, through the prejudiced representations of Bernard and his commissioners; and to poison the minds of the opposition, who had, on most occa¬ sions, proved themselves their warm advocates. Dr. Frank¬ lin lost no time in transmitting these letters to his con¬ stituents at Boston. “ The indignation and animosity which were excited, on their perusal, knew no bounds. The House of Representatives agreed on a petition and remonstrance to his Majesty, in which they charged their Governor and Lieutenant-Governor with being betrayers of their trust, and of the people they governed; and of giving private, partial, and false information. They also declared them enemies to the colonies, and prayed for justice against them, and for their speedy removal from their places.”* The petition and the remonstrance of the people of Massa¬ chusetts were communicated to his Majesty’s Privy Council by Dr. Franklin in person; and after a hearing by that board, the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor were acquitted. It was on this occasion that Mr. Wedderburn, (afterwards Lord Loughborough,) who was employed as counsel on the part of the governor, pronounced his famous philippic against Dr. Franklin; which has always been considered among the most finished specimens of oratory in the English lan¬ guage. In this speech, he charged that venerable character * Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Franklin, 4to. p. 183. Lond. ed. 1818. 15 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. with having procured the letters by unfair means. “ The letters could not have come to Dr. Franklin (savs Mr. Wed- derburn) by fair means —the writers did not give them to him, nor yet did the deceased correspondent, [Mr. Whatelv 1 who, from our intimacy, would have told me of.it: nothing then will acquit Dr. Franklin of the charge of obtaining them by fraudulent or corrupt means, for the most malig- nant of purposes; unless he stole them from the person who stole them. This argument is irrefragable. I hope, mv oids, you will mark and brand the man, for the honour of this country, of Europe, and of mankind. Private cor- lespondence has hitherto been held sacred in times of the greatest party rage, not only in politics, but religion. He has forfeited all the respect of societies and of men. Into what companies will he hereafter go with an unembarrassed lace, or the honest intrepidity of virtue? Men will watch inm with a jealous eye—they will hide their papers from him and lock up their escrutoires. He will henceforth esteem it a libel to be called a man of letters, homo trium lite- RARUM. * A controversy having taken place in the public prints between Mr. \\ illiam Whately, (the brother of the secretary to whom the letters had been addressed, and who was now dead,) and Mr. afterwards Sir John Temple, arisino- out of .he manner m which the letters of Governor Hutchinson had been procured and transmitted to Boston, and which dis¬ pute was followed by a duel between those two gentlemen ' franklin, in order to prevent any further mischief, pub¬ lished a letter in the newspapers, in which he assumed the entire responsibility of sending the papers to America. Al¬ luding to this letter of Dr. Franklin, Mr. Wedderburn con¬ tinued : “ But he not only took away the letters from one brother, but kept himself concealed till he had nearly occa- stoned the murder of the other. It is impossible to read Ins account, expressive of the coolest and most deliberate nia ice, without horror. Amid these tragical events, of one person nearly murdered;of another answerable for the issue • ot a worthy governor hurt in his dearest interest—the fate of utmn™^ 18 ln . suspense. Here is a man, who, with the itmost insensibility of remorse, stands up and avows him- nf (w m0irS x? f * F ^ nk,in ’ 4t0< voL l ' A PPendix. See also the Letters j, ^^ u ^elnnson, and Lieutenant-Governor Oliver &c and ?dTd ar Lo,id!T? 7 i y Israel Maudit ’ With the Assembly’s AddrWs,&c 16 Memoir o/’Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. self the author of all: I can compare it only to Zanga, in Dr. Young’s “ Revenge”— ‘ Know then ’twas I- I forged the letter—I disposed the picture— I hated—I despised—and I destroy.—’ “ I ask, my lords, whether the revengeful temper, attri¬ buted by poetic fiction only to the bloody African, is not surpassed by the coolness and apathy of the wily American ?” The speeches of Mr. Dunning, afterwards Lord Ashbur¬ ton, and Mr Lee, who appeared as counsel in behalf of the assembly of Massachusetts, were never reported at length; but they chiefly insisted upon the noxious parts of the letters of Hutchinson and Oliver. By the preceding extracts from the speech of Mr. Wed- derburn, it will be seen that the chief subject of his vehe¬ ment invective was the disclosure, by Dr. Franklin, of what was termed by the Parliamentary orator, a private correspond¬ ence.* But the truth is, these letters could not be consi- * Dr. Priestley, who was present when Lord Loughborough pro¬ nounced his violent invective against Dr. Franklin, before the Piivy Council, has published an interesting letter respecting Dr. Franklin’s behaviour on that occasion. It is well worth a perusal, and may be found in the London Monthly Magazine, for 1804, and also in Priest¬ ley’s Memoirs, and in the Memoirs and Life of Franklin, vol. 1. In a biographical work of some pretensions, the author, in his strictures on the character and services of Lord Loughborough, thus expresses himself: “ His celebrated philippic pronounced against Dr. Frank¬ lin, before the Privy Council, is not perhaps surpassed by those of Demosthenes against Philip, or Cicero against Antony.’—I am con¬ strained to enlarge this note by inserting the words of an American writer, (Mr. Walsh,) whose just sentiments are enhanced by the elegant and classical language in which they are conveyed. “ The discussion of the merits of the petition before the Privy Council, took place on the 29th of January, 1774; Franklin was present, accompa¬ nied by some few friends, and the lawyers employed for the colony. Mr. Wedderburn, the Solicitor-General of the crown, appeared as counsel for Hutchinson and his accomplices ; or, rather, as the gladiator of the ministers, who had fixed upon this occasion for the prostration of the American advocate, and had assembled a number of their friends to witness the edifying spectacle. Wedderburn gave himself little trouble about vindicating his nominal clients, but assailed the intended victim with the most opprobrious charges, and the most vehement invective. He held him forth as ‘ a thief and a murderer;’ as, * having forfeited all the respect of societies and of men.' As he alternated his abuse with humorous sarcasms, the members of the council universally laughed aloud, and the retainers of the ministry joined in the chorus. Franklin betrayed not the least emotion; he saw and heard with calm dignity; he only remarked to one of his Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. 17 fould £ an L"' iSe *t privat * ; * u ‘ were as public as letters hfmlelf :< TW 16 e “ ph , atl .° lan guage of Dr. Franklin lmself, They were not of the nature of private letters between friends; they were written by public officers to persons m public stations, on public affairs, and intended to nthpr ^ m Ub lC raeasure l s i the Y were therefore handed to other public persons, who might be influenced by them to produce those measures. Their tendency was to incense the mother country against her colonies, and by the steps recommended, to widen the breach; which they effected Ihe chief caution expressed with regard to privacy was to eep their contents from the colony agents, who, the writers apprehended might return them, or copies of them, to America. That apprehension was, it seems, well founded • for the first agent who laid his hands on them, thought it Jus d uty to transmit them to his constituents.”* In a letter "on'th i?^ ad T dr r i° a friend ’ he also observes: Un this occasion I think fit to acquaint you that there ?ha S t lt y fa,l6n mt F° ^- hands P art ofa Correspondence! nnf Jl h r e l eaS ° n t0 bel ! eve laid the foundation, of most, if 1 am not a t iiberty to tell through channel I received it; and I have engaged that ,t shall not be printed, nor any copies taken orthe whole, or any part of it; but I am allowed to let it be seen by some men of worth in the province, for their satisfaction only. In confidence of your preserving inviolably mv engagement, I send you enclosed the original letters, to lawyers, after the predetermined absolution of the culprits that he was sincerely sorry to observe the lords of council behave so inde the politest eaf^Thi 131 ** COarsest ! an f ua ? e could be grateful to tilt politest ear. Tins scene is one which calls for national commp mo rati on, by the pencil of a Trumbull. It overwhelms uswithastonl lshment, when we reflect that the proper question for consideration was no other than the solemn complaint and prayer of an important d nrt V1 fh Ce ’ th .? the n ‘ an , thus treated was the representative of that a “ d / ,re ? ot ^ r considerable provinces; the boast and idol of all colomes, then in a state of tearful incalescence; venerable for his ge, his genius, his discoveries and writings as a philosopher and a 1 ^°™ 1St ’ °n C r h °, m a!1 Euro P e besides was emuIously P S eekin"- to honour; and of whom the exalted countryman of Wedderburn Lord • “rrSta "°ol P?? H rt ,' r ,' in hiS Sketch <* ° f *• /. brankhn, ot Philadelphia, a man who makes a great fi«-ure in bcne'vTnct * Franklin’s Letter to the printer of the Daily Advertiser. vol.vi.— no.II. c 18 Memoir o/'IIugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D- obviate every pretence of unfairness in copying, interpola¬ tion, or omission/’f . Thus, Dr. Franklin performed a service which his situa¬ tion as a public agent required of him. But notwithstand¬ ing the secrecy with which it had been conducted, the letters were soon after published by the assembly of Massachusetts, not however until after the appearance of other copies^ in Boston, produced by a member, who, it was reported, had just received them from England. I must be permitted to make an extract on this subject, from a writer to w'hom the literature of this country is largely indebted, and whom I have just quoted. ' “ The celebrated affair of Oliver and Hutchinson s letteis, which occurred in December, 1772, exemplified the com¬ plete predominance, in the mind of Franklin, of love of country, and the sense of official duty, over every suggestion of a temporising prudence, and every consideration of per¬ sonal advantage. When accident put into his hands the libellous and treacherous letters of the governor, lieutenant- governor, and other royal servants at Boston, it was enough for him to believe that they ought to be communicated to those whom they particularly concerned, to fulfil the obli¬ gation at once, fearlessly committing the ulterior results to Providence. He took, however, in pursuance of the high motives upon which he acted, every precaution in his power against sinister consequences. He kept inviolably, to the end of his life, under a severe trial of fortitude, the engage¬ ment of secrecy which he had contracted, as to the names of the individuals from whom he had received the letters; but though he foresaw a tempest of obloquy, he did not hesitate a moment to disclose, in the most public manner, his own share in the transaction, as soon as he knew the disclosure to be necessary for the prevention of mischief to an individual erronously implicated.”* I may add, that in order to prevent any violation of his engagement to the person from whom he had received the letters, which the interrogatories of the court might have compelled, he thought it incumbent on him to return to America.^* * Memoirs, 4to. p. 191. * Delaplaine’s Repository, vol. 2. “When Dr. Franklin put in his answer to the bill in Chancery, which had been tiled against him in the name of Mr. Wlmtely, he demurred to two of the interrogatories which it contained, and by which he was required to name the person from whom he had received the letters in question, and also the person in America to whom they had by him been transmitted: and declined making any disclosure of 19 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. But it is time that I should declare thut this third person iom whom Dr. Franklin received these famous letters (and this is the first time the fact has been publicly disclosed,) was Dr. Hugh Williamson. I hav e P before stated his mission m behalf of the academy. Dr. William¬ son had now arrived in London. Feeling "a lively interest in the momentous questions then agitated, and suspecting that a clandestine correspondence, hostile to the interest of the colonies, was carried on between Hutchinson and certain eading members of the British cabinet, he determined to ascertam the truth by a bold experiment. He had learned nffi G ^l emo l Hutchinson’s letters were deposited in an office different from that m which they ought regularly to ave been placed; and having understood that there was little exactness m the transaction of the business of that office, (it is believed it was the office of a particular depart- nientof the treasury,) he immediately repaired to it and addressed himself to the chief clerk, not fiLno- the princi¬ pal witnm. Assuming the demeanour of officiafimportance he peremptorily stated that he had come for the last letters that had been received from Governor Hutchinson and Mr. Oliver, noticing the office in which they ought regularly to have been placed. Without a question being fskedjthe letters were delivered. The clerk, doubtless, supposed him n b w n aU h ° nZed pe , rSOn froui some other public office Dr. VV llliamson immediately carried them to Dr Franklin and tne next day left London for Holland. I received this important fact from a gentleman of high respectability, now living; with whom, as the companion and friend of his early nra ir r?aT eS ' Th, ‘* 1 dem, f r ‘‘ er "as, however, overruled, and he was ordered to answer these interrogatories; but feeling that ].;« s wo„, d be a viola.ioa of bis englgemeot’ to ihepwZ„T,e had received the letters, and probably injurious to the nerso ? tf whom they had been sent, he thought it incumbent on hlnfto Sum to America and thereby avoid the breach of his engagement • and he appeals to have done this conscientiously, and so comtdetelv the person from whom the letters were received was never ascertain^ nor were any of the conjectures respecting tha? person ?ound^ upon or suggested by, any infidelity or indiscretion on the oTrt «f Dr. Franklin. He was not, however, under an equal oblfgadon to secrecy in regard to the person to whom the letters were immedint transmitted: and he therefore confidentially informed a friend of hi/ (I)). Bancroft, to whom the editor is indebted for this note ) that th pv had been sent to Mr. Cushing, then speaker of the House of sentauves of the Massachusetts Bay, with whom it was Dr. Franklfrft naffe’ ° r iri^ assembly of that province, to correspond." See GStlIZMtfESSZ Z emo " 3 ’ as publisheU * 20 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. days. Dr. Williamson had entrusted the secret. By this daring measure, was detected and put beyond question, the misrepresentations and designs of Hutchinson and his asso¬ ciates; and, perhaps, no event in the previous history of the provinces excited more bitter indignation, or was calculated to call for opposition to the measures of Great Britain, to which these misrepresentations had given rise. The lively interest, and the conspicuous part which Dr. Williamson took in public affairs, did not prevent him, while in England, from bestowing a portion of his attention upon scientific pursuits. Electricity, whose laws had been recently determined by the discoveries of Dr. Franklin, and by his genius introduced among the sciences, was then a study, which, like chemistry at the present day, largely engrossed the minds of philosophers. In conjunction with Dr. Ingenhouz, Mr. Walsh, Mr. John Hunter, and Dr. Frank¬ lin, he frequently instituted electrical experiments, to which I have often heard him refer with juvenile feelings, at the same time professing his ardent attachment to this branch of knowledge. The only paper w hich bears testimony to his investigations on this subject, is that entitled, " Experi¬ ments and Observations on the Gymnotus Electricus, or Electrical Eel,” which was first published in the Philoso¬ phical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, for the year 1775, and has since been reprinted in the abrid- ment of that work.* Like the experiments of Mr. Walsh, those of Dr. Williamson led to a belief that the shock given by the gymnotus electricus was truly an electrical pheno¬ menon. The following are the results derived from the experiments which Dr. Williamson instituted on that occa¬ sion: “ 1st. That the Guiana eel has the power of communi¬ cating a painful sensation to animals that touch or come near it. 2d. That this effect depends entirely on the will of the eel; that it has the power of giving a small shock, a severe one, or none at all, just as circumstances may require. 3d. That the shock given, or the principal sensation com¬ municated, depends not on the muscular action of the eel, since it shocks bodies in certain situations at a great distance • and since particular substances only will convey the shock, /Til e £ hers ’ ec l uall y elastic or hard, refuse to convey it, iT-’ , ^ le s ^ oc k must therefore depend on some fluid which the eel discharges from its body. 5th. That as the , *?*”j l 0 ?°P]“ ca | Transactions of the Royal Society of London abridged by Hutton, Shaw, and Pearson, vol. xiii. page 597. * Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. 21 fluid discharged by the eel affects the same parts of the hu¬ man body that are affected by the electric fluid; as it excites sensations perfectly similar; as it kills or stuns animals in the same manner; as it is conveyed by the same bodies that convey the electric fluid, and refuses to be conveyed by other bodies that refuse to convey the electric fluid; it must also be the true electrical fluid; and the shock given by this eel must be the true electrical shock.” Finally, from these and sundry other experiments. Dr. Williamson was also led to beheye, “ that the gymnotus has power superior to, or rather different from, those of the torpedo, or electric ray.” —Time will not allow me to point out in what respects the conclusions of Dr. Williamson, as deduced from his own investigations, coincide with, or differ from, those subse¬ quently made on the same animal, by Baron Humboldt.* W ^^ amson had scarcely made his tour through Holland and the Low Countries, when the news of the decla¬ ration of American independence reached him. He now concluded to return to his native land. He proceeded to France, and after a short time spent in that kingdom, durino- a great part of which he was confined by sickness, he sailed from Xantz in December, for Philadelphia, at which place he did not arrive before the 15th of March. The ship in which he sailed was captured off the Capes of Delaware, but. he, with another passenger, escaped in an open boat’ with some very important public despatches, of which Dr’ Williamson was the bearer. The American army, at the period of Dr. Williamson’s return from Europe, was in some measure organized, and every office in the medical staff, or in the line, that he could with any propriety accept, was filled up. True it was, that he had strong claims to public employment, and the proofs were in his possession • but those claims he could not at that time urge, without endangering individuals who were on the other side of the Atlantic, nor could he do it without a breach of confidence, a species of crime that he cordially abhorred. He resolved] therefore, to remain in private life, waiting for opportunities' which he trusted would present themselves in the course of a dangerous struggle. In the mean time, he undertook a journey to Charleston, in South Carolina, with a youno-er brother, on a mercantile speculation. His brother saifed from Charleston for a neutral port in the West Indies. The Doctor, in company with another gentleman, purchased a sloop in Charleston, and having loaded her with a suitable * See his Personal Narrative, vol. iv. 22 Memoir o/’Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. cargo intended for Baltimore, ordered her for Edenton, in North Carolina; but before his arrival at Edenton, General Howe, with the British army, on his way to Philadelphia, had entered Chesapeak Bay. That circumstance deter¬ mined the Doctor to continue in Edenton, from which he afterwards traded to neutral islands in the West Indies; but while he thus continued his mercantile connection with his brother, then also engaged in the West India trade, he determined to resume the practice of medicine: this he did with the same success as he had done formerly at Philadel¬ phia, and in a short time acquired the confidence of the people of Edenton. During the period of his residence there, he was invited to Newbern, for the purpose of com¬ municating the small-pox to such as had not experienced the benefits of inoculation. These circumstances in part contributed to spread the name of Dr. Williamson, and to lay the foundation of that fame and confidence which he afterwards obtained in the state of North Carolina. The Doctor had taken an early opportunity of informing the governor of that province, that if any circumstance should occur in the course of the war, in which he could be of use to the state, he might immediately command his services. It is known that the British troops took possession of Charleston in the winter of 1779-1780, and that the assem¬ bly of North Carolina ordered a large draft to be made from their militia, of from four to six thousand men, who should join the regular troops then ordered for the relief of South Carolina. The command of the North Carolina militia was given to their late Governor Caswell, with the rank of Major General. The General putting Dr. Williamson in mind of a former promise, handed him a commission, by which he found himself at the head of the medical department, as physician and surgeon. An occasion now presented itself, in which the Doctor had an opportunity of displaying his firmness of character, his humanity, his professional skill, and his incorruptible adherence to the cause in which lie had embarked. On the morning after the battle near Camden, on the 18th of August, 1780, which the Doctor witnessed, he fell in with General Caswell, and requested of him to give him a flag, observing that, although a great part of the militia had behaved ill, yet many of them, as he must have observed, fought with distinguished bravery, and that a considerable* number, in consequence, were wounded and made prisoners. They claimed our attention. The General advised him to 23 Memoir o/'Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. send in some of the regimental surgeons, observing that his duty did not require that service from him. The Doctor replied, that the regimental surgeons, such of them as he had seen, refused to go; being, as he suspected, afraid of the consequences. But, said he, if I have lived until a flag will not protect me, I have outlived my country; and in that case, have lived one day too long. To this observation, no reply was made—he obtained a pass, and the necessary instructions. He remained two months with the enemy in Camden, during which time he rendered very essential ser¬ vices to the prisoners committed to his care. Such, too, w'as the estimation in which the medical skill of Dr. Wil¬ liamson was held by the enemy, that during the illness of one of their general officers, in which the advice of a Phy¬ sician became necessary, his attendance was requested, in addition to that of the surgeons constituting their medical department. About the middle of October, cold mornings and evenings proved injurious to convalescents w T ho had no warm clothing. It now became desirable that some coarse woollens should be obtained. The Doctor, who had brought with him a small supply of gold to obviate accidents, availed himself of that cash, to purchase the clothing that became necessary for the prisoners under his charge. The British troops, in the autumn of 1780, took posses¬ sion of Portsmouth and Norfolk, and made an incursion into North Carolina: a camp was directed to be formed near the Great Dismal, for the defence of the state. Gen. Gregory, who had distinguished himself in the action near Camden, having been twice wounded with a bayonet while bringing off his brigade, was appointed to the command in that depart¬ ment; and at his particular request. Dr. Williamson was permitted to serve with him. This was a pleasing circum¬ stance to the Doctor; for as a winter campaign was expected, he wished to have an opportunity of ascertaining, by actual observation, how far careful attention to diet, dress, and comfortable lodging, might contribute to preserve the health and lives of soldiers in their encampment. The General made choice of a strong position within the borders of Virginia, about ten miles from the British advanced post, and orders were issued that the Doctor’s instructions should be respected in every thing that might contribute to the comfort and health of the troops. A tent or hut, of suffi¬ cient size to lodge twelve or fourteen men, was immediately directed to be built on dry sandy ground. Dr. Williamson attended in person, and superintended the position of every Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.L). piece of timber entering into its construction, and even overlooked the formation of the several drains leading from it. That hut became the general model for such as were afterwards erected, and the Doctor selected the ground on which all others were to be constructed. To the diet of the soldiers, his attention was also particularly directed; believing that fluid nourishments, by their effects in pro¬ moting perspiration, and preserving a healthy state of the excretions in general, are better calculated to guard the body against febrile diseases, he made it a subject of his care to provide the troops with a plentiful supply of soups and other liquid nourishments: for this purpose, while the soldiers remained on that ground, he directed that each mess, consisting generally of eight or ten persons, should detach a man from day to day, whose particular duty it was made, to collect the various esculent vegetables that could be obtained in that neighbourhood; the Doctor even took the direction of the manner in which their nourishment should be prepared. There is much reason to believe, that two-thirds of the complaints by which military men suffer, originate in the circumstance of sleeping too near the moist ground, by which the perspiration is checked or moisture is absorbed, that in most cases is charged with putrescent vegetable matter. The Doctor was fully impressed with this iruth; and accordingly adopted the means of securing to his men a dry and comfortable lodging. As many trees in that country are loaded with moss, (the TiUandsia Us- neoides of Linnaeus,) he directed that every man should sleep on a bed of that moss, or of dead leaves, so as to afford perfect security against any moisture that might arise from the soil. The sick and wounded were lodged in close and warm houses. They were also plentifully supplied with the tea prepared from the leaves of the Yapon, (or ilex Cassine Peragua, Linn.) a plant which flourishes on the banks of Carolina, affords an excellent beverage, and is employed by many as a substitute for the teas of China. When the use of milk was indicated, that article was also provided for the sick, at the Doctor s expense. This experiment exceeded his most sanguine expectations; for although they were in camp during the winter, (never less of the" North Carolina militia than five hundred, and on some occasions, including the addition of the 1 irginia militia, the number amounted to twelve hundred men,) they lost but two during the period of six months; nor cud any man obtain a furlough on account of indisposition. 25 Memoir o/'Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. Early in the spring of 1782, Dr. Williamson took his seat as a representative of Edenton, in the House of Commons of North Carolina. In that assembly, he fortunately met with several members, whose brothers, sons, or other connec¬ tions, he had served in the army, or while thev were prison¬ ers. Those services were not forgotten. It was to be expected that a gentleman who had seen much of the world, and whose education had been so extensive, could hardly fail, with the aid of moderate oratorical abilities, to become an influential member in a deliberative body. Such in fact he proved. Among other bills which he introduced with success, we find one for erecting a court of chancery, which had often been attempted, in vain, in that state. It may be presumed, that old members, who had been accus¬ tomed to conduct the business of that house, were not gratified with being left in the minority by a gentleman who was, at that time, comparatively a stranger in their state. Yet when the election came on for members of congress, those very gentlemen added their influence to that of the friends he had acquired in the army, and he immediately was sent to the general congress without opposition. He continued at the head of the delegation for three years, the longest time that any member was then permitted to serve. During the three years in which he was not eligible to hold a seat in that body, he served the state occasionally in its legislature, or in some other capacity. In the year 1786, he was one of the few members who were sent to Annapolis, to revise and amend the constitution of the United States ; and who, finding that they had not sufficient powers to do any thing effectual, recommended to the several states to make another choice of delegates, and to invest them with the requisite powers.' In that year Dr. W illiamson published a series of essays, deprecating paper currency, and recommending an excise to be imposed. In the year 1787, he was one of the delegates from North Caro¬ lina, in the general convention at Philadelphia, who formed and signed the present constitution of the United States. As the state of North Carolina had at that time in circula¬ tion, two large emissions of paper money, which were a legal tender, and which had depreciated to less than half of its nominal value, we are not surprised that a majority of its citizens should have looked on the federal constitution with an evil eye; for debtors, as we presume, in most countries form the majority. It followed that the Doctor, who advocated the new constitution with great zeal as well as 26 Memoir o/TIugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. ability, lost a portion of his popularity in the state he had represented : he was, nevertheless, again chosen in Decem¬ ber, 1787, by the general assembly, to take his seat in con¬ gress the succeeding spring, when he would be again eligible, having been three years absent from that body. The assembly at the same time passed a law for a general state convention, to be held at Hillsborough, in July, 1788, for the purpose of determining upon the constitution that had been proposed. The convention, after much debate, adjourned on the 2d of August, having refused to adopt the proposed constitution, by a majority of more than two to one, viz. one hundred and eighty-four to eighty-four. The next general assembly, in December, 1788, passed a law, calling another convention, to meet in the following year. It may be recollected, that eleven of the states having adopted the new constitution, it was immediately after carried into operation, and the first congress met in New- York, in the year 1789. It happened a short time after that congress met, of which Dr. W illiamson was a member, several small vessels, laden with naval stores, arrived from North Carolina at the port of New-York. The collector of the customs refused them entrance, unless they should pay the alien duty, which was six to one of the domestic. Dr. Williamson, who continued in New-York, after the dissolu¬ tion of the old congress, as a commissioner to settle the accounts of North Carolina with the United States, drew up and presented to congress a spirited protest against the decision of the collector; at the same time urging the fact, that North Carolina had not by any act forfeited^her claim to be considered as one of the United States. This pro¬ test, in twenty-four hours, produced a law, by which the Carolina vessels were allowed to enter, upon paying the domestic tonnage. By that interposition ahd attention to the interests of North Carolina, the Doctor more than legained his former popularity. When the first convention sat, he was attending in congress ; but he was chosen, and attended as a member of the second convention in 1789, by which the constitution was adopted by a majority of two to one. The Doctor’s congressional career was now to termi¬ nate. He had been chosen a representative from North Carolina, m the first and second congress; but, desirous of retiring from political life, he, at a new election, declined being a candidate. Before I pass on to other circumstances connected with the career of Dr. Williamson, 1 beg to be indulged in one 27 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. or two remarks on the character and influence of his politi¬ cal life. We have seen, that as a representative of the people in the legislature of North Carolina, and in the supreme council of the nation, he was occupied many years. No man, I believe, ever enjoyed in a larger degree the con¬ fidence of his constituents, for integrity of conduct; and the influence of his character will be readily appreciated, when we advert to the many important services he effected during the most eventful period of our political history. He was anxious to prove himself worthy of the high trust reposed in him, nor did he ever permit any private or selfish views to interfere with considerations of public interest. As chairman of numerous committees,—as the mover of im¬ portant resolutions,—as the framer of new propositions, and new laws,—he devoted the best energies of an active mind, and was ever prominent in the business of the house. In debate, his elocution was striking, but somewhat pecu¬ liar. The graces of oratory did not belong to Dr. William¬ son ; yet the known purity of his intentions, his inflexible devotedness to the interests of his country, and the unble¬ mished tenour of his private life, awakened an attention which was well supported by the pertinency of his observa¬ tions, the soundness of his reasoning, and the information he possessed upon every subject to which he directed his attention. While in congress, his duties as a legislator were his exclusive study, and this advantage seldom failed of a success which was denied to the lengthened debate and declamation of his opponents. In his answer to a letter enclosing the thanks of the general assembly of North Carolina for his long and faithful services, referring to his own conduct, he observes, “ On this repeated testimony of the approbation of my fellow-citizens, I cannot promise that I shall be more diligent or more attentive to their interests; for ever since I have had the honour to serve them in con¬ gress, their particular interest, and the honour and prospe¬ rity of the nation, have been the sole objects of my care; to them I have devoted every hour of my time.” Although Dr. Williamson might not captivate by the graces of elocu¬ tion, he possessed a remarkable quickness in perceiving and comprehending the several bearings of a question; and if eloquence be correctly defined by Dr. Johnson, “ the power of overthrowing an adversary’s argument, and putting your own in its place,” then Dr. Williamson may, indeed, be pronounced an orator; for in detecting the weak and defenceless points of the adversary’s citadel, he discovered Bmm TjJmkS 1 & jCS I - 28 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. no less adroitness, than in the force and strength with which he followed up the combat. He rarely occupied the house with what is called a set speech; but in his desultory observations frequently appeared a knowledge of the prin¬ ciples of legislation, which could only be furnished by a mind enriched by experience, and deeply versed in the history of man. How well his services were appreciated, is evinced by the repeated vote of thanks with which he was honoured by the Legislatures of Pennsylvania and North Carolina. 1 shall add to their approbation of the public part of Dr. Williamson’s character, the opinion of Mr Jefferson, with which I have been lately favoured : “ We S cT?Qo t0g 5 t l ler in con S ress ’ at Annapolis^ during the winter of 17oo and 1/84: there I found him a very useful member, of an acute mind, attentive to business, and of an high degree of erudition.” ° 6 In January 1789, Doctor Williamson was married to r'ki M w‘ a j A . pth , 0rpe ' dau S htse constitu- after muT fu™ P^mise. by his death, soon Ahhn ¥|^ the measur e of his father’s afflictions. Although the Doctor was never heard to lament the loss of - c lldren, yet no fortitude of mind that he possessed 29 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. could prevent him from feeling, that in the death of his elder son, in particular, he had lost his companion, the staff and solace of his old age. But his mind did not require that repose which his feelings otherwise solicited. From this period, the pursuits of^philosophy became the more exclusive objects of his regard. In 1811, his “ Observations on the Climate in different parts of America, compared with the Climate in correspond¬ ing parts of the other Continent,” w ere published, in one volume, 8vo. It is in vain to attempt any thing like an analysis of this performance, at this time: a few remarks, however, on this interesting subject, may not be irrelevant! Actuated by patriotism and the love of truth. Dr. William¬ son indignantly exposes the sophistry of those writers who have asserted, that America is a country in which the frigid temperature and vice of the climate prevent the growth and expansion of animal and vegetable nature, and cause man and beast to degenerate. He altogether discards the notion, that a new or inferior race of men had been created for the* American continent. A firm believer in the Mosaic writings, he labours with the learned Bishop of Clogher,* to prove the conformity of things to biblical history. He believes our country, in her rivers, mountains, lakes, and vegetable pro¬ ductions, to be formed on a scale of more magnificence than those of the old u'orld, and thinks that the winters are more temperate on the western than on the eastern coast of North America; although on some parts of this continent they are colder than in corresponding latitudes of Europe: he maintains a gradual amelioration of our climate. He considers the opinion that the Indian is of a new race, to be altogether untenable ; that every part of America was inhabited when discovered by Columbus, and that North America w'as settled from Tartary or Japan, and from Norway; that South America w^as peopled from India. While he admits the great antiquity of the globe, he, nevertheless, is the advocate of the comparatively recent origin of man : he concludes that the inhabitants of America, in the progress of time, may be expected to give proofs of genius, at least equal to those of the other continent. Mr. Jefferson, many years since, had successfully refuted the hypotheses of Buffon, with respect to the comparative size and number of animals, and the degeneration w'hich w^as imputed to animal life in the new world. Dr. Williamson occupies more extensive ground, and, like his illustrious predecessor, armed with truth and philosophy, not only fully vindicates * Dr. Clayton.— Edit. 30 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. the animal and vegetable productions of this continent, but also the climate of America. The libellous assertions of Buffon, Raynal, Robertson, and a host of inferior writers, are put to nought by the facts and the conclusive reason¬ ings adduced by Dr. Williamson. In the following year, 1812, appeared his History of North Carolina, in two volumes 8vo. The author commences his undertaking with a short account of the discoveries made in America by adventurers from the different parts of Europe. He next relates the attempts of Sir Walter Raleigh to settle a colony in North Carolina, and from that time the history of that colony is continued down to the beginning of the American Revolution : the work closes with a view of the soil, produce, and general state of health, in different parts of that country. In the proofs and explanations annexed to each volume, are inserted many valuable docu¬ ments, selected with care, illustrative of matters contained in the body of the text. The materials of this work were derived chiefly from original sources, and, consequently, great dependence may be placed on them for their correct¬ ness. These materials too are the more to be valued, because little information could be obtained from any ac¬ counts of Noith Carolina, previously published. “ Hack- luyt, Purchas, and other early writers,” says Dr. William¬ son, in his preface, “ have been sufficiently minute in de¬ scribing the first discoveries, and the attempts that were made to form settlements on different parts of the continent; but no writer has treated with any attention, of the progress of colonization, or the civil history of North Carolina, from the time in which the first permanent settlements were formed in that country. Wynn, Oldmixon, and others, who wrote of Carolina, have done little more than name the' northern province ; their attention was chiefly engaged by South Carolina.” “ My information,” he continues, “ has chiefly been taken from public records, and from letter- books, or other manuscripts, in the possession of ancient families.” In the general arrangement of his materials we find nothing to censuie, and much to commend. T.he want of dates will occasionally be felt, as their more frequent occurrence must have been attended with additional advan- tage. In the selection of his matter, the Doctor has, with much propriety, enlarged upon circumstances of importance without occupying the time of the reader with those which are of a trifling nature. North Carolina is remarkable in affording, among many other memorable events, a more Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. 31 constant succession of grievances than fell to the lot of any other colony, and it presents throughout abundant room for philosophical inquiry and reflection. “I have confined my¬ self,” says the Doctor, “ to this part of the history, although it was the less pleasing task.” The information contained inthis work is communicated in a style remarkable for its uniform perspicuity and vigour. The narrative throughout affords numerous indications of more than ordinary penetration into the springs of human action. The author’s reflections are the result of a ready and acute mode of thinking - , divested of undue bias, and replete with good sense and salutary advice. He who studies our colonial history, with the writings of Stith, Beverly, Colden, Belknap, Williams, Trumbull, Sullivan, Minot, and M'Call, must include the North Carolina of Dr. Williamson. There are other writings by the same author, of a minor nature, which merit notice. He was at no time an indiffer¬ ent spectator of passing events; and even after he had actually withdrawn from public life, was repeatedly engaged, exclusively of his works on Climate and on North Carolina, in various publications relating to natural history, medicine, and other branches of a philosophical character. In 1797, Dr. Williamson wrote a short but important paper,* on the Fevers of North Carolina, as they had prevailed in 1792, in Martin county, near the river Roanoke, and as they had appeared in 1794, upon the river Neus, pointing out the treatment that had been found most successful, and the fatal effects of bloodletting in fevers of that type : these remarks were afterwards extended, and compose a chapter in his History of North Carolina, highly interesting both to the pupil and practitioner of medicine. In the American Museum, by Matthew Carey, he published several fugitive pieces on languages and politics. In his communication on the Fascination of Serpents, published in the Medical Repository,+ he offers some new and ingenious opinions on that still inexplicable phenomenon in natural history. Upon the appearance of the yellow fever in New-York, in 1805, Dr. Williamson was appointed by the Corporation of that city one of a medical committee to investigate the particular character and origin of the cases that occurred at the com¬ mencement of the pestilence of that season. From all that the Doctor had previously seen, as well as the facts that now fell under his view, he was led to the belief, with the other members of that committee, that the yellow fever is a * See Medical Repository, vol. ii. p. 156. + Vol. x. p. 341, &c. 32 r < Memoir o/'IIugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. disease sui generis, and consequently of a nature altogether different from the bilious remittent fever of this country. He enriched the American Medical and Philosophical Regis¬ ter with several valuable papers. The first, entitled, “ Re¬ marks upon the incorrect manner in which Iron Rods are sometimes set up for defending Houses from Lightning,” &c. conveys some important practical instruction upon that subject. His other papers were, “ Conjectures re¬ specting the Native Climate of Pestilence;” “ Observations on Navigable Canals;” “Observations on the Means of preserving the Commerce of New-York,” and “ Additional Observations on Navigable Canals ;” all printed in the same periodical journal, under the signatures of Observer, or Mercator. Doctor Williamson was among the first of our citizens who entertained correct views as to the practi¬ cability of forming a canal to connect the waters of Lake Erie with the Hudson river; and the importance of this great work so engaged his feelings, that besides the papers already mentioned, on Canal Navigation, he published a series on the same subject, under the title of Atticus. These papers w T ere so well received, that many thousand copies have been circulated through the medium of news¬ papers, and the pamphlet itself has been several times re¬ printed. In the year 1810, Dr. Williamson was appointed by the New-York Historical Society, to deliver the anniver¬ sary discourse, illustrative of the objects of that Institution : he readily complied with their request, and upon that occa¬ sion selected for his subject, “ the Benefits of Civil His¬ tory.” That discourse is evidently the result of much reading and reflection. In 1814, associated w r ith the present governor* of this state, and some other gentlemen friendly to the interests of science, and desirous to promote the literary reputation of the state of New-York, Dr Williamson took an active part in the formation and establishment of the Literary and Philosophical Society of this city; and contributed to its advancement by the publication of a valuable paper in the first volume of its transactions. As a Trustee of the Col¬ lege of Physicians and Surgeons, of the University of the State of New-York, he not only performed its duties w r ith vigilance and impartiality, but contributed to its interests by a liberal pecuniary appropriation. Some other institu¬ tions of this city were also aided by similar acts of his beneficence, especially the Orphan Asylum, and the Society * His Excellency De Witt Clinton, 33 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. for the relief of Poor Widows with Small Children. To these, his donations were such as his moderate fortune enabled him to bestow, consistently with his obligations to his family connections; to whom, with the exception of a few inconsiderable legacies, he left the residue of his estate. The Humane Society, the City Dispensary, and the New- York Hospital, received a large portion of his time and attention during the remaining years of his life. In the last mentioned establishment, the punctuality and ability with which he performed the numerous duties assigned him, were subjects of great surprise to his associate junior members. His quickness of perception—his memory—his judg¬ ment, and his external senses, all manifested an uncommon activity to the very last days of his life. This exemption from the ordinary defects and privations attendant upon old age, is doubtless ascribable to his temperate and regular habits of living; the order and method with which he performed all his various duties; and especially to that rigid absti¬ nence from all vinous and spirituous drinks, to which system of living he had so peculiarly adhered from his earliest days. For of him it may be truly said, “ In his youth he never did apply Hot and rebellious liquors in his blood. Nor did not with unbashful forehead, woo The means of weakness and debility; Therefore his age was as a lusty winter, Frostly but kindly.” As You Like It—Act 2. The life of this excellent man was now drawing to its close. Hitherto, by means of the uniform temperance and regularity of his habits, he had, with very few exceptions, been protected from any return of those pulmonary com¬ plaints with which he had been affected in his youth. His intellectual faculties remained to the last period of his life unbroken, and in their full vigour. It is somewhere said, that to an active and well-disciplined mind, a chair in a library is the throne of human felicity. No man enjoyed the luxury of literary pursuits more than Dr. Williamson. These, with the society of his particular friends, added to the consolations afforded by religion, and the recollection of a life passed in the performance of duty, and devoted to the benefit of his fellow men, gilded the evening of his days, and rendered them no less cheerful and serene than VOL. vi. — no. 11. n 34 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. the morning and meridian of his long and useful career. For some time, however, after the death of his favourite son, his strength and spirits were observed to decline. In two or three years his ancles began to swell, attended with other symptoms denoting the approach of general dropsy. Although he had recourse to the Balston chalybeate, by the middle of April, 1816, the swelling of the limbs, and symptoms of a dropsical affection of the chest, had so far increased, that for several weeks he could not lie in a hori¬ zontal posture, but was compelled to sleep sitting in his chair: by the use, however, of powerful diuretics, succeeded by tonic medicines and daily exercise, his complaints in a few months were chiefly removed, and he was restored to his usual pursuits,and his wonted cheerfulness, which were continued to the day of his decease. This event took place on the 22d day of May 1819, in the 85th year of his age, and in the sudden manner he himself had anticipated. While taking his accustomed ride a short distance from the city, accompanied by his favourite niece, # to whom he was tenderly attached, the heat of the day being unusually great, he suddenly sunk into a deliquum. Medical assist¬ ance was immediately called, but too late: his spirit had fled to Him who gave it. It remains for me to offer a few observations illustrative of such parts of Dr. Williamson’s character as are not em¬ braced in the details that have already occupied our atten¬ tion.—To those who have not enjoyed a personal acquaint¬ ance with him, I may remark, that he was no less dis¬ tinguished for the manliness of his form, than for the energy and firmness of his mind. Dr. Williamson, in his person, was tall, considerably above the general standard, of a large frame, well proportioned, but of a thin habit of body. He was remarkable for his erect, dignified carriage, which he retained even in the decline of life. His whole phy¬ siognomy was peculiar and striking. The proportion of his head to his person was good, and its configuration capacious and well-formed. The features of his face were strongly marked, and indicated bold and original thinking. His forehead was high, open, and boldly arched. His cheek-bones were elevated, exhibiting the characteristic of his Scottish ancestors. His eyes were of a dark gray colour; in their expression, penetrating and steady. His nose was long and aquiline. His mouth exhibited an unusual depression, which in advanced life was greatly * Mrs. Hamilton, the wife of John C. Hamilton, Esq. 35 Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. increased by the loss of his teeth. His chin was long', and remarkably prominent. These peculiarities diminished the beauty of a head, which, with those exceptions, was one of nature’s finest models. Altogether, his form was one of those which cannot pass unnoticed; and if, in early life, he had sacrificed a little to the graces, his appearance would have been eminently attractive, as well as commanding. The portrait painted‘by an artist* whose works reflect lustre upon our country, and whose name is honoured by every production of his pencil, exhibits a faithful likeness of the original. In his conversation. Dr. Williamson was pleasant, face¬ tious, and animated; occasionally indulging in wit and satire; always remarkable for the strength of his expressions, and an emphatic manner of utterance, accompanied with a peculiarity of gesticulation, originally in part ascribable to the impulse of an active mind, but which early in life had become an established habit. As was to be expected from the education of Dr. Williamson, and from his long and extensive intercourse with the world, his manners, though in some respects eccentric, were generally those of a polite, vvell-brecl gentleman. Occasionally, however, when he met with persons who either displayed great ignorance, want of moral character, or a disregard to religious truth, he ex¬ pressed his feelings and opinions in such a manner, as dis¬ tinctly to shew them they possessed no claim to his respect. To such, both his language and manner might be considered as abrupt, if not possessing a degree of what might be denominated Johnsonian rudeness. His style, both in con¬ versation and in writing, was simple, concise, perspicuous, and remarkable for its strength; always displaying correct¬ ness of thought, and logical precision. In the order, too, and disposal of his discourse, whether oral or written, such was the close connection of its parts, and the depend¬ ence of one proposition upon that which preceded it, that it became easy to discern the influence of his early predilection for mathematical investigation. The same habit of analysis, arising from “ the purifying influence of geometrical demon¬ stration,” led him to avoid that profusion of language, with which it has been customary with some writers to dilute their thoughts: in like manner, he carefully abstained from that embroidery of words which a modern and vitiated taste has rendered too prevalent. Under the impressions and precepts he had very early * Colonel John Trumbull. 30‘ Memoir of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. received, no circumstances could ever induce him to depart from that line of conduct which his understanding had informed him was correct. Ilis constancy of character, the obstinacy, I may say, of his integrity, whether in the minor concerns of private life, or in the performance of his public duties, became proverbial with all who knew him. Nothing could ever induce him “ To swerve from truth, or change his constant mind.” As an illustration of his characteristic integrity, allow me to add, from the information of one of his friends, that when in congress, in 1791, it became his duty to vote upon the law passed in that year, imposing an excise on domestic distilled spirits, the celebrated whiskey law, as it was called, which gave rise to the western insurrection. In the debates on that subject, he took an active interest; and although he well knew that he was counteracting the sentiments of his constituents, he appeared the decided friend and advocate of that law. On the day of its passing, and while the peo¬ ple were going from the hall. Dr. Williamson overtook a friend, from whom I received this anecdote: the Doctor joined him, informed him of the passage of the bill, and added, in his usual sententious manner, “ Sir, my vote was in its favour; I have discharged my duty to my conscience, but I have lost my popularity. I shall never again be elected to congress:” but that gave him no uneasiness; believing it to be a right measure, he had voted as his con¬ science and his best judgment dictated, and, as he observed, “ he was not without the hope that one of its effects would be, to lessen the use of a poison which was destructive of the morals and health of a numerous class of the people.”* I beg leave to add another evidence, which fell under my ow n notice, of that rigid adherence to moral rectitude which ever marked his character. A few years since, a gentleman of this city, desirous of borrowing a sum of money, made an application to Doctor Williamson for that purpose: the Doctor promised to supply him; but upon the day when the transaction 'was to be completed, the gentleman, not knowing' that the Doctor’s verbal promise and his written bond were of the same validity, and apprehending that something might occur to prevent the Doctor from complying with his engagement, offered him a larger interest than that recog- * See Remarks, by Dr. Williamson, on the increasing consumption of Spirituous Liquors in the United States, and the evil they produce to society .—History of North Corolina, vol. ii. 37 Memoir o/'Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. nized by law. The Doctor, offended by this insult to his integrity, at once declined further communication with the party concerned, and refused the loan he otherwise had been prepared to make. Upon another more important occasion, he manifested somewhat similar feelings, in rejecting a pow¬ erful appeal to his pride, and, I may add, to his reputation. Joseph Ceracchi, an Italian statuary of great celebrity in his profession, finding the turbulent state of Europe unfa¬ vourable to the exercise of his art, had come to this country. This gentleman exercised his talents in erecting honorary memorials of some of our most distinguished public men. The busts of Washington, President Adams, Governor Jay, General Hamilton, Governor George Clinton, and Colonel John Trumbull, are eminent examples of his art. He, at that time also, as appears by a correspondence in my possession, applied to Dr. Williamson, then a member of congress, for permission to perpetuate in marble, the bust of the American Cato, as Mr. Ceracchi was pleased to deno¬ minate him. I beg leave to give the originals:— “Mr. Ceracchi requests the favour of Mr. Williamson to sit for his bust, not on account of getting Mr. William¬ son’s influence in favour of the National Monument; this is a subject too worthy to be recommended; but merely on account of his distinguished character—that will produce honour to the artist, and may give to posterity the expressive features of the American Cato.” To this note. Dr. Williamson replied in his appropriate caustic style: “Mr. Hugh Williamson is much obliged to Mr. Ceracchi for the polite offer of taking his bust. Mr. Williamson could not possibly suppose that Mr. Ceracchi had offered such a compliment by way of a bribe; for the man in his public station who could accept of a bribe, or betray his trust, ought never to have his likeness made, except from a block of wood. “Mr. Williamson, in the mean time, cannot avail himself of Mr. Ceracchi’s services, as he believes that posterity will not be solicitous to know what were the features of his face. He hopes, nevertheless, for the sake of his children, that posterity will do him the justice to believe, that his conduct was upright, and that he was uniformly influenced by a regard to the happiness of his fellow-citizens, and those who shall come after them. “ Philadelphia, Wtk April , 1792.” 38 Memoir o/'Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. To those who knew his unbending resolution when once formed, it need not be added, that Dr. Williamson, offended by this flattery, persisted in his determination not to sit to Mr. Ceracchi. The steadiness of his private attachments ought not to be passed over in silence. Dr. Williamson was slow in forming his friendship, but when formed, as the writer of this memorial of his worth can testify, it was immoveable, and not to be changed by time or distance. Whatever may be the merits of Dr. Williamson, as a scholar, a physician, a statesman, or philosopher, however he may be distinguished for his integrity, his benevolence, and those virtues which enter into the moral character of man; he presents to the world claims of a still higher order. The lovers of truth and virtue will admire much more than his literary endowments, that regard for religious duty, of which, under all circumstances and in all situations, he exhibited so eminent an example. There are some philoso¬ phers, and of great attainments too in their particular depart¬ ments of knowledge, whose view’s are so riveted to, I had almost said identified with, the objects of their research, that they cannot extend their vision beyond the little spot of earth which they inhabit; they are, indeed, with great felicity of expression, designated by the appropriate name of Materialists. Dr. W. was not an associate of this class; —with all his inquiries into the physical constitution of this globe, like Newton and Rittenhouse, he could elevate his views to the Great Agent that gave existence to our world, and sustains it in its connections with the other part of the universe. With all the attention he bestowed upon the various parts of nature, he still, in the true spirit of a lover of wisdom, could direct his thoughts to “-Sion hill, And Siloa’s brook, that flow’d Fast by the oracle of God.” To those who delight to dw r ell on themes like these, it will be gratifying to receive the expression of his own senti¬ ments and feelings on this momentous subject. In a letter I possess, written during his last illness, while it displays the full possession of his mental faculties, and manifests the consciousness of his approaching dissolution, and his patient resignation to that event; he observes, “I have not any apprehension of a long confinement by sickness; men of my habits usually drop oft' quickly, therefore I count it 39 An Essay on the Agriculture of the Israelites. my duty to be constantly in a state of preparation, whether I may be called off in the morning, at noon, or at midnight.” Upon another occasion, a short time before his decease, he thus concludes a letter to his nephew, and which, I believe, proved one of his last communications. “ I have, as I believe, given you notice of every thing to which it is proper that you should attend; and having now, as I think, nearly finished my course through the wilderness of life, grant, O Lord! that when my feet shall touch the cold stream of the waters of Jordan, my eyes may be steadily fixed on the heavenly Canaan, so that I may say to Death, ‘ Where is thy sting?* ” Such was the man whose character and services I have endeavoured to commemorate. If piety, patriotism, talents, and learning, and these all devoted to his country’s good and the best interests of mankind, entitle their possessor to praise and gratitude, the citizens of America will cherish with respect the memory of Hugh Williamson, whose name will be associated with those to whom we are most indebted for our country’s independence, and the first successful admi¬ nistration of that happy constitution of government which we now enjoy. Those v'ho are now engaged in the pursuits of science, as preparatory to the exercise of a liberal profession, will also learn, from the example that has been exhibited, to set a due value upon the diligent and profitable employment of time, to dedicate their talents and services to their coun¬ try’s welfare; and, above all, to cherish that love of truth, virtue, and religion, for which the venerable subject of this imperfect eulogy was so eminently distinguished. An Essay on the Agriculture of the Israelites. PART V. Their Pastures and Pasturage — Shepherds — Dogs — Shear¬ ing — Wool — Woollen Cloth — Goats — Clothing, fyc. of Goat's Hair and Skin—Wild Goat — Pygurg — Chamois—Hart _ Roebuck — Deer. Some of the most beautiful similes in Scripture are derived from the pastoral care, and teach us how it was conducted in the Holy Land: “ The Lord is my shepherd. 40 An Essay on the Agriculture of the Israelites. I shall not want, He maketh me to lie down in green pas¬ tures; he leadeth me beside the still waters;” his “rodand” his “ staff they comfort me;” guide and protect me, (Psalm xxiii. 1,2,4.) It seems, from Micah ii. 12, that the pas¬ tures of Bozrah in Edom were particularly plentiful and luxuriant. It is said of Christ, “ He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young,” (Isaiah xl. 11.) We learn, too, from Ezekiel xxxiv. 4, id, that the farther business of the shep¬ herd was to “ strengthen” the “ diseased,” to “ heal that which was sick,” to “ bind up that which was broken,” and “to bring again that which was driven away.” Christ says of himself, “ Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door, is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice; and a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers,” (John x. 1— 5 .) “ The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep; but he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth thew r olf coming, and leaveththe sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep,” (lb. 11—13.) Some account has been given of the fold before, (see Vol. I. No. II. p. 275.) “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wil¬ derness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it ? And, when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And, when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them. Rejoice with me ; for I have found my sheep which was lost,” (Luke xv. 4—6.) “ Other animals will find their way back when they have wandered from their home; but it is rarely, if ever, known that the sheep traces back its footsteps to the fold from whence it strayed: if it return at all, it returns by chance, and not by any foresight of its ow'n.” (Simeon’s Sermon, “ The Churchman’s Confession, or an Appeal to the Liturgy,” p. 11.) “I have gone astray like a lost sheep: seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.” (Psalm cxix. 176.) “All we, like sheep, have gone astray; \ An Essay on the Agriculture of the Israelites. 41 we have turned every one to his own way,” (Isaiah liii. 6.) —-Ur. Dodd, in his valuable Discourses on the Parables, in that on the Lost Sheep, speaking of verse 6th, says “ It is greatly more than probable, that in this particular of the parable, our Saviour alludes to the same well-known custom amongst the Jewish shepherds, who, it is possible, made it a point of duty and good neighbourhood mutually to con¬ gratulate each other on the recovery of any lost sheen • and it is by some conjectured that “the words, “ Rejoice with me, fori have found my sheep that was lost,” mio-ht be a kind of choral song used upon some such festivities 0 ” (OA edition, vol. i. p. 266.) ' v u In that hot climate it was customary, as indeed it is in some measure with us, at mid-day, in hot weather, to find some shade, and repose and refreshment for the flock —the Jo/d, the shade of trees, or a rock, and a well or stream of water, previous to their afternoon’s bait. When “ Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east, where his uncle Laban dwelt, “ he looked and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheepjying by it, for out of that well they watered the flock, by drawing the water and pouring it into troughs- and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth ” to Sre ’ serve it sweet and secure. «And thither were all the ocks gathered : and they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone ao- a in upon the well s mouth in his place. And Jacob ’^be¬ lieving that they were of the same employment as himself respectfully " said unto them. My brethren, whence be ye * And they said Of Haran are we. And he said unto them* Know ye Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said Wo know him. And he said unto them. Is he well? Andthev said. He is well: and behold Rachel his daughter cornet^ with tne sheep. And he” began to talk with them about their occupation, and the best way of managing their flock and** said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together; water ye the sheep and go and feed them And they said, We cannot until aH the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth,” for we have made an agreement to wait for one another, and when all are gathered together then we wall “ water the sheep. And, while he yet spake \\itli them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep; for she kept them, haying probably shepherds under her, but she presided over them. - And it came to pass, when Jacob saw 42 An Essay on the Agriculture of the Israelites. Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother; that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.” (Gen. xxix. 1—10.) “Tell me,” says the bride, in the Song of Solomon, “ O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon; for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of my companions?” “If thou know not, O thou fairest among women,” answers the bridegroom, “ go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shep¬ herds’ tents,” (i. 7, 8.) In Isaiah xxxii. 2. the protection, repose, and happiness in Hezekiah’s reign are compared to “ an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place ; as the shadow of a great rock in aweary land.” Trees too, probably, afforded their friendly aid to the shepherd and his flock, especially such an one as “ the palm-tree of Deborah,” mentioned before : (see Vol. II. No. IV. p. 313.) I never see a shepherds hush in our open fields,—“ the hawthorn in the dale,” under which the shepherd sits, and “ tells his tale,” or number of sheep, the bush sometimes sheared or clipped into a regular form, and sometimes grow¬ ing free and spreading,—but I think of Moses keeping “ the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law,” in “ the desert” at “the mountain of God,” when “ the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of the bush: and he looked, and beheld the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed,” (Exod. iii. 1, 2.) This emblem of the Israelites, unconsumed in the furnace of affliction in Egypt, and of the church amid persecution, is too often likewise an emblem of a pastor in his parish, enduring the flames of persecution and strife, but preserved unconsumed by the good providence of the great I Am, who sees his affliction, and delivers him. But the flocks in Judea required attendance, not only in the day, but at night, and that even in the coldest season of the year, if we keep, as the Church thinks we do, the exact season of the birth of our blessed Lord, the great “ Shep¬ herd and Bishop of our souls,” (1 Peter ii. 25.) For “ there were iu the country,” about Bethlehem, “ shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them. Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall An Essay on the Agriculture of the Israelites . 43 be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of .David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (Luke 1 tV 8 77 11 *} W k° accordin g to the flesh, the son of David, whom God had chosen as “ his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes p reat with young, he brought him to feed Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according- to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands (Psalm lxxviii. 70-72.) Of the zeal and picmess of David in his pastoral office, he gives a remarkable instance m his narrative to Saul, -Thy servant kept his lather s sheep, and there came a lion and a bear,” probably at different times, “and took a lamb out of the flock • and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it’out of ms mouth; ancj when he arose against me, I caught him bv his beard, and smote him, and slew him,” (1 Sam. xvii 34 35.) In the account of sheep, in the Encyclopedia Britan- 5JS2* before quoted, speaking of the Catalonian flock of 2000, it says, “ Four shepherds, and from four to six laro-e Spanish dogs have the care of this flock: the latter are m rranee called of the Pyrenees breed: they are black and white of the size of a large wolf, a large‘head and neck- armed with collars stuck with iron spikes. No wolf can stand against them; but bears are more potent adversaries • if a bear can reach a tree, he is safe; he rises on his hind legs, with Ins back to the tree, and sets the dogs at defiance In the night, the shepherds rely entirely on their doo- s but on hearing them bark are ready with fire-arms, as th°e do ^ c ‘) a ^ d > in the present which Jacob made to Esau the number of goats was considerable, and equal to that of the sheep: “ Two hundred she-goats, and twenty he-goats, two lundied ewes, and twenty rams,” (Gen. xxxii. 14 ) No mention is made of goats in the wealth of Job. When the passover was instituted in Egypt, God’s command was, i our lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats, (Exod. xn. 5.) and, when Josiah kept fliis solemn passover, he “ gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and 46 An Essay oh the Agriculture oj the Israelites. kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bul¬ locks,” (2 Chron. xxxv. 7.) Nabal had one thousand goats. (1 Sam. xxv. 2.) The Arabians brought, in their presents to Jehoshaphat, “ flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats, (2 Chron. xvii. 11.) Of the breed of goats which the Israelites possessed, it may be said, as it was of the sheep, that no doubt they were the best. It may be proper, however, to mention, that there is a species called the Syrian goat, which “ are very nume¬ rous in the neighbourhood of Aleppo, and supply the inhabit¬ ants with milk, which they prefer to that of the cow or the buffalo.”—“ Buffon makes this a variety of the goat of Angora; it differs from ours in nothing more than the length'of its ears, which are pendulous, and from one to two feet long; they are often troublesome to the creature in feeding; forwhich reason, the owners are sometimes obliged to cut one of them off. Their horns are short and black.” (Bewick’s Quadrupeds.) “ There are some domestic animals,” says Goldsmith, in his Animated Nature, “ that seem as auxiliaries to the more useful sorts; and that, by ceasing to be the first, are consi¬ dered as nothing. We have seen the services of the ass slighted, because inferior to those of the horse; and, in the same manner, those of the goat are held cheap, because the sheep so far exceeds it. Were the horse or the sheep removed from nature, the inferior kinds would then be invaluable; and the same arts would probably be bestowed in perfecting their kinds, that the higher order of animals have experienced. But in their present neglected state, they vary but little from the wild animals of the same kind ; man has left them their primitive habits and forms; and the less they owe to his assiduity, the more they receive from Nature. “ The goat seems, in every respect, more fitted for a life of savage liberty than the sheep. It is naturally more lively, and more possessed with animal instinct. It easily attaches itself to man, and seems sensible of his caresses. It is also stronger and swifter, more courageous and more playful, lively, capricious, and vagrant: it is not easily con¬ fined to its flock, but chuses its own pastures, and loves to stray remote from the rest. It chiefly delights in climbing precipices; in going to the very edge of danger: it is often seen suspended on an eminence hanging over the sea, upon 47 An Essay on the Agriculture of the Israelites. a very little base, and even sleeps there in security.” “ 1 he o oat produces but two at a time; and three at the most, But, in the warmer climates, although the animal degenerates, and grows less, yet it becomes more fruitful being generally found to bring forth three, four, and five, at a single delivery.”-" The goat, like the sheep, continues five months with young; and in some places bears twice a j ea r. —" The milk ot the goat is sweet, nourishing, and medicinal: not so apt to curdle upon the stomach as that ot the cow; and, therefore,preferable for those whose dio-es- tion is but weak. The peculiarity of this animal's food gives the milk a flavour different from that of either the cow or the sheep ; for as it generally feeds upon shrubby pastures and heathy mountains, there is an agreeable wild¬ ness m the taste, very pleasing to such as are fond of that aliment. In several parts of Ireland, and the Highlands of S cotland, the goat makes the chief possession of the inha¬ bitants. On those mountains, where no other useful animal could find subsistence, the goat continues to glean a suffi¬ cient living, and supplies the hardy natives with what they consider as varied luxury. They lie upon the beds made of their skins, which are soft, clean, and. wholesome ; they live upon their milk, with oat bread; they convert a part of it into butter, and some into cheese; the flesh indeed they seldom taste of, as it is a delicacy which they find too expensive; however, the kid is considered, even by the city epicure, as a great rarity; and the flesh of the goat when properly prepared, is ranked bv some as no°way inferior to venison.”—" As these animals are apt to stray from the flock, no man can attend above fifty of them at a time. They are fattened in the same manner as sheep • but, taking every precaution, their flesh is never so good or so sweet, in our climate, as that of mutton. It is otherwise between the tropics. The mutton there becomes flabby and lean, while the flesh of the goat rather seems to improve and in some places the latter is cultivated in preference to the former. We, therefore, find this animal in almost every part of the world, as it seems fitted for the necessities of man in both extremes. Towards the north, where the pas¬ ture is coarse and barren, the goat is fitted to find a scanty subsistence; between the tropics, where the heat is exces¬ sive, the goat is fitted to bear the climate, and its flesh is found to improve.” (Vol. II. p. 65—68.) We learn, from Matt. xxv. 32. that with the Israelites the sheep and the goats were kept together during the day, and 48 An Ilsscii/ on the Agriculture of the Israelites. separated in the evening; and, from Psalm 1. 9. we find that they were kept in folds as well as the sheep. In Exodus xxiii. 19. the Israelites are forbidden to “ seethe a kid in his mother’s milk,” which was to keep them from one of the idolatrous customs of the heathen, who, “ at the end of harvest,” as Cudworth informs us, “ used to take the broth of a kid, boiled in the milk of its dam, and sprinkle the fields, as a libation or thank-offering to the deity which they sup¬ posed presided over them.” (See Orton on this place, and the Experienced Butcher, p. 102.) Perhaps what is here called “ the end of harvest,” was rather previous to the vintage, and might be intended either as a “ thank-offering,” for preserving the vines from the goats, or as propitiatory to the deity, in order to induce him to protect them. I he Greeks and Romans, we know, sacrificed a goat to Bacchus with this view; of which Virgil gives an account in the second Book of his Georgies : Now with thick-woven hedge the vines enclose, And guard from wand’ring herds their shelter’d rows, Chief when, with opening foliage newly crown’d, The tendrils dread the unaccustom’d wound. Not the prone sun alone, and icy gale, But savage buffaloes the shoots assail; There persecuting goats devour the boughs, And nibbling sheep and greedy heifers browse. Yet, nor the soil with hoary frosts o’er-spread, Nor suns that scorch the mountain’s arid head, Hurt like the flock, whose venom’d teeth deface The wounded bark, and scar the bleeding race. For this the goat, that on the vineyard feeds, Victim to Bacchus, on each altar bleeds: For this the goat first crown’d the scenic song, When round their hamlets rov’d th’ Athenian throng, And wild with joy and wine, in grassy plains ’Mid oily bladders leap’d the bounding swains. Where’er the god his gracious front inclines, There plenty gushes from the loaded vines, Down richer valleys fragrant clusters breathe, And hills grow dark their purple weight beneath. Then pile the charger, hallowed offerings bring; Songs, that our fathers taught, to Bacchus sing: Led by the horns the goat, and duly slain, Slow roast on hazel spits before the fane. Sotheby's Translation, p. 95. 49 An Essay on the Agriculture of the Israelites. In Switzerland, at this day, most of the peasants in a parish possess a few goats, which go out together in the morning in a flock, to the number perhaps oflwo hundred, and return in the evening. In some places the goats are’ led about along the hedges, &c. to feed, by children. A soft cheese is made from goat’s milk, and it is said that there is a great deal of the milk of that animal in the Dutch cheese. In Sicily most of the butter is made from goat’s- Goat s hair, among the Israelites, was woven into cloth. Some of the curtains which covered the tent of the taber¬ nacle, were made of it. Exod. xxxvi. 14. The skins, amono- other uses, were probably made into bottles, (see before® i t i H*. P* 30&) as they are at this day in Spain and Italy, and give a peculiar flavour to the wine, known by the name of the JBoracchio. Besides the tame goat, we hear likewise of the icild-goat, (Deut. xiv. 5. 1 Sam. xxiv. 2. Job xxxix. 1. Psalm civ. 18.) but this was probably only the same animal subsisting by itself at a distance from man. In Deut. xiv. 5. mention is made of the Pygarg. On which article. Brown says, “ Pygarg, or White Buttocks, is a name sometimes given to the eagle with a white tail; but with Moses, it signifies a four-footed beast. Its Hebrew name Dishon, hints it to be ash-coloured; and so it is like to be the tragelaphus, or goat-deer, whose back and sides are partly ash-coloured. It was a clean beast; but whether the same with the Pygarg of Herodotus, Plinv, and Elian, we cannot say.” The Chamois too is mentioned Deut. xiv. 5. This animal, says Brown, is “ a kind of goat; at least its erect and crooked horns, of the length of six or seven inches, iefei it to that class, though the rest of its figure comes nearer to the deer kind. Its whole body is covered with a deep fur, waved, and somewhat curled about the ears. Of this animal’s skin the true chamoy leather is made. But whether this be the Zomer, declared unclean”—should it not rather be clean ? —“ by the Hebrew law, we cannot determine. Dr. Shaw thinks it is rather the Yeraffa, or Camelopardalis, which in figure has a mixed resemblance of the goat, ox, and deer, chiefly the last; but its neck is long, as that of a camel, generally about seven feet: when erected* its head is about sixteen feet high ; the whole length of its body is about eighteen feet. Its fore-legs are very long, and the hinder ones considerably shorter. It is beautifully spotted as the leopard ; and almost as tame as a sheep.” VOL. vi.— no. 11. e 50 An Essay on the Agriculture of the Israelites. The three kinds of Deer, “ the Hart, and the Roebuck, and the Fallow Deer,” are mentioned among the clean ani¬ mals to be eaten by the Israelites, Deut. xiv. 5. and it is said, (1 Kings iv. 23.) that Solomon had these amongst his daily provisions. Dr. Shaw, however, thinks the Yach- mar, which we render fallow-deer, to be the wild bear. “ But, perhaps,” says Brown, “ it is rather the elk, a kind of red deer. He takes the tzebi, which we render roe, to be the antelope, a kind of goat, about the bigness of a deer. There are three kinds of the antelope; two in Africa, and another in India, whose horns, springing from their fore¬ head, are sometimes about three feet long.” But I see no reason why we should doubt that the hart, or red-deer, and the roe-buck, inhabited the forests of Lebanon, of Carmel, of Ephraim, of Bethel, of Hareth, and others; and that Solomon, who builded and planted, and “ had great possessions of great and small cattle, above all that were in Jerusalem before” him, (Eccles. ii. 7.) and who “ built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, and all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his domi¬ nion,” (1 Kings ix. 17—19.) had likewise his parks with fallow-deer, as he enjoyed every luxury, and, if not native, obtained them from a great distance, (1 Kings x. 22.) and they would well bear that climate. As early as Genesis xxv. and xxvii. we find that the wild deer was an object of luxury, and obtained by means of the chase and bow and arrow: “ Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his .venison.” (xxv. 27, 28.) And he said, “ Take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison, and make me savoury meat such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die. And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father; and said unto his father. Let my father arise and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me,” (xxvii. 3, 4, 30,31.) J P. 51 translation of the Chinghalese Hook called Rajewaliue (Raja- vah) A History of Ceylon , compiled from the Historio¬ graphic Records of the Kingdom. (Communicated by Sir Alexander Johnston, Knt. late Chief Justice of that Island.) [PART IV. From the fifth Irruption of the Malabar s to the Capture of the native King of Ceylon, on their twelfth Invasion of the Island.'] After the reign of these chiefs, the son of Sinkelia Kajan, who had become a priest when he was youncr, was now requested by the people to lay aside the priest’s office, and to become their king, which having done, he entered the city, put the reigning Malabar to death, and being made king, he made eighteen lakes, and eighteen temples, and eighteen great offerings, and reigned as king eighteen years. He was killed by his illegitimate son, called Sri Kaboodoo Kajah; who then ascended the throne, but went to the hell Awuchy, where he must be tormented for the duration of eight worlds. The illegitimate son of the above said Sinke- lia Rajah, who was called Mogalam Rajah, throuoh fear of the said pauicide, fled to Hamba Hew T a, where he raised a powerful army, and returned and put to death the said parent-killer, became king in his stead, and reigned eigh¬ teen years. ° ° His son, who was called Dusin Rajah, was the next king. He became very learned, and reigned for the space of nine years. \V hen his body was burned, his friend and minister, Calida, sprung into the fire, and dying with him went to anothei world. His son, who was called Kirti Sennam Rajah, was the next king. He reigned nine years, and murdered* and succeeded his mother’s brother, whose name was Mede- siwoo Rajah, which king reigned twenty-five years. He was murdered, and succeeded by Leminy Tissa Rajah, who reigned one year and two months. He was murdered, and succeeded by Leminy Akbo Rajah, who reigned thirteen years. Observe, that this king came from DambaDewa. His son, who w as called Dawseakelia Rajah, was the next king. He reigned for the space of six months. He was murdered, and succeeded by the sister’s son of Mugalam Rajah, who reigned as king for the space of twenty years. His son, who was called Cudaw Tissa Sri Muwan Rajah, was the next kino-, and he reigned for the space of nineteen years. He was 52 Cinghalese History of Ceylon. murdered, and succeeded by Bakka Wangsayen Asetoo Rajah, who reigned three years. He was murdered, and succeeded by Salandalanum Rajah, who also was called by the name of Leminy Tissa Rajah. He reigned for the space of nine years. He was murdered, and succeeded by Akbo Rajah, the sis¬ ter’s son of Manau Rajah. This king enclosed the lake called Cooroondoo Wewa, and strictly observing the rules of Mawna Rajah, reigned for the space of thirty years. In Ins time, the priest called Dahanam Terahoo composed the following ode: — Demitey Bcminireyo Dalagot Purawaw Sudhacalaw Coomakin kitsiri kesbaw Cota Epayai gana Midosa. Cawi masoonoo Rajah Dawasyawau. His nephew, who was called Cudau Akbo Rajah, was the next king. He enclosed thirteen lakes, caused to be built the dawgob called Welunna Wailiara at the place called Ga- ganaw Wita, made great offerings, and reigned for the space of ten years. His younger brother, who was called Sanga Tissa Rajah, was the next king, and reigned for the space of two months. He was murdered, and succeeded by Midebo Miegalamhau Rajah, who reigned for the space of six years. He was murdered, and succeeded by Asitra Rajah, who reigned for the space of nine years. His son, who was called Sri Sanga Bo Rajah, was the next king, and reigned sixteen years. He was, however, driven from the throne, and succeeded as king by Carala Minicatoo Dita Tissa Rajah; but the said Sri Sanga Bo Rajah bringing forces from another country, vanquished and killed Dita Tissa Rajah. He was afterwards murdered, and succeeded by Leminy Dala Paty Rajah. This king caused to be built the dawgob called Pala Watoo Waihara, made offerings, and reigned for the space of twelve years. He was mur¬ dered, and succeeded by the younger brother of Sri Sanga Bo Rajah; he was also called Pureilu Cusubu Rajah. He reigned nine years. The next king was Ocau Wansayen Dawpulu Rajah; he held his court in Runa, from whence he went up to Anu- radha Pura. He caused the dawgob of Runa to be rebuilt, and likewise the dawgobs of Kirobogulwa, of Wadunna, of Dorawancy, of Tawawgama Pasikulama, of Casaw Guluwa, and of Ala Casapagiry. He also caused to be built the dawgob of Gamsupadu Cowella, and of Gancunau, and of Cinghalese History of Ceylon. 53 Helwadu Mahau Dewu Wiyal. All these dawgobs he caused to be made, made great offerings, and reigned for the space of ten years. The next king was called Leminy Dala Paetissa Rajah. He caused to be built the dawgob of Peutapeen. He reigned for the space of nine years. He was succeeded by his nephew, whose name was Sri Sanga Bo Rajah, which king caused to be built the dawgob of Siagal, and the city called Dewu Nuwara, and through the assistance of W eishno, reigned for the space of sixteen years. The next king was of the Ocau-wangsa family, and was called Walpity Wawsee Rajah, who reigned fourteen years. The next king was called Huhan Ganta Rupin Dala Rajah. He reigned for the space of six months. The above men¬ tioned Pisulu Casubu Rajah, having gone to the place called Dharma Haltota, and the country called Casaw Walti Rata, brought from thence an army, put to death the kingHunahan- nam Talu Dala Rian Rajah, again ascended the throne, rebuilt the city of Dewue Nuwara, enclosed eight lakes, and governed thirty-five years. His son, who was called Agabo Rajah, was the next king. He reigned for the space of six years. His younger brother, who was called Kakala Maha Rajah, was the next king. He caused to be built the daw¬ gob called Helegam Pery Waihera, and reigned for the space of seven years. Midella Panau Rajah’s son, called Daru Cuda Akbo Rajah, was the next king, and reigned for the space of six years. The son of Akbo Rajah, who was called Salamewan Rajah, was the next king. He took by force the place called Mihidau Gama, and reigned as king for the space of twenty years. The next king was called Oeda Maha Rajah. “He reigned as king for the space of five years. The next king was called Akbo Rajah. He reigned for eleven years. His younger brother, who was called Akapubo Rajah, was the next king. He planted Bo-trees, made great offerings, and reigned twelve years. He forsook the city called Anuradha Pura, and went to the place called Beramini Pawya. His younger brother, who was called Nuyun Wessen Rajah, was the next king. He raised a Cinghalese army, went suddenly (running), and killed the king called Pandy Rajah, and conquered the country of Beraminy Pawya, changed the government thereof, caused the country to be cleared of the jungle, made new plantations, and reigned thirty-five years. His younger brother, who was called Damaha Rajah, was the next king. He caused to be built the dawgob called Rupey Naihera of Runa Magama, covered the same 54 Cinghalese Ilislori/ of Ceylon. with silver and gold, and made many offerings, and reigned for the space of forty years. After him Casubq Rajah reigned for six years. After him his queen, called San- gawra Daonam, repaired Lowhamaha Pawya, and caused a steeple to be built thereon: and after her, her son, called Dawpulu Cumara, reigned as king for seven months. The younger brother, called Cudaw Pulu Cumara, becoming king, vanquished the Malabars who came from Soly Rata^ and reigned for the space of twelve years. After his death, Oedaw Rajah reigned for the space of eight years. His younger brother, called Saman Rajah, reigned for the space of three years. His younger brother, called Cudaw Minidel Salaw Rajah, conspiring with Soly Rata, caused an army of Malabars to be brought to Ocraw Tota, and there keeping his court, reigned as king for the space of twelve years. His elder brother, called Nuwan Salaw Mewan Rajah, vanquished the Malabars, and made them fly. His viceroy, otherwise rajah, went to Damba Dewa, and brought an army, con¬ sisting of ninety-five thousand Malabars to Ceylon, and making war with them, reigned for the space of ten years. After him Wicrama Pandita Rajah reigned for the space of three years. After him the island of Ceylon was governed by Wicrama Bahu Rajah and Jayah Rajah; during their time the said Jayah Rajah swept the island of Ceylon of the Malabars who then swarmed throughout the same, and united the whole of Ceylon under one banner. After him Mawley Rajah reigned three years. After him Wicrama Pandita Rajah reigned for three years; and after him Gaja Bahu Pawlawam Rajah reigned for the space of three years. After him Pracrama Bahu Pandita Raiah reigned for one year. In his time a great army of Malabars from Soly Rata made another descent on Ceylon, which van fi u i s hed Ceylon, and subverted the religion of Buddha. Hereupon commenced the reign of six Mala¬ bars, the first of whom was Lokeswara Senewigan and these six with the Malabars of Soly Rata, reigned for the space of eighty-six years. After which Mahalu Wijaya Bahu arose and vanquished the Malabars, and united the three kingdoms of Ceylon again under the same banner- a ?x> aS jS e Malabars had completely extirpated the priests or Buddha, so that a yellow robe was no where to be found nor one who drank of the sweet waters of virtue to be seen’ this king sent thousands of pearls and precious stones to Aramana, and caused twenty priests to be brought from 55 Cingkalese History of Ceylon. thence, and with them again diffused the religion of Buddha, and also caused a thousand priests to be made, and great temples to be built, in particular the dawgob of Lanka Tilaka, which he surrounded with three walls, and caused a steeple to be built thereon. He it was who completed the building of many temples at Anuradha Pura, and as a great promoter of religion, reigned for the space of eighty years. After him, Wijaya Bahu Rajah reigned for three years. After him arose the king called Pracrama Bahu Rajah, who was the son of Kit Sirinuwan Rajah. He was a crowned king. He restored to the Desuvany called Wala- ganda, the religion of Buddha; for the two places called Colanau and Sugiria, and for the standing figure of Buddha he made a house,and for the sleeping figure he did the same; he also made a house, and covered the same with tiles, which were gilded with gold. He appointed many priests, and disposed of thousands of money in acts of charity, and made offerings of wild fruits. He caused to be built the great temples called Patana Rama and Welu Mana Ramia, and appointed priests for the same. He caused to be repaired the dawgob of Maha Parawdia, the name of which was Welu Savvya, because it was built with sand. He likewise caused to be built up the dawgob of Cayugiry and the temple called Tupaw Ramia, and caused steeples or towers to be built upon the same. He caused many temples to be completely finished at Anuradha Pura, and built a house round the Bo- Iree, otherwise Bodhinwahansey. He repaired Lowa Maha Pawya, and enclosed eight lakes. Having heard that the infidel king of Damba Dewa opposed the religion of Buddha, he raised an army, and was about to inarch to Damba Dewa, but the priests stopping the way before him, dissuaded him from going; and thereupon he chose from his army every tenth man, and this chosen army, which amounted to two millions one hundred and twenty-five thousand, he caused to embark upon one hundred ships, and these troops having- landed in Damba Dewa, fought against and vanquished the country called Soly Rata, the country belonging to the king- called Pandy Rajah, and likewise the country called Ara- mana, the tribute of which countries was imported to Ceylon. The king made a journey on foot to Salamana, or Adam’s Peak, where he worshipped the print of the foot. He caused the temple of Saman Dewinda, (that is, the God of Adam’s Peak,) to be built. He caused tribute to be brought to Ceylon from the following conquered countries, viz . Soly Rata, Pandy Rata, and Aramana Rata, every year, and his 6G Chighalese History of Ceylon. order to be obeyed throughout Damba Dewa; and lie made Ceylon, as it were, a banqueting-house for the inhabitants thereof. He purified the religion of Buddha, and with the desire of becoming himself a Buddha, reigned thirty-two years, and went to heaven. His sister’s son, who w r as called Wijaya Balm Rajah, was the next king. He killed the shepherd called Kilekes JLaw, because he wanted to have the shepherd’s daughter. He, however, reigned only five years. He was murdered, and succeeded by Calaganam Rajah, otherwise called Kirtes Akbo Rajah, who seized Delada Wahansey. This king built the davvgob of Palanaru, made a house for Delada Wahansey, and a round house to enclose that; he went with many people to Adam’s Peak, and worshipped the print of Buddha’s foot; and in order to perpetuate his name in Ceylon, lie caused the dawgob of Dambula to be built, and having gone there caused to be made seventy-two thou¬ sand figures of Buddha, and the said place he called by the names of Rathinda and Bulhinda, and reigned as a good and virtuous king. After this, the queen of YVicrami Bahu Rajah, who was murdered by his prime ministers, reigned for the space of three years : and after this a king called by the name of Okaw Rajah, reigned for the space of nine years. This king was deposed by his first minister, who was called Elalu Amba Senewi Rajah, and he bestowed the government on the queen of Tissa Rajah, who reigned for the space of six years. After this, the prince called Dharma Soka, at the age of five years was proclaimed king, and he reigned six years. After this, Dinunam Rajah came from Damba Dewa with an army, made himself master of Polon Nuwaia, put to death the first minister Ainba Senewi Rajah who had driven the son of the said Dinunam Rajah from the throne, assumed himself the government, and reigned fbr fifteen days. He was murdered by the minister called Manawcan Senewi, and after his death the queen called Lilavvati governed. .After this, Lokes W ara Raj ah came from a foreign country, with an army of Malabars, made bulwarks, and reigned king for the space of five months. After this, the queen of Calany reigned for the space of four months. After her Pracrama Pandita Rajah came from Pandija Rata, and reigned for the space of three years, and now there was no more virtue to be found amongst the inhabitants of the island; and as transgression had arisen to an enormous height, and the protecting gods had withdrawn their aid, there 57 Cinghalese History of Ceylon. now followed an age of irreligion, in which the precepts of Buddha were regarded no more; for, behold, Calingu Rajah, with an army of one thousand men, called Malawas, made a descent on Ceylon, raised bulwarks, took the city called Colon Nuwara, took prisoner the king Pandy Rajah, put out his eyes, and extirpated the established religion. He broke down the dawgob of Ruwan Welly, and several more, and, in contradiction to the royal blood and the religion of Buddha, exalted monstrous infidels, and people of low cast he made great and high, and those who were great and high he made equal to the low, and thus placed them, as it were, in houses set on fire. He placed Malabars at Mayama, and ruled for the space of nineteen years. While the heathens were thus laying waste and destroy¬ ing the island of Ceylon, and rooting out and banishing therefrom the religion of Buddha, a descendant of the family which brought the Bo-tree to Ceylon, and yet existed, who was called Wijaya Manu Rajah, and had remained in that part of the island called Maya Rata, sprung up as it were a fire bursting out in the darkness. He raised a Cinghalese army, with which he entered Wanny, besieged and took Palanaru from the Malabar, and other places likewise, and slaughtered the Malabars, after which he began to rebuild the broken down and decayed temples, and in particular those of Tapau Rawana, and Ruwan Welly; upon which he likewise built steeples and made offerings, and repaired all the temples which the Malabars had destroyed throughout the island. He built the dawgob of Calany; and as the Malabars had extirpated the priests, he sent a person of proper character, and brought ten priests from Damba Dewa, and these ten he caused to make a thousand priests. He united the three parts of the island under his new govern¬ ment; he, moreover, imposed taxes, and reigned; but still the Malabars had forts from Carawoora to Palanaru and Ocraw Tota. The next king was W T ijaya Bahu Rajah. He remained in Mawya Rata, and there he had two sons born to him. These sons, upon a time, the king called to him, and addressed them, saying, “You, my children, be of one mind, and like unto Dutu Gemunu and Tissa.” The one of the said sons was called Pracrama Bahu, by whose birth- planet his father saw that he was to be a man of renown. The king united the whole of Ceylon under his own govern¬ ment, he put to death his enemies, and those who were not virtuous, and in the said Mawya Rata caused to be built a strong city, and there he kept his court. But here it is to 58 Cinghalese History of Ceylon. be observed, that when the Malabars had made a conquest of the island, the Patra of Buddha, and the king’s sceptre, and also Delada Samy, had been hid in Cotmala; and now it came to pass, that the king was informed of this matter, and was filled with great joy. He also set out with great state to bring the said precious articles from Cotmala; and having found the same, with a vast quantity of gold and precious stones, and bringing the same in triumph, great offerings were made from village to village; and in order that the said Delada Samy might never more be, as it were, in exile again, a house was made for the same on the top of a mountain, where a foe could not approach. The king also caused to be made the temple of Beligal, he caused wells, and also every thing that was necessary, to be made for the place where Delada Samy remained on the mountain top, and on set days did not fail to make offerings. The books which had been in the island of Ceylon having been destroyed by the Malabars, the king caused to be written, by understanding people, the eighty-four thou¬ sand books of Buddha’s discourses—he made innumerable offerings; he caused the priests of Ceylon to be gathered together to one place, and fed them for seven days. As a monument of himself, he caused the temple called Wijaya Bahu Wihara to be built, and made large offerings. Having heard that the Malabars had destroyed the temple of Calamy, he caused that to be rebuilt, and a steeple built upon it, and laid up a great store of good works, and reigned the space of twenty-four years. And after him his eldest son, Pracrama Bahu, w r as made king, and his youngest son second king, or first minister. While Pracrama Bahu reigned, Delada Samy was trans¬ ported in a case of caradua of gold, to the city called Samudra Pura Nuwara, and great offerings were made for the space of seven days; and like the virtuous god called Jaya Rayu, the king took no taxes, nor vexed the inhabitants, and the criminals who deserved death, he punished with imprison¬ ment for life. In the mean time, the Malabars, consisting of forty thousand men, were stretched in a line from Polo- naru to Ocraw Tota, having batteries all along, and now the king went and surrounded the enemy, and laid siege to Polonaru, which the Malabars who were at Ocraw Tota having heard of, marched to the assistance of Polonaru, but were surrounded and taken prisoners by the second king, at the place called Calawala, and taken and delivered, with the Cinghali forces, to Pracrama Bahu at Polonaru. The 59 Cinghalese History of Ceylon. Malubars were kept at Polonaru without being put to death, and moreover they obtained permission to return to their own country. A short time afterwards, however, another Malabar king, called Chandrabahu Rajah, made a descent on Ceylon, and gave battle to the king Alese, and was opposed by the second king, or Pracrama Bahu’s younger brother, who vanquished the army of Malawas, and extir¬ pated the whole out of the island. All the dawgobs throughout the island were now caused to be cleaned and repaired, oil was furnished for all the temples throughout the three divisions of the island, to burn constantly, and preach¬ ing caused to be held at the appointed seasons, and twenty thousand children were taken to learn, and made priests. The offerings were made called Catina Dawney, or making clothes for the priests, by taking the cotton from the tree before the sun had reached the meridian; and many other works of charity were done by him. He caused princesses to be brought from Damba Dewa, and gave them in mar¬ riage to his sons; and, moreover, this king received yearly tribute of pearls and precious stones from the princes of Damba Dewa. He held in high esteem what is called Buddha Niti and Dharma Niti, that is, the precepts of Buddha and the laws of the people, and likewise Rajah Niti, the obligations of royalty; and when, in his time there was a want of lain thioughout the island of Ceylon, he caused Delada Samy to be brought out, and by the virtue thereof cause the rain to descend. And thus the king lived in the most virtuous manner, and every day went to worship Delada Sarny. While thus reigning as a good kino-, he called to him his five sons, namely, Wija Bahu, Muwanaika Balm, Sri Buwanaika Bahu, Pracrama Bahu, and Kri Wijaya Bahu, and his son-in-law called Weira Bahu, and said unto them, “ My children, there were in former times sixty thousand kings in Damba Dewa, and these divided the country amongst themselves, and built themselves cities, and enjoyed their possessions ; and again, after these days* the kings, by dividing the lands amongst them, enjoyed* each his own dominions. The kings of Damba Dewa I have brought to be your allies, or relations. The crowns of Pandy and Soly I have, as it were, placed under my feet, and amassed riches enough to last for seven generations! You six persons, without disputing with each other, divide Ceylon amongst you, and possess it; let not your old ene¬ mies approach to disturb you. Every month, upon the set day, fail not to pay your offerings to Delada Samy; offer 60 Prayers by John Howard, the Philanthropist. flowers of the field, and lamps. Let not the dawgobs and temples throughout the island fall to decay, make the same to be plastered afresh every year. Bestow charity upon the priests every month, following your father’s example. I have governed without giving pain to my subjects; the three kingdoms of this island 1 have united into one, viz. Mawyau Rata, which contains two hundred and fifty thousand villages; Piluty Rata, which contains four hun¬ dred and fifty thousand villages; and Runa Rata, which contains seven hundred and seventy thousand villages; all of which I have turned, as it were, into a house of rejoicing, and have been a protector of all my people.” And now embracing his children with inexpressible tenderness, he made them swear that they would live in unity with each other; and having done this, delivered his kingdom to his eldest son, Wijaya Bahu, and after a glorious reign of thirty-two years, yielded up the ghost, and went to Dewa Loca. In the reign of this king, Wijaya Bahu, a Malabar king called Malia Dose Rajah, with an army of the nation called Siganam, landed on Ceylon, pretending that he was bringing tribute, and so deceived the Ceylonese, because in the time of Pracrama Bahu it was customary for foreign countries to pay tribute, and thus the unsuspecting king, Wijaya Bahu, was taken and carried away prisoner by the Malabars. The king’s four brothers were likewise killed, and many people were killed and taken prisoners by the said Dose Rajah, to the country called Maha China. Prayers, and Fragments of Prayers, composed by John How¬ ard, the Philanthropist, found amongst his papers at Cher- son, in Russian Tartary, immediately after his decease. Amongst the papers brought over to England by Thom- mason, the confidential, but faithless servantof this celebrated Philanthropist, were three memorandum books, in which Mr. Howard was in the habit of entering the heads of the sermons which he heard, and of writing occasional reflec¬ tions, chiefly of a devotional cast. These, after the death of Thommason, came into the possession of a gentleman of Liverpool, by whom one of them was put into my hands previous to the publication of the Memoirs of Howard, first compiled from his original papers, and other authentic sources of information, in the year 1818. The other two were at that time mislaid, and have only recently been 61 Prayers by John Howard, the Philanthropist. found. On carefully inspecting them, I discovered that they contained some devotional exercises worthy of preser¬ vation, the only specimen upon record of his prayers, written, I should conjecture, whilst confined at home on a Sabbath, during some of his illnesses—it may be his last, and intended to assist, him in leading the devotions of his family. They remain in pencil, and are not very legible by per¬ sons unacquainted with Mr. Howard’s handwriting. Havmo-, however, accurately transcribed them for insertion in °a second edition of the Memoirs, now on the eve of publica¬ tion, a place is given to them also in this work, for the use of those who possess the first edition only of that pub¬ lication, or who may be strangers to it altogether. From some passages in these extracts, marked by Italics, it would seem either that Mr. Howard occasionally assisted at the prayer meetings at Cardingtou, or, that when on his journeys to foreign countries, he endeavoured to supply the want of a regular place of worship, by expounding to his seivant some passages of the scriptures. The latter conjec¬ ture is, perhaps, the most probable. The expression, while we ai e musing, would seem also to favour the supposition, that at other times the custom of silent meditation, so* usual among the Quakers, was adopted, after prayer offered, and a chapter of the Bible had been read. James Baldwin Brown. “ Our nature is contaminated by sin. Thou art the “ source and fountain of all happiness, most high, most just and true God. Oh that our heads were water, and our eyes fountains of tears, that we, &c. May we have the “ comfort of knowing that we are forgiven, that humility “ that meekness, that love for our fellow-creatures, may be “ evidence that we are the children of God—strength “ according to our day, a constant persevering faith; and ‘ may our dependence be noton ourselves, but on thelivino- ‘ God.—In every thing we undertake, may we go on in the “ way of the Lord rejoicing—may he hold us up by his Spirit. “ Inconceivably glorious, holy God: on thy favour our hap- “ F ness depends in this world, and that which is to come. "If thou wast to lay judgment to the line, and righteous- “ " ess t0 the plummet, we should be stript of every comfort. We hope, for his sake, thou wilt pass by our provocations. ( Cause us to^repent of all our sins. Impress thy Divine " image on our souls. May sin be extremely hateful. Con- nun our faith; establish our hope; may it be our concern 62 Prayers by John Howard, the Philanthropist. “ to be accepted of Christ. Prepare us for all events that “ lie before us ; above all, for the great event—our death. “ Thy name we have dishonoured; thy holy Spirit we have “ grieved; thou mightest have poured out the vials of thy “ wrath upon us. Oh, what pride and vanity; what impa¬ tience and discontent! Be merciful unto us for Christ’s “ sake. We rejoice that the Son of God came down from “ Heaven; wept, and died for sinners. Oh, may that mind “ be in us that was in him; may it be evident to all round “ about us, that we profess to be followers of the Lamb. “ Thus may we conform to the Spirit of truth. Thou art “ the great God, and the everlasting Jehovah. We lament “ the cold and languid manner [in] which we have too often “ entered into thy presence. May we withdraw our affec- “ tions and thoughts from this world. When we were with- “ out strength, Christ died for sinners. The greatest bless- “ ing we can enjoy is, a sense of thy divine favour. Let “ thy Spirit witness with our spirits that we are Children of “ God. May we be the genuine disciples of our Lord “ Jesus Christ. May we make it out object to glorify God, “ and serve our generation. May we enjoy the smiles of “ thy Countenance. Assist thy servant in speaking a word “ for God. May love to God, love to Christ, supremely “ reign in our hearts. May we enjoy thy protection and “ favour, by the mercies of our God be persuaded to pre- ** sent our living sacrifice holy and acceptable to him. “ May we charge upon ourselves that we are pilgrims upon “ the earth, as all our fathers were. May we glorify thee “ our God in our day and generation, and adorn the doc- “ trine of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we, with cheer- “ fulness of heart, devote ourselves to thee ; have grace to “ persevere. May we be of that number whose names are “ written in heaven. Be thou the guide of youth, the “ father of the fatherless, and the widow’s judge. Accept “ our thanks for the necessaries and conveniences of life; “ but, above all, for the great salvation wrought out by Jesus “ Christ. Oh, may we join that heavenly number that shall “ sing, ‘ Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive bless- “ ings, honour, and glory.’ May we in sincerity, fervency, “ and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ask the holy “ Spirit. Holy, holy, thy name is holy, thy nature is holy, “ and they that worship thee above are holy. Will God “ indeed dwell with men? We adore thy goodness. Meet “ us at this time and bless us ; draw nigh to us, as we draw “ nigh unto thee. From a thousand evils hast thou pro- 63 c< << 66 46 46 66 46 66 46 66 44 16 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 66 64 46 64 Prayers by John Howard, the Philanthropist. tected us. We hope it is not presumption in us so to do. Thanks be to God, we have encouragement to hope thou wilt have mercy on us; have pity, have pity on us. Our sins w r e would have rise as mountains to our view. We rejoice in God, through Jesus Christ, by which we have received the atonement. Oh, bury our sins in the depth of the sea; may they never, never rise in judgment against us. Steel us against every temptation. Olf, may our bodies be the temples of the Holy Ghost. Walk in us, and dwell in us. Oh Lord, we beseech thee, be our God" guide us and defend us. May all the affairs of this pre¬ sent world contribute to our salvation. By how much greater thy goodness has been, so much the greater our guilt has been. Incline us to every thing that is well¬ pleasing in thy sight. May we firmly rely on his media¬ tion as our great High Priest. May we not wander from the path of duty in which thou wouldest have us to walk. May the love of God be shed abroad in our hearts, and may we love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth. May those who love God most sincerely love one another. “ Oh, most holy, most mighty, most merciful Lord, per¬ mit us to prostrate ourselves before thee. We thank thee that we once more are permitted to approach thy foot¬ stool. We thank thee for the forbearance exercised on us. We thank thee that thou hast not poured out the vials of thy wrath. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he is able to save those that come unto God through him. Sensible of our depravity, we implore that grace to assist us. We ask thy Spirit, sensible of our need of his assistance; we. would be importunate with our God for his good gift. Thy Spirit. If we have not run such lengths of vice and wickedness, it is by thy grace dwelling in us. Walk in us, and be thou our God. May we daily struggle with all our evil passions. We pray that by the grace of God w 7 e may persevere to the end. Fill us with zeal for thy glory ; our endeavours will be ineffectual, unless thou help us. To thee we look, oh God of our salvation. Let a divine influence be exerted upon our souls. Accept us through Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. “ May we be one of that great family that Christ is pre¬ paring to be partakers of the grace of God. Give me a heart subdued by the love of Christ, and may we be faith¬ ful unto death ; help us, Oh Lord by thy strength, our G4 Some Account of Major-General Lyman. " best obedience is so imperfect it stands in need of pardon. “ We need a better righteousness, even that of our Lord “ Jesus Christ. Through the mercy of God, and merits of “ Christ, may we get safe to Heaven. “ With the most profound reverence and deepest humi- “ lity, we would approach the footstool of thy mercy. We “ have grieved thy Holy Spirit. We thank thee for thy “ sparing mercy : thanks be to God for Jesus Christ. We “ renounce all confidence in righteousness of our own. We “ believe that he is the Son of God. He wept, bled, and “ died for us. He is our prophet, priest, and King. Sin is “ the cause of all the evils we endure; when shall we be “ conformed to thy likeness? Despise not the day of small “ things. Deliver the oppressed from the hand of the “ oppressor. May we adorn the doctrine of our Lord and “ Saviour Jesus Christ—zeal for the glory of God inspire “ us, for his love. Lord, give us victory over our enemies. “ The angels veil their faces, and the elders cast down their ** crowns. May we not mistake the way that leads to ever- “ lasting life. May we glory in the cross of Christ, and so “ be crucified to the world. May our tempers and our lives “ be correspondent to our sincere profession. O Lord, in “ obedience to thy commands, we are assembled to offer “ prayer and praise to thee. While we are musing, may the “ fire of divine love be kindled in our hearts. May the “ good work of Grace be begun in our hearts.” Some Account of Major-General Lyman, and the singular Misfortunes of his Family. The late President Dwight travelled extensively in New- England and New-York; of his several Journeys he prepared an account that is in a course of publication, and of which one volume has already appeared in America. This work was commenced in 1796, and the execution of it was con¬ tinued, so far as his other labours permitted, during his life. * Some incidental circumstances/ says Dr. Dwight, in his preface, ‘excited in my mind a wish to know the manner in which New-England appeared, or to my own eye would have appeared, eighty or a hundred years before. The wish was found to be fruitless; and it was soon perceived that information concerning this subject was chiefly unattainable. A country changing as rapidly as New-England, must, if 65 Some Account oj Major-General Lyman. truly exhibited, be described in a manner, resembling that, in which a painter would depict a cloud. The form and colours of the moment, must be seized, or the picture will be erroneous. As it was naturally presumed by me, that some of those, who will live eighty or a hundred years hence, must have feelings similar to my own, I resolved to furnish, so far as should be in my power, means of enabling them to know what was the appearance of their country during the period occupied by my journeys.’—Some pieces of history are also contained in the work, and many notices of individuals, and of occurrences, are given, of which no account can elsewhere be found, and which, but for this memorial, would have passed away, and been forgotten. The character and institutions of the first settlers of" New- England, are also vindicated. All who have a knowledge of the character of the late President Dwight will be sensible that he was peculiarly qualified for the task he undertook. His acquaintance with distinguished individuals, and his knowledge of men, gave him superior advantages for the acquisition of that kind of information w 7 hich was necessary for his purpose; while his talents and extensive information enabled him to attach a just value to w hat he saw r , and to present the results of his observations in the happiest man¬ ner before his readers. When the three remaining volumes are published, we hope to prepare an account of them, for our w’ork. At present we select from the interesting volume which has appeared, the follow ing history of Major-General Phiriehas Lyman and his Family. This gentleman resided for a time in Suffield, Newhaven. “ At a small distance, westward from the Presbyterian church in this town, (writes this intelligent tourist,) lived Major-General Phniehas Li/man. Few Americans have a better claim to the remembrance of posterity, than this gen¬ tleman: and the history of few men, who have been natives of it, can be more interesting. " He was born atDurham, of a reputable family, about the year 1716. He entered Yale college in 1734; and received his first degree in 1738. When a senior sophister, he was chosen one of the Berkleian scholars: and in 1739 w ? as appointed a tutor. In this office he continued three years, with much reputation. He then devoted himself to the pro¬ fession of the law; and, after being admitted to the bar, began the practice in this towm, at that time considered as belonging to the province of Massachusetts Bay. His business soon became extensive, and his character dis- VOL. VI,—NO. 11. F 66 Some Account of Major-General Lyman. tinguished. In 1749, the inhabitants of Suffield, convinced by his arguments, that according to the original boundaries of Connecticut, and the dictates of their own interest, they ought to belong to that jurisdiction, employed him as their advocate, to procure them an admission into that colony. His mission was successful. The following year he was chosen their representative; and in 1753 was elected into the Council, of which he continued a member until 1759. In 1755 he was appointed major-general and commander-in¬ chief of the Connecticut forces; and held this office until the Canadian war was ended. lie then went as commander- in-chief of the American troops in the expedition to the Havannah, in the year 1762. In all these employments he rendered important services to his country ; and acquired a high reputation for wisdom, integrity, bravery, military skdl, and every honourable characteristic of a soldier. In the battle at Lake George, the first link in the chain of splendid successes, which raised so high the power and glory of the British nation, the command devolved on him immediately after its commencement, Sir William Johnson having been early wounded, and obliged to retire from the scene of action. During the whole course of the war, beside the high testimony given to his worth by the State, he received many others; particularly from' the British officers, who were his companions in service; by several of whom he was holden in peculiar esteem. By these gentlemen, he was so advantageously spoken of in Great Britain, that an invitation was given him by some persons in high office to visit that country. “ A company had been formed, by his exertions, under the name of Mditary Adventurers, composed chiefly of such as had been officers and soldiers during the preceding war. Their object was to obtain from the British government a considerable tract of land bordering on the rivers Missis¬ sippi and Yazoo: on this tract they proposed to plant themselves, and as lai 4 ge a colony of their countrymen as they could induce to join them. General Lyman went to England as agent for this company; and entertained not a doubt, that his application would be successful. Soon after his arrival, his own friends in the ministry were removed. Those who succeeded them had other friends to provide for, and found it convenient to forget his services. It will be difficult for a man of mere common sense to invent a reason, why a tract of land in a remote wilderness, scarcely worth a eent an acre, could be grudged to any body of men, who Some Account of Major-General Lyman. 67 were willing to settle on it. It will be more difficult to con¬ ceive how it could be refused to a band of veterans, who had served their country faithfully through a long war, and had contributed by their gallant efforts to bring That war to a glorious conclusion. Still more strange must this appear, when it is remembered, that the settlement of these men in that wilderness would have formed an effectual barrier against every enemy in that quarter; and that their agent was a man, who might fairly expect to find a favourable answer to every reasonable request. General Lyman, how¬ ever, found insuperable difficulties embarrassing this busi¬ ness. In his country he had never solicited public favour otherwise than by faithful services; and was experimentally a stranger to all governmental promises, except such as were punctually fulfilled. For a while his open heart admitted the encouragements given to him in London, and charitably construed the specious reasons, alleged for successive delays, in the most favourable manner. After drao-oing out several tedious years in the melancholy employment of listening to Court promises, he found, in spite of all his preconceptions, that the men, w ith whom his business lay, trifled alike with his interests and their own integrity. Shocked at the degradation, which he must sustain by returning to his own country without accomplishing his design, and of appearing as a dupe of Court hypocrisy, where he had never appeared but with dignity and honour, he probably, though not without many struggles, resolved to lay his bones in Britain. r ihe imbecility of mind, which a crowd of irremediable misfortunes, a state of long con¬ tinued, anxious suspense, and strong feelings of degradation, invariably produce, he experienced in its full extent. His mind lost its elasticity, and became incapable of any thing, beyond a seeming effort. Eleven years, the best of his life, were frittered away in this manner. At length Mrs. Lyman, who in endowments and education was superior to most of her sex, being equally broken down with the dis¬ tresses, in which his absence had involved his family, sent his second son to England in 1774, to solicit his return. The sight of his son called up the remains of his resolution, and determined him to revisit his native country. The tract in question was about this time granted to the peti¬ tioners. Many of these were, however, in the grave; others were already hoary with age ; and all of them were removed beyond that period of life, at which men are willing to plant themselves in a wilderness, lying under a new climate, and 68 Some Account of Major-General Lyman. a thousand miles from their homes. Of the conditions of the grant I am ignorant. But it wholly failed of producing any benefit to the grantees. Had it been seasonably and generously made, West Florida might now have been a province of Great Britain. For himself he obtained a tract of land, sufficient for cultivation, and at some future period for the establishment of a fortune, and was promised an annuity of two hundred pounds sterling. But the land, he was too old to cultivate; and the promise was never per¬ formed. He revisited his country, however, in 1774, with the appearance of success and reputation. “ When he had spent a short time in Connecticut, he em¬ barked the following year for the Mississippi, with his eldest son, and a few companions, to make some preparation for the reception of his family, who were soon to follow. This young gentleman had been educated at \ale College; and, while a youth, had received a commission in the British army. This commission, however, he had given up for the practice of law; and that practice he had waveringly pur¬ sued, under a conviction, daily felt, that he was soon to remove into a distant country. The irresolution, which this conviction produced, was continually increased by the long suspense resulting from the absence of his father, and issued in a broken heart, and a confirmed delirium. In this situation his father found him at his arrival in Connecticut, and carried him to West Florida, with a hope of amending his health and spirits by the influence of a new climate. But the hope was vain. He died soon after he landed in that country. His father followed him to the grave, when he had scarcely begun the accomplishment of his enterprise. The next year, 1776, Mrs. Lyman, together with all the surviving family, except the second son, embarked for the same country. She was accompanied by her only brother. Within a few months after their arrival, she died; and was followed by her brother the succeeding summer. The rest of the family continued in the country, until it was invaded and conquered by the Spaniards in 1781 and 1782. These adventurers, together with a small number of their friends, had planted themselves in the neighbourhood of Natches ; a town built by the French on the eastern side of the Mississippi, one hundred and eighty miles north of New Orleans by land, and twice that distance by water, and now the capital of the Mississippi territory. Here the French erected a fort, which was afterwards repaired by the English. To this fortress, these people, and the other neighbouring / Home Account of Major-General Lyman. 69 inhabitants, betook themselves for safety, when they were informed, that the Spaniards were ascending the river. The fort was speedily invested; and, not being tenable for any length of time, or being unfurnished with provisions, or ammunition, for a long siege, was surrendered upon easy and honourable terms of capitulation. But the Spaniards shamefully violated all their engagements, and treated the inhabitants with gross indignity and abuse. This conduct roused them to resentment. A messenger was immediately dispatched to General Campbell, then commanding at Pen¬ sacola, to inquire of him whether this breach of faith did not completely release them from their engagements. The General returned an affirmative answer; and declared that they were at full liberty, by the law of nations, to make any exertions for his Majesty’s service, which their circum¬ stances would permit. Upon this information they flew to arms, and retook the fort. But they had scarcely regained possession of it, when they learned that the Spaniards were advancing in force up the river, to attack them. There was no alternative left, but either to submit, and suffer whatever Spanish wrath and revenge should choose to inflict, or seek their flight through an immense wilderness, inhabited by savages, to Savannah in Georgia, the nearest post in posses¬ sion of the British. From the Spaniards they had every thing to fear. A flight through the wilderness involved distresses without number, but presented a possibility of safety. These unfortunate people determined therefore to attempt it without hesitation. “ The contention between Great Britain, whose subjects they were, and the American States, rendered a direct course to the place of their destination too dangerous to be hazard¬ ed. To avoid this danger, they were obliged to ascend into North Carolina, then to descend below the Altamaha, and then to cross the State of Georgia again to Savannah. “ In this circuitous route they wandered, according to their reckoning, more than one thousand three hundred and fifty miles, and occupied one hundred and forty-nine days. The dangers and hardships, which they encountered in their progress, resembled more the adventures of knight-errantry, than the occurrences of real life. The caravan was numer¬ ous; including women and children, as well as men: some of the children, infants at the breast. They were all mounted on horseback: but the ruggedness of the ground obliged such as were able to walk, to make a great part of their way on foot. The country through which they passed was 70 Some Account of Major-General Lyman. was intersected by numerous, and those often broad and deep rivers. Steep and lofty mountains, equally difficult to climb and to descend, obstructed their path. Marshes impassable forced them to take long and tedious circuits. The rivers they were obliged to swim on horseback; and in attempting to cross one of them, several of their number had well nigh perished. Their sufferings from the dread of wild beasts and savages were incessant. The Choctaws, through whose territory, and along whose borders, their journey lay for a great extent, had espoused the Spanish in¬ terests, and become their enemies; and from Indian enemies no concealment, no speed, no distance, can furnish safety. The most quiet, the most secure moments, are like the silence before a stroke of lightning, a mere prelude to danger and death. Famine, also, threatened them in their best circumstances; and frequently ctared them in the face. Once they were reduced to their last morsel. Often they suffered intensely from thirst. In one instance, when both they and their horses were nearly famished, a lady who was of their company, wandered in search of water some distance from their encampment, and found a small spot which exhibited on its surface a degree of moisture. She scraped away the earth with her hands; and, having hollowed out a basin of Considerable size, saw it soon partially filled with about a quart of perfectly pure and sweet water. Having assuaged her own thirst, she called the rest of the company; who, together with their horses, all drank at this little spot until they were satisfied; the water returning regularly to the same height, as soon as it was exhausted. It ought not to be forgotten, that disease attacked them in various instances, and obliged thost who were well, to halt for the recovery of the sick. After they had reached the State of Georgia, they separated into two companies. Those who composed one of these companies, were taken prisoners by the Americans. The company which escaped, crossed the Altamaha; and made their journey towards its mouth in East-Florida. On the southern bank of this river they con¬ structed, with great labour and difficulty, a raft of logs ; and on that perilous vehicle floated themselves and their horses across. Thus they finally arrived in safety at Savannah, without losing one of their number. Those who had been taken prisoners, were after a short time released. “ One of their adventures deserves a particular relation. About two days before they reached the first village of the Creeks, or Muscoghees, which was on their way, their Some Account of Major-General Lyman. 71 provisions were exhausted. As they had lived for some time on a scanty allowance, many of them had lost both their strength and spirits. How long it would be before a new supply could be obtained, it was impossible to deter¬ mine. In this situation, those who suffered most severely gave themselves up to despair; and, pronouncing all further efforts fruitless, concluded to die on the spot. It was with no small difficulty, that their more robust and resolute com¬ panions persuaded them to renew their exertions for a short time, and to proceed with a slow' and heavy progress on their journey. At the moment when every hope was vanishing, they discovered that they were in the neighbour¬ hood of this village. Three of their company were then deputed to go forward, make known their wants, and, if possible, obtain relief from the savages. Colonel Me Gil- livray, who tor several years exercised an entire control over the Creek nations, had for some resided in this place, but unfortunately was now absent. As they approached the village, the Indians observed that their saddles* were such as were used by the Virginians, with whom they were then at war: and declared them to be Virginians, and enemies. In vain they asserted that they were subjects of the king of Great Britain, and friends of the Creeks. The saddles refuted their assertions. About seventy of the savages formed a circle around the messengers. In vain did they allege the defenceless state of themselves and their com¬ pany, the presence of their women and children, their destitu¬ tion of arms, and even of bread, and the frank friendly manner in w hich they had entered the village. The expedi¬ tion appeared to be mysterious; the motives which led to it, strange and inexplicable; and the unfortunate saddles, precisively contradictory to all their professions. An earnest, and in the end a very vehement, debate commenced among the savages, of which only a few ill-boding words were understood by the messengers, such as Virginian, long- knife, no-good, and some others. From these they deter¬ mined, upon the best grounds, that their fate was nearly, if not quite decided. At the same time, every warrior seized his knife, every face became distorted with wrath, and every eye lighted up with fierce and gloomy vengeance. At this desperate moment, a black servant of Col. Me Gillivray, returning from abroad, entered the circle, and demanded the cause of the tumult. The Indians replied, that these * These saddles were of English manufacture, as were those also which were then generally used by the people of Virginia. 72 Some Account e/* Major-General Lyman. strangers were Virginians, as was clearly proved by their saddles; that, of course, they were bad men, enemies to the Creeks, and to their father the king of Great-Britain, and that therefore they ought immediately to be killed. The black fellow then asked the messengers who and whence they were, and what; was their errand to the village. To these inquiries they returned an answer with which ne was perfectly satisfied. He then told the Indians, that they had wholly mistaken the character of the men, that they were not Virginians, but British subjects, good men, and friends to the Creeks; that they w’ere in distress, and, instead of being killed, ought therefore to be instantly relieved. When he found that his remonstrances did not satisfy the Indians, and that they still believed the messengers to be Virginians, he called them rascals, fools, and mad-men. This abuse they took very patiently, without attempting a reply, but still declared themselves wholly unsatisfied. At length, one, more moderate that the rest, said, “ If they are Englishmen, as they profess, they can make the paper talk;” meaning that, if they were Englishmen, they must have kept a journal, which they could now read for the satisfac¬ tion of the Creeks. “ The black fellow’ seizing the hint, asked the messengers whether they had kept any such journal. They replied in the negative. He then asked whether they had any written paper about them, observing that it would answer the purpose equally well. One of them examining his pockets, found an old letter.* From this letter he directed him to read a history of the expedition, and promised to interpret it to the Indians. Accordingly, looking on the letter as if he was reading it, he briefly recited the adventures of himself and his companions, from the time when they left Natches. The black fellow interpreted sentence by sentence; and the Indians listened with profound attention. As the recital went on, their countenances, which at the sight of the letter bad begun to relax, gradually softened; and before it was finished, the gloom gave way to a smile, and the ferocity was succeeded by friendship. The whole body put up their knives, and coming, one by one, to the messengers, took theni cordially by the hand, welcomed them to their village, declared themselves satisfied, that they were good men and Englishmen; and promised them all the assistance in their pow’er. With these joyful tidings, the messengers instantly set out for their company, and brought them imme- * This was my eldest brother. Some Account of Major-General Lyman. 73 diately to the village. Here they were entertained with a kindness and hospitality, as honourable to the Indians, as it was necessary to themselves; and rested until they were recruited for their journey. “ To this expedition the two daughters of General Lyman fell victims, after their arrival at Savannah. Three of his sons were of this company; of whom the eldest came to New- York, when the British evacuated Georgia, the second went to Nova-Scotia, and the third to New-Providence. I have been informed that the eldest came afterwards into Connec¬ ticut, and disposed of the remains of his father’s estate. What finally became of him, and his two brothers, I am ignorant. His second son, a man brilliant, gay, and ingeni¬ ous, beyond most of mankind, received, while in England, a military commission, and, a little before the commencement of the American war, was required to join his regiment at Boston. He continued in the army until the year 1782, and then, with a heart rendered nearly torpid by disappoint¬ ment, sold his commission. A part of the purchase money he received; the remainder he never demanded. Most of what he received he lent, without requiring any evidence of the loan. With the rest he came to Sufheld, where, with¬ in a short time, he was literally penniless. In this situation he was solicited to instruct a school: he consented; and for a while pursued the business without any apparent regret. The stipend, however, when it became due, he made no attempt to collect; nor, when it was collected, to expend it for necessary purposes. His clothes became indecent. Cloth was purchased by his friends; and a suit of clothes made, and brought to him. But he was too broken-hearted and listless to put them on. In a state of discouragement approximating to a lethargy, his mind, once singularly bril¬ liant and active, languished into insensibility. After a short period, he fell a victim to this mental consumption, and joined his friends in the grave.— “ Such is the history of what, I think, may be called by way of distinction the Unhappy l'amily. Few persons in this country begin life with a fairer promise of prosperity than General Lyman. Few are born and educated to brighter hopes than those cherished by his children. None, w ithin the limits of my information, have seen those hopes, prematurely declining, set in deeper darkness. For a con¬ siderable time, no American possessed a higher or more extensive reputation: no American, who reads this detail, will regard him with envy.” 74 LETTER FROM LORD JOHN RUSSELL TO THE EDITORS. We have been honoured with a communication from Loud John Russell, on the subject of the dedication of the works of Sir Charles Hanbury Williams to his Lordship; and have great pleasure in laying it before our readers, exculpating, as it completely does, this ingenious and highly respectable young nobleman from all blame in the transac¬ tion. With respect to errors in our statement, affecting either his Lordship or his noble friends, we can only say, that we have not intentionally committed any; and that if they are pointed out to us, no one can be more ready or more anxious to currect them. We have heard it stated, indeed, that the contributions of Lord Essex to the work which we have so severely censured, were all of them harm¬ less and unexceptionable; that Lord Holland did not furnish any improper notes, or even innoxious notes upon any impro¬ per poems; and that, as soon as he saw the volumes containing so much objectionable matter, he removed them from his library table, (we would fain hope into the fire,) that they might not shock the delicacy, or corrupt the morals, of the female visitors at Ilolland-house ; and we trust that what we have heard is true. If, however, it be so, the conduct of the Editor is even more base and unwarrantable than we have represented it; and it more imperatively behoves the noblemen injured by it, to take the measures which we have pointed out to them, for their own vindication, or at least to follow the good example of their illustrious friend, by making a public disavowal of any participation in the offence, for which the pages of this work will at all times be open. To the Rev. William Bengo’ Collyer, D.D. The Rev. Thomas Raffles, LL.D. And James Baldwin Brown, Esq. LL.D. Editors of the Investigator. Gentlemen, Woburn Abbey, Oct. 12, 1822. The tenth Number of your periodical work has just been put into my hands. I perceive that you therein call upon me publicly to disavow any knowledge of the dedication to me of the works of Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, lately published, and to reprobate the liberty taken with my 75 Original Letter from, the Rev. John Berridge. name, as well as the work to which it has been prefixed. This I am perfectly ready to do ; but I can only confirm what you have yourselves in substance stated, viz. That I knew nothing of these volumes previous to their publica¬ tion ; that the dedication was inserted without mv permis¬ sion ; that as soon as I knew the tendency of some of the poems, I desired the dedication might be cancelled, and my name omitted in all future advertisements. You have remarked, however, with truth, that these advertisements have been repeated so late as August last. In answer to my remonstrances on this subject, Mr. Jeffrey alleged to me by letter, that the advertisements had been sent in May last, and that he was not aware they had not been inserted at that time. There are several errors in your statement, both with respect to Lords Essex and Holland and myself, but they are hardly worth correction.—If you think proper to give publicity to this letter, you are at perfect liberty to do so. I have the honour to be. Your obedient servant. ORIGINAL LETTERS FROM PERSONS EMINENT FOR LEARNING OR PIETY. (Copied from a Collection of Autographs, in the possession of the Rev. Tboma» Raffles, LL.D. of Liverpool.) XV. FROM THE REV. JOHN BERRIDGE TO MR.WOODGATE. ^ „ Everton. Apr. 28. 1779. Dear Brother Do you ask after my old Carcase? It is sorry, yet suitable ; a better would not serve me so well. Or ask what Returns l am making for Mercies received? Why truly, sometimes under rating the Lord’s Bounty, sometimes over rating Myself for it. One while proud of what He gives, another while thinking He might give more. Mer¬ cies, momently received, get few Heart-Thanks; yet if with-held, fetch many Heart-Risings. Seldom I value Mercies aright, till I want them; and seldom improve them 76 Review. aright, when I have them. Indeed, the best Return I seem to make, is Astonishment: astonish’d to see how good the Lord is, and how evil I am. Then I feel a little of that broken Heart, which God delighteth in ; a suitable Frame for Believers on Earth, it stirreth up Duty and Praise; and is sweetly enlarged in Saints above, who are evermore filled with Wonder & Love, and evermore filling God’s Heaven with Praise. If all were not Gift and Grace, Gift to the needy, Grace to unworthy, Heaven would be like this Earth, a Subject for Boast, a Room for Contempt. Martyrs might whistle to Others, who pressed too near, and bid them stand off, We are better than You. Molly Magdalen would have no Companions in Heaven, but repenting Prostitutes : and the Cross-Thief rio Associates, but Tyburn Penitents. As for the Perfectionists, if Christ knows where to put them in Heaven, I know not, but think they would class by them¬ selves, and might scuttle with the Martyrs for Precedency. Brother, by feeling much of my own Heart, I know some¬ thing of yours, and believe if God would humour your Wish, you would preach yourself into Hell bv a Run of fine Sermons. How pleased we are to see a Congregation in Tears, when we are in the Pulpit: but remember, tho a wet Sermon breaks the Hearts of Hearers down, it raises the Heart of a Preacher up ; and a dry Sermon often profits Him more than a wet one. I usually find, in Myself Sc Others, that a wet Sermon claps a cloven Foot upon the Preacher. Kind Respects to your Partner. Grace and Peace be with you both, and with your Flock, and with your affectionate Brother John Berridge. Tlie rev d> Mr. Woodgate, N 0> 30, Ironmonger’s Row, Old Street, London. REVIEW. The Liberal; Verse and Prose from the South, To be con¬ tinued occasionally. No. I. London. 1822. 8vo. pp. 176. Hunt. We have begun a warfare against Lord Byron, and the infidel writers of the day, in which we did not anticipate being so speedily called upon to strike a second blow: but the enemy has taken the field, and we shall never shrink The Liberal 77 from following him into it. The association to which we alluded in our last, has given the first portion of its labours to the public, and we lose not a moment in laying before our readers an accurate estimate of the nature and value of this new importation of liberal sentiment from the prolific regions of the south. We have long been of opinion, even before the immoral and irreligious tendency of his writings was so unblushingly revealed as they lately have been, that Lord Byron was in great danger of outwriting himself, and his share of the journal before us abundantly satisfies us, that he is taking very rapid strides in his downward career; on which, unless he minds his morals with his poetry, we can promise him our very best assistance in easing his descent. Hitherto we have considered him one of the greatest poets, and a man of the subliinest genius of the age, though the gifts with which Providence has liberally endowed him have been prostituted to the worst of uses ; but if his papers in the Liberal were the only productions of his pen by which we were called upon to decide his merits, and apportion him his literary rank, very different indeed would be the judgment that we pronounced; for his reputation would be at as low' an ebb, and have as short a date, as that of the most contemptible scribbler gibbeted in terrorem in the English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, a poem of great merit, though written in a very objectionable spirit. We will not, however, anticipate our duty, but begin at the beginning; a course that will give to his Lordship that precedence which literary fame and the pride of aristocracy alike entitle him to claim, and have induced him to adopt. The first piece in this precious collection, is “ The Vision of Judgment,” a burlesque upon the poem published by the laureate under that name, the rhapsodical extravaganza of which we so little admire, that we should have left them to a fate they would have merited, had even a more merciless quizzing been limited to the exposure of their follies and affectations. But this is not the case, the ire awakened in Lord Byron’s mind by the castigation most righteously administered to himself and his friends, in the preface to Southey’s strange hexametrical whimsey, (which fell, we believe, by the way, as it deserves to have done, all but abortive from the press,) boils over with a fury which its hapless victim has neither the will nor the inclination to repress, to sw’eep away, in its fancied course of destructive wrath, every thing that the good must venerate, or the bad 78 Review. need fear. The poem, written pretty much in the Don Juan style, save that it has scarce a spark of its wit, and not a solitary trace of that genuine pathos which almost acts the part of a redeeming spirit for the obscenities and impie¬ ties with which it is disfigured, opens with a profane, and would-be-witty description of St. Peter sitting at Heaven’s gate, with rusty keys, and a lock that was dull, whilst “ the angels were singing out of tune, hoarse with having little else to do, excepting to wind up the sun and the moon,” though the recording angel had been so busy of late in regulating human crime, “ That he had stripp'd off both his wings in quills, “ And yet was in arrear of human ills.” Such are the contemptible jokes, the puerile conceits, to which this great supporter of infidelity—this daring blas¬ phemer of his God—is driven, at the very outset of a poem, in which he has outdared his former darings, but to sink the deeper in guilt, whilst, for the first time, he lies floun¬ dering also in the depths of dulness. From these he will not, we think, be extricated, in the sober judgment of any reader of taste and discernment, by the notable expedient for relieving his self-fledged angel, to which he resorts, by telling us, in such miserable doggrel as we blush for him to quote as Lord Byron’s, that “To aid h im, ere he should be quite worn out, “ By the increas’d demand for his remarks, “ Six angels and twelve saints were named his clerks.” This is stupid enough in all conscience, but it is far below the par of its noble author’s profanity and impiety, witness the following execrable stanzas, in which he expresses his cold-blooded jests and inhuman exultations, on the death of our late lamented monarch; for lamented he was, and is, as ever king could be, by far the greater portion of his subjects, in spite of Lord Byron’s barefaced assertion to the con¬ trary. “He s dead—and upper earth with him has done: He's buried; save the undertaker’s bill, Or lapidary scrawl, the world is gone For him, unless he left a German will; But where s the proctor who will ask his son. In whom his qualities are reigning still, Except that household virtue, most uncommon, Of constancy to a bad, ugly woman. The Liberal. 79 “ ‘God save the king!’ It is a large economy In God to save the like; but if he will Be saving, all the better; for not one am I Of those who think damnation better still; I hardly know too if not quite alone am I In this small hope of bettering future ill By circumscribing, with some slight restriction, 'lhe eternity of hell’s hot jurisdiction, “ I know this is unpopular; I know Tis blasphemous; I know one may be damn’d For hoping no one else may e’er be so; I know my catechism; I know we are cramm’d With the best doctrines till we quite o’erflow; I know that all save England's church have shamm’d, And that the other twice two hundred churches And synagogues have made a damm'd bad purchase. “ God help us all! God help me too! I am, God knows as helpless as the devil can wish, And not a whit more difficult to damn Than is to bring to land a late-hook’d fish, Or to the butcher to purvey the lamb; Not that I’m fit for such a noble dish As one day will be that immortal fry Of almost every body born to die.” [pp. 7, 8.] Amongst the millions of the damned, the writer of these lines, if he dies as he has lived, and is living still, may expect to take up his abode, if there be any truth in the Bible, or aught more than the fanciful machinery for the vision of a poet, in the judgment which he sings but to scoff at it : and how much better he is already qualified for such society, than for that of angels, or the spiritsof the just, let the two following lines evince : “ He died—but left his subjects still behind, “ One half as mad—and t’other no less blind.” The man who can rejoice at the calamities of his fellow creatures, even whilst they are endeavouring to injure him, must nourish in his bosom some of the worst passions that can imbitter life; but the cold-blooded, implacable being, who makes those calamities the sport of his depraved ima¬ gination—who joys over their infliction, upon those who never did him wrong—who treats the deprivation of reason, the noblest gift of our Creator, and year after year of hope¬ less and helpless seclusion from the light of day, but as the fit pointings for a jest, the poises of a well-measured anti- 82 Review. horror and disgust at the sentiments they breathe,—of con¬ tempt for the heartless being who could give them ut¬ terance. “-“ He was my worshipper in dust, “ So shall he be in spirit, although dear “ To thee and thine, because nor wine nor lust “ Were of his weaknesess; yet on the throne “ He reigned o’er millions to serve me alone.” ” [p. 16.] “ “ Look to the earth, I said, and say again: “When this old, blind, mad, helpless, weak, poor worm, “ Began in youth’s first bloom and flush to reign,” ” [p. 17.] “ “ ’Tis true he was a tool from first to last; “ (I have the workmen safe); but as a tool “ So let him be consumed!” ” [p- 18.] “ “He ever warr’d with freedom and the free: “Nations as men, home subjects, foreign foes, “ So that they utter’d the word ‘ Liberty; “ Found George the Third their first opponent.” ” [lb.] To this charge, is added his conduct with respect to America and France—avarice, and his firm opposition to Catholic emancipation, bringing up the rear of the list, we presume, for the very laudable purpose of insulting the sense and feelings of every one who has the slightest regard for religion, by the following very saint-like exclamation of the apostle. “ But here Saint Peter started from his place, And cried, “ You may the prisoner withdraw. “ Ere heav’n shall ope her portals to this Guelf, “ While I am guard, may I be damn’d myself!” [p. 19.] Witnesses are then called -—“ a cloud of witnesses,” Lord Byron writes in evident ridicule of the scripture phrase, which he may one day find, to his cost, to be somewhat more than a figure of speech, when such a cloud appears as his accusers at the bar of God, for principles undermined, and principles implanted; virtues destroyed, vices cherished; duties omitted, and sins committed, through the perusal of his works—and their appearance gives rise to a dialogue between St. Michael and Satan, in which his Lordship still further illustrates his ideas of spiritual politeness, first broached in the preface to his Cain, by the interchange of such civilities as “ My dear Lucifer,” “ my good old friend,” “ you know my great respect for you,” (i. e. the great respect of St. Michael for the Devil,) &c. ( The Liberal. 83 As in the original vision, so in this, Wilkes and Junius are the two witnesses examined. The former refuses to turn evidence, and (very wittily Lord Byron, no doubt imagines,) closes his speech by voting the king’s “ habeas" corpus into heaven. Of a piece with this fom-foolery worthy but of the contempt of every man of sense, but for the horrible profanity with which it is connected, is the description of the excellent terms on which Satan and Wilkes seem to live, and of the very pleasant thing which a residence in the regions of the damned must be, when spmts doomed to it could enjoy such delightful pranks as —“ I beheld you in your jesting way “ Flitting and whispering round about the spit “ Where Belial, upon duty for the day, ith Fox’s lard was basting William Pitt, “His pupil.”” [ p . 27.] Junius, “ the mighty shadow of a shade,” refers but to his own letters, but it is quite in Lord Byron’s spirit that he should do so in the language of the Bible, of which he makes no other use than to sink it to the level of a play- book, or a proverb in every-day use in ordinary conversa¬ tion,—" what I have written, I have written.” As the Devil proposes calling Washington, Tooke, and Franklin, the tale suddenly arrives at a catastrophe, more felicitously imagined than ever was catastrophe, since tragedy queens first stabbed themselves on the stage,or novelists married off their heroes and heroines, and some half dozen of their attendants, for whose services they had no further occasion. And what in the name of w r onder, gentle reader, do you suppose is the contrivance of this master-genius of the ao-e, to get rid of charges which he has either skill to manage’ nor evidence to support ? Why, at once to extricate himself from a dilemma, and to wreak his vengeance upon a brother bard, who has foiled him at his own weapons, he breaks up the assembly by the sudden introduction of Asmodeus, with his left wing sprained by the weight of the burden he’ had borne from Skiddaw, where he had snatched up the laureate, all alive and kicking, in the very act of writino - his “ Vision of Judgment!” The scene which follows is certainly strongly coloured, and is the only part of the poem which has any merit, though that merit is confined to the ferociousness of the vengeance taken for an attack richly merited, and not very 82 Review. horror and disgust at the sentiments they breathe,—of con¬ tempt for the heartless being who could give them ut¬ terance. r- “ -“ He was my worshipper in dust, “ So shall he be in spirit, although dear “ To thee and thine, because nor wine nor lust “ Were of his weaknesess; yet on the throne “ He reigned o’er millions to serve me alone.” ” [p. 16.] “ “ Look to the earth, I said, and say again: “ When this old, blind, mad, helpless, weak, poor worm, “Began in youth’s first bloom and flush to reign,” ” [p. 17.] “ “ ’Tis true he was a tool from first to last; “ (I have the workmen safe); but as a tool “ So let him be consumed r ” [ P . is.] “ “He ever warr’d with freedom and the free: “Nations as men, home subjects, foreign foes, “ So that they utter’d the word ‘ Liberty; “Found George the Third their first opponent.” ” fib.] To this charge, is added his conduct with respect to America and France—avarice, and his firm opposition to Catholic emancipation, bringing up the rear of the list, we presume, for the very laudable purpose of insulting the sense and feelings of every one who has the slightest regard for religion, by the following very saint-like exclamation of the apostle. “ But here Saint Peter started from his place, And cried, “ You may the prisoner withdraw. “ Ere heav’n shall ope her portals to this Guelf, “ While I am guard, may I be damn’d myself!” [p. 19.] Witnesses are then called —“ a cloud of witnesses,” Lord Byron writes in evident ridicule of the scripture phrase, which he may one day find, to his cost, to be somewhat more than a figure of speech, when such a cloud appears as his accusers at the bar of God, for principles undermined, and principles implanted; virtues destroyed, vices cherished; duties omitted, and sins committed, through the perusal of his works—and their appearance gives rise to a dialogue between St. Michael and Satan, in which his Lordship still further illustrates his ideas of spiritual politeness, first broached in the preface to his Cain, by the interchange of such civilities as “ My dear Lucifer,” “ my good old friend,” “ you know my great respect for you,” (i. e. the great respect of St. Michael for the Devil,) &c. f The Liberal. 83 As in the original vision, so in this, Wilkes and Junius are the two witnesses examined. The former refuses to turn evidence, and (very wittily Lord Byron, no doubt imagines,) closes his speech by voting the kino-’s “ habeas* corpus into heaven. Of a piece with this Tom-foolerv worthy but of the contempt of every man of sense, but for the horrible profanity with which it is connected, is the description ot the excellent terms on which Satan and Wilkes seem to live, and of the very pleasant thing which a residence in the regions of the damned must be, when spirits doomed to it could enjoy such delightful pranks as u ~—■—“ I beheld you in your jesting way “ Flitting and whispering round about the spit “ Where Belial, upon duty for the day, “With Fox’s lard was basting William Pitt, “ His pupil.” ” [ p . 27 .] Junius, “ the mighty shadow of a shade,” refers but to his own letters, but it is quite in Lord Byron’s spirit that he should do so in the language of the Bible, of which he makes no other use than to sink it to the level of a play- book, or a proverb in every-day use in ordinary conversa¬ tion,—“ what I have written, I have written.” As the Devil proposes calling Washington, Tooke, and Franklin, the tale suddenly arrives at a catastrophe, more felicitously imagined than ever was catastrophe, since tragedy queens first stabbed themselves on the stage, or novelists married off their heroes and heroines, and some half dozen of their attendants, for whose services they had no further occasion. And what in the name of w r onder, gentle reader, do you suppose is the contrivance of this master-genius of the age, to get rid of charges which he has either skill to manage! nor evidence to support ? Why, at once to extricate himself from a dilemma, and to wreak his vengeance upon a brother bard, who has foiled him at his own weapons, he breaks up the assembly by the sudden introduction of Asmodeus, with his left wing sprained by the weight of the burden he had borne from Skiddaw, where he had snatched up the laureate, all alive and kicking, in the very act of writing; his “ Vision of Judgment!” The scene which follows is certainly strongly coloured, and is the only part of the poem which has any merit, though that merit is confined to the ferociousness of the vengeance taken for an attack richly merited, and not very 84 Review. gently made. We wish indeed there had been less room for retaliation; for, detesting Lord Byron’s principles, con¬ demning his productions as much as any one could do, we ever have doubted, and cannot but be doubting still, whe¬ ther Mr. Southey was precisely the man to brand them, and their author, in terms of such strong reprehension, remem¬ bering, as he ought to do, the sins of his own youth, against the very institutions of society of which he is now the staunch, and somewhat too violent and intolerant supporter. The author of “ Joan of Arc,” “Wat Tyler,” “ Lines on Martin the Regicide,” and some of the laureate s earlier productions, should endure a little patiently the political lucubrations of republicans, king-haters, and levellers, and mio-ht also exercise some charity towards certain errors in mo'rals, from which the day-dreams of his youth, and even some of the speculations of his maturer years, were not altogether free. Let us not, however, for a moment be supposed to place him on a level with Lord Byron : his errors were always, we believe, those of the head, the exu¬ berances of a glowing imagination Lord Byron s hav e been, and are, those of the heart. Southey was an enthu¬ siast, Byron is a libertine : the fancy of the first mastered his judgment, the vices of the latter have destroyed his principles. The laureate is honourably endeavouring to make all the atonement in his power for visions, whose publication produced little practical evil, though in doing so we must again express our wish, that he would re¬ member that he also fell. The peer, because he is mise¬ rable himself, in consequence of his vices and his follies, is labouring, with the zeal and alacrity of a fallen spirit, to render others like unto him, and would, \ye verily believe, rejoice in his success. We would do justice, however, to both, and as well to afford Lord Byron the only opportunity which we trust, with our readers at the least, he ever will enjoy, of retaliating for the epithet bestowed by the laureate upon the school of which he is the founder,—as to extract the very best passages from a poem which, on the score of its literary demerits no less than of its impiety, we have so unhesitatingly condemned, we shall insert his philippic, protesting, as we do so, against the ferocity of its vengeance, and still more severely reprobating its profane association with scenes and transactions far too solemn to be approached with light or unholy hands, still less to be made the subject of a regular and profane burlesque. The Liberal. 85 “ Here Sathan said, “ I know this man of old, “ And have expected him for some time here; “A sillier fellow you will scarce behold, “ Or more conceited in his petty sphere: “ But surely it was not worth while to fold “ Such trash below your wing, Asmodeus dear! “ We had the poor wretch safe (without being bored “ With carriage) coming of his own accord. “ “ But since he’s here, let’s see what he has done.” “ Done!” cried Asmodeus, “he anticipates “ The very business you are now upon, “ And scribbles as if head clerk to the Fates. “ Who knows to what his ribaldry may run, “When such an ass as this, like Balaam’s, prates?” “ Let’s hear,” quoth Michael, “what he has to say; “ You know we’re bound to that in every way.” ”* “ Now the bard, glad to get an audience, which By no means often was his case below, Began to cough, and hawk, and hem, and pitch His voice into that awful note of woe To all unhappy hearers within reach Of poets when the tide of rhyme’s in flow; But stuck fast with his first hexameter, Not one of all whose gouty feet would stir. “ But ere the spavin’d dactyls could be spurr’d Into recitative, in great dismay Both cherubim and seraphim were heard To murmur loudly through their long array; And Michael rose ere he could get a word Of all his founder’d verses under way, And cried, “ For God’s sake stop, my friend! ’twere best— “ Non Di, non homines —” you know the rest.” A general bustle spread throughout the throng, Which seem’d to hold all verse in detestation; The angels had of course enough of song When upon service; and the generation Of ghosts had heard too much in life, not long Before, to profit by a new occasion; The monarch, mute till then, exclaim’d, “What! what! “ Pye come again? No more—no more of that!” “The tumult grew, an universal cough Convuls’d the skies, as during a debate, When Castlereagh has been up long enough, (Before he was first minister of state, I mean—the slaves hear now;) some cried “off, off,” As at a farce; till grown quite desperate, 86 Review. The Bard Saint Peter pray’d to interpose (Himself an author) only for his prose. “ The varlet was not an ill-favour’d knave; A good deal like a vulture in the face, With a hook nose and a hawk’s eye, which gave A smart and sharper looking sort of grace To his whole aspect, which, though rather grave, Was by no means so ugly as his case; But that indeed was hopeless as can be, Quite a poetic felony “ de se.” Then Michael blew his trump, and stilled the noise With one still greater, as is yet the mode On earth besides; except some grumbling voice, Which now and then will make a slight inroad Upon decorous silence, few will twice Lift up their lungs when fairly overcrow’d; And now the Bard could plead his own bad cause With all the attitudes of self-applause. “ He said—(I only give the heads)—he said, He meant no harm in scribbling; ’twas his'wav Upon all topics; ’twas, besides his bread, J Of which he butter'd both sides; ’twould delay Too long the assembly (he was pleased to dread) And take up rather more time than a day, To name his works—he would but cite a few_ Wat Tyler—Rhymes on Blenheim—Waterloo. “ He had written praises of a regicide; He had written praises of all kings whatever; He had written for republics far and wide, And then against them bitterer than eveV; For pantisocracy he once had cried Aloud, a scheme less moral than ’twas clever- Then grew a hearty antijacobin— Had turn d his coat—and would have turn’d his skin. “He had sung against all battles, and again In their high praise and glory; he had call’d Reviewing* “ the ungentle craft,” and then Become as base a critic as ere crawl’d— Fed, paid, and pamper’d by the very men By whom his muse and morals had been maul’d • He had written much blank verse, and blanker prose, And more of both than any body knows. F “ T^l Wri “?S W ^ ley ’ s Iife: -^re, turning round To Sathan, Sir, I m ready to write yours, *Sec “ Life of H. Kirkc White.” The Liberal. 87 « In two octavo volumes, nicely bound, “ With notes aud preface, all that most allures “ The pious purchaser; and there’s no ground “ For fear, for I can choose my own reviewers: So let me have the proper documents, “ That I may add you to my other saints.” “ Sathan bow’d, and was silent. “ Well, if you, “With amiable modesty decline “ My offer, what says Michael? There are but few “ Whose memoirs could be render’d more divine. “ Mine is a pen of all work; not so new “ As it was once, but I would make you shine “ Like your own trumpet; by the way, my own “ Has more of brass in it, and is as well blown. « “ But talking about trumpets, here’s my Vision! “ Now you shall judge, all people; yes, you shall “ Judge with my judgment! and by my decision “ Be guided who shall enter heaven or fall! “ I settle all these things by intuition, “ Times present, past, to come, heaven, hell, and all, “ Like King Alfonso !* When I thus see double, “ I save the Deity some worlds of trouble.” “ He ceased and drew forth an M S.; and no Persuasion on the part of devils, or saints, Or angels, now could stop the torrent; so He "read the first three lines of the contents ; But at the fourth, the whole spiritual show Had vanish’d, with variety of scents. Ambrosial and sulphureous, as they sprang. Like lightning, off from his “ melodious twang.”f “Those grand heroics acted as a spell: The angels stopp’d their ears and plied their pinions; The devils ran howling, deafen’d down to hell; The ghosts fled, gibbering, for their own dominions— (For ’tis not yet decided where they dwell, And I leave every man to his opinions;) Michael took refuge in his trump—but lo! His teeth were set on edge, he could not blow! Saint Peter, who has hitherto been known For an impetuous saint, upraised his keys, * Kins: Alfonso, speaking of the Ptolomean system, said, that “had he been consulted at the creation of the world, he would ha^e spared the Maker some absurdities.” t See Aubrey’s account of the apparition which disappeared with a curious perfume and a melodious twang; or see the Antiquary, Vol. I. 88 Review. And “ ', h ?,^ th line knock ’ d th « Poet down; t l° C e Pbaeton, but more at ease, Into his lake, for there he did not drown, nr different w eb being by the destinies Woven for the Laureate’s final wreath, whene’er fteiorm shall happen either here or there. He first sunk to the bottom—like his works But soon rose to the surface—like himself; Lor all corrupted things are buoy’d, like corks*. By their own rottenness, light as an elf Or wisp that flits o’er a morass : he lurks, It may be, still, like dull books on a shelf In his own den, to scrawl some “ Life” or “ Vision ” As W elborn says—“ the devil turn’d precisian.” [pp. 32—38. the rthorofn 2 a Cl T° SeS the 7 ision in a manner well worth he seelVl ° n f Juan ; and of the ^tled purpose vvh.c nnrl t0 ^ av e formed to endeavour to bring into ridicul ZirZZT tlr r ha ? ? ,tl,erto *>- held tore, i quality we cannot discover, and our readers wil All I saw farther in the last confusion, '> as that King George slipp’d into heaven for one • And when the tumult dwindled to a calm, I left him practising the hundredth psalm.” [p. 39 j has s w„% n i:; e tdTr p ° r ^i J ^r s t^ w ! iich r much tTanVforl^prodtdon'ofX 6 ^’ m P"*®!**”* isVqZ'l in upwards of a hundred here reminds nc Vt stanza * sts and fearlessly exposed i s af f 7 ^ ^P'ored fartThap^: V7u uffiS * ** I little, it any way superior to the «.os. A pe^\lw OdylieSat,heb0ttom m ">«•■>* H then floats, as r The Liberal. 89 pantomimical contest between the Devil and Dr. Faustus, or the dumb-show by-play of the author of evil and Mr.Punch_ we could not have believed until we read it, that Lord Byron could have written such arrant stuff. To bis Lordship also may safely be attributed the second article of the journal, “ A letter to the Editor of my Grand¬ mother’s Review;” in which it must be admitted, that he is by no means unhappy in his ironical exposure of the folly of the conductor of the British Review, in refuting with seiiousness and solemnity a charge of bribery advanced in the first canto of Don Juan, evidently but in jest. The principles upon which that journal is conducted we highly respect, but must candidly confess, that we could not sup- pi ess a smile at finding an article professing to review one of the most pestilential productions of the age, devoted almost entirely to solemn protestations of innocence of an offence, the commission of which no one could for a moment credit. There is a naivete in thus giving effect to a quiz, never expected by its author to operate as a hoax, inevitably comic, though it is a folly into which, from our knowledge of the character of the editor of the Review in question, (not a briefless barrister, as the letter sneeringlv represents him to be, but one deservedly in most respectable and increasing practice,) we should not have expected him to fall. But he has done so, and we must leave him to get up again as he may, and pass onward to Lord Byron’s associates. Of Mr. Orator, and, Mr. Examiner, Hunt—for Henrys both, if we mistake not, by name, we know not how other¬ wise to distinguish them, than by additions to which their well-known vanity will not permit them to refuse to plead—we have, ever since their entrance on public life, entertained, and still entertain, a most unfavourable opinion. Possessed each of them of a certain share of talents, w hich neither in the one case nor the other amounts to genius, a like utter want of principle renders mischievous and pesti¬ lential restless activity, which would have afforded but a very moderate assistance to a better cause. Impudence they possess in perfection, and Vanity w ould scarcely know which of them to point to as her favourite son. They are such insufferable egotists, that in the estimation of neither of them can there exist a more important object in the universe than himself; and the ** quorum pars magna, or rather maxima, or sola, fui *' is equally disgustingly promi¬ nent in the /-by-itself-/ description of my charge to mi/ constable, of mij manor of Glastonbury, when sworn in 90 Review. by myself, before my steward, in my court, held for the leceipt ot my rents, and my fines, and for the admission of my tenants to the copyholds on my estates;—the pro- gramma of the public breakfast given to me at Ilchester, the dinner of my friends, celebrating my deliverance from my captivity, at Taunton, and my public entrance into London;—the more pompous duality of our edicts re¬ specting our productions in our Sunday paper, which we would have our readers and the world to know, that we edit, our father publishes, and our brother prints; and the condescending, more familiar and expressive indivi¬ duality, of my epistle, dedicatory to my dear Byron, in Italy, from myself in my cottage at Hampstead. In other points too, the resemblance is happily as complete, for to each of them may be applied the words of the dramatist, “ and now Othello’s occupation’s gone.” Plenty of work and lull stomachs have given the “labouring and manufac- tuiing classes much better employment, than dragging the oiator in triumph along the streets in a barouche, a w r ag- gon, or a cart, or of shouting in his train, “ Hunt for ever,” and “ no taxes,” as his late progress, in comparatively solitary grandeur, through the metropolis, must have satis- ned even him; whilst the libels of the Examiner upon religion, as on government, have latterly met with so slow a sale, as to compel its original editor to seek a living in a foreign clime. But we beg pardon for a digression into which we have insensibly been led, by this striking similarity between the character and fortunes of two men, neither of whom can well be named without bringing the other to our recol- ection. \\ e are not indeed without our suspicions, that die frequent recurrence of the question, “ Which of the Hunts do you mean ?” has combined with the cause already assigned, to drive the younger (we say not the cleverer) to Italy, just before his annoying double was released from that incarceration to which he has shrewdness, and want of courage enough to prevent his speedily returning. 1 o that younger, however, our attention must now be confined, though assuring the Orator, ere we make our bow that we hope never again to have or occasion, or tempta¬ tion, to refer to him. He was built for a farmer, and we hope that the present season of agricultural distress will at east have this good effect, that it will keep him from neg¬ lecting his own business to attend to that of other people, uho really stand in no need of his assistance. His name- The Liberal. 91 sake was not born a poet, though, in despite of the high authority which he must have construed at the Blue Coat school, he has laboured hard at the Sesyphean task of making himself one. Far be it however from us, by this declaration, to insinuate, that Mr. Examiner Hunt (Ex- Examiner we perhaps should more properly have said, with Napoleon the Ex-Emperor, and Mr. Ex-Sheriff Parkins, as illustrious examples of the appropriateness of the term before us,) is devoid of talent; for, on the contrary, w T e think him a clever, or rather a cleverish sort of man, but then there are two isms forming so constituent a part of his character, as that talents, which might have been respectable, have, under his management, rendered him constantly ridiculous. These are mannerism and puppyism, to which some of our contemporaries would add as a third, cockney ism ; but this forms a principal division of the first branch of our descrip¬ tion. We are not, however, about to dissect the style of Mr. Hunt; Blackwood’s Magazine has done that sufficiently accurately for those who may have the curiosity to trace the incorrigible vice shere imputed to him, as an author, through all the minute ramifications of his literary being. The follies of his youth, so deeply rooted in self-love and self- importance, as to be inaccessible alike to the admonitions of friendship and the severities of criticism, have by long indulgence become the intolerable faults of his maturer life. The boy-bard who sung, with affected rapture, the wonders of nature as displayed in the fields of Copenhagen- house, or on Primrose-hill, “ from thenceforward continually until the day of the taking of this inquisition,” to adopt for once a legal precision in our charge, has sung, in the same wonderful strain, (new words being perpetually coined to meet the grandeur of the occasion, or a new sense given to old ones,) things as little to be wondered at by any but himself. Always on the stretch to be striking, original, and fine, he succeeds, both in prose and verse, but in the unique; for as no one ever saw the like of him before, so no one we may be assured will ever see any thing like the style of his compositions in times to come. He is inimitable, because the veriest scribbler could not be so besotted as to think him worthy of imitation, unless it were by way of parody, in which he has been pretty closely hit. But he affects also to be witty, and to give to his compositions that gaietc and vivacity which we admire* in some of the French writers, but which in him is but ridiculous and con¬ ceited. His frequent grotesque intermixtures of the grave 92 Review. and the gay—the sombre, the sentimental, and the jesting, recall indeed very powerfully to our recollection, some exhi¬ bitions which have often caught our childish gaze in London streets, whence they have long since been banished by the taste of later times, and the increased severity of our ruth¬ less vagrant laws. We allude to a monkey perched upon the shoulders of a bear, or frisking to the creaking of a hurdy-gurdy, on a camel’s hump—or should this compari¬ son be thought too undignified for the occasion, parvis com- ponere magna, we would call to our aid the airy figure and self-complacent features of Sir Claudius Stephen Hunter, in the heavy state habiliments of proud London s proud Lord Mayor, curveting on his milk-white steed, the cumbious sword of state borne on one side of him, and on the other the more ponderous mace, supported by an ancient member of the civic household, looking in his huge cap of fur, some¬ what like the grim pioneer of the troop of clattering dra¬ goons behind. So much for mannerism ; his puppyism, it is impossible for any of the readers of Mr. Hunt’s productions not to have remarked. By common consent of the literary world, he has long been admitted, indeed, to be the most finished coxcomb, in a circle in which we regret to say, that but too many of the tribe have intruded. Ever writing, because he is ever thinking of himself, his works abound with pedantic and priggish intimations of his likes and dis¬ likes, partialities and antipathies, notions and crudities, on all things, and we had almost said on something more; whilst as much importance is attached to these condescend¬ ing statements, as though it were of any more importance to the world to know, what poets Mr. Hunt copied in his youth, what he approves in his riper years, the course of reading he has pursued, or the style which he admires, than could be the information, whether he prefers a leg of mutton roasted or boiled, with onion, or with caper-sauce. An instance of this despicable foppery occurs in the Tale of the Florentine Lovers, the third piece in the work before us, from which we transcribe the passage, that our readers, like ourselves, may be satisfied that no one, but the ex¬ editor of the Examiner, could have written it. “ We find we are in the habit of using a great number of ands on these occasions. We do not affect it, though we are conscious of it. It is partly, we believe, owing to our recollections of the good faith and simplicity in the old romances, and partly to a certain sense of luxury and continuance which these ands help to The Liberal. 93 link together. It is the fault of “ the accursed critical spirit ” which is the bane of these times, that we are obliged to be conscious of the matter at all. But we cannot help not having been born six hundred years ago, and are obliged to be base and reviewatoru like the rest. To affect not to be conscious of the critical in these times, would itself be a departure from what is natural; but we notice the necessity only to express our hatred of it, and hereby present the critics (ourselves included, as far as we belong to them) with our hearty discommendations.” [p. 70.] This passage illustrates also, by the way, some of our pre- ceding observations upon the mannerism, which would of itself furnish sufficient internal evidence of the parentage of a tale, that does little credit either to Mr. Hunt’s inventive or expressive powers. A story of the loves of a youth and maiden of two hostile houses, ancient at least as the times of Romeo and Juliet, presents little novel in it but its catastrophe, which, for the credit of other writers, is, we would hope original After a falling in love at church, and a falling sick unto death there, on finding themselves sud- enly kneeling by each other’s side—a meeting contrived by the gentleman’s mother and the lady’s aunt, unknown of course, to their fathers, the heads of the fiercely contending actions, and that in a gossip’s bed-room, where they are prudently left alone to plight their secret vows, the lover is unhappily caught by some revellers of the opposite party in the very suspicious circumstance of ascending a rope’ ladder to his mistress’s room, where she had promised to receive him at the dead of night; and, to save the lady’s honour, magnanimously confesses that he was goino- there to steal her jewels, or whatever moveables of value he could find. This confession of a crime, so likely to be committed by the son of one of the first noblemen in Florence, is of course readily credited by the hostile thief-takers ; he is drag¬ ged before the tribunal, expecting sentence of banishment, but somewhat confounded as that of death, “ fell upon him like a thunderbolt; for the Bardi,” (his opponents, quoth the ingenious novelist,) “ were uppermost that day.” Here we see a pretty catastrophe ripening. “The day came—the hour came—-the standard ofjusticewas hoisted—the trumpet blew,” and it seems to have blown so loud a blast as to awake the heroine from an awkward sort of lethargy into which she had unhappily fallen, at so critical a juncture, as the procession, by the criminal’s particular request' passed the house of the Bardi, “ her hair streaming, her e y e without a tear, her cheek on fire,” (how in the name of 94 Review. wonder did they put the fire out?) “ bursts , to the astonish¬ ment of her kindred, into the room where they were all standing, tears them aside from one of the windows with preternatural strength, and, stretching forth her head and hands, like one inspired,” claims the criminal as her hus¬ band, rushes down frantic into the street, and in the twink¬ ling of an eye is locked in his arms, in the hangman’s cart. The close of so moving a tale cannot adequately be de¬ scribed, but in the author’s glowing and rapid manner. “ The populace now broke through all restraint. They stopped the procession; they bore Ippolito back again to the seat of the magistracy, carrying Dianora with him; they described in a peremptory manner the mistake; they sent for the heads of the two houses; they made them swear a treaty of peace, amity, and unity; and in half an hour after the lover had been on the road to his death, he set out upon it again, the acknowledged bridegroom of the beautiful creature by his side. Never was such a sudden revulsion of feeling given to a whole city. The women, who had retreated in anguish, came back the gayest of the gay. Everv body plucked all the myrtles they could find, to put into the hands of those who made the former procession, and who now formed a singular one for a bridal; but all the young women fell in with their white veils; and instead of the funeral dirge, a song of thanks¬ giving was chaunted. The very excess of their sensations enabled the two lovers to hold up. Ippolito’s cheeks, which seemed to have fallen away in one night, appeared to have plumped out again faster; and if he was now pale instead of high-coloured, the pale¬ ness of Dianora had given way to radiant blushes which made up for it. He looked, as he ought—like the person saved; she, like the angelic saviour. Thus the two lovers passed on, as if in a dream tumultuous but delightful. Neither of them looked on the other; they gazed hither and thither on the crowd, as if in answer to the blessings that poured upon them; but their hands were locked fast; and they went like one soul in a divided body.” [pp. 79, 80.] J And thus, reader—for we too love these delicice of “ luxury and continuance” in their proper places, and as your sagacity has, we doubt not, long since discovered, are famed above our brethren for civilities and courteous¬ nesses, though at times “ obliged to be base and reviewa- tory like the rest;” a thing, for which we hope Mr. Hunt will forgive us, from a fellow feeling, and you, for that we are so in your service —and thus you have the close of as notable and marvellous a love-tale “ from the South,” as was ever concocted in the north-eastern latitude of Leadenhall- sti eet, where, from the rapidity with which the Mdnerva The Liberal. 95 press pours them forth, like a deluge, one might almost fancy that they were made by steam, as printed, we doubt not, that ere long they needs must be. This, by the w T ay, from the deep regard in the upper part of “ the lover’s face;” the very delectable conceit of his being so absorbed in the contemplation of the beauties of his absent mistress, as well nigh to have taken for a mouth¬ ful, a piece of a lady’s hand, which his father, who, wicked wag as he was, “ loved a better joke,”had made its fair owner place before him for a plate ; folding his charmer “ into his very soul,” tossing dishes out of window, because people will be so unlover-like, as to eat, instead of “ walking two by two in the green lanes;” “ ripe brown faces,” ripe?than brown-bury pears in October, and “ a cursed number of paragraphs,” which we unhappily have been doomed to read, leads us very naturally to the next production of this author’s rich and versatile imagination, intituled “ Rhyme and Reason ; or a new proposal to the public respectino- poetry in ordinary,” introduced by a very merry story, and true no doubt as it is merry, of a learned friend of the writer (serf queer e, by the way, if it could be the writer him¬ self?) having read the title-page of Tasso’s Miscellaneous Poems, “Rime del Signor Torquato Tasso, Amorose, Bos- chereccie, Marittime, &c.” into English, thus, “ The Rhimes of the Lord Twisted-Yew, Amorous, Bosky, and Maritime.” 1 his most naturally leads to a remark, that many of the rhymes of Mr. “ Twisted-Yew himself, with all his genius ” are but “ terminating blossoms, without any fruit behind *” and that remark as obviously suggests the expedient of getting rid of the lumbering part of poetry, and preserving- but the rhymes, by which, as Mr. Hunt right wittily ob¬ serves, we are as sure of the commodity which another has for sale, by “ the bell which he tinkles at the end of his cry, as of the muffin-man.” He then gives us a specimen or two of his invention, offering very liberally to supply the booksellers with any quantity at a penny a hundred, and we really know, by the way, no one better qualified to perform such a contract, provided nothing but endings be required though we think the terms of the tender too hio-h. It is but justice to his ingenuity to lay one or two of Ins speci¬ mens before our readers. r “ Grove, Heart Kiss Night, Rove, Delight. Prove, Impart, Love. Blest Bliss Rest.” [p. 82.] 96 Review. ON TIME. Time Child Race Hold Sublime Beguil’d Trace Old Fraught Boy All Sure Thought Joy Ball Endure Power Man Pride Death Devour Span Deride Breath Rust Sire Aim Forgiven Dust Expire Same Heaven. Glass Undo Pass So New Wings Go Kings.” [p. 87.] “ A Cat-o’-Nine-Tails for Lord C., with Knots in it.” “Hydrophoby Turn about on Go get your Of troops Yourselves, Self taught Quoth the looby, Quoth the spout on, -y- O Beat your feature The booby. The doat on. You creature. [p. 88.] Besides these, we have a pastoral, a prologue, a pane¬ gyric, an epigram, and a soliloquy, with the whole of which we were so infinitely delighted, that the spirit of imitation came immediately upon us, and observing that the ingenious contriver s prospectus was deficient in a specimen of satire, we resolved to try our hand at a short one, which Mr. Hunt will do us the favour to accept, with all its faults, as an humble tribute of our admiration of his inventive powers, addressed exclusively and especially to himself:— School Vain Head Fool Brain Lead Thence Find Bad Sense Mind Mad. We beg leave also to promise him, that should he, after the promulgation of this important scheme for the reformation P oe ^ r y> inflict upon the world any more attempts at shining in an art for which he evidently was not born, we shall put in execution his ingenious contrivance, no less admirably adapted for saving time to readers than to writers, and enable ourselves to form an accurate judgment of the merit of his new production, by casting our eye over the closing syllable of every line. Nor can we avoid regretting that a discovery was not made earlier, from the practice of which we unfeignedly assure its ingenious inventor, that it would be difficult for any one to profit more largely than himself, & J The Liberal. 97 His next production occupies three and twenty pages in the first of a series of “letters from abroad,” in which we have a very minute description of all the wonders that his eyes beheld at Pisa, written in his own inimitable style though in some parts of it he is obviously indebted to the* very celebrated compound epithets of the Morning Pqst and its witty imitators, the authors of the Rejected Ad¬ dresses. Such is his description of a son of Marshal buwarrow, with a “ semi-barbarous-fair-active-looking- and-not-ill-natured-face,” “bubble-blowing-childhood, love¬ making-manhood, and death-contemplating-old-ao-e ” &c &c. &c. We have also “ mountains, with their marble veins, towering away beautifully”—“ dreams and matter of tact, recovering from the surprise of their introduction to one another “ antiquity every where refusing to look an- cient —“ houses seeming as if they ought to have sympa- thized with humanity,” yet obstinately remaining “ as cold and hard-hearted as their materials”—“ stately beauties,draw- ing quiet tails,” (fair readers, we beg pardon, we should have written “ trains,”) “ huge torches ushering magnificence up staircases —“ divine doors”—“ lazy sails”—“ house* sleeping with their green blinds down,” and with chimney pots, we presume, for their night-caps,—together with many other Huntish originalities and vivacities, too tedious to particularize. His affected use of the word gusto, occur¬ ring several times in the course of this letter, where taste would have been more appropriate, is a characteristic of the littleness of the vanity which can please itself with an ostentatious display of a knowledge of Italian; whilst of the following piece of egotism, in his description of the Campo Santo, it may safely be said, “none but itself can be its parallel. “ 1 c,10Se t0 g'° towards evening, when/saw it again: and though the sunset came upon me too fast to allow me to see all the pictures as minutely as / could have washed, I saw enough to warrant mu giving an opinion of them; and I again had the pleasure of standing in the spot at twilight.” [p. 109.] It would, perhaps, also be as difficult to equal, save from the other productions of its author’s pen, this sublime piece of unintelligible rant. r “ The Baptistery is a large rotunda, richly carved, and appro¬ priated solely to the purpose after which it is christened. It is in a mixed style, and was built in the twelfth century. Mr. Forsythe, who is deep in arches and polygons, objects to the crow ; d of VOL. VI.— NO. 11, H Review. US unnecessary columns; to the “hideous tunnel which conceals the fine swell of the cupola;” and to the appropriation of so large an edifice to a christening. The “tunnel” may deserve his wrath; but his architectural learning sometimes behaves as ill as the tunnel, and obscures his better taste. A christening, in the eyes of a good Catholic, is at least as important an object as a rotunda; and there is a religious sentiment in the profusion with which orna¬ ment is heaped upon edifices of this nature. It forms a beauty of itself, and gives even mediocrity a sort of abundance of intention that looks like the wealth of genius. The materials take leave of their materiality, and crowd together into a worship of their own. It is no longer, “let every thing,” only, “that has breath, praise the Lord;” but let every thing else praise him, and take a meaning and life accordingly. Let column obscure column, as in a multi¬ tude of men; let arch strain upon arch, as if to ascend to heaven; let there be infinite details, conglomerations, mysteries, lights, darknesses; and let the birth of a new soul be well and worthily celebrated in the midst of all.” [p. 106.] The same character would equally apply to the extract which we are now about to make, less to expose its vicious¬ ness as a composition, than the infidel morality of its senti¬ ments. “ One evening, in August, I saw the whole inside of the Cathe¬ dral lit up with wax in honour of the Assumption. The lights were disposed with much taste, but soon produced a great heat. There was a gigantic picture of the Virgin displayed at the upper end, who was to be supposed sitting in heaven, surrounded with the celestial ardours; but she was “dark with excess of bright.” It is inpossible to see this profusion of lights, especially when one knows their symbolical meaning, without being struck with the source from which Dante took his idea of the beatified spirits. His heaven, filled with lights, and lights too arranged in figures, which glow with lustre in proportion to the beatitude of the souls within them, is clearly a sublimation of a Catholic church. And it is not the worse for it, that nothing escapes the look of definiteness and materiality like fire. It is so airy, joyous, and divine a thing, when separated from the idea of pain and an ill purpose, that the language of happiness naturally adopts its terms, and can tell of nothing more rapturous than burning bosoms and sparkling eyes. The Seraph of the Hebrew theology was a Fire. But then the materials of heaven and hell are the same? Yes; and a very fine piece of moral theology might be made out of their sameness, always omitting the brute injustice of eternal punishment. Is it not by our greater or less cultivation of health and benevolence, that we all make out our hells and heavens upon earth ? by a turning of the same materials and passions of which we are all composed, to different accounts? Burning now in the horrors of hell with fear, The Liberal. 99 hatred, and uncharitableness, and now in the joys or at least the happier sympathies of heaven, with good effort, courage, gratitude, generosity, love? When Dante was asked where he found his hell! he answerered, “ upon earth.” He found his heaven in the same place? and no disparagement either to a future state. If it is impossible for the mass of matter to be lost, or even diminished, it seems equally impossible for the mass of sensations to be lost; and it is surely worth while, whatever our creeds may be, to take as much care as possible that what we have to do with it, may be done well, and rendered worth the chance of continuance.*” [pp. 107-8.] A piecious morceau, illustrative of the literary puppyism to which we have referred, shall close our extracts from a description of Italian scenery, from the pen of a man, to whom every thing, beyond the sound of Bow Bells, or the limits of the two-penny post, seems new, and miraculous, and delightful. Here, as in the Campo Santo, 11 is a handsome monument, with a profile, to Algarotti, erected by Frederic of Prusia! Pignotti, the fabulist, has another; and Fabroni, the late eulo¬ gist of eminent Italians on handsome paper, has a bust so good-natured and full of a certain jolly gusto, that we long to have eat olives with him. In truth, these modern gettings up of renown, in the shape of busts and monuments to middling men of talent, appear misplaced, when you come to notice them. They look in the way. But the old pictures, which they seem to contradict and interfere with, reconcile them at last. Any thing and every thing mortal has its business here. The preten¬ sions of mediocrity are exalted into the claims of the human being. One blushes to deny the writers of amiable books what one would demand for one’s own common nature; or to think of excluding a man for doing better than hundreds of the people there, merely because he has not done so well as some who are not there. Pig¬ notti and Algarotti, at last, even harmonize with some sprightly figures who play their harps and their love-songs in the pictures, and who flourished hundreds of years ago, as their readers flou¬ rish now; and even the bustling and well-fed amenity of Monsig¬ nor Fabroni is but a temporary contradiction, which will be rendered serious some day by the crumbling away of his marble cheeks, or the loss of some over-lively feature. Let him, for God’s sake, live in inscription, and look treats in stone.” [pp. 109-10.] What will the world come to! we cannot but exclaim. * See an ingenious article ou this subject in Tucker’s Light of Nature, which however is not imagined as highly as it might be, or illustrated with as much as he could reasonably have deduced from nature. 100 Review. Leigh Hunt pronouncing sentence of mediocrity and depo¬ sition upon Algarotti and Fabroni: ere long we may expect that some poet of the Lakes will be thrusting the bust of Milton from its pedestal to substitute his own, or that Fitzgerald will modestly expect, that Pope and Dryden should give him place. We pass over an article or two by another hand, to notice Mr. Hunt’s contribution of “Ariosto’s Episode ofCloridan, Medoro, and Angelica,” introduced by a preface, which we should notice as equally remarkable for its vanity and its affectation, but that it is his. « It is no great boast to say, that this is perhaps the first time an English reader has had any thing like a specimen given him of the Orlando Furioso. Harrington, the old translator, wrote with a crab-stick, and Hoole with rule. (The rhyme is lucky for him, and perhaps for our gentilities: for he provokes one of some sort.) The characteristics of Ariosto’s style are great animal spirits, great ease and flow of versification, and great fondness for natural and straight-forward expressions, particularly in scenes of humour and tenderness. What approaches Harrington makes to these with his sapless crutches, or Hoole with his conventional stilts, let those discover who can. Harrington has perhaps twenty good stanzas in his whole work; and he is to be preferred to Hoole, because he has at all events an air of greater good faith in what he does. Hoole is a mere bundle of common-places. He understood nothing of his author but the story. He sometimes apologizes for the diffi¬ culty he feels in “ raising the style,” and when he comes to a passage more than usually familiar, thinks that the most “ tolerable” way of rendering it is by doing away all its movement and vivacity. “ Most tolerable” it is certainly, and “ not to be endured.” [p. 139.] After this, the reader, of course, expects a translation of great strength and spirit, and we shall congratulate him in possessing no ordinary share of patience, if it endures to the end of the eighteen pages which the version occupies. In tameness, doggrel, prosaic lines, bad rhymes and false quantities, we ourselves indeed should be tempted, as to some of its parts, rather to say, with Lord Rochester, “ Sternhold himself they’ve out Sternholded.” We select a few lines for the purpose of exercising their ingenuity in determining whether they are verse or prose. “ Only as hush’d as possible, and suppressed.”— “ Such heart, such love, such nobleness in youth.”— “ We must not lose this opportunity.”— “ Lest any one should come—I’ll push on, I, The Liberal. 101 u And lead the way.”— Much of the night, at fresco, in drink and play.”— They had been just made knights by Charlemagne.”-— “ Picking the safest way out that he could.”— “ After continuing the pursuit all night.”— “ There was an old forest there in those days.” We give also a stanza or two, taken pretty much at hazard, as a specimen of the execution or this Beppo-ish version of an episode, which has certainly lost very much of its beauty, in passing through the filtre of Mr. Hunt’s translation. “Among the rest two Moorish youths were there, Born of a lowly stock in Ptolemais; Whose story furnishes a proof so rare Of perfect love, that it must find a place. Their names Medoro and Cloridano were. They had shewn Dardinel the same true face, Whatever fortune waited on his lance. And now had crossed the sea with him to France.” [p. 142.] “ And now the careful Saracen has put His sword as true as lancet, in his weasand. Four mouths close by are equally well shut, Before they can find time to ask the reason. Their names are not in Turpin; and I cut Their lives as short, not to be out of season. Next Palidon died, a man of snug resources, Who had made up his bed between two horses. “ They then arrived, where pillowing his head Upon a barrel, lay unhappy Grill. Much vow’d had he, and much believ’d indeed. That he, that blessed night, would sleep his fill. The reckless Moor beheads him on his bed, And wastes his blood and wine at the same spill: For he held quarts; and in his dreams that very Moment had fill’d, but found his glass miscarry.” [p. 145.] “ “ Brother,” said Cloridan, “ we must needs, I find, “ Lay down our load, and see how fleet we are. “ It would be hardly wise to have it said, “ We lost two living bodies for a dead.” ” [pp. 148-9.] “O County Orlando! O King Sacripant! That fame of yours, say what avails it ye? That lofty honour, those great deeds ye vaunt, Say, what’s their value with the lovely she? Shew me—recall to memory (for I can’t)— 102 Review. Shew me, 1 beg, one single courtesy That ever she vouchsafed ye, far or near, _ For all you’ve done and have endured for her. [p. l->o.J The last stanza is so childishly ridiculous, that we cannot resist the temptation of addressing an extemporaneous nambv-pamby imitation of it, to the lover of simplicity, by whom it was penned. O, Leighey Hunt! O Ex-Examiner, That pen of thine, say what avails it thee ? The reams of paper thou hast filled with rant, Say what’s their value with posterity ? Shew us—recall to memory, (for we can’t,) Shew us, we beg, one line of poetry, Or one in prose, on which she will confer A passing thought, as being fit for her. Our readers will perceive that some of our rhymes are defective. If they had not been so, they would have pre¬ sented a very imperfect resemblance to an original, in which we meet with such execrable ones, as “ Cloridan, plain, humane,”—" youth, both, soothe”—" stars, farce”—" head, indeed”—“ held, shield”—" Paladins, Saracens”—" an¬ cestors, powers,”—" showered, lord, poured”—" underwood, solitude” — "goes, boughs”—"path, breath”—"dead, made”—" had, blade”—" trees, less”—" there, her”—" be¬ wail, steal”—" his, milkiness”—" dittary, tenderly”—" fair, hair”—" languishes, trees”—" breath, with.” With this poetical address we should take our leave of Mr. Hunt, were we not somewhat at a loss, whether four epigrams at the close of the number should be attributed to him, or to Lord Byron; if indeed the honour of their com¬ position ought not to be divided between them. Their lite¬ rary merit would induce us to refer them to Mr. Hunt, but unhappily, their brutal malignity is to the full as character¬ istic of his noble colleague. The first is upon the Duke of Wellington, who is represented as ready to cut the throat of his country if she will let him; whilst the three last are bitter and inhuman expressions of delight at Lord Castle- reagh having cut his own. One of them shall suffice, to commend its author, whoever he may be, to the execration of such of his fellow-creatures as, with the death of a suicide, in the height of delirium, connect ideas of a differ¬ ent kind to those of levity or joy. “ So Castlereagh has cut his throat!—The worst Of this is,—that his own was not the first.” [p. 164.] The Liberal . 103 From their sentiments and their conduct, we should think that the authors of the Liberal were men much more likely to perish by their own hands, than was the late Lord Londonderry; and should such a fate await them, or either of them, which we hope, however, that Heaven in its mercy will avert, they may find that there is something followino- the deed, infinitely worse than can result from it here. One of their number was as suddenly summoned to the bar of God as the statesman, whose conduct we in many things condemn, but whose end we cannot but deplore. The sur¬ vivors may follow as suddenly, they cannot tell how soon Upon them the death of their friend Shelley, awful as, con¬ sidering his character, it was, seems not to have produced any salutary impression. It is thus alluded to in the preface, plentifully bestrewn with oaths and impious exclamations! contributing, with other things, to point it out as the pro¬ duction of Mr. Hunt, who is, we presume, the actino- editor of the Liberal, as he formerly was of the Examiner. “ Italian literature, in particular, will be a favourite subject with us; and so was German and Spanish to have been, till we lost the accomplished scholar and friend who was to share our task; but perhaps we may be able to get a supply of the scholarship, though not of the friendship.” [p. 7.] “The other day, when one of the noblest of human beings, Percy Shelley, who had more religion in his very differences with religion, than thousands of your church-and-state men, was lost on the coast of Italy, the Courier said, that “ Mr. Percy Shelley, a writer of infidel poetry , was drowned.” Where was the liberality of this canting insinuation? Where was the decency, or, as it turned out, the common sense, of it? Mr. Shelley’s’ death by the waves was followed by Lord Castlereagii’s by his own hand; and then the cry is for liberal constructions! How could we not turn such a death against the enemies of Mr. Shel¬ ley, if we could condescend to affect a moment’s agreement with their hypocrisy? But the least we can do is to let these people see, that we know them, and to warn them how they assail us. The force of our answers will always be proportioned to the want of liberality in the assailant. This is a liberality, at all events, upon which our readers may reckon.” [pp. 11, 12.] This fearful threat shall not, however, deter us from speaking as we think; in the cause of Truth, Religion, and Morality, we fear neither Lord Byron nor Mr. Hunt. We have spoken of Mr. Shelley as an infidel poet, a title which he must have gloried in, or he would not have left the record of his Atheism inscribed upon one of the sub- 104 Review. limest objects of creation. Nor has the company in which he lived, nor the labours to which the latest exertions of his noble mind were zealously devoted, given us a more favour¬ able opinion of his character or conduct. We rejoice not at his death, but deplore it; for ere he departed hence, most earnestly should we have wished him to have become other than he was. To us, indeed, the death of this unhappy man is fraught with circumstances which demand some further notice than is contained in the following affected allusion to it, from one of his companions. “ I was so taken up, on my arrival at Pisa, with triends and their better novelties, that I forgot even to look about me for the Leaning Tower. You lose sight of it on entering the town, unless you come in at the Lucca gate. On the Sunday following, how¬ ever, I went to see it, and the majestic spot in which it stands, with Mr. Shelley. Good God! what a day that was, compared with all that have followed it! I had my friend with me, arm-in¬ arm, after a separation of years: he was looking better than I had ever seen him—we talked of a thousand things—we anticipated a thousand pleasures-I must plunge again into my writing, that I may try to forget it.” [p. 103.] If, however, Mr. Hunt is a man of the feeling and reflection to which he pretends, this event will not be so unceremo¬ niously dismissed, but will haunt him in his solitary hours, and compel him to pause ere he gives utterance to those im¬ pious sentiments, on which, at least it is possible, that his friend may have been mistaken, and he may be mistaken also. The contributions of Mr. Shelley to the work, in which he was to have taken so principal a share, are, a German Apologue on the Graces, difficult to understand, and not worth the trouble of understanding, and a Transla¬ tion of the May-day Night scene in the Faust of Goethe, a witch extravaganza, highly lauded by Mr. Hunt in the prefatory note by which he introduces it; but in our judg¬ ment undeserving the trouble bestowed upon its transla¬ tion. It is preceded by a notice in the editor’s peculiar style. We have,sometimes thought, “ say she,” of attemptinga work, in which beasts and birds speak, not as in iEsop, but as they might be supposed to talk, if they could give us the result of their own actual perceptions and difference of organization. Goethe would handle such a subject to perfection.” [p. 122.] This short passage is extracted here, to enable us very earnestly to recommend to Mr. Hunt the execution of this The Liberal. 105 original design, as a substitution for the career of liberal¬ ism, political, moral, and religious, which he is about to run, assuring him, as we most unfeignedly do, that in our estimation, not Goethe, nor any other man, can be better qualified to give a natural expression to the perceptions of certain birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things, than he is; though, to avail ourselves of one of his delightful new expressions, a regard to “ our gentilities,” prevents our naming those best adapted to his capabilities. From the preface to the present work we fear, however, that neither his purposes, nor those of his colleagues, are quite so harmless; and that the public may be informed of what they really are, we shall quote a passage or two, con¬ taining in every line demonstrative evidence of the editorial hand of Hunt. “ But we are forced to be prefatory, whether we would or no: for others, it seems, have been so anxious to furnish us with some¬ thing of this sort, that they have blown the trumpet for us; and done us the honour of announcing, that nothing less is to ensue than a dilapidation of all the outworks of civilized society. Such at least, they say, is our intention; and such would be the conse¬ quences, if they, the trumpeters, did not take care, by counter¬ blasts, to puff the said outworks up again. We should be more sensible of this honour, if it did not arise from a confusion of ideas. They say that we are to cut up religion, morals, and every thing that is legitimate;—a pretty carving. It only shews what they really think of their own opinions on those subjects. The other day a ministerial paper said, that “ robes and coronations were the strongholds of royalty.” We do not deny it; but if such is their strength, what is their weakness? If by religion they meant any thing really worthy of divine or human beings; if by morals, they meant the only true morals, justice and beneficence; if by every thing legitimate, they meant but half of what their own laws and constitutions have provided against the impudent pretensions of the despotic,—then we should do our best to leave religion and morals as we found them, and shew their political good faith at least half as much respect as we do. But when we know,—and know too from our intimacy with various classes of people,—that there is not a greater set of hypocrites in the world than these pre¬ tended teachers of the honest and inexperienced part of our coun¬ trymen;—when we know that their religion, even when it is in earnest on any point (which is very seldom) means the most ridicu¬ lous and untenable notions of the Divine Being, and in all other cases means nothing but the Bench of Bishops;—when we know that their morals consist for the most part in a secret and practi¬ cal contempt of their own professions, and, for the least and best part, of a few dull examples of something a little more honest, 106 Review. clapped in front to make a show and a screen, and weak enough to be made tools against all mankind;—and when we know, to crown all, that their “legitimacy,” as they call it, is the most unlawful of all lawless and impudent things, tending, under pretence that the whole world are as corrupt and ignorant as themselves, to put it at the mercy of the most brute understandings among them,—men by their very education in these pretensions, rendered the least fit to sympa¬ thize with their fellow men, and as unhappy, after all, as the lowest of their slaves;—when we know all this, and see nine-tenths of all the intelligent men in the world alive to it, and as resolved as we are to oppose it, then indeed we are willing to accept the title of enemies to religion, morals, and legitimacy, and hope to do our duty with all becoming profaneness accordingly. God defend us from the piety of thinking him a monster! God defend us from the morality of slaves and turncoats, and from the legitimacy of half a dozen lawless old gentlemen, to whom, it seems, human nature is an estate in fee.” [pp. 5 —7.] If this is not a threat of attacking whatever men in general hold most sacred, and in itself an undisguised attack upon the altar and the throne, we know not how the intimation of such a purpose can be conveyed. By whom it is announced, no one can read the following piece of bom¬ bast, and be for a moment at a loss to determine. “Be present then, and put life into our work, ye Spirits, not of theGAVESTONES and the DESPENSERs,but of the John o’Gaunts, the Wickliffes, and the Chaucers; —be present, not the slaves and sycophants of King Henry the Eighth (whose names we have forgotten) but the Henry Howards, the Surreys, and the Wyatts; —be present, not ye other rapscallions and “booing” slaves of the court of King Jamie, but ye Buchanans and ye Walter Raleighs;— be present, not ye bed-chamber lords, flog¬ ging boys, and mere soldiers, whosoever ye are, from my Lord Thingumee in King Charles’s time, down to the immortal Duke of Wiiat’s-iiis-name now flourishing; but the Herberts, the Hutchinsons, the Lockes, the Popes, and the Peterbo- roughs; —be present, not ye miserable tyrants, slaves, bigots, or turncoats of any party, not ye Lauds or ye Lauderdales, ye Legitimate Pretenders (for so ye must now be called) ye Titus Oateses, Bedlows, Gardiners, Sacheverells, and Sou¬ theys; but ye Miltons and ye Marvells, ye Hoadleys, Addisons, and Steeles, ye Somersets, Dorsets, and Priors, and all who have thrown light and life upon man, instead of dark¬ ness and death; who have made him a thing of hope and freedom, instead of despair and slavery; a being progressive, instead of a creeping creature retrograde:—if we have no pretensions to your genius, we at least claim the merit of loving and admiring it, and of longing to further its example.” [p. 8.] The Liberal. 107 The only remark we make upon this precious invocation is, that the Editor of the Liberal May call spirits from the vasty deep. But will they come when he doth call? We fancy not; as he will discover to his cost, if he should be mad enough to attempt creeping into the skins of any of the literary lions he has named. We should be at no loss to distinguish his braying from their roar. And here we turn us, to take our leave of him, we hope not again to meet in the prosecution of his present plan. We say his plan, because we have reason to believe that it originated with him, and that Lord Byron has joined him in its execu¬ tion, partly that it offered a channel for publishing produc¬ tions with which he has found that no respectable bookseller will associate his name,but principally, we are willing to be¬ lieve, from the more charitable motive of giving bread to a necessitous man; necessitous, because his vanity has led him to devote talents, which in a humble w alk of life might have rendered him respectable, and procured him a compe¬ tency, to a daring and futile attempt at laughing men out of their religion, and establishing a code of anti-christian morality upon its ruins; a course this, which, however flat¬ tering its early returns may be, will, when the charm of novelty is w r orn off, utterly disappoint the expectations of those who foolishly engage in it. This we apprehend Mr. Hunt has found ere now; this Lord Byron is daily finding, though we know that he is too proud to acknowledge it; but the smaller sums which will hereafter be offered him for his very best productions—the refusal of his old publisher to purchase even for publication with but a printer’s name upon the title-page, those, which morally speaking, are the worst—and the severe, though long slumbering, censure of the leading Reviews on his impurities and impieties, wrung from them as they have been by the fear, that the indigna¬ tion of the public at their silence should ruin the sale of their own journals; all these things, in spite of his ridicu¬ lously affected scorn of the world, and the world’s thoughts, must convince,—painfully convince him, that his four last publications have done more injury to his reputation, than years of laborious exertion in a better cause can repair. The two volumes of Don Juan, and Cain, effected this by their gross immorality and impiety, superadded to which, the Liberal has inflicted as deep a wound by its stupidity. On the subject of prosecuting libels, such as we have 108 Review. now before us, from the pen of a peer of the realm, we have said our say in the last number of our work, and wait patiently its operation, contenting ourselves in the mean while with a very few additional remarks. If Lord Byron’s licentious and irreligious publications are longer to escape with impunity, the farce of prosecuting, bringing up for judgment, fining and imprisoning, such needy and half- starved wretches as Carlile, little Waddington, and Mary Anne Wright, libellers for a crumb of bread, and venders of infidelity and sedition, because they know not how, even at its present low price, to purchase a beef-steak, cannot too soon be given up; lest, from the gross and flagrant partiality of these proceedings, an impression should be made upon the public mind unfavourable to that pure and equal adminis¬ tration of justice, of which we, with reason, are wont to be.so proud. On the other hand, should that impunity be in any measure attributable to imbecility, or want of nerve in the present public prosecutor, no time should be lost, (and an opportunity will speedily occur, of effecting a change nei¬ ther disadvantageous to his character, nor injurious to the public, for a better judge, it is agreed on all hands, that few men could make,)in giving an office requiring eloquence as well as learning, vigor no less than judgment, to another. The Liberal falls peculiarly within his province; if he does not attack it, we shall begin to think he dare not,—and if so, he ought not to hold the post of Attorney General another hour. We turn, however, from him to its authors. It is said that Lord Byron has already discovered, that his new colleague is a great bore. We could have told him as much before he saddled himself with his company; but if they publish no more blasphemy and ribaldry, they may enact the noble Patron and the sycophantic dependent for their own benefit as fong as they think proper—we shall leave them to their fate. 1. Biblical Fragments , %c. By Mary Anne Schimmelpen- ninck, author of “ A Tour to Alet“ Demolition of Port Royal;” **Theory of the Classification of Beauty and Deformity,” &c. &c. 2 vols. post 8vo. Lond. 1821-2. Ogle and Co. pp. 317, 334. 2. Observations on the Idiom of the Hebrew Language, respecting thepowers peculiar to the different Tenses of Verbs, and the communication of power from governing Verbs to 109 Schimmelpenninck’s Biblical Fragments. subordinates connected with them. By Philip Gell, M.A. Curate of Matlock, and Chaplain'Ao the Right Hon! Viscount Galway. 2d edition. 8vo. 1821. pp. 101. If, in consequence of finding that our remarks on the former of these works are not remarkably laudatory, any body should imagine that we have an objection to female authorship, or learned ladies, we must protest, in limine, that we are privately, and, when occasion requires, publicly, quite heroic in our defence of their attainments of every kind, as well literary as ornamental; and really do not see why a lady should not read Virgil as well as Waverley. Indeed, we are seriously of opinion, that a boarding-school education for young ladies should include within its plan their instruction in some branches of useful knowledge now wholly omitted, and which are commonly supposed to belong exclusively to the other sex. The misfortune of it is, not so much that they are excluded from the literary domain by the prevalent opinion of its being an inappro¬ priate sphere, as from the real incompetency of those to introduce them to its attraction and diversified scenes, who have undertaken the guidance of youth; hence it is to all intents and purposes inaccessible. And here we cannot help adverting to one of the greatest evils of the day. Owing to the commercial embarrassments produced by a long and disastrous war, the daughters of persons once in a state of opulence, or at least of external respectability, but who have been precipitated, by the failure of their fortunes, or of their speculations, into the gulf of bankruptcy, having- no other apparent or calculable resource for a livelihood, befitting their general habits, and the society to which they have been introduced in happier days, resort to the scheme of setting up a school—not so much for the instruction of the rising generation, as for procuring the necessary means of self-subsistence. In all cases it is most laudable for those who are born to poverty, or reduced from opulence, to cultivate their own powers, and employ their time and talents, rather than to depend on the precarious bounty, the waning friendship, or the forced and reluctant aid of others, for support, and to dream away existence in a state of inglo¬ rious listlessness and inactivity; and it is gratifying to find, in some few instances, that individuals, placed by the provi¬ dence of God in the predicament to which we have alluded, either by the faults or misfortunes of their relatives, have proved themselves eminently qualified to commence estab- 110 Review. lishments for the tuition of youth, and have, with admirable success, worked up the rich materials of an early efficient education, and devoted a well-disciplined mind and heart, to subserve the interests of children, as well as to secure for themselves an honourable provision: but these instances are rare—the very large majority are mere female adven¬ turers, whom we do not blame for attempting to procure the means of support, but for attempting it in the worst, the most decidedly objectionable mode objectionable, because of their real and surely conscious incapability, and which nothing could induce them to attempt, were it not an undue estimate of themselves, the recommendation of inju¬ dicious friends, an insubmissive state of mind with regard to the dispensations of Providence, or an undervaluation of the importance of education. There are plenty of “ Semi¬ naries,” “Academies,” “ Boarding Schools,” “ Institutions,” “ Establishments,” or by whatever other descriptive terms they may be designated;—but where is the mind culti¬ vated? where is solid instruction communicated? where is sound wisdom imparted? where are wholesome know¬ ledge and true learning given?—The lady of fallen fortunes knows full well, that by employing the dancing-master, the flower-painter, the music-master, and so forth, she can accomplish, at any rate for herself, the work of modern education, adding only, for her own department, or her daughter’s, a little needle-work, a little geography, and a little of the use of the globes. And so inefficient is the general mode of instruction, in all that relates to what is substantially valuable, that it is nine chances to one, if, having finished her education, the fair damsel does not come forth almost totally ignorant of every thing but what relates to mere embellishment and tinsel—a proficient in compara¬ tive trifles—a dunce in real knowledge. We make these observations from a deep conviction of the importance of female education, and an equally deep conviction, that in the present day it is substantially neglected ; and so far therefore from exploding the doctrine of female learning, we are, as we have stated, its heroic advocates —heroic we may well term it, for, in defiance of argument, and experience, and common sense, the multitude will still maintain and ridicule every dissentient from the sentiment, that the proper sphere of a woman’s knowledge, is simply culinary and domestic. In defiance, however, of existing prejudices, we aver that it is not quite sphere enough for women of sense and intellect to make plum-puddings for the laughing philosophers.— Ill Schimmelpenninck’s Biblical Fragments. Heie we must stop, and check our excursive pen, which is in proper trim to write about a dozen pages more on this interesting topic. We must not, however, quite forget Mrs ochimmelpenninck. This lady states, that a few of the notes which she has been accustomed to put down in her Bible as private memo- randa, are now transcribed and published under the title of Biblical Fragments, “ with a view to encourage amono-st her own sex a taste for scriptural reading.” This is Tndeed exceedingly laudable, and we should feel happy to promote the same good object. It would be no discredit to any ladv to be found reading the Greek Testament and Hebrew Bible (for to this Mrs. S. refers) provided she did not omit the ordinary duties of domestic life; and it is a most pious and benevolent purpose to allure her countrywomen to similar studies. The reader may judge of the critical and theological sagacity of our authoress, if we introduce any one of her explanations, as they are all constructed upon a similar pimciple. Vie instance Gen. i. 1 . In the beginning, or, as she remarks, the Hebrew rmon, beraisheeth may be more literally translated, in the head, referring, as the fathers considered it, to Jesus Christ; God created, trnbK k-o, baavaa eloheem, literally. The covenanters on oath he created—the heavens and the earth. The former word is stated to be in the dual number, meaning both the material heavens and the eternal or spiritual ones: the latter literally sio-nifies the runner or revolver. So that Mrs. Schimmelpeiminck’s translation of the verse would be, “ In the head, the cove¬ nanters on oath he created, the two heavens and the revolver .” And upon this construction she founds the doctrine of tlie Trinity, and maintains the scientific accuracy of the in¬ spired historian : “ At the time the Scriptures were written, the earth was generally supposed to be the centre of the* system, and the sun to move round it. How can we account for the philosophical truth of expressions in sacred writ, but by admitting that it is indeed, as it professes to be, the word of that God who created all things, and who therefore well knew their construction?” So then, we are to infer that the Bible is the word of God, because it speaks an accurately philosophic language : whereas we are prepared to maintain the very reverse, and to found one of its claims to reverence, and to establish one branch of the argument for its inspiration, as forcibly and wisely adapted^to the circumstances of man, and the immortality of its predestined Review. 112 circulation, upon the fact that it does not speak a philoso¬ phical, but a popular language. It is a teacher of the ignorant, an instructor of babes; and presupposes no know¬ ledge, either philosophical or moral, in those whom it ad¬ dresses. In order to convey higher and more essential truths than the best human science can reach, it is necessary to employ a language that is intelligible to every mind, an that disdains, so to speak, the trammels of scientific accu¬ racy, which, to plain and unenlightened understandings, would preclude the communication, or at least obscure the glory, of those great truths which he who never ran the paths of science, may read and comprehend. Mrs. Schirn- melpenninck is completely unfortunate in her derivations. “ This name,” she says, “ for earth literally means the run¬ ner or revolver: from nm, raatzuh, he ran;” and refers to Park- hurst. Now it happens, that ratzah, or, as our authoress chooses to read it, raatzah, signifies—not to run, but to be pleased with, to like; also to acquiesce in. Our learned lady was thinking of y-i, which means undoubtedly to run, to move swiftly; and also, to drive one thing against another, to dash, or break in pieces. Hence, as a noun with a formative x,y-iK, the earth. Whether Parkhurst justifies the author's etymology may be easily ascertained by quoting his words : “ Various etymologies have been by learned men proposed of this word: the most probable seems to be that which derives it from v>, breaking in pieces, crumbling. r L he matter of pure earth, says the great Boerhaave, appears friable, that is, crumbling , so long as it continues under the observa¬ tion of our senses, as it always readily suffers itself to be reduced to a Jine powder.” “ And it is manifest,” continues Parkhurst, “ that on this remarkable property of earth, its answering the end of its creation, or its usefulness in con- tinally supplying the waste of vegetable and animal bodies, must depend; and it is not improbable that the Greek name from Heb. ns, to pound, to beat to pieces ; the Lat. terra, from tero, to wear away; and the Eng. ground, from grind, all arrive at the same etymological reason.” Hence it is sufficiently obvious, that Mrs. S. has run beyond the bounds of sober and legitimate criticism, to find her revolver; and her fine theory of the philosophy of inspiration is broken in pieces. As a tolerably fair specimen of the mode of criticism adopted in this little volume, we give the following ex¬ tract : —-• 113 Schimmelpenninck’s Biblical fragments. “JESHURUN. ’’Deuteronomy, xxxii. 15 . But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness: then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation .” “The word Jeshurun comes fron *nr, yashar, he was upright, Mit a formative 3, noon, suffixed, to turn it into a substantive. Its translation is uprighted or made upright; and the word is the counterpart of Israel, which is derived from nr, yashar, he was upright, and *>k, el the Mediator, or Interposer, ox God, alludin°-to the church, as standing in the uprightness of the Mediator. Both these names then, Israel and Jeshurun, belong to the church of God. God puts upon her the name of Israel; seeing she is ac¬ counted upright before God, in the righteousness of the Mediator. “ Before men, the church is called Jeshurun, or made upright; because she henceforward shews forth the praises of Him who hath redeemed her, and washed her in his own blood by an outwardly upright walk and conversation, shining as a light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; for where faith is real, it must work by love. Believers have not only the command. Matt. v. lb: but, when the tree is good, the fruit must be good likewise; for by its fruit ye may know them. Thus, as the merits of Christ, imputed to believers, are their sole justification before God ; as the apprehension of the merits of Christ by faith, is the sole justification to the believer’s conscience; so the fruits of faith are his sole justification in the eyes of his fellow men. “May we, indeed, who are happy enough to be of the Israel of God, being freely justified by his grace through his merits—so walk, as to let Christ our light shine before men; that they,—seeing our good works, and at the same time being fully sensible of the deep corruption of our hearts, and of our entire inability of our¬ selves to do them—may alone glorify our Father which is in heaven and see the glory of his salvation, and the privileges of those who have the unspeakable favour to call him Abba, Father* and lm unbounded mercy to those ,''who though poor, he hath raised out of the dust , and though needy , he hath lifted from the dunghill , and set with princes of his people ;—whom he hath appointed a chosen generation, a royal prieshood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, in order that they should shew forth the praises of Him, who hath called them out of darkness, into this marvellous light!" [pp. 142 - 4 .] Our readers shall now be indulged with another citation, in order to give the authoress an opportunity of exhibiting her metaphysical genius. Should they be profound enough * “ Let your light so shine before men. that seeing your good works, >hey may glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matt. v. 16 . VOL. vi.—NO. 11. * 114 Review. to comprehend it, we congratulate them, for it is more than we dare profess to do. “ The revelation which informs us that we are citizens of Mount Zion the city of the living Gor>, and which unfolds the wondrous mystery of the cross, ami the astonishing Christian scheme affords scope abundantly for the fullest exercise of all the W h est reflecting facilities. What concatenation of cause and effect does it unfold. what a wondrous fund of comparison, between tlnugs natural and things spiritual! what a mine of investigation does it ^cover and every discovery of truth here brings with it an accession of love! AH the resisting propensities of destructiveness, of comba tiveness, which formerly grovelled on earth are now used to de¬ stroy that evil self they before defended : and become champions of the truth, instead of the instruments of hatred, error, and dl-wi 1. The faculties of calculation, of order, &c. &c. which formerly moved in the service of self, are no longer set to work by an ill- understood covetousness; but, by benevolence, and a thousand well-understood institutions of philanthropic economy, succeed to the sordid accumulations of selfish gam. The same faculties of wandering, and ready perception and imitation, which inspired by self, led the wandering gipsy from clime to clime, under a thou¬ sand characters of imposition, inspired by benevo ence and venera¬ tion, send the indefatigable missionary from clime to clime, on errands of love; and in his journeymgs, from the Esquimaux to the fens of Surinam, from the barbarous Indian to the civilized 1 ersian, enable him to become, like St. Paul, all things to all men, that he may win some. The same perceptive faculties of form, of colour, of music, &c., which, inspired by human ideality, so continually chain the lovers of the fine arts down to earth, become, by the parabolic style of writing, the very means of lifting the soul of the believer to heaven. Every earthly object, which the natural man desecrates, as the means of expressing and decorating human passions, the book of God consecrates, by rendering the vivid type of heavenly truths. To the Christian, all the earth reflects heaven. All which is visible is the type of that which is invisible; and tem¬ poral things, touched by the alchymy of Scripture explanation, become at once holy and spiritual. And the perceptive faculties bein°- the most early developed in children, so God has supplied the earliest age with this vast magazine of living spiritual types, and with a treasury of holy associations and instructions, which no believing parent will fail to apply; knowing that feelings connected with sensible associations are ever strongest. And last, though not least, we add, that the parabolic style of Scripture is emi¬ nently calculated not only to spiritualize the perceptive faculties, but the ideality of man: and by thus doing, she converts into the most powerful auxiliaries of holiness, the most dangerous instru¬ ments of human passion. The ideality, whilst the slave ot human perception and passion, is ever chaining man down to earth with 115 Schimmelpennmck s iubhcol Fragments, gilded cords, or presenting one vain phantom after another to his ever renewed, but disappointed chase. But when ideality is once inspired by the Spirit of God, the case is altered: she then starts up from earth, not a demon, but an angel, in her native magnitude. She it is, who gives wings to the soul, to bid her contemplation to soar from earth to heaven. She it is, whose faithful and vivid mirror reflects back the invisible realities and joys of heaven to those yet groaning in misery on earth. How often has she glad¬ dened the heart and lighted up the eyes of the wretch, pining in a dungeon on earth, with the bright (but not more bright than true) vision of heavenly joy! How often has she annihilated the pain of the martyr, by transporting his mind with the rack on which he lay, to the glory in which he should soon participate! How base is ideality, when she is the magic painter of human passion! how exalted, when the vivid painter enlisted in the service of divine truth! 1 hen indeed does she resume the exalted post of giving permanence to spiritual joy, in defiance of temporal sorrow.’’ [pp. 59_62.] One more pretty morceau :— ‘‘Thus every page of the Bible must be in some respect altered before o)ie fatal error can find legs to stand on. It is by this means that every part of the divine record is dovetailed into one solid mass, and trenelled down, as it were, on Christ the rock of ages; so that no storm, however furious, can ever more wash awav any part of the light-house, without tearing up the whole. Hence the literal sense of Scripture, even down to the most minute circum¬ stantial detail, acquires dignity, importance, and sanctity, by being the conveyance, by bearing witness to, and being interpreter of that spiritual truth, which is alone that living and eternal reality, with- husk^fp 1 ^ 6 ] W ° Uld beamere dead ’ dry ’ and unavailin S It will be seen that the preceding part of our critique has an exclusive reference to the first volume of Biblical Frag¬ ments published by our authoress; nor, when it was written, had we any apprehension of a second. Observino-, however, advertisements to this effect, the printing of our remarks was suspended, that we might have an opportunity of veri- fyitig, or of coirectmg, our statements. W ith every wish to render justice, and even mercy, we undertook an investiga¬ tion of the merits of the more recent volume, and most happy should we have deemed ourselves, had it been pos¬ sible to have given it a high, if not an unqualified commen¬ dation ; but we perceive clearly, that although we here find something to approve, yet we are at entire issue with Mrs. Schimmelpenninck on certain points of the utmost practical importance in the interpretation of Scripture. A specimen or two of the criticisms contained in this second volume 116 Review. may well precede our few concluding observations. In remarking on Isaiah vii. 1—16. Mrs. S. with rather too much of a vaunting air, states, that the force ol the very important prophecy contained in the 14th, 16th, and 16th verses, has been weakened, and the sense rendered obscuie, by the English translation. She discovers that the definite, article before the word virgin , ought to be translated other¬ wise than it is; and that it should be the virgin, and not a virgin. Now this struck us as a very fair critical correction, and we were, in our forgetfulness, giving our authoress all the credit of it, when our eye unluckily saw inscribed on one of the octavos in our library, Lowths Isaiah, where we find the same rendering. Our objection therefore is, that that is given as original which is not so. "We surmise, however, that it was not taken from Lowth, because, had the writer consulted that well-known biblical critic, the proba¬ bility is, that she would have discarded her new translation of the prophecy, which she gives thus : “ The Lord himself shall give you a. miraculous sign; Behold^ the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Em¬ manuel, or God the Redeemer with us. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know lioiu to refuse the evil, and to choose the good: for before this lad shall know how to refuse the evil and choose the good, #c. fyc. Which passage being explained accord¬ ing to the literal Hebrew, would bear the following paraphrase. Behold* the (promised, though hitherto mysteriously concealed) virgin shall bear a sonf, (a builder up and a repairer,) and shall call his nameGoT>,X (the Saviour and the Redeemer) with ws.|| Butter and honey (the ordinary food of children literally, and the fatness of the divine promises and the distillation of divine grace spiri¬ tually) shall this child eat, (who shall be both truly the son of man, and participating in the necessities of an actual humanity, and like¬ wise endowed with the effusion of the Spirit without measure. He shall eat of this rich food, in its spiritual sense, otherwise it would * The hay yedooang referring to a specific virgin, viz. the promised one; the w ord nby, a virgin, meaning also a thing concealed or kept secret, a mystery. f The word p‘, bain, a son, means a builder-up and repairer; Christ was eminently such to the human race. + The word El, or God, meaning an interposer, protector, or rescuer. || That the butter and honey here spoken of must be understood both literally and spiritually, is obvious; because, if understood spiritually only, it would be no prophecy of the humanity of this child, called God with us. If restricted to its literal sense, it could not be any means of teaching how to discriminate between good and evil. 117 Schimmelpenninck’s Biblical Fragments. not produce the effect ascribed to it of teaching him) that lie maij know hoxu to refuse the evil and to choose the good; he shall eat the same food literally, that being truly made a man, being tempted in all points like unto those, whom he is not ashamed to call his brethren; he may at the last great day, when the Son of man shall come in the clouds of heaven, with glory, as the final Judge, know fully how to refuse the evil, and to choose the good; to ’separate between the goats and the sheep: because, having the spirit of a man, he knows the things of a man, and knoweth what is in man.” [pp. 225-6.] Here the word “ miraculous ” is an interpolation, the same may be said of “ or, God the Redeemer with us the old rendering, “ that he may know how to refuse,” &c. throws obscurity on the whole, as Low'th fully proves, whose notes on the passage are eminently worthy of consultation, and whose admirable translation we are tempted humbly to re¬ commend to the attention (we will not say adoption) of Mrs. S. “ Therefore Jehovah himself shall give you a sign: Behold the Virgin conceiveth and beareth a son ; And she shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, When he shall know to refuse what is evil, and to choose what is good.” Mrs. S. after referring to the well-known practice amongst the Orientals, of wearing loose garments, and the disentangled situation of the right hand, interprets Eccles. 10. 2.°“ A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left,” as signifying, that the heart of the single-minded Christian is kept disentangled from earthly things, and is therefore at all times ready for the Master’s use. But the heart of the fool, or ?o?si/?g/e-minded disciple, is involved in so many cares, and is so occupied in its fast hold of situa¬ tion in life, learning, society, and temporal comforts, that it is never ready.” But this is no explanation of the heart being at the right hand in one case, and at the left in the other; and therefore all the additional observations about the comparison of external habits and comforts to garments, the colour and shape of garments among the Jews, the eating of the typical passover with the loins girt, &c. &c. seem departures from sober criticism, and in fact, in either method of interpretation, quite extraneous. The term heart in this passage, as in many others, appears to signify the judgment or understanding of man. The right hand is the hand commonly employed in labour, and used with the 118 Review. greatest readiness and skill; the understanding or judgment therefore being at the right hand, means, it is skilfully and beneficially employed; whereas a fool, or unwise man, neg¬ lects his proper business, and uses not his faculties to any good purpose—all his skill, if he possess any, is in the wron°' place. This proverb is thus at once obvious in its meaning, and appears to be deduced from an extensive knowledge of men and things. We had intended to examine the statements respecting Mary the mother of Jesus, of whom our authoress says, that “ whilst she is literally that blessed and highly favoured woman whose seed should bruise the serpent s head, she is likewise, in a spiritual sense, the especial type of that still more favoured virgin, the spiritual woman, the chuich, the spouse of Christ; to whom that prophecy (Blessed art thou amongst women, &c.) applies, in a still more exalted and distinguished sense:” —but a fear of extending our cri¬ ticism 0 on this work to a disproportionate length, and the conviction that we have already furnished an ample specimen of Mrs. S.’s principles and plan of criticism, we desist. With the piety so profusely scattered over these pages, we cannot but feel satisfied, and of the sincerity as well as benevolence of the professed design, to allure females to the critical study of the inspired writings, we are fully assured. That Mrs. S. is laudably attached to the Hebrew language, and lias probably made some proficiency in it, we are also willing to allow, and would urge her future prose¬ cution of this important branch of knowledge. But we cannot help expressing our regret at the application of her attainments in Oriental literature. She finds a significance in the Hebrew names, the bestowment of which, on persons and places, is frequently of the nature of pious memorials, monumental inscriptions, or historical records. As such, the investigation of their literal meaning is both a pleasing and profitable employment; but when from their real and original design, we are led to affix other and recondite mean¬ ings, of which no hint is contained in the Scripture itself, we cannot help apprehending that it is a dangerous and unwarrantable procedure. The same consideration may be applied to the interpretation of types and allegorical allu¬ sions. That the types and allegories of Scripture are numerous, and preeminently beautiful, we admit. While adhering to those types and allegories, we do well; but when engaged in manufacturing others, ont of the plain 119 Gell on the Idiom of the Hebrew Language. materials of Scripture history, we are certainly deviating from the course of sound criticism—the heart is not at the right-hand, and though we may be accounted ingenious, it cannot be averred that we are wise. The reason on which our opinion is founded is simply this—that if every fertile imagination, or every fanciful mind, be permitted to make any passage of Scripture allusive or allegorical, the real meaning of the whole might be at length obscured, if not entirely lost; and consequently the only safe method is to adhere to the obvious truth, and consider Scripture as its own bestinterpreter. The great object of biblical researches should unquestionably be, to ascertain the meaning of Scrip¬ ture : having done this, we must be satisfied and grateful. Nor need we wander into extraneous inquiries or fanciful interpretations, in total violation both of taste and decorum, when we recollect that “ all Scripture” being given “ bv inspiration of God,” is “ profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness ; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works.” Mr. Gell’s performance, though connected with Hebrew' literature, and we have therefore classed them together, is of a different description from that of Mrs. Schimmelpen- ninck. It is not, however, for the purpose of any elaborate discussion of its subject, or of its particular merits, that we have inserted its title at the head of this article, but chiefly with the view of giving it in a few words our general recom¬ mendation, and of thus stimulating the leisurely and the laborious to a further investigation of the principles of Hebrew philology. A mind properly constituted, and piously inquisitive, will not, if it can be avoided, rest satis¬ fied with a cursory know ledge of the original languages of Scripture, or with such an acquaintance with their princi¬ ples, and the theory of their grammatical construction, as may merely enable the individual to verify the reported general accuracy of the common translation ; but, provided his habits and opportunities be such as to render it practi¬ cable, he will feel every inducement to extend his researches beyond the surface, and explore the recesses beneath, the treasures that lie concealed from the eye of ordinary obser¬ vation, and will hail with gratitude every sensible and well- directed attempt to bring them to light. On this ground we cannot but approve our author’s investigations ; and we deem them, in some considerable degree, successful. He remarks very justly, that the subject may appear to some 120 Review. not very important;— an idiom, without the knowledge of which, the holy Scriptures have for ages been well enough understood, and which therefore can hardly be supposed to repay the labour of much inquiry concerning it. But cer¬ tainly every thing which tends to illustrate, and especially to define the meaning of the language in which truth is conveyed to us, is of no inconsiderable value. And if it should appear, that this idiom, when ascertained, reduces the confusion and uncertainty arising from the supposed convertibility of the forms of the Hebrew verbs, to order and precision—that it not only allows, but requires that each of them should maintain its own determinate mean¬ ing without ambiguity—that, in many cases, it fixes the doubtful interpretation of words and sentences, and corrects erroneous translations, in accordance with the incontro¬ vertible sense and truth of other parts of Scripture—that it particularly exhibits the Hebrew as a language more simply and correctly suitable to the nature of things, and the great Author of nature, than any other known language appears to be—that the natural right and extent of its authority, in preference to that of other theories, is manifested by the generality of its applicability, and the fewness of excep¬ tions ;—if these things characterize the idiom in question, it cannot be an unimportant subject, nor unworthy of the attention of the Christian scholar. The author pleads also, in behalf of his system, that it requires no reference to foreign tongues for illustration, but solicits adoption solely on the ground of its own natural features, and the accuracy of translation which it demands ; and it tends to prove the language to be independent of the points, and to shew its native force and simplicity. After several introductory observations, the following theorem is given, as not only accounting in the most simple way for every thing that is true in the multiplied rules and exceptions which have generally been advanced upon this subject, but as rectifying the errors which some of those rules produce, and supplying what they leave defective:— “ When two or more verbs are connected in Hebrew, the leading or governing verb expresses the absolute and general timeto be understood throughout the series ; and the subordinate verbs are, in this respect, elliptical: they have the temporal power of the governing verb, by an ideal com¬ munication implied in them; but relative time, or some other additional meaning, is generally expressed by their own proper power; and sometimes the modal or the personal 121 Gell on the Idiom of the Hebrew Language. power of a governing verb is also understood in them.” Having given a complete explanatory statement of the idiom m all its bearings, our author proceeds to some illustrative examples : we select the following, which is amono- the shortest, for the sake of shewing his mode of representing the subject; and we omit the Hebrew, which of course the learned reader has before him, introducing only our author’s translation. “ Gen. iii. 8. ‘8. And they heard the voice of Jehovah Alehim walking j n the midst of the garden, in the cool of the day: And the man and his wife hid themselves from the face of Jehovah Aeehim, amongst the trees of the garden: “9. And Jehovah Alehim called unto the man, And said to him, “Where art thou?” “ 10. And he said, “I heard Thy voice in the garden, “And I was afraid, because I was naked; “And I hid myself.” “11. And He said, “ What has discovered to thee that thou wast naked ? “ Hast thou eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee “not to eat? “ 12. And the man said- “Ver. 22. “22. And Jehovah Alehim said, “ Behold the man hath become like one of us, knowing “ good and evil! ® “ And now, lest he shall put forth his hand, “ And take also of the tree of life, “ And eat, “ And live for ever,- “23. Therefore Jehovah Alehim would send him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken: “ 24. And He drove out the man,- f' The first verb in this example is a subordinate future lyottn, having a communicated power, expressing past time, from the pre¬ ceding verb in the same series, with which it is connected by v and therefore it is translated in past time. But its own proper power, which is future, indicates an act subsequent to that of the verb preceding. The communicated past time may be traced up to ma Gen. i. 1. which is the Governing verb, from which it is 122 Review. first derived.* The three futures, nanm, mph and which follow after receive a past time in the same manner, successively from it and one another; and each implies an act or event subsequent to that expressed by the verb next preceding. The speech nyn, Where art thou? interrupts the major series, which is resumed again by the next future, Wh having also an ideal past time; and here a minor series comes in. The first verb of it, 'nynw, is a Govern¬ ing preter, and is translated according to its own time. Then follows a subordinate future, ktk-i, having an ideal past time, com¬ municated from the Governing preter; and then another future, xan»o, receiving past time also from the future preceding; and both are consequently translated past. By their own proper power, however, they indicate successive events. Then the major series is resumed again with “idk'i, a future, receiving past time from the -lorn preceding; and after being again interrupted by another speech, it is resumed as before. “ 5. In the part of this example, which then follows, we find the same major series (after being continued by several intervening verbs) resumed with iok'i, to be accounted for as before, being a future with inducted past time; and then is introduced the speech of Jehovah; the first verb of which rrn, is a preter touching the present moment, and standing by itself. The next, n*w, is a subordinate future, the Governing verb of which is understood. Had it been expressed, the context shews us that it would have been nnbwx, / shall send him forth , &c. The subordinate ex¬ presses an act, relative a parte post to the Governing verb, and is therefore properly in the future.+ The three indefinites, or subor¬ dinate preters, which follow, are understood to receive the Govern¬ ing time, which is future, but express by themselves only the action of the verb in the abstract. “ 6. We may stop here for a moment, to contemplate what I apprehend to be one of the finest instances of the Aposiopesis any¬ where to be met with.— Jehovah observes the dreadful crisis of events in the fall of Man, who knows now what evil is, as well as good; then, meditating his expulsion from Paradise, to preserve the chain of his counsels, He says, And now , lest he put forth his hand , and take also of the tree of life , and eat, a,nd live for ever -/ He cannot, as it were, for implied grief and anguish,; go on to say, “I shall drive him out hence!”—And the Historian takes up the subject, and tells us the result: Therefore Jehovah Alehim * I suppose that cli. ii. 4—7. which forms an interruption in tracing the series, is an extract, here inserted, from the i?d nn'nn. Then v. 8. receives its communicated time from ver. 3, and consequently, the communicated time iu is deduced ultimately from x-a. + If we refer to the scheme, we find that this verb has the charac¬ ter of a tense, FuTURE-i*Wwre, to which none in the English Language strictly correspond. J See Hosea, xi. 8. Gell on the Idiom of the Hebrew Language. 123 would send him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. “7. The future mrtun, is partly connected with the speech, as expressing the consequent act, of which the speech involves the reason; and on this account! is translated therefore: it is also partly connected with the history, as relating that consequent act, and hence receives a past time from the preceding historical verb ■tok'i. Would send, involves the inducted past time, as well as sent, and better expresses the act as yet in the mind of Jeho¬ vah; which is what the historian, I think, had in view; for he seems to relate the act, as accomplished, in the subsequent sen¬ tence.” [pp. 35—39.] In the fourth section, Mr. Gell furnishes several examples, which tend to shew the influence of the general theorem in a more important point of view, as deciding the interpreta¬ tion of some of the more difficult and controverted passages of Scripture. Amongst these he enumerates Gen. ix. 9. &,c. Gen. xvii. 4, Stc. 1 Sam. xvii. 36. Gen. xxii. 14, &c., with several others. In Deut. xxxii, 8—12. all the verbs which are future have a past time communicated to them from a governing preter going before; while the futures themselves indicate frequency or perpetuity of action. The whole passage therefore stands thus, on the present system:— “When the Most High gave inheritances to the nations, When He separated the children of Adam, He set (gov. pret.) the bounds of the peoples With respect to the number of the children of Israel: (For the portion of Jehovah was His people, Jacob was the lot of His inheritance:) He found him, or, He comforted him* in a desert land, And in a waste howliug wilderness; He would lead him about, He would instruct him, He usedf to keep him as the apple of His eye: As an eagle would stir up his nest, Would flutter over his young ones, Would spread out his pinions, would take each, * mYttN' Samar; where the whole tenth verse is thus read; V*IK3 TTIYDK' : vnDit>' t He comforted him;—He would lead him about;—He used to keen him. The same Hebrew' tense is here expressed in various modes notin perfect consistency indeed with accuracy of translation; but that the reader may compare them, and see more clearly the meaning implied. —Would is used as the future sign will under a preterite i nfluence. 124 Review. Would bear him upon his wings;- (so) Jehovah alone used to train him on, And there was no strange god with him.” [pp. 74-5.] The fifth section is employed in the explanation of apparent anomalies, and in banishing, as the author believes, “ the barbarism of ■> conversive.” “ With respect to the 1 , as employed in this service, if any pecu¬ liar appellation must be given to it, the most appropriate seems to be i inductive; as it is the mean of leading into its verb the com¬ municated time, &c. Strictly speaking, however, it is only a connective particle: and whatever meaning, more than is implied in simple connection, the various translations of it may give; it belongs, not to the i, but to the relation, whether of congruity, contrast, or dependence, &c. which the sentences connected may bear to one another. Hebrew writers understand this; translators express it.* [p. 76.] It affords us pleasure to observe that this little volume has reached a second edition; and our readers will, we have no doubt, concur with us in thinking, that it merits at least an attentive perusal by every one who feels an interest in biblical researches. An Essaj/ on the Evils of Scandal, Slander, and Misrepre¬ sentation. 12mo. London. 1821. Westley. pp. 155. We have incidentally learnt that this little work is the production of a humble, but laborious minister, in a retired village in the county of Sussex, where he has long been diligently occupied in discharging the duties of his station, devoting his few hours of leisure to the composition of these pages. We regret that we have not had an opportunity of noticing it before, but have it not in our power to make any other atonement for a neglect which has been unavoidable, than by placing it amongst the very first of a long list of arrears which we are hastening, if we cannot clear them off, at least, to diminish. This little treatise is divided into nine short chapters, most of them within the compass of from a quarter to half an hour’s reading. The first is “ On Scan¬ dal and its Causes,” from which we transcribe the following very useful hint to professional men. “Self-Interest is another frequent cause of slanderous reports. There are some men in whom this principle dwells with so much * See Gussetius, Comment. Ling. Ebr. 218 . as quoted in a note on i in Noldius. 125 An Essay on the Evils of Scandal, Slander, Sc. ascendancy, that they are willing to make the greatest sacrifices to indulge it. To this we must attribute the greater part of that rancour and malice which is to be found amongst the different pro¬ fessions. Slander is indeed too frequently considered a justifiable way of increasing our own importance; and conduct which is contrary to every principle of honour or religion, is frequently considered lawful competition.” [p. 22.] J e fear that these remarks apply with much force to some of the learned professions, whose members ouoht to be above such mean and despicable arts. In the second chapter, “ on the danger of trifling with the character of others,” our readers (females at the head of families especially) will find some useful suggestions on the subject of taking away the character of servants, as great severity in giving them characters is familiarly call¬ ed, a thing too often done, w T e fear, w r here mistresses are passionate, and maids are pert. It might be well, however, on the other hand, were servants aware, that though a mastei or mistress may be heavily punished in the shape of damages, for saying what is false of them, they may also be as severely punished in the same way for conceal¬ ing w hat is true, if by that means other masters or mistresses suffer from their improper conduct. Nor, provided they neither say nor insinuate any thing bad of them, are they compellable by law to answer any inquiry respecting the conduct of domestics whilst in their service, though the custom of doing so, as a matter of course, has so long been established, that to deviate from it, without sufficient °'round would be a piece of cruelty and injustice. The next chapter is, “ on Scandal directed against Reli¬ gion but on this subject we have already saTd so much, under a former article, that w’e pass on to the more novel 0116* which is next in order, “ on Scandal amongst the Professors nf* Religion. L nder this head our author makes some very plain, but judicious remarks; some of which we shall transcribe. ‘‘Contention, alas! paralyzes the exertions of a whole Christian society, by exposing weaknesses which would have otherwise remained invisible; indeed, too often those weapons which have been most successfully employed against religion, have been fur¬ nished by its pretended friends. It is the policy of some profes¬ sions, though they disagree, to hide their disagreements from the world, wisely considering, that to publish their differences of opinion would tend to diminish their importance as a body. But this concealment is not always made; the robe of a brother has too 126 Review. often been torn, and held up to excite a smile. This is indeed easily excited by such conduct; but the Christian sheds a tear when he sees these proofs that even now “the children of this world are wiser than the children of light.” “That there should be differences of opinion upon religious subjects is a matter of no surprise, when every man justly claims the right of thinking for himself; but that slander should be called in and employed by one sect to increase their importance above another, is contrary to every principle of true religion. Such conduct tends more to prove the total absence of right principles, than the sincere desire of doing good.” [pp. 59—60.] There is equal strength, justice, and liberality, in the following passage : “ It is really a matter of the greatest surprise, to see with what marked contempt persons of one religious opinion look down upon the professors of another. The crime of thinking for one’s sell is, with a certain class of people, (and those too professing Christianity) such an heinous offence, that no epithet which scandal can invent is considered too gross or too abusive to be applied to such. But does it become those who profess substantially the same faith, to scandalize each other merely because they do not worship in the same temple, or give the same “watchword?” Such there are, however, and they would compel mankind to adopt one code of laws, or subscribe to one creed; but let them, before we subscribe, raise themselves above others by giving some unquestionable proof of their infallibility; let them evince that they have a. just claim to perfection; let them prove that their own partisans do not disagree, and that they themselves are not the subjects of conflicting opinions: if these things cannot be proved by them, they must rank amongst other professors of religion, and only claim, in com¬ mon with others, that respect which is due to honest investigation and sincere conviction.” [p. 62.] High-church bigots may learn a useful lesson from the following admonition of a poor dissenting parson, who will have infinitely the advantage of them in every good and every wise man’s esteem, if they turn from the advice, on account of the quarter whence it comes. He who rejects good advice from a fool, only shews that he is a greater fool himself; but he who spurns it on account of the doctrinal sentiments, or mode of worship, which his monitor adopts, though he' were brayed in a mortar, would be foolish still. “ Let it be remembered, however, that the dissenters are a body of people deserving of better epithets than those implied in the anathemas of isolated villages. Let such as scandalize and scorn them, remember the efforts which they are continually making in 127 An Essay on the Evils of Scandal, Slander, §c. every good work; and let them pay, at least, the interest of praise for the debt which literature owes to their exertions. Let them remem¬ ber their importance abroad as well as at home, and it will be found more politic to treat them with tenderness than to load them with infamy.” [p. 75.] We regret that there should be, whilst we fear there is, but too much occasion for the following gentle admonition to persons in the sacred office. “ Ministers are too apt to approximate to scandal; and the members of Christian churches are not always aware of the evil of speaking evilly of the ministers of the sanctuary, nor are they sufficiently cautious in their remarks on each other. An offendino- brother should be treated with mildness, and won by conciliation; not irritated by threats, or hastily reproached; and at no time scandalized or slandered. Many valuable members of society have been ruined by too hasty a rebuke, or an ill-timed accusation ; had persuasion been used instead of coercion, they might have been reclaimed. Advice would be oftener received without disgust, if it was more frequently given with discretion. Every body is ready to give advice, but very few know how to give it with a good grace. “ To convey counsel with delicacy, and to make instruction palatable, hie labor hoc opus est: advice ought to proceed from affection; it will otherwise be in its motives defective, and in its endeavours unsuccessful.” Most people give advice through ostentation, and not with an intention to benefit the persons to whom they offer it; they think themselves superior to them while they are instructing them, and are therefore so much puffed up with vanity and self-conceit, that their designs are easily detected ” [pp. 77-8.] “ Anonymous letters” are such odious, mischievous, and unmanly things, that we should think it an insult to our readers to extract from the chapter devoted to them any more than the following incidental remark, which may be advantageously treasured up in the memory. “The most inquisitive are generally the most loquacious ; and where we find an individual taking great pains to make himself acquainted with our circumstances, we should suspect his motive, and especially if he is lavish in his promises of secrecy.” [p. 88.] We wish that we could as briefly touch upon the subject of the sixth chapter, “ popular charactersbut this we can¬ not do, as scandalizing them is certainly one of the cryino- sins of the present day, especially, we regret to add, amongst what is termed the religious public. Whatever they do or say, where they go, how they eat, and drink, and" dress, and look, and walk, and sleep, furnishes abundant, and, as 128 Review. it seems to be thought, legitimate topics of tittle-tattle to dowagers and old maids over their tea, or to misses in their teens at boarding-schools. “There is a class of individuals,” as our author very truly observes, “who make popular characters the subject of their “table talk;” who suppose that eminence removes every obstruction to animadversion, and gives free license to their invidious remarks. They seem to forget that the most exalted individuals are but men; by comparing them with angels, they discover their defects. They forget that the most popular are sometimes the most volatile; and that in the heterogeneous combinations of human character, the most charming mental excellencies are given to those who are subjects of the greatest weaknesses, and most frequently lay themselves open to suspicion. We sometimes behold but a single star, where we are looking for a constellation; and thus by expecting too much, we are perhaps disposed to disparage that little which is excellent; and because we are aiming to discover virtues which are not possessed, we refuse to commend those which are visible, and entitled to our warmest praises.” [p. 99.] “Much evil,” he afterwards as justly observes, “has arisen from the supposition that we can always distinguish motive from action; and the greatest of men have been frequently compelled to smile at the interpretation which has been given to their conduct. The individual who professes to give an action publicity, often pretends to a knowledge of persons with whom he is totally unacquainted, and with whose secrets he has never been entrusted. Nothing is more common, than to find men resolutely supporting a charge, and vouching for its truth, when they have only derived it from a distant hint or an ill-founded suspicion; and at the same time they are base enough, in order to account for their knowledge of circum¬ stances, to profess a friendship which did not exist, or an intimacy which the individual would have disclaimed. Great men have generally the fewest confidants; and there are but few individuals that can expect to be entrusted with their secrets, or who have much opportunity of even seeing them in private life; but if we were to judge from a certain class of individuals who make it their business to calumniate, we should be disposed to believe that they had been inmates in the same house, and companions in their stu¬ dies. There are some who always claim an intimacy with great men, in order to increase their own vast importance; and they frequently preface the most injurious insinuations by such sentences as these— “He is my particular friend,” or, “I have the best opportunity of knowing him.” [pp. 102—104.] To the truth of this representation, the writer of the present article can bear his decided testimony, as it has on more occasions than one happened to him to be told that one of his friends, now no more, and who never was 129 An Essay on the Evils of Scandal, Slander, Sc. within the walls of a prison in his life, but on those errands of mercy to which a great portion of his time was devoted had been for some time in the King’s Bench, when they were in the habits of daily intercourse at his house, and walked in thSrT ° f °c nd01 ; to gether without a bailiff or catchpole mnro ^ ain '~ Slmihr falsehoods of public characters! as improbable as they were marvellous, have been told in our hearing, when we ourselves had the means of refuting them, and have not, of course, neglected to use them, to the dis¬ comfiture of their slanderers, who had no retreat left to them but a hypocritical expression of satisfaction at find¬ ing they had been misinformed, though they did not speak without good authority, which the old miserable excuse of a promise of secrecy prevented them from givino- U p Whilst upon this subject,-and in the present ao- e "it is ^ , important ?ne,—we may be permitted to caution our eaders, especially our younger ones, against the too preva- Jent, but most incautious habit of speaking freely of popu¬ lar or public characters in mixed companies, very often including many strangers, or persons whose connections at the east are unknown; and here again their monitor speaks the lessons of no very pleasant experience. It happened many years a^o, that in a large society, in which his pur¬ suits frequently compelled him to mingle, the merits of e prooable successor to a public office, then vacant, were very freely discussed, and not by any means highly rated vvfl° U fL \ lt se ^ med , a » reed > tha t no one better qualified vias likely to have interest enough to supersede his claims. Ine wr iter happened then to chime in with “What think thp^nff ^ Ir *Th ? *, h0U S h he is not awhit better than the other. They are, indeed, a precious pair of”—a tread from a fnendly toe, prevented the close of his sentence with— blockheads, or some such complimentary term. Shortlv after, a gentleman left the room, who was not a very fre¬ quent attendant in the society, when the following dialog took place between the writer and his friend: “ Bid vou know who that was?” “Not I-but I suppose, from your gentle hint, it was some one before whom I ought not tr» have said what I did of B-“Why,” replied he “ it might have been as well to have held your tongue for vour neighbour was only B-’s eldest son.” Ha"ppily he was a young man of very good sense, and therefore took not as an affront what could not be intended as one. Necessarily travelling much by those convenient vehicles, mails and stage-coaches, we have also there frequently had occasion VOL. vi,— no. IK k 130 Review. to remark the folly of this incautious practice. A friend of ours was thus travelling a short distance, in the dusk o the evening, when a gentleman, taken up upon the road soon began to entertain his passengers with some satirical remarks upon Mr. W., at that time a very popular character, in a certain circle. The coachman stopped at the house where this loquacious gentleman had desired to be set down, and, as he got out of the coach, our friend very^ coolly said to him, “ May I trouble you to present Mr.W—- s com¬ pliments to Mr. and Mrs. L- V* the owner of the house which he was about to enter!—Some pragmatical travellers have been foolish enough to suppose, that they might talk of whom and what they pleased, provided they talked in a foreign language; and we have even heard trench ventured upon for tliis purpose, in companies, in which it was just as likely that some of the listeners should understand it as the speakers. An odd adventure of this kind occuned some years since to a lady of our acquaintance, a passenger, with a female friend, in one of the short stages in the vici¬ nity of London. Two gentlemen—in dress and appearance at the least—amused themselves the whole of the way by quizzing herself and her companion, in terms which they would not have ventured to use, but that they spoke in Low-Dutch. Judge then of their confusion, when, after quitting the coach, the lady turned round and wished them a goocf day in that very unfashionable and unfeminine language. ‘She had passed some of her earlier years in Holland, and understood Dutch as well as she did her native tongue. “ It frequently happens,” our author elsewhere very truly observes, “that the greatest men rise from obscurity; and many of those who have adorned the page of history, or to whom the world is indebted for the most valuable discoveries, have been able to boast of no distinction but that which is the reward of merit. But though society has, in all ages, been indebted principally to such distinguished persons, yet there have not been wanting, individuals base enough to animadvert upon their origin. Nothing is more common than an attempt to sully the reputation which such persons have attained, by a reference to circumstances which are at once unpleasant and humiliating, but which disgrace them not.” [pp. 105-6.] “Your father,” said a foolish sprig of nobility to a very eminent man, whose name we forget, “ was a tailor.” “ True, sir,” was the reply, “ and if your father had been a tailor, you would have been a tailor still.” This is the best com- An Essay on the Evils of Scandal, Slander, Sc. 131 ment we can make upon conduct as absurd as it is ungene¬ rous, and it shall be our only one. ° On the subject of scandalizing the dead, which is discuss¬ ed in the next chapter, there cannot, we think, be two opinions as to the cowardice or baseness of the practice t lough, in connection with it, our author advances some sentiments, from which we very materially differ. It nothing,’ says he, “in a man’s life deserves praise, let the same clods which cover his frail tenement cover all his frailties • and it his life and conduct have been such as would endanger the’ morals of society if published, let those who have witnessed it rather make it a lesson of caution, than an object of cruel invective and satire.” [p. 125.] This is pushing the maxim, de mortuis nil nisibonam, to its extreme, and we have ever considered that maxim more charitable in appearance, than correct in principle. If it is to be acted upon as here recommended, the faithfulness, and \uth it the utility of biography, is destroyed; for men must then either be delineated as faultless, or as near so as may be, or their characters must not be delineated at all. Such l! n0 j example set us in scripture, or Noah, Jacob, l>avid, Solomon, and others of the brightest of its charac¬ ters, had been handed down to us more like ano- e ls, but l^ss instructive as examples and warnings to their fellow- men, who, on the same principle, would have been deprived tne admonitions to be derived from the revenge of Cain_ the weakness of Samson—the impiety of Jeroboam and ha 3 the cruelty of Manasseh—the presumption of Nebu¬ chadnezzar the arrogance of Belshazzar—the treachery of Judas—the equivocation of Peter—or the perjury of Ana¬ nias and Sapphira. With respect to the dead, as to the living, our maxim is, “speak nothing but the truth,” and we would therefore propose to alter the adage in every school¬ boy s mouth, into de mortuis nil nisi verum, adding in explana¬ tion of it, that neither of the living, nor of the°dead, do we ever think it justifiable to say that which is evil, but for them UrP ° Se ° f Waming ° thers t0 avoid what was wrong in T1 " s volume closes with some judicious reflections chiefly extracted from other writers, and for the most part very appropriate. On the \Oiole, we recommend it to our readers, in the hope and expectation that they will be pleased with a production which, without any pretensions to elegance of composition, (for many inaccuracies of 132 Review. style will strike the critical reader,) is distinguished by that sound sense which many elegant compositions want. In our opinion, the dedication to the memory of Caroline of Brunswick might have been very advantageously omitted, as, independent of the objection which we entertain to the heathenish appearance of such dii-manes sort of inscrip¬ tions, some very excellent and moderate people might be induced to discountenance a work that might thence be inferred to have a party character, of which we can assure them it is utterly devoid—a mistake we should greatly regret, as, at the trifling cost of three shillings, they may at once put themselves in possession of a very sensible little book, and serve a most worthy man. 1 . A Picture of Ancient Times; ora Chronological Chart, for the Study of Universal History, sacred and profane. By S. E. Thomson. 2. A Sketch of Modern History, companion to the Picture of Ancient Times. By S. E. Thomson. These tables, which are neatly printed in folio, each on a sheet of drawing paper, so as to be adapted for framing or mounting as maps, appear to be well calculated for assist¬ ing in the work of education, to which, if we mistake not, the authoress has devoted herself. They contain lists of the successions of the rulers of the principal states—a chronology of the most remarkable events of their reign, and of the most important inventions and discoveries. The latter, perhaps, are somewhat too often stated as facts, where dates and names have long been, and still are matters of great doubt and interminable controversy. We noticed also an error or two that will require correction, but have not room to specify more than that “ Hellens” is a very unclas- sical, and not over correct translation of the Heleni, and that the name of the celebrated navigator of the Polar seas is “ Parry,” not “ Perry.” “ Conspiracy” is also a far better word than “ conspiration,” if indeed the latter be English; nor would it be very difficult to supply by more important inventions and discoveries, the place of “ pins” and “ bellows.” 133 O’Donnoghue’s Farewell Sermon. The Christian Ministers Farewell. A Sermon, intended for delivery on Sunday, May 13 th, 1821, at the Chapel of the Trinity Alms-Houses, Mile-End. To which is annexed, a statement of fads relative to the Author’s Resignation of the Chaplaincy of that Institution. By the Rev. H. C. O’Don- n°ghue, A.M. of St. John's College, Cambridge; Domes¬ tic Chaplain to the Right Hon. Lord Viscount Mount Lari; and late Chaplain to the Honourable Corporation of Trinity-House. 8vo. pp. 36. Lond. 1821. We are sorry to learn from the preface to this Sermon, that its reverend author is to be added to the list, already too numerous in our days, of preachers of the gospel especially in the Establishment, who have suffered, in their temporal circumstances,from the fidelity with which they have delivered their all-important message." We need not, how- e\er, enterintodetails,as those who feel particularly interest¬ ed in them may easily satisfy their curiosity, by perusing a statement, too circumstantial and connected to be abridged. Some parts of it contain also expressions of strong feeling, to which, however excusable in the heat of unmerited provo- cation, we doubt not, that, in his cooler moments, Mr. U Donnoghue would not wish us to give a wider circula¬ tion. But there is something much better in many parts of the sermon, founded on the appropriate, though hackneyed text, of, “ Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” We can give, however but one extract, from a very correct description of the duty of those who are seeking a better country, recommended to our particular notice by the catholic spirit which it breathes. “ Jo persons thus circumstanced, whose hopes and expectations are directed to the same objects, our text recommends unity: ‘ B e °f one mind. y It is one of the consequences of sin, that the harmony which might otherwise have been supposed to exist among Christian professors is oftentimes more to be desired than expected. When we look into the actual state of Christendom or even of our own country, how painful is it to see the body of Christ rent and torn—and faction and party spirit prevailing where we ought to witness nought but unity and love unfeigned? Even the religion of the meek and lowly Jesus, a religion of the most perfect chanty, becomes, through the perversity and corruption of our depraved nature, the cause of the most wanton cruelty, and the most unrelenting hatred.—Instead of checking the passions, and 134 Review. restraining our depraved lusts and appetites, it is made to minister to their indulgence. But in the contemplation of men living under the holy influence of religion, we delight to consider, “ how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to live together in unity.” We seem to go back to the best days of Christianity, “ when the multitude that believed were of one heart; ’ when the prayer of Jesus was abundantly answered, “ I pray for those that shall believe on me; that they all may be one;” and when the disciples were obedient to the apostolic precept, being “perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment. May God impart a similar spirit and temper unto us, that we may “be like- minded one towards anotherstanding fast in one spirit.””— [pp. 12, 13,] In that spirit most heartily do we express our wishes, that the writer of this sermon may speedily find, if he has not found already, another and a wider field of labour than that from which he has been removed : for the doctrines which he states in this farewell address to have formed the con¬ stant subjects of his ministration, are those which, in what¬ ever forms—connected with whatever modes of discipline they may be preached,—we shall ever earnestly commend to the abundant blessing of the great Shepherd of the Church. “ Poetical Essays. By A. J. M. Mason. Embellished with eleven Engravings on Wood, executed by the Author, from Designs by the late John Thurston, Esq.” 8vo. London. 1822. pp. 119. Several reasons induce us to wish that we could give a favourable character of these poems. Moral, and even reli¬ gious in their tendency, their sentiments are unexception¬ able ; they are the production of an artist, and we are always pleased with the union of kindred pursuits, and they are submitted to the public with singular diffidence and modesty .'%■ Yet, with all these favourable dispositions, the author must rest satisfied with the expression of our good wishes, and the consolation to be gathered from the old Horatian doctrine of poeta nascitur non Jit. The following are, perhaps, some of the best lines in the collection, and in these days of poetic excellence we fear that they will not pass muster, although we have certainly read much that is worse in the standard collections of the poets of our Augustan age, as that of Queen Anne formerly was called, though we cannot but think it no longer entitled to the distinction. 135 Mason’s Poetical Essays. “ ’Tis not of moment how the body’s grac’d, Whether within the humble grave ’tis plac’d, Or laid beneath the proud sepulchral urn, From dust it came, and will to dust return. The proud mausoleum, destined to engage The mute attention of each after-age; Despite of pride, in time will shrink away, And with its inmates crumble to decay. When moulder’d thus, of ev’ry form bereft, What, to transmit a name, will then be left? Nothing that can, with truth, hereafter shew, What diff’rent honours mark the high and low: In peaceful slumber both alike are bound, ’Till re-awaken’d by the trumpet’s sound, These dull receptacles of mortal state Are awful warnings of approaching fate; Their sad mementoes to our minds recall, The destiny that here awaits us all; And each reflective mind should thus apply The silent emblems that before him lie : “ Perhaps when next the solemn bell shall toll, Its peal may be for my departed soul; Perhaps I next may fill a narrow space In this last refuge of the human race.” How many more sad indications show, The mutability of man below!” The author, however, seems most anxious to recommend himself as an engraver on wood, and in that department of the arts he could not have a better recommendation than the beautiful embellishments of this volume, which on the whole is one of the neatest we have lately seen. Every admirer of wood engraving should purchase the work for these exquisite specimens of the perfection to which it may be brought. AMERICAN LITERATURE AND INTELLIGENCE. [Continuation of the Report on the State of the Penitentiaries of the United States.] “ The Committee now come forward, and advocate a change in our Penitentiary System, that will be radical and fundamental. They are fully persuaded that nothing less than solitary confinement will ever enable us to give it a fair and full trial in the United States. 136 American Literature and Intelligence. If this fails, on its full and complete adoption, then the system is intrinsically defective, and out of the compass of perfection. There is nothing hazarded in this remark. If it were made by every friend of the system, on both sides of the ocean, nothing would be jeopardized, for there is the strongest reasons to believe, that with this improvement, a confinement in a Penitentiary would prove the most effectual and salutary punishment that has ever been devised, since the origin of human government and human laws. When¬ ever solitary confinement has been tried, it has produced the most powerful consequences. In the State Prison of Philadelphia, offenders of the most hardened and obdurate description—men who entered the cells assigned them, with every oath and imprecation that the fertility of the English language affords—beings, who scoffed at every idea of repentance and humility—have in a few weeks been reduced, by solitary confinement and low diet, to a state of the deepest penitence. This may be set down as a general result of this kind of punishment, in that prison. In the New-York Penitentiary, many striking instances of penitence and submission have also been afforded. Where prisoners were peculiarly refrac¬ tory and vicious, they have been placed in solitary cells, and insu¬ lated from every human creature. Even the messengers who carried them their food, were enjoined not to utter a syllable, in the discharge of their diurnal duties. The most overwhelming consequences were the result. The spirit of the offender was sub¬ dued, and a temper of meekness, and evidences of contrition, displayed. A resort to this discipline never failed to accomplish its end. “ But, it will be asked, do we recommend an entire suspension of all labour in our Penitentiaries? We answer in the negative. We are sensible that such a proposition would not meet with cur¬ rency in the different states, nor do we, at present, perceive the necessity of its general adoption. But the Committee would recommend that solitary confinement be adopted to a far greater extent than has heretofore been thought of in this country. They would separate this punishment into two kinds : first, solitary con¬ finement without labour; and secondly, solitary confinement with labour. Could these two methods, in the treatment of offenders, be universally and exclusively adopted in the various Penitentiaries of this country, and all intercourse, and all kinds of communication, among prisoners, be prevented; could they be wholly precluded from even seeing each others’ faces, a new era would soon appear, in the history of our criminal laws. “It appears to the Committee, that in all cases where the con¬ vict is ot a desperate character, and where his crimes are great and manifold, his imprisonment should be spent in complete solitary confinement, free from all employment, ali amusement, all pleasant objects of external contemplation. Let his diet be moderate, and suitable to a man placed in a narrow compass, for 137 American Literature and Intelligence. the purpose of reflecting on his past life and on the injuries which he has done to society. This would produce other effects on experienced offenders, than imprisonment with several hundred brother villains, where free intercourse, by day and by night, is permitted;—where rich soups, and airy apartments, are prepared for their reception;—and where a school for guilt is established— where all the evil passions of man flourish in rank and poisonous luxuriance. Six months’ solitary confinement, in a cell, would leave a deeper remembrance of horror on the mind of the culprit, and inspire more dread, and prove a greater safeguard against crimes, than ten years’ imprisonment in our Penitentiaries, as they now are managed. Who but would shudder at the bare idea of returning again to the dreary abodes of w T retchedness, sorrow, and despair, in the narrow limits of a solitary cell ? The memory of long and miserable days, and of sleepless and wearisome nights, once spent there, would come over the mind like the dark cloud of desolation, and terrify and arrest the guilty, in the career of out¬ rage. Employment tends to destroy the effects here pointed out. It diverts the mind, calls forth a constant exertion of the physical faculties, and renders men unconscious of the lapse of time. To felons, whose minds should be broken on the rack and the wheel, instead of their bodies, and who can only have their obstinate and guilty principles crushed and destroyed by severe treatment, no kind of labour should be given, while it is intended that solitude, complete and entire solitude, should be left to do its effectual work. Sooner or later, this mode of punishment will be adopted in the United States.* It is founded on sound principles of phi¬ losophy, applicable to the nature of the human species. The term of solitary confinement, without labour, will be defined in our statute books for specific offences, and enter into the sentence of our criminal tribunals. Wherever it has been tried, it has been tried with success, in this country. No time should be lost in giving it a more full, ample, and satisfactory experiment. “ Man is a social being,” says Governor Adair, in his last speech to the legislature of Kentucky. “ The intercourse of his fellow man is essential to his happiness, and necessary for the expansion of those noble faculties, which distinguish him above all other animals. Unbroken solitude is the grave of his genius and his joys. Virtue herself wanders with melancholy aspect in the regions of exile, and sinks, with despairing anguish, amid the gloom of that dungeon, from which she is never to emerge. But absolute and compulsory solitude, when adopted as a punishment, and inflicted for a season * We hope not. Complete seclusion for so long a period as is here proposed, would be one of the most cruel punishments that could be devised. Such at least was the opinion of John Howard ; such is Mr. Roscoe’s ; and if we dare associate our humble names with those of these great philanthropists, such, we could add, after mature deliberation, is our own.—E dit. 138 American Literature and Intelligence. only, has been found productive of the most beneficial results. It is the inquisition of the soul, and the tyrant of every vice. It may be regarded as scarcely possible that the guilty prisoner can long inhabit a cell where darkness and silence reign undisturbed arbi¬ ters of his doom, without some relenting of purpose, some real penitence of heart. The moral faculty regains its lost dominion in his breast, and its solemn responses are regarded as oracular. He acquiesces with abated resentment in the justice of the sentence by which he suffers. That audacious spirit of resistance to the estab¬ lished order of society, which drove him to the commission of every outrage, gives place to the mortifying sense of his weakness and dependence; and he ardently desires, as the first of blessings, a return to that very society from which his crimes have banished him. Hence originates a disposition fitted for the reception of moral and religious instruction—a conformity to the requisition of his present condition—a spirit of active industry, emulation, and amendment, the means of present favour, and future restoration; and all the benefits which are consequent on regular habits and amended morals.” “ The other kind of solitary confinement, might be designated for the most hardened felons, after they had passed through a sufficient course of discipline in solitude, without labour. Their first relief should be the application of their time to that sober industry, which they had discarded, for the devices of guilt and the commission of crimes, before their sentence to the Penitentiary. It would also be proper, for another class of criminals, of a lower grade, who might be doomed to solitary imprisonment and hard labour in the first instance. It is believed, by the Committee, that the punish¬ ment will be found severe, salutary, and effective. A long period of solitary confinement, without any labour, would have an unfa¬ vourable effect on the future ability of the convict to be useful in his peculiar pursuits. His mechanical capacity might be impaired by long inertness. But when solitude and labour could be combined, consistently with the design of punishment, the execution of the law would not give cause of objection to those who look at our State Prisons more with a view to loss and gain, in point of revenue, than to any thing else. It is contended that the solitary confinement here spoken of, would be suitable to all crimes of a secondary degree, and that it would tend to prevent offences in two ways. It would have a lasting and powerful effect on the mind of the offender himself. If the reform of convicts is within the reach of any human laws, we might expect it here. It would also prove a restraining cause in the evil hour of temptation, when its bitter consequences were recollected. It would also accomplish much by means of example, if example can ever hold the reign of terror over the vicious and profligate. Much confidence is cherished, that if these two grand methods of punishment could be rigidly enforced in our Penitentiaries, and no other adopted, that a more 139 American Literature and Intelligence. efficient and salutary criminal code would be exhibited, in the United States, than has been seen in any other country. The term of imprisonment might be much shorter than it is now. Instead of ten and fifteen years, it could be reduced to less than half the number, and so throughout the whole statute book, on the same principle of reduction. “ It is contended, by many, that solitary confinement is too serious a punishment for our fellow beings; that it will drive them to madness and mental alienation, or send them rapidly to the grave. We are happy to find that its contemplation, in the mind of a virtuous and reflecting community, is attended with such feelings of revolt: for this is an indication of its summary and salutaiy effects on the most guilty and knavish of our race. They, too, will catch the abhorrence, and feel an interest to avoid the suffering to which it points. We are, however, inclined to think, that the fatal effects of solitude and confinement are exag¬ gerated. We do not believe that they would be so destructive of life and sanity, as it is imagined. Men have often been cast into the deepest and darkest dungeons, to serve the views of despots and the policy of governments, on the other continent, and existed there, for years, on the poorest food, and again appeared before the face of the sun, with their bleached locks and sallow coun¬ tenances. If, however, its tendency is so overwhelming, its adop¬ tion as a punishment will supply a desideratum in the American community. But we cannot expect that all the states will imme- diatelv follow our views. Revenue, and not exclusively the pre¬ vention of crimes, will enter into their public policy. We regret to say, that convicts will still be suffered to have intercourse, and to mingle in common, in order to carry on particular manufactories, and to prosecute mechanical pursuits, which demand strong phy¬ sical power. In time, we trust that a wise principle of economy will be cherished, and the ultimate, and not the direct loss, to the community, by a method of punishment that defeats its own object, will be duly borne in mind. But while the suppression of all inter¬ course among criminals is neglected, we must turn our attention to the most wise means of managing our Penitentiaries with this defect. This brings us to consider the necessity of classification. “ If the state governments will go on shutting up some three or four hundred convicts in a Penitentiary, and carry on manufac¬ tures, and a course of business, that need their joint labour, the di¬ vision of their persons into classes will prevent many of the evils now flowing from their promiscuous and indiscriminate intercourse. Let the most hardened and guilty criminals be kept by themselves, and the more trivial offenders be also attached to a distinct denomina¬ tion. Let those of an intermediate grade in guilt have their own class and department. These divisions might be extended, and subdivisions be instituted, to suit the age, disposition, obstinacy, or penitence, of the felon. But we shall be asked, How is the 140 American Literature and Intelligence. discrimination to be made? Who shall fix on the standard by which a division into classes shall be regulated? And we would ask, in return, Where is the radical difficulty in distinguish¬ ing the character of convicts in a Penitentiary? In the first place, the records of their conviction afford prima facie evidence of the degree of turpitude of which they have been guilty. A notorious offender will find his fame precede his entrance upon his new life; nor will men remain long in a State Prison, without betraying their strong propensities and ruling passions in visible indiscretions of conduct. A sign of humility, contrition, and obedience, will be equally visible. Those to whom is entrusted the government of a Penitentiary, will have abundant means of drawing correct lines of separation between the vicious and the superlatively vicious. Take a Penitentiary containing two hundred tenants; divide them into eight classes, and let each class be kept unconnected with the others; let all the classes be kept under strict regulations and rigid by-laws, and as few words be spoken as possible. Several beneficial effects must result. The work of contamination would be arrested; the distinction displayed in the classification would shew, that even in a State Prison, virtue, in whatever degree it existed, was esteemed above moral abandonment; and men, by being placed in small numbers, would reflect more on their indivi¬ dual conditions. Instead of criminals being huddled together in one rude congregation, where all lines and contrasts are obliterated and destroyed, and where the work of moral disease is continually advancing, as is now the case in many Penitentiaries, we should at least see some offenders coming out from among the multitude of the condemned, redeemed from moral apostasy. “ If classification is not adopted, then, as a choice of expedi¬ ents, the Committee would advise another remedy for existing evils. “There was a day when the New-York State Prison was con¬ ducted with a strictness, precision, and uniformity, that precluded all conversation, and all the evil consequences of the inculcation of corrupt maxims, profligate notions, the communication of des¬ perate plans, and the relation of profligate adventures and exploits. The utterance of a syllable was punished with confinement in a solitary cell. The restraint on the criminal was severe, and it rendered his confinement odious, and mentally oppressive. Aver¬ sion, deep and settled aversion, for the prison walls and all within them, was contracted; and that aversion struck a root in the soul that no time extirpated. This community, this common¬ wealth of felons, that now exists in our Penitentiaries, must be broken up. To this the Committee earnestly call the attention of the different states: and they do ardently hope, that when con¬ victs are suffered to labour and spend their days together in large numbers, or even in small ones, that all conversation, that all the chances of evil communication, will be rigorously prohibited, by the enforcement of strong and severe by-laws. ' Great good 141 American Literature and Intelligence. will follow. At Auburn, in the state of New-York, the classifica¬ tion system is now in operation, on principles similar to those here laid down. It was recently commenced, and the most beneficial results are expected. “ We would next call the attention of the public to another evil, that requires immediate correction. It is absolutely essential to any thing like success in the Penitentiary System, that criminals should sleep in solitary cells, even when they are not kept in soli¬ tude during the day. The practice of turning ten, fifteen, or twenty, into the same sleeping apartment, has been sufficiently noticed. Every criminal should retire at sun-set to his own domicil, and there remain, free from the sound of a human voice, until the rising of the next morning’s sun. This would at once destroy those evil and dangerous consequences, that have been brought into existence and nourished during those hours that should be devoted to reflection and repose. It would leave human beings in solitude and darkness, to turn their thoughts on the causes that placed them in their narrow and gloomy mansions, and carry back their memories to that early dereliction from duty, which placed them at the bar of a criminal court, and incurred the heavy sen¬ tence of the law. It would lead them to contrast innocence with guilt, and to appreciate the worth and blessings of moral rectitude. It would tend to suggest amendment, and transport the mind to a future period in the prisoner’s life, when better days and happier nights would again pass over him; when he would be restored to the comforts of social life, and to the wide and alluring theatre of activity and enterprise. It would, in fact, render the nights of the prisoner a severe scene of mental tribulation, if the least spark of feeling and contrition was left. The worst of men will think at times, and the hour of midnight, is, of all hours, the most horrid to a guilty conscience, when the mind is left to that retrospect, that brings agony and remorse. Could all our Penitentiaries be con¬ structed like those mentioned in Pennsylvania, the alteration in the treatment of convicts, here advocated, would be secured at once, with many other benefits; with the prevention of many horrid evils that now exist, and with the promotion of individual and public good. The Committee will next speak of the erection of new prisons for juvenile offenders. “ The policy of keeping this description of convicts completely separate from old felons, is too obvious to require any arguments Nor does it seem wise to place young felons, who have been guilty of but one offence, and who can be reclaimed and rendered useful, in that severe state of punishment that attends solitary confinement. In most instances, they have no inveterate habits to extirpate. Their characters are not formed. No moral standard of conduct has been placed before their eyes. No faithful parent has watched over them, and restrained their vicious propensities. Their lives exhibit a series of aberrations from regularity—a chain of accidents 142 American hiterature and Intelligence. that has rendered them the victims of temptation, and the sport of adversity. They have been sent from place to place, subsisted bv precarious means, or been left to combat with poverty, want, and the inclemency of the seasons, by the exercise of their own inge nuity. Every thing about them has been various and unsettled; and in an unfortunate hour of temptation, while under the pressure of want, or when seduced into the giddy vortex of depraver passions, they have offended against the laws, and been sentenced to the State Prison. There are exceptions to these remarks, in a few solitary instances of premature and settled baseness; but this view has a very extensive application to the cases of juvenile ofiend- ers in our large towns and cities. In the interior it is very raie that boys are indicted for crimes. What then is the duty which devolves on our legislators? To use every effort to bring back these unhappy youths to society. They should be restored, as far as possible, to the rights forfeited by an early departure fiom the line of rectitude. This can never be done, under a system ot punish¬ ment that is suitable to the most obdurate and abandoned crimi¬ nals. The human mind has its seasons and stages, when specific remedies are, and when they are not, applicable. The Committee would therefore recommend, that prisons be erected in the dif¬ ferent states, exclusively for juvenile convicts. In the larger states, there could be a division into districts, and a place ot cofinement erected in each. In Massachusetts there is a prison for young con¬ victs in each county. These prisons, the Committee conceive, should be rather schools for instruction, than places of punishment, like our present State Prisons, where the young and the old are confined indiscriminately. The youth confined there should be placed under a course of discipline, severe and unchanging, but alike calculated to subdue and conciliate. A system should be adopted, that would prove a mental and moral regimen, if we may be indulged in the expression. The wretchedness and misery of the offender should not be the object of the punishment inflicted; the end should be his reformation and future usefulness. Two objects should be at¬ tended to: first, regular and constant employment in branches of industry, that would enable the convict to attain the future means of livelihood; and, secondly, instruction in the elementary branches of education, and the careful inculcation of religious and moral principles. The latter would be vitally important Most of the young offenders in the different State Prisons, so far as the knowledge of the Committee extends, have no trade or mystery. They have never been put with the industrious mechanic, or been placed to labour with the cultivators of the soil. Their lives have been chequered with the most idle habits. Hence, one great object should be, to give them a settled occupation for life. One part of their time should be devoted to those mechanic pur¬ suits, to which their genius may be adapted. Under strict and rigid regulation, let them go to their daily toils, and each day 143 American Literature and Intelligence. acquire some new principles of knowledge. Emulation should be excited as far as possible, and extraordinary exhibitions of skill, or great and successful efforts in industry, be rewarded by marks that would call forth an ambition for excellence. What would be the effect? We should see a little society of boys, growing up in useful employments, imbibing settled and lasting habits of the most industrious kind. They would go forth, at the end of their confinement, with a capacity to obtain an honest living—with the means of acquiring wealth and fortune. Another part of their time should be spent in the acquirement of elementary education, in all the branches of knowledge requisite for the ordinary trans¬ action of business. The expense of giving young culprits this advantage, would be small, and its consequences of the most salutary and durable nature. The force of education is no where better understood, and no where more highly appreciated, than in this country. Its connection with the duration and prosperity of our public institutions, and its importance to the peace of society, and the security of individual rights, are daily seen. Why then neglect to give instruction where it is most required—to that por¬ tion of the rising generation, that have fallen victims to early guilt, in a great measure, for the want of it. With the elementary in¬ struction here spoken of, plain, simple, and practical moral princi¬ ples, like those promulgated by our illustrious countryman, Benjamin Franklin, should be constantly blended; and great care be used in selecting teachers and superintendants, who, with mild manners, humane dispositions, and benevolent spirits, will watch over their charge with fidelity and success. If such a policy can have no effect towards reforming our juvenile offenders, then we may despair of effecting any thing, over which we can pour forth our congratulations. If industry and education—if strict, whole¬ some, and sound moral discipline—if rendering places for their confinement abhorrent to the views, feelings, and inclinations of every vicious youth, bv an entire new life within their boundaries, equal in strictness and regularity to that of monastic establish¬ ments, cannot produce a salutary change, then we may mourn over the lot of our race, and rest under the conviction, that there are cases where hope has neither refuge nor resting-place.* “As to the construction of these prisons for juvenile offenders, it is believed that they should sleep in separate and solitary cells, and that during the day they should be divided into classes. Solitary confinement during the day does not seem to be called for, in the case of these culprits, nor would it be consistent with the regulations here advocated; but the necessity of classification * The Committee are happy to remark, that the new Penitentiary erected at Auburn, in the state of New-York, has one wing contain- iug separate cells, calculated for the solitary confinement of convicts from sun-set to sun-rise. 144 A merican Literature and Intelligence. is obvious. There will be shades of guilt among young, as well as among old criminals; and the evils of contagious vice appear in both cases. There will also be differences in dispositions, capacity, habits, and age, that will demand discrimination. The Committee do not feel themselves called on to act in the capacity of archi¬ tects, and to draw plans for edifices; they are called on to make suggestions, as to principles and their application. They have recently perused a small pamphlet, entiled “Description of a design for a Penitentiary for six hundred juvenile offenders, as recommended by the Society for the Improvement of Prison Dis¬ cipline in London,” from which they take the following extract concerning classification:—“The whole number of juvenile prison¬ ers, viz. 600 , are divided, according to this design, into nine classes ; and such is the construction of the building throughout, that a most effectual and constant separation of these nine classes can be preserved at all times, whatever be their occupations, whilst all of them are going through their regular, and, generally speaking, the same discipline, without any interruption or interfe¬ rence with each other. To every class is appropriated a distinct prison establishment, whilst the power of complete superintendence is placed in the hands of the governor. Every class has a separate work-room, about ninety feet in length, which is to be divided off at the lower end for a school-room, as above mentioned; a dining room and airing-room, with a covered colonnade, in case of rain; a set of shower baths, washing sinks, &c.; a separate staircase, lead¬ ing to the night cells; a solitary cell, for the punishment of the refractory of the class; a separate compartment in the chapel, fitted up with benches; also an area for such species of work as may best be carried on out of doors. By means of the moveable doors on the cell galleries, the requisite number of night cells are provided, and which may be varied, from time to time, according to the increase or diminution of prisoners; at the same time giving to each prisoner a separate cell ; an arrangement which is earnestly recommended, as essential to the health and moral welfare of pri¬ soners. Such is the nature of this design, that it would be by no means difficult to increase the present number of classes to a very considerable extent; but the apparent advantage, in this respect, would be greatly exceeded by the loss of many other essential advantages. It has, therefore, not been made an object, in the pre¬ paration of this design, to obtain a great, but a sufficient degree of classification, combined with the most effectual and invariable separation of each class, and at the same time, to provide that the power of constant and complete inspection should be placed, as much as possible, within the reach of the governor.” “ It will be said, in answer to all this plan of improvement, that its expenses will prove an invincible obstacle to its execution. Again we say, What is the object of penal laws? Suppression of crime, and the reform of criminals, is the answer. Where then is 145 American Literature and Intelligence. the fault of our proposition? If a better one can be suggested, we shall be among those to hail its annunciation with feelings of plea¬ sure. But let us take the other view, and say a word of this alleged departure from economy. Which, then, is the cheapest, to take five hundred juvenile offenders, and render the great part of them honest and useful men, by a new course of punishment, attended with no extraordinary expense, or to thrust them into our present Penitentiaries, with a moral certainty of their coming out with new vices and with fresh desperation—with the moral cer¬ tainty of their either being in prison, as a public burden, their whole lives, or of their living, when out, by depredation and knavery? If reformed, their industry will contribute to the pro¬ ductive energies of the community, and augment its aggregate revenues; if idle, their labour will be lost, and if dishonest, they will diminish the avails of the labour of others; to say nothing of their example and baneful influence, as a component part of a great population. Upon every rational ground, therefore, the apprehen¬ sion of additional expenditures affords no arguments against the reform here pointed out. “We fear that the younger states will not immediately embrace any thing like the plan for reform here recommended, where they have recently erected Penitentiaries. With the exception of states along the sea-board, these juvenile convicts are few in number, and the present Penitentiaries will be used for the old and the young. Every principle of reason and policy dictate, if this is to be the fact, that in every Penitentiary in the United States, the young offenders should be kept by themselves, and that instruction should be afforded them. It is no less humane than wise, to give them those steady and useful employments, which will enable them to live honestly upon their earnings, after their term of service in the Penitentiary expires. While, in this country, we are doing much to prevent crimes, by the growing establishment of Free- schools and Sunday-schools, and the education of youth is an object of vital consideration, it is to be hoped, that juvenile delin¬ quents will not escape the attention of the wise, the good, and the public-spirited. We rejoice that in England, the reformation of juvenile offenders is commanding the attention of men who com¬ bine station, power, and talents—who stand among the ornaments of the British empire, and of the civilized world. Their publica¬ tions, their eloquence, and their appeals to public conviction, are strong and spirited. They cross the ocean, and reach hearts on this side of the wide waters, which beat in the glorious cause that commands their zeal and exertions. “ If we would render our Penitentiary System effectual, we must not render our public prisons attractive to the idle, the needy, and the profligate, by holding out the idea of comfort or sumptuousness. Felons must not eat better food, find their animal spirits better sustained, be more comfortably clothed, and VOL. VI.-NO. 11. L 146 American Literature and Intelligence. dwell in more commodious apartments, after sentence m a cour of justice, than they ordinarily enjoyed, in the busy world, before its J freedom was taken from them. Personal liberty is dear to mankind, and its loss is repulsive to the mind; still repugnance is diminished, when something like an equivalent is found or its privation, in an improved state of existence. To men destitute of shame, and dead to the scorn of the community, the institution of a comparison between the mode of living in one place and another, is natural. All moral contrasts are forgotten. What shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we wear, how shall we sleep, and what company shall we keep, are subjects that occur, when the thoughts of public delinquents are turned to a confinement in the Penitentiary. What aspect then should our Penitentiary present . A place where every thing conspires to punish the guilty. There should be nothing incident to it that is either pleasant or inviting. It must be obvious to all who reflect, that it would be an easy mat¬ ter to give a direct encouragement to the increase of crimes, by the manner of treating convicts. Let them sit down at the richest and most sumptuous tables, after conviction; let them be regaled with stimulating liquors ; let them be clothed with all comfort, inhabit spacious and airy apartments, and live with fit companions for the wicked,—and how many felons would literally seek a resi¬ dence, even for life, in a state prison ? Many now sent there, it is true, would not. These inducements would not reach their condi¬ tion. But hundreds and thousands there are, who have no settled means of livelihood, who know not where the end of a year, or even a month, may find them, who are pressed in their resources for bare being, to whom the considerations here suggested most powerfully appeal. What conclusion does this reflection sanction ? It goes to convince us, that so far as criminals, of the most depraved character, can realize more of the comforts of life in a state prison, than out of it, so far it presents allurements to their eyes. And even with those of a less abandoned description, a con¬ finement in a Penitentiary will have less terrors, in proportion as it affords more sources of enjoyment. The force of these remarks may not be realized by those who have thought on the Peniten¬ tiary System in the interior of the Union; but to those who have visited the prisons along the Atlantic coast, and seen them filled and crowded with the former tenants of European prisons, and old offenders who were born on our own soil; who see them con¬ taining the most needy, desperate, and hardy vagrants and outlaws that ever infested society, whose bread for years has been obtained by fraud and plunder, they will not be thought so inapplicable to the grand matter of our inquiries and investigations. “ But convicts must live, will be the answer to these remarks. True—convicts must live; and convicts who are doomed to hard labour must so subsist, that they can find their strength, vigour, and spirits duly sustained. We would therefore say, that on the sub- 147 American Literature and Intelligence. O ject of diet, two principles should be followed. As it is hoped and trusted, that solitary confinement will be hereafter adopted in our criminal codes, to a great extent, it is recommended that in such cases, moderate and low diet be meted out to criminals. While an attempt is made to inflict mental discipline, it is necessary that the food of the criminal should not be of that description, that would serve to counteract the design. We do not say that bare bread and water should always be resorted to. In some instances it will be found requisite ; and in all instances of complete seclusion without labour, the cheapest diet seems the most proper. On the other hand, when convicts are to labour, their food, in the opinion of the Committee, should be nutritious, simple, and wholesome, but of the coarsest kind. Nature should be supported by suffi¬ cient aliment; but every thing like good living should be discarded. All spirituous liquors, of every description, should be rigidly prohibited. The use of tobacco, as it exhilarates the spirits, seems a proper object of exclusion ;* and as to all species of food and drinks, that contain any stimulating quality, they should never be used, excepting as medicine. It is unnecessary to draw up a bill of fare, or to say, in this place, what convicts should, and what they should not eat, in detail; this is a subject easily determined by judicious men who may be called upon to manage our different Penitentiaries. There is no difficulty in saying what diet will meet the policy which is here advocated; and in closing this head, the Committee do say, that in several State Prisons, too little attention has been paid to it. It is one that at all times deserves attention and vigilance. “We have spoken at large on the destructive effects of the too frequent exercise of the pardoning power. We spoke with free¬ dom, but without allusion to persons or to chief magistrates. We intended that our strictures should be abstract and general in their application. In bringing up the subject again, to suggest the remedy, our task is easy and simple. Let no convict be pardoned. Let the display of executive clemency be so rare and seldom, that it will amount to a virtual denial of all applications for its interposition, and a destruction to the hopes and expectations of all convicts. We must come to this, or find all attempts to perfect the Penitentiary System fruitless, and worse than fruitless. But what is to be done? Two things are to be done, if we mean to correct the evils that we arraign. In the first place, persons of respectability, influence, and moral worth, must abstain from passing off shameful impositions upon our chief magistrates, although done with the best intentions, and the purest motives. The practice of signing petitions for pardons, is one of a most pernicious and dangerous kind. It palsies our penal laws, em¬ barrasses the chief magistrate, and, in effect, promotes the increase * This was formerly done in the Philadelphia Penitentiary. 148 American Literature and Intelligence. of crime and guilt. It creates unjust discriminations, and, in many instances, violates the moral obligations of citizens, 1 ve are bound by moral obligations to do that which wdl promote the prosperity and happiness of the Commonwealth, and to refrain from all acts that produce their diminution. To see the most distinguished and benevolent members of the community, heed- lessly^putting down their names to an application for the pardon ot a convict, who has forfeited every claim to any sympathy or humanity, but what the stern mandates of justice permit us to cherish with propriety, presents a most melancholy comment on the weakness of human nature, and a total want of all forecast and prudence. The Chairman of this Committee has seen lists of names, for which the utmost respect is ever cherished, at the bottom of applications, for the most notorious villains that ever faced a court of justice. Gamblers, and the keepers of gambling- houses, where the sons of our first citizens, and the inmates of our most respectable families, have been seduced, fleeced, and ruined—counterfeiters, swindlers, murderers, and pirates —hostes humani generis, who roam and plunder over the seas,—can strike the chord of sympathy, and send forth appeals that reach the bosoms and command the interposition of persons, who should shrink, with the feelings of abhorrence, from the touch of their petitions. A murder was perpetrated of the most cold-blooded, wanton, and shocking character, on a helpless and unoffending man, who appealed to his destroyers as the father of a poor little family, by every tie that can disarm cruelty and vengeance; and yet coolly, deliberately, and tranquilly, he was shot through the heart, while manacled to a tree in the wilderness. The murderers were con¬ demned by the laws of the land. A petition was got up for their pardons, and hundreds and thousands signed it, of the principal citizens of the Union. Not only men but women signed it with alacrity, while the wife and orphans of the immolated victim were forgotten, and left to weep over the untimely fall of their only pro¬ tector, who was earning bread for their support, when his blood was sought by those fiends in the form and attire of men. We have nought to look for firmness on the part of a chief magis¬ trate, and for his prompt rejection of petitions for pardons, while such’ reprehensible practices are continually indulged by men whose cool and reflecting moments would dictate a different course of conduct. It is painful to see wives and families deprived of their bread, by the commitment of a felon to the Penitentiary ; it is afflicting to see an aged father mourning over the incarceration of an undutiful and profligate son; but what then ? Shall the prison doors be cast open, and convicts be let forth to commit depredations anew, and our criminal laws be rendered a mere mockery? Many of the applications sent to the Governor of the State of New-York contain the most absurd allegations, and the most wilful misrepresentations; and the late annual report from 149 American Literature and Intelligence. the Auburn State Prison alleges, that “ the business of procuring pardons has become the steady and profitable employment of many individuals, who attempt the grossest impositions upon the Governor.” When the obtaining of pardons becomes a profession and a settled pursuit, and those who engage in the vocation are favoured with the names of those members of society to whom we look to give a tone to public sentiment, the prospect of reforming criminals is in truth dark and hopeless. We call upon men in power and authority—we call upon the friends to the peace and the order of society—we call upon the friends of sound laws, and upon the friends to the rigorous and undeviating execution of sound laws, to raise the loud voice of reproof against the practice of embarrass¬ ing the chief magistrates of our states with petitions for pardons. And we do also call upon the members of the Bar to refrain from acting in their legal capacity to procure the liberation of felons who have bfeen justly condemned for their transgressions." “ The Committee also hope, that those who are entrusted with the pardoning power will feel the importance of exercising it but seldom, and never but in extreme cases. If those in the com¬ munity who should strengthen the arm of justice, and render the laws sacred and certain, will send up their petitions without reason or consideration; if women and children are presented as instru¬ ments to obtain the relaxation of penal statutes; it is to be hoped, that there will be a firmness and decision in the breast of the chief magistrates to enforce the uniform and rigorous operation of the laws, as the only sure means of protecting the rights of indi¬ viduals, and guarding the peace and safety of the great body of the people, in their aggregate capacity. But we are told, and told truly, that there is not room in many of the Penitentiaries to contain all the convicts, and that pardons are granted of necessity. This we know has been the case with our own State Prison, both under the administration of the late, and the present Governor. But whose fault is this ? Not the fault of the chief magistrate. It is the duty of every Legislature to see that due means are afforded to enforce the laws. If more room is wanted for convicts, more must be provided. Let our chief magistrates, when neces¬ sary, call the attention of the Legislature to this point, and then let them stand by, for justice to take her course. This would pro¬ duce a better remedy, than the incessant granting of pardons. To conclude on this subject, the Committee are cheered by the firm conviction, that a feeling is daily and rapidly growing up in the different states of the Union, that will ere long render the * This is a professional irregularity, happily confined to the other side of the Atlantic. We are happy also to say, that, with very few exceptions, applications for pardon are most narrowly watched in England. Free pardons are indeed seldom granted here, though sentences are often commuted, on sufficient grounds for the exten¬ sion of mercy, being laid before the Executive.— Edit. 150 American Literature and Intelligence. frequent interposition of pardons, an object of public reprehension and popular reproach. This sentiment is more and more visible in the prints and papers that traverse the nation. Certainty in the execution of penal .laws will be demanded on principles of selt- preservation^icious gelection of persons to have the control, government, and administration of our Penitentiary System, is an object of the first importance, as we look to its improvement and perfection. In the enjoinment of this requisition, we mean to include agents, keepers, directors, governors, inspectors or mana¬ gers, and all other officers, of whatever name, who may be appoint¬ ed to exercise discretionary power m and over State Prisons. Those who are included in this enumeration, may be properly divided into two classes—those who administer the internal police of Penitentiaries, and those who have charge of their general superintendence. The person or persons who have the immediate and direct management of convicts in a State Prison, have a trust confided to them of a most delicate and difficult nature. They are called upon to deal with characters of various descriptions, whose dispositions are different, and whose passions exhibit all the shades of turpitude and desperation. This is more particularly so, in the present state of our Penitentiaries, where a large number of convicts are placed together: where by-laws and regulations must be made to govern their intercourse, and where a kind of special cognizance is had over the actions of each individual. W as each criminal kept in a solitary cell by day and by night, fewer diffi¬ culties would be apparent; but, under the present condition of things, if we look to the amendment of convicts, or even if we pre¬ tend to keep them from becoming more depraved and dangerous, much depends on the character and qualifications of the person who holds immediate government over them. We conceive that he should be a man of mild and uniform disposition, of benevolent feelings, possessing courage, firmness, and decision of character; experience in the walks of life, a knowledge of human nature, and a capacity to discern the leading passions ot indi\ idunis, and all their weak points, seem requisite qualities. Individuals of this description can always be found, if adequate inducements are held forth to engage them; and when once obtained, they would cherish a deep and*lively interest in the success of their efforts in the path of duty. Men who seek the office of agent or keeper in our State Prisons, as a station of profit, should not be heard in their application. Party views and prejudices should not produce the selection of one and the removal of another; and when a sound choice has once been made, a change should be viewed as a calamity. If the human character ever can be reformed by the use of reason, the inculcation of moral thoughts and moral prin¬ ciples, and the application of wholesome mental discipline; if the reprobate can ever be called back to the ways of honesty or American Literature and Intelligence. 151 reclaimed from his vices, the Penitentiaries of their country open a wide and fertile field to the zeal and patience of the philanthro¬ pist. Much can be done. Human nature, in its very worst state, can be wrought upon with success. The history of Mrs. Fry’s exertions in Newgate, affords a most gratifying comment on these remarks. She has entered the prison walls like a minister¬ ing angel of truth, peace, and mercy, and guilt, in the most awful and repulsive form, has relinquished a dominion over its victims.* “ As to the selection of inspectors, superintendants, directors, or governors, it greatly involves the prosperity of the system, and we can never look for its success unless care and judgment are exer¬ cised on this point. We must rise above the sphere of party passions and favouritism, and look abroad in the community, with a steady and dispassionate eye, for men who will watch over our Penitentiary as an important national experiment, involving a great portion of national happiness, and as one reaching the most intricate relations of society; for men too, who will preside over it with a capacity that can discern defects, and apply the ready hand of correction. Confident we are, that the state governments or state executives can find men of public spirit, and of competent qualifications, to discharge this trust with fidelity. When once selected, permanency in the tenure of their appointment is abso¬ lutely essential to the faithful exercise of their functions. Time and observation are necessary to obtain a sufficient knowledge to enable men to act with due discretion and effect in the manage¬ ment of a State Prison; and when obtained, all the benefits to result from it are destroyed by ejection from office. Many of the State Prison codes and by-laws, at this time, want amendment, and it requires talent, patriotism, ardour, and industry, to make the required corrections. With men of prudence and capacity in business, we should unite others of a higher order, in point of ability, if we would constitute boards of inspection suitable to the ends which we have in view. We have said so much on this head in another place, that further remark seems unnecessary. “ When a convict is sentenced to hard labour, the spirit and letter of the law should be well observed. He should be put to work, and kept to work, in the true sense and meaning of the words ‘ hard labour.’ It is not contended that tasks should be cruel and tyrannical; but any relaxation in the requisition ofthelaw, any favour shewn to one individual, that is not evinced to another, and in fact any thing like favour in any case, is hostile to the system of punishment whose perfection is now sought.. If one convict is to be permitted to sweep the rooms of the prison, another to clean * No one can be more sensible of the benefit conferred upon society by the exertions of this exemplary woman than we are; but. living on the spot, facts within our own knowledge compel us to term this representation hyberbolical.—E dit. 152 American Literature and Intelligence. the furniture and utensils, another to keep the yard in proper order, as a substitute for hard labour, undue and improper par¬ tiality is shewn, and an authority and discretion are exercised that the laws never intended. The certainty of punishment is destroyed and pernicious contrasts are exhibited. Idleness should be guarded against with the utmoss scrutiny, unless solitude without labour is the sentence of the criminal. To permit convicts to pass through any portion of their term in the State Prison in indolence, when it was intended by legislatures and courts of justice, as well as expected by the prisoners themselves, that constant and rigid industry should be their daily lot, is tolerating an abuse of a very mischievous kind. The performance of hard labour is intended, by our penal statutes, as a part of the punishment of the convict. His exemption from this, in any degree, impairs the effect of the punishment. It is said, that in some of the State Prisons, the labour of criminals brings no returns; that there is no market for the manufactures which come from their hands. No facts of this nature are before the Committee; and if there were any, we should say, that it would be far better, even to realize nothing more than the mere price of the stock worked up, than to permit idleness to reign within our State Prison walls, when hard labour is enjoined. We believe that the products of labour, performed in our Peniten¬ tiaries, can always be sold for something; and it is far more politic to dispense with strict calculations as to profit, than to permit relaxation in the punishment of public offenders. Agents, keepers, and all officers who have the control and management of convicts, should, in the view of the Committee, be wholly prevented from shewing any other favours or discrimination than the State Prison codes and by-laws permit. “A disregard for personal cleanliness leads to the relaxation of moral principles, and renders the profligate more profligate, and the base more base. No public prison can be a place of reform, if a disregard to neatness is tolerated. The benevolent Howard often had occasion, while visiting the dungeons of Europe, to raise his remonstrance on this subject. The Committee recom¬ mend, that the utmost care be taken to render our Penitentiaries clean and wholesome in every particular. The convicts should be compelled to keep their persons entirely free from every neglect, and every species of uncleanness. A habit of neatness would soon become pleasant and grateful to the feelings of the criminal; and if he had been once found among those collections of the wicked, where a disregard to appearance and decorum was apparent, he ■would reflect on the pollution of such associations with disgust. “We again repeat the remark, that revenue must be a secon¬ dary consideration with those who administer the Penitentiary System, if its designs are ever to be accomplished. We put con¬ victs in the State Prisons to be punished and reclaimed, not to earn money for the people. Punishment and its effects are never 153 AmericUn Literature and Intelligence. to be lost sight of. If the first object is the great productiveness of the labour of convicts, let it be so understood. We must then change our whole system to meet this end; and instead of confin¬ ing prisoners within the walls of a State Prison during the day, it might be more profitable to put chains and weights on their feet, and let out their services in various ways. If the prevention of crimes is the design, let this also be substantively and primarily considered in all cases, and every thing be renounced that militates against it. The Committee, therefore, enjoin what common sense, and the most ordinary prudence, dictates; let the first great question be, How can the Penitentiary System be rendered the most effective in diminishing crimes, and in reforming convicts? The moment this inquiry is forgotten, sound policy is contravened, and we give up the system to ruin and disappointment. It cannot be otherwise. Better that all the criminals in the United States should never earn a farthing, than to bear the present results of our defective and pernicious treatment. If it becomes necessary to keep each transgressor in perpetual solitude, it must be done. We must go through with the object of our Criminal Codes, or renounce them altogether, and begin again with the enactment of penal laws. Half-way laws, partial punishment, and legislative weakness and vacillation, will result in nothing but disaster, dis¬ couragement, and vice. “ Here the Committee terminate the second division of their Report—the suggestion of remedies to meet existing evils in the Penitentiary System, and pass to the third general head: the sub¬ stitute to which the different states in the Union must resort, provided this system is to be abandoned. “ Let it be admitted, that the Penitentiary System in this country is beyond the reach of those radical improvements that would render it adequate to its original ends. Let us admit that the nation should rise up at once, and resolve on its immediate destruction. Let us repeal our present Criminal Codes in the different states, and discard their mild features. To what must we resort? We shall have crimes, and we must have punishments. Transportation, corporal punishment, and death, have been sug¬ gested as a substitute for our present punishments. They have found a vindication in some of the public prints of the day, more especially that of transportation; and men of influence in the community, and those well versed in the laws of their country, often mention the latter as the inevitable resort of no distant day. “ Let us examine the expediency of resorting to transportation, corporal punishment, and death, to prevent crimes. And as to the former, its impracticability is the first objection that refutes every ingenious argument in its favour. To what place will the United States send their felons? Where are our co¬ lonial—where our foreign establishments? Wherever our govern¬ ment extends, and wherever it has force and authority, there American Literature and Intelligence. the rights and immunities of American citizens may he enjoyed. We know of no inferior appendages, within the circle which it embraces. IIow then are we to dispose of convicts, ll transportation is deemed expedient? We must either obtain some distant set¬ tlement, perhaps in the bosom of the Pacific ocean, or we must take some spot within our national dominions As to procuring a foreign settlement, but two methods offer, by which the object could be effected; we must resort to purchase or to conquest. The constitution knows of no such policy as the appropriation oi money, by the Congress of the United States, to purchase a territory that is not to be governed by that constitution that is, not to be a part of the American confederacy. The purchase ot a foreign station is out of the question? Shall we then pro¬ ceed by conquest? Shall we send our navy to take possession of an island in the western seas? Foreign conquests, for any purpose, are hostile to the principles of our national policy. 1 one can be authorized, so can another, and we may go on till we have a chain of remote settlements. By what laws would thev be governed? Not by the American constitution; not by the laws that extend their empire from the Floridas to the bor¬ ders of the Canadas. A local government must be organized, and principles, foreign to our constitution, admitted, dhe expense of acquiring such a territory, and the expense of retaining it, inde¬ pendent of the disbursements for transporting criminals, are en¬ titled to some consideration, if all other objections could be removed. But when we take into view the great expenditures that would continually be demanded to send out convicts, an to keep them within the limits of their exile, we see new impediments. We must have military establishments, a guard, a foreign garrison, to watch over the rising destinies of our hopeful settlement. A few voyages round Cape Horn, to carry forth the tenants of our prisons on their conviction, and a few annual appropriations to support a few troops to keep them in subordination, and to prevent their speedy return, would shew an expenditure more than suffi¬ cient to erect separate cells, and support in solitude every convict in the United States. The expenses for transporting convicts to Botany Bay, (luring the last twenty years, has cost Gieat Biitam an enormous sum." And by whom would our criminals be trans¬ ported? By the nation, or by the different states? If by the nation, then the nation is to execute state laws, oyer which the national government has no control—laws diflerent in their piow- *ions, in their enactments, in their severity, in their tendency to increase or prevent crimes. As to the states carrying away their own convicts, it would involve too many objections to permit its ’ investigation. They would avoid the indicting, arraigning, and convicting of felons, from the apprehension of heavy pecuniary burdens. Transient felons, fleeing from one state to anothei, would escape. Massachusetts or New-York would not be anxious 155 American Literature and Intelligence. to punish the fugitives from Maryland or Georgia. We have mentioned a settlement somewhere in the Pacific ocean, because we can perceive no where else to which our views can be directed with any thing like propriety. It has been asserted by many, that a settlement at the mouth of the Columbia river, on the Pacific coast, might be established and sustained for our culprits. We take it for granted that no one would seriously think of transport¬ ing convicts to this remote region by land across the western mountains, the extended spine of the Andes, several thousand miles. The disposal of one offender in this manner would cost, more than the support of ten convicts in the State Prison, provided their periods of punishment were the same. If the journey by land is renounced, then the doubling of Cape Horn, and all the unavoid¬ able expenditures of transportation, and of maintaining a small military force before pointed out, occur to the mind. But another consideration arises on this subject. Suppose we sentence our criminals to a residence at the mouth of Columbia river, what would be the moral consequences? Is the banishment to be perpetual or temporary ? If perpetual, then we confound all the graduations of a penal code to the magnitude and depravity of the offence. We must either adopt this kind of punishment in a very limited degree, or make great and small crimes of equal criminality. If the term of residence beyond the mountains should be limited to five, ten, or fifteen years, we have no idea that hardy and resolute offenders would change in character and morals by the execution of the law upon them. We might ex¬ pect to see them return to the society which they left, with new enterprise and new hardihood. What is the object of punish¬ ment at all? The prevention of crimes by the example, and reformation of the convict—by the spectacle which is presented to others. Would transportation to the mouth of Columbia river have this effect ? What hardened outlaw would dread the novel and variegated scenes of a new country, where the eye is regaled with perpetual objects of wonder and delight? What felon from the prisons of England, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, or Spain, would find the bitterness of repentance in such a punishment ? Who of our daring and active countrymen would find their spirits broken down, and their moral depravity eradicated, by such a destiny? They would consider it as an alluring excursion, and scarcely count the number of suns that should rise and set before their return. How far a collection of felons at this place might hereafter annoy our frontier settlements, as they stretch along the receding shades of the wilderness, beyond the Mississippi; how far they might break away from the location assigned them by law, and mingle with hostile tribes of savages, and hereafter dif¬ fuse depredations along the chain of our frontier settlements, it is not necessary to inquire. The whole plan of transporting criminals from the different states appears to the Committee to be visionary 156 American Literature and Intelligence. and romantic. It has been noticed with some attention because it is always wise to suppress wild and fanciful theories in their primeval state, before ardent and misguided votaries adopt and defend them, in the place of systems that merit vindication. The United States can never resort to the transportation of convicts to any distant spot beyond the jurisdiction of municipal authorities, while the present form of government remains, and the people cherish their existing moral and civil institutions. England transports convicts to Botany Bay. Her limited empire, her crowded population, her multitude of capital offences, her diversity of crime from her complex relations of society, may render this choice of evils necessary. Yet, if we may believe the declaration of English statesmen on the door of Parliament, the terror of this punishment is little felt. Lord Sidmouth averred in the House of Peers some few years ago, that ‘ it was notorious, that the dread of transportation had almost subsided, and perhaps had been suc¬ ceeded by a desire to emigrate to New South Wales.’ In a late debate in the British Parliament, Mr. Bennet declared, ‘ that he should be guilty of insincerity if he were to contend that transpor¬ tation were any punishment at all.’ The expenditures for this kind of punishment have also been enormous. During twenty years past it has not cost the British government much short of 20,000,000 dollars* to send her criminals to port Jackson. This evidence should, at least, warn the American people to be cautious in advocating a remedy for crimes that has been found ineffectual in a neighbouring empire, after full trial.f “ We are sorry to find any advocates in this country for those corporal punishments that seem alone congenial to the temper of despotic or barbarous ages. We cannot withhold our expression of regret, that one of the most rising and flourishing members of the confederacy, where free and enlightened principles are cherished with tenacity, should have recently displayed, through some of her most distinguished legislators, a disposition to adopt penal law's long since denounced in the United States as disgraceful and inhuman, and as ineffectual to prevent crimes. Previous to that revolution which gave birth to our present system of government, corporal punishments were common. They even prevailed to a great extent after the colonial law’s ceased to exist. Cropping the ears, branding the forehead, burning the hand, the public inflic¬ tion of stripes, and scourging and exposure in the pillory, were frequent. They were rejected for milder modes of punishment, as criminal jurisprudence attracted the attention of our legislatures. Confinement to hard labour in our Penitentiaries was substituted ; and now, before the virtues and efficacy of this substitute have * £ 4 , 500 , 000 . f Mr. Roscoe, in speaking of transportation, quotes the following words from Cicero: Exilium non supplicium est, sed perfugium pro- tusque supplied. Cic. pro Coecin. 157 American Literature and Intelligence. been ascertained by a full and fair test, there is a doctrine in the land, that it is politic to return to the penal statutes that were recently repealed as savage aud obnoxious. And why take this retrograde step ? Can it be proved, to the satisfaction of the Ame¬ rican public, that while corporal punishments were in existence, crimes were less frequent than they are now ? Even could this question be answered in the affirmative, it would not be satisfactory, since one species of crimen falsi is peculiar to the present period of our history, from the extensive creation of banking institutions, since the penal laws spoken of were abolished. The counterfeit¬ ing of bank-notes was not known, because no banks existed. But were larcenies less frequent? Were burglaries,arson,and murder, less frequent? We contend that they were not. But what is the just and proper inquiry to be put here ? It is simply this : ould corporal punishments go farther to prevent crimes, than solitary confinement to hard labour in our Penitentiaries? For this is the punishment we hope yet to see universally adopted. On this point, the Committee have no doubt; and they believe, that should this desired improvement take place, and be amply tried, not only corporal punishment, but all other substitutions for the Penitentiary System would be relinquished, through universal conviction. Several objections occur to cropping the ears, slitting the nose, branding the forehead, public whipping, and similar modes of treating felons. First, no facts prove that such punishments are more effectual in preventing offences than our present Peniten¬ tiary System, defective as it is. In the second place, they render men desperate, insensible to shame, and dead to any appeals, either legal or moral. What has any person to look or hope for in this world, when his features are so deformed as to attract the scorn of the public; or what has the culprit to anticipate, who has received the stripes of a constable amid a crowd of spectators, who will retail and communicate his disgrace to the second and third generation? Thirdly, they not only render offenders despe¬ rate, but they release them immediately, and enable them to exhibit this desperation in the perpetration of new crimes. There is at least one advantage in our Penitentiaries; while villains are shut up, society are relieved from their depredations and outrages. Not so, if the space of fifteen minutes finishes their punishment. Fourthly, the frequent infliction of cruel punishments inures the public mind to barbarities, and destroys the advantages intended to be reaped from the terror of example. People can become habituated to spectacles of horror, and feel no pangs at beholding them. We can scarcely conceive of a more shocking sight than the flocking of boys to a whipping-post, to enjoy, in revelry and mirth, the tortures of fellow beings. All solemuitv, all the benefits of example, are lost when offenders are constantly doomed to suffer in ignominy, as a mark for the gazing rabble to shout at. Nor is it conceived that the American people would tolerate the idea of 158 American Literature and Intelligence. disfiguring the persons of our citizens, with hacking, branding, and scourging. But we are told that all arguments drawn from the cruelty of this kind of punishment should be abandoned, since solitary confinement is still more cruel. This is a specious doc¬ trine—not a sound one. Between physical and moral suffering there is a wide difference. The first denotes the propensities and passions of a savage state of man. In Morocco small offences or misdemeanors are punished by the bastinado, or beating the backs and legs with leather thongs, something like the cat-o -nine-tails formerly used at the whipping-posts in this country; and larceny, by cutting off a leg or hand, or other bodily disfiguration. T here is also a method of tossing up criminals, so that they may fall on the head, and fracture its bones. Montesquieu remarks, when speaking of the Japanese, that cruel and horrid punishments harden the public mind, and tend to render penal laws ineffectual. Of all laws, we may say that those of Japan are the most severe, and yet the most impotent. The administration of laws distinguished for their severity has no tendency to render persons more honest or more serviceable to the public who have incurred its vengeance. It rather tends to create hardihood, the absence of shame, and the loss of self-regard. Solitary confinement may be called a cruel punishment, although it is not entitled to that appellation, however severe its operation may be. But admit its cruelty—to what does it lead? To reflection, to repentance, to the amendment of the criminal. His features and his limbs remain as God has made them. If he forsakes the ways and devices of the wicked, no external deformity remains, a perpetual mark of public ignominy, when crime is expiated and guilt done away. We trust and hope, that the day is far distant, when the free states of the Union will retrace their steps to a system of laws that would be at war with civilization, humanity, the principles of our institu¬ tions, and hostile to the lessons inculcated by the experience of other times. . e “ Singular as it may appear to the enlightened and reflecting of other nations, there is a disposition sometimes indicated in this country, to adopt capital punishments to a wide extent. Because the Penitentiary System has been grossly perverted, and its prin¬ ciples lost sight of, by those who have been entrusted with its ad¬ ministration; because an experiment has failed before it has been adequately tried; in order to preserve our property and protect our persons, there are occasional bursts of popular feeling and dis¬ content, that denote symptoms of cruelty and error, inconsistent with the political institutions of the nation, and the reason on which they rest. Without any inquiry why the Penitentiary System has disappointed the hopes of the States; without any reflection on the practicability or impracticability of improving and perfecting it; capital punishments are urged as the only means of preventing crimes. Suppose we adopt this remedy, and execute criminals for 159 American Literature and Intelligence. all the felonies, that are now punished by hard labour in the differ¬ ent State Prisons; what would be the effect? The Committee consider that two consequences would arise: first, the laws would not be executed; secondly, if they were rigidly enforced, executions would lose their terror by becoming common. It was a deep- rooted abhorrence to cruel punishment, that first diminished the number of capital felonies in the United States; and it is to be hoped, that the influence of early education, and the diffusion and inculcation of Christianity for the last few years, have not had an influence to render us less humane or less careful in establishing sanguinary laws. Let us amend our Criminal Codes in the differ¬ ent states to-morrow, and render counterfeiting, passing counter¬ feit bank-notes, burglary; breaches of the public trust, grand larceny; conspiracies, and swindling, or obtaining goods, chattels, and money, under false pretences, capital felonies:—what would be the effect ? More than two-thirds of these crimes would probably go unpunished, and therefore be committed with fresh impunity; for how many would not shrink from being informers, if convinced that by their testimony alone, the life of a human being, perhaps the parent of a large number of children, was to be taken ? What would be the reasoning of a large portion of American citizens in such a case? Would they not say to themselves, It is aggravating to have our rights infringed upon, but better to endure this than be the instruments of sending a fellow mortal out of the world? Such feelings might be derided, as the offspring of weakness and folly; but they do exist, and will exist, until our sentiments, as a nation, undergo a very radical change. Grand Juries would be backward in presenting indictments, when death was to be the probable consequence. They would find it more consonant to their feelings to dismiss complaints than to find a bill upon them. There would also be a difficulty in procuring juries to convict criminals under cruel laws. Twelve men would have many agonizing sensa¬ tions in condemning a culprit to death, for stealing property to the amount of fifty or one hundred dollars, or passing a counterfeit bank-note of five or ten dollars. Every opportunity would be em¬ braced to find the offender not guilty. Any doubt in the testi¬ mony, affording an excuse, would produce an acquittal. Laws, to be effectual, must be certain; and therefore it will be no answer to say, that if these minor depredations did escape, more enormous ones would not. If men would seldom inform, and juries shrink from convicting, on the smallest doubt, and the most slender ex¬ cuse or subterfuge, what would be the consequence? Crimes would rapidly increase, because a vast proportion of them would go unpunished. Again: if the execution of criminals became an ordinary spectacle, the dread and terror of this species of punishment would be banished, and its restraints be destroyed. Mankind can be rendered familiar with horrid spectacles, by habit. The savage of our western wilderness beholds the agonies of the prisoner at the jgO American Literature and Intelligence. stake, with composure. The wife of the Hindoo ascends the funeral pile of her husband with a firm step. The monsters of the Inquisi¬ tion feel no pangs at the tortures of their victims ; and an execution, in Japan creates no more sensation than the morning clouds that obscure the sun. The Romans beheld the blood of their g ^.ators, without the movement of a nerve or a muscle; and in Great-Britain, at this day, the execution of half a score of felons calls forth no expression of horror from the populace. In time, we should betray the same indifference. The frequent repetition of similar scenes would habituate our eyes to the suspension of men, women, and children, from the gallows. There is a habit of thought, as well as a habit of action; and when, by continual occurrence in the mind, any kind of punishment becomes naturalized to our tone of feeling —abhorrence is overcome. But what do we do, in advocating capital punishments, in some ten or fifteen kinds of felony in the United States? We do violence to the moral feelings of the people of this country, which involuntarily repel all sanguinary laws. V\ e o-o further. We disregard the solemn lessons of an experience that is drawn from the history of successive ages; for, we would ask in what period of national history have capital punishments suppressed the crimes which they were designed to prevent. re we not compelled to believe that they have rather promoted than diminished, the evils they were intended to destroy . Take le Roman empire under the Caesars, during the mild reigns most humane and virtuous emperors, who relaxed the rigour of the D enal laws; crimes were less frequent than under those of her most furious despots, who promulgated bloody edicts in every direction. Alfred came to the English throne amid confusion, war, and licen¬ tiousness. He abolished all capital punishments, excepting in three kinds of felony—treason, murder, and arson. Instead of increasing, public offences rapidly diminished, and the security of persons and property, during the peaceful and beneficent reign of this virtuous prince, has been a distinguished era in the annals of the British em¬ pire. The reigns of Henry 7th, Henry 8th, and of Queen Elizabeth, of England, are remarkable for the number of felonies which weie rendered capital, and yet they are noted for the number of criminal offences perpetrated during their existence. Lord Bacon considered the penal laws the most odious feature of the government of Henry 7th During the reign of Henry 8th, there were 72,000 executions for robberies; and while Elizabeth was on the throne, they were peculiarly numerous. The contrast that modern history has ex li¬ fted, between the operation of penal laws in Tuscany and the Papal dominions, is striking and pertinent. When the late Grand Duke of Tuscany ascended the throne, his dominions were overrun by robbers and assassins. Robberies and murders were common, and the wheel, the rack, and the gallows, were seen in all quarters. On reading the celebrated work of the Marquis Beccaria, he entirely abolished capital punishments. An army of executioners, with 161 American Literature and Intelligence. their instruments of death, were dismissed, and milder laws ren¬ dered Tuscany one of the best ordered states in Europe, and no where were life and property more safe. Punishments were propor¬ tioned to the offence, and executed with strictness and certainty. In the Papal dominions, separated from Tuscany by a small dike, the severity of punishment was kept up, and crimes continued. Robbery and homicide still continued to be committed. He who robbed was executed. He who robbed and murdered, suffered no more. The consequence was, that he who was robbed was also mur¬ dered. Sir Wm. Blackstone, after speaking against the too frequent infliction of capital punishments, asks if they have been found more salutary than those of a milder character. “ Was the vast territory of Russia,” says he, “ worse regulated under the late Empress Elizabeth, than under her more sanguinary predecessors ? Is it now, under Catharine II. less civilized, less social, less secure? And yet we are assured, that neither of these illustrious Princesses have, throughout their whole administration, inflicted the penalty of death. And the latter has, upon full persuasion of its being useless, nay, even pernicious, given orders for abolishing it entirely, throughout her extensive dominions.” Were atrocious crimes more frequent in France under the reign of Napoleon, than under the government of any one of the Bourbons, for half a century before him? We know they were not. And yet he greatly moderated the Penal Code, and assumed the sceptre of power, after the revolution had poured its overwhelming torrents of licentiousness over the kingdom. “ But why thus range the globe for illustrations ? There is a nation in the fulness of life and glory, to whom we can refer. England is before our eyes. The present state of her penal laws is worth the volumes of centuries. We know of no nation in ex¬ istence, which has so many capital felonies as Great-Britain, and we know of none where capital punishments are so numerous, and penal laws moTe ineffectual to compass their ends. If the infliction of death is so well calculated to deter men from committing offences, why do they wholly fail to effect this result in England? Criminals are constantly executed for forgery, and still forgery goes on. Fe¬ lons are continually executed for stealing, and still thefts increase.* They are committed under the very gibbets where thieves are hung. What is this but experience putting down theory. A man is exe¬ cuted for picking a pocket, and, during the execution, threescore pockets are rifled, and the suffering of one criminal leads to the * Executions in England for mere thefts are of very rare occurrence, nor are they indeed now frequent even in burglaries or highway rob¬ beries, for which the offender is necessarily sentenced, in all cases, to the punishment of death, in obedience to the strict letter of the law, though it is actually inflicted but where great outrage has attended the perpetration of the crime, or the previous character of the perpetrator has been desperately bad.— Edit. VOL. VI. — NO. 11. M 162 American Literature and Intelligence. liability of twenty or an hundred more. The British Parliament have enacted that the passing of a one pound bank note! sha e punished with death. What has been the effect of this statute in suppressing that crime ? In 1814, there were 10,34o convic ions under this act; in 1815, 14,000; in 1816, 21,000 and upwards; and in 1817, 28,000 and upwards.} Is this preventing felony by the taking away of life? Mr. Buxton, in his late speech m the House of Commons, states expressly, that in the face of moie than 200 capital punishments, crimes that fall under them, continue to multiply. The Criminal Code in France is less severe than that of England, and yet, with more than double the population of Creat- Britain, the number of her criminals is less. But there is another great evil in the accumulation of capital offences in England one that we have mentioned in our arguments—the laws are not exe¬ cuted. The injured will not complain, witnesses will not appear, Grand juries will not find indictments,$ petit juries will not convict, and if they do convict, the sentence is often rendered inoperative. The same evil has existed for generations. “ So dreadful a list, said Sir William Blackstone, when speaking of the penal statutes inflicting death in England, “instead of diminishing, increases the number of offenders. The injured, through compassion, will for¬ bear to prosecute; juries, through compassion, will sometimes forget their oaths, and either acquit the guilty or mitigate the offence; and judges, through compassion, will respite one half of the convicts, and recommend them to the royal mercy.” The investigations ot the House of Commons, the witnesses examined at the bar of that body, the speeches of eminent men in both houses of Pailiament, go far in settling this grand fact. Sir Samuel Romilly, in a speech before the British Legislature on the 25th March, 1818, stated, that “he would take the present opportunity of mentioning the state of the law, as derived from the returns on the table, with re¬ spect to the act making it capital to steal within a dwelling house to the amount of forty shillings. Within eight years, down to 1816, no less than 1097 persons had been tried for this offence. Of these, 293 only had been capitally convicted, and not one had been executed. In 1816, 131 more persons had been tried, of whom 49 had been capitally convicted, and one (whose case was accompanied with •f Forged, and knowing it to be so.—E dit. } This statement must be taken with some limitation, as, in a very great proportion of cases, the lives of the offenders were saved by their pleading guilty to the minor charge of having forged notes in their possession, with intent to utter them, a crime punishable by statute with transportation for 14 years.—E dit. ^ This at least is not the case, our grand juries being composed of a class of men who inflexibly discharge their duty, painful as it may be. Edit. 163 American Literature and Intelligence. great aggravations) executed. So that of 1228 individuals tried, 342 only had been capitally convicted, (the juries either acquitting the 886, or finding them guilty of stealing to a less amount,) and only one person executed.” In 1732, there was a statute passed in England, rendering frauds, in cases of bankruptcy, capital crimes. Since that period, it is ascertained that there have been 40,000 bankruptcies; and yet Basil Montagu, Esq. stated, in a late exami¬ nation before a committee of the House of Commons, that there had been but nine or ten prosecutions during 87 years, and but three executions, although the frauds within the statute were common and proverbial.* “ Hence we see, that when sanguinary laws are executed they fail to prevent crimes, and that when they are peculiarly severe they remain a dead letter, and thus directly promote instead of suppressing crimes—entailing on the community a complication of immoralities. The dangerous tendency of frequent capital punish¬ ments, and their total failure to control and restrain the vicious propensities of mankind, have long been perceived and enforced by men who have shone among the first luminaries that ever diffused light and truth through the world. More than three hundred years ago, that learned and excellent man, Sir Thomas More, assailed the enormity of the Penal Code of Great Britain. His writings on criminal law have not yet lost their impression on the feelings of civilized man. About two hundred years ago, Sir Edward Coke, that venerable giant of jurisprudence, on whom w-e yet cast back our eyes with reverence and admiration, entered his * Mr. Buxton, in a late speech on the Criminal Code of England, adduces the following extract from a speech of Queen Elizabeth to her Parliament:—“A law without execution, is but a body without life, a cause without an effect, a countenance of a tiling, and indeed nothing. Pen, ink, and paper, are as much towards the governance of the commonwealth, as the rudder or helm of a ship serveth to the governance of it without a governor, and as rods for correction with¬ out hands. Were it not mere madness for a man to provide fair torches to guide his going by night, and when he should use them in thi dark, to carry them unlit? Or for one to provide fair and hand¬ some tools, to prune or reform his orchard or garden, and to lay them up without use? And what thing else is it to make wholesome and provident laws in fair books, and to lay them up safe, without seeing them executed ? Surely, in reason, there is no difference between the examples, saving that the making of laws without execution is in much w'orse case, than those vain provisions before remembered; for there, albeit, they do no good, yet they do no hurt; but the making of laws without execution does very much harm ; for that breeds and brings forth contempt of laws and lawmakers, and of all magistrates: which is the very foundation of all governance, and therefore must needs be great and heinous in those that are the causers of this. In¬ deed, they are the very occasions of all injuries and injustice, and of all disorders and unquietness in the commonwealth.” 104 American Literature and Intelligence. solemn caveat against the taking of human life by laws li ( of his own country. • What a lamentabecase.tssaahe, ^ Um so many Christian men and women should be ,“ g ' d cursed tree of the gallows; insomuch as "““J might see together a1 '^ .^SeW ‘nd ignominious’ death, if out England, come to that untim . y h 11 ma i, e his £5; e bieXfthph;SMf remarked to Queen Elizabeth; • So it is ?*“***&?£ people are so ensnared in a multrtude 4 execution of them cannot be borne chillineworth fn 1640; and consisting of the Earl of Chatham, Mr. Pelham, then pnme minister Mr Grenville, Mr. Littleton and Mr. Charles Townsend successively secretaries if state; Sir C. Lloyd, then a distinguished member oflhe English bar; and Sir Dudley Ryder, then attorney ” “ al and afterwards the chief justice ot England. These f real ornaments of the British empire recommended tlj e ** cl ’ a "R of death for other adequate punishments, and introduced a bi that was passed in the House ot Commons and defeated tn «m House of Peers. Twenty years afterwards, m 1-70, mittee consisting of Charles James tox, S c * Sergeant Glynn, and Sir C. Bunbury, was appointed, who also reported a g^eat reduction of capital punishments, and introduced a bill that passed the House of Co ™ m ° n *’ and Mac- House of Lords. * Neither was the bill opposed, said Mr. 1 lac intosh in one of his eloquent'speeches inParliament, by any of the ereat ornaments of the House of Lords of that day, Lord Cmnden tv Lord Mansfield; it was thrown out on the opposition of others whom I will not name, and whose names will be little known to posterity.’ Since that day, such men as Mr. Pitt, Lord Erskine, the Marquis of Lansdown, Mr. Canning, Lord Grey, Sir Samuel Romilly? Mr. Roscoe, Lord Lauderdale, Sir James Macintosh, Mr. Whitbread, Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. Buxton, Mr. Colquhoun, and others, whose rank and talents are well known to the American public, have made strenuous efforts to procure the diminution o capital punishments in England. But why we shall be asked, has England retained her Penal Code against the genius and nfluence of such a host? And we will ask, why has she tolerated pau¬ perism by the most careless policy since the days of W llham and Mary, when she was first loudly warned against this evil. W hy * Yidc Epilogue to his fourth Institute* American Literature and Intelligence. 165 did she tolerate the slave trade for years after Fox, Pitt, and Wil- berforce united their exertions for its abolition? Why does she oppress the Catholics of Ireland, and spread the gloom of bondage over the land of fame and genius? Why tolerate the errors of her representative system ? Why do nations ever oppose the voice of reason? Why, in fact, have the empires and kingdoms of the earth slept in chains for ages? Why have rational systems of government and rational laws been shut out for centuries from the pale of civilized communities ? Or, to come nearer home, why is there a disposition in this country to pass over reason and Chris¬ tianity, to the adoption of punishments that would disgrace the pages of American history?* But the day of reform is fast approaching in England, and the awful effects of capital punish¬ ment are spreading a cloud over the face of society. Crimes and outrages increase, and the destruction of human life but augments their atrocity. The last Report in the House of Commons, and the debates in the same body, carry the strongest conviction that the Criminal Code of England cannot last. Mr. Colquhoun, who was the greatest police magistrate that England ever has seen,f and who has written more largely on the subject of police than any other man, uttered these unqualified words to the committee that represented the British nation four years ago; ‘ It has occur¬ red to me, that except in cases of high treason, murder, sodomy, arson, and other offences accompanied with violence to the per¬ son, the punishment of death may be dispensed -with, under circumstances advantageous to criminal justice.’ It any thing further is wanting to illustrate the fact, that the criminal laws of England are at variance with the moral feelings of the British community, we could successfully allude to the late publication of Mr. Roscoe. In this invaluable treatise, talents, philosophy, and research, are blended in a triumphant vindication of the principles of humanity. No man can answer it. The illustrious author condemns the extensive adoption of capital punishments, and recommends the Penitentiary System to the English nation. He thus directs their attention to the United States: ‘Fortunately, however, whilst the civilized world has been groaning under the effects of a barbarous and sanguinary code of laws, mitigated at times by the milder spirit of philosophy, another system has arisen, which from obscure beginnings has gradually attracted more general notice, till at length it has been adopted in practice on an extensive scale, and affords a favourable prospect of ultimate success.’ * Or to continue slavery at home, whilst the farce is kept up of suppressing the slave-trade abroad !—Edit. q This is a point upon which an American is haidly qualified to speak. England has had many police magistrates at least as good, and has many still.—E dit. 166 American Literature and Intelligence. “ And with these lights shining in our eyes—with this deep voice of experience sounding in our ears, shall we cast off our moral feelings, and all the principles of our early education? Shall we renounce the spirit of our constitutions, as well as the counsels of sound policy and humanity, and fill our statute books with bloody laws ? Are we ready to behold the instruments of death and torture in our peaceful villages, where education and moral maxims have gained dominion ? Are we prepared to see the gibbet erected along the borders of our highways, and by the side of the pleasant fields of the husbandman ? Are we willing to have the populace of our towns and cities constantly pouring forth, as to a theatre of sport and revelry, to behold the* last sufferings of capital offenders ? On this point we shall say no more. Against the extension of capital punishments the Committee feel it their duty to remonstrate, in every proper shape and manner—at all times and all appropriate occasions. And they regret that the sentiment, once expressed by Sir Henry Spelman, is forcibly brought to mind at this enlightened period of the world. He once remarked, when speaking of penal laws, that in proportion as governments were rendered better, and civilization had advanced, human life seemed to be rendered of less worth and consequence in the eyes of legislators and lawgivers. “ The anxiety which prevails in the United States on the sub¬ ject of the Penitentiary System, is deeply cherished by the civi¬ lized nations of the other continent. The third Report of the Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline, and for the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders, embracing more than two hun¬ dred pages, combines a mass of the most interesting matter. This association is sustained by the first men in England, whether we consider rank, talents, or w r ealth, and its funds are ample for the grandest purposes. It is carrying reformation through the dominions of the British crown, and collecting information from all quarters of Europe, and diffusing it back again through countless channels. “ Many of the evils displayed in our Penitentiaries have been found in the prisons of England. The want of classification, the want of constant labour, the evils of continual intercourse, the increase of depravity, and the pernicious tendency of granting pardons and respites, are among the prominent defects pointed out. Solitary confinement is daily gaining advocates. The Step¬ ping Mill, for the grinding of corn, by which any number of con¬ victs can be employed without any departure from all necessary restraints, is brought forward by the society with much zeal. * A good prison,’ says the Report, ‘ is a school of moral discipline, where incentives to vicious propensities are removed—where drunkenness and gambling are superseded by abstinence, order, and decorum—where, by personal seclusion and judicious classifi¬ cation, the evils resulting from contamination are prevented— 167 American Literature and Intelligence. where the refractory are subdued by punishment, and the idle compelled to labour until industry shall become a habit. These are the leading features of a salutary system of gaol management; and it seems wisely ordered, that this discipline should form at once the medium of reformation and the instrument of punishment. That a well-regulated system of prison discipline/ continues this document, * represses crime, is proved by the best possible evi¬ dence.’ It further states, ‘ that in a great number of instances, offenders, even the most hardened, who have for a reasonable time been subjected to a well-regulated system of discipline, do abstain from the further violation of the law, and have in a variety of cases been known to abandon their criminal pursuits.’ It then proceeds to illustrate this position, by shewing that while in prisons not under good discipline, the re-committals will vary from fifteen to fifty per cent.; those to prisons under good management will vary from one to seven per cent.* These important facts afford evidence, that should induce the American people to persevere in every rational effort to improve the management of our Penitentiaries. It shews, while capital punishments are without avail in England, that exertions to repress crime in the same country, by the judicious management of criminals, meets with signal success. “ We are fully aware, that great consideration is attached to the Penitentiary System in the United States by the enlightened men in Europe, who are now combining their exertions to produce a radical reform in Penal Jurisprudence. Nor are improvements in the execution of penal laws confined to England. The Report of the Prison Society of Paris shews that much is doing in France to combine punishment with reformation. In Ireland, the labours of the Dublin Association for the improvement of Prisons are working salutary changes. In Switzerland, some useful reforms are taking place. In Russia, an Association for the same purpose has been created: the location is at St. Petersburgh, under the sanction of the Emperor Alexander, who is giving force and authority to its proceedings throughout his wide dominions. In Sweden, and Norway, information of the condition of all the jails is collecting under the patronage of the two governments, that the hand of cor¬ rection may be successfully applied in the treatment of criminals after their sentence to public prisons. Let them not feel their prospects darkened—let not their efforts be weakened by the partial failure of our own system. Not a fact remains on record —not a defect has been revealed in the progress of thirty years, to convince us that it cannot be rendered all that it was ever expected * Preston, 4 percent.—Wakefield, 4 per cent.—Bury, 5 per cent._ Devizes, the general average, about 3 per cent., and for felons only 1 per cent.—Bodwin, 3 percent.—Ipswich, 3 per cent.—Lewes, 6 per cent.—and even at Gloucester, where the prison is particularly crowded, only 7 per cent.— Report, p. 86. 168 American Literature and Intelligence. to be. And the Committee do feel themselves bound to lay down the following broad positions: “First. That the Penitentiary System, as it now exists in the United States, with all its defects, is preferable to the former systems of punishment in this country. “ Secondly. That it is capable of being so improved, as to be¬ come the most judicious and effective system of punishment ever known in ancient or modern times. “ Thirdly. That where it has been properly administered, as it formerly was in Pennsylvania and New-York, it has succeeded and answered the expectations of its early friends. “Fourthly. That solitary confinement, by night and by day,* combined with other regulations suggested in this Report, will remedy all existing evils. “ Fifthly . That it is the duty of the different states of the Union to proceed without delay to its improvement and perfection. “ Lastly , That corporal punishments, and the infliction of death, would not prove congenial to the moral sentiments and feelings of the American people; and that the transportation of convicts is visionary, impracticable, and would not prevent crimes and offen¬ ces, even if it were adopted in our penal statutes. The Committee hope and trust, that enlightened, humane, and public-spirited indivi¬ duals of the different States in the Union, will feel the responsibility that rests upon this country in relation to the system of which we have so fully spoken. “This is no common age in the annals of mankind. More is now doing to ameliorate the condition and to promote the happi¬ ness of the human race than any period of society has accomplished. The errors and vices of preceding centuries are in the way of correction. There is a unity of thought, design, and action among the most powerful empires of the earth, that stands a moral pheno¬ menon in the history of governments. At length the spirit of Howard begins to walk abroad over the face of Europe; at length his voice is heard from the dark abodes of the wretched and forsaken of our species—from the peaceful valleys of Switzerland to the Kremlin of Moscow.+ Penal jurisprudence gathers around it the regards of the jurists and the lawgiver, and commands the illustrations of genius and reflection. Its importance to the wel¬ fare and safety of nations is duly considered, and one improvement is rapidly succeeding another. What do we then owe to ourselves —what do we owe to the world as a nation? Are we to permit caprice and prejudice to govern us on a subject interesting * Against this position we have formerly entered our protest, and simply renew it here. —Edit. t ‘ Instead of boasting of the name of Howard,’ says Mr. Roscoe, £ we ought rather to blush at its recollection, when we reflect that it is upwards of forty years since the publication of his work, and that little improvement has yet been made.’ 169 American Literature and Intelligence. to ourselves and interesting to mankind, or are we to remember that a great experiment in civil policy, blended with the dearest interests of humanity, should not be abandoned, until tested by fidelity and candour? If a mild Criminal Code can be fairly tried any where, it can be tried in this country. Our institutions were established on the will of the people. They were the offspring of enlightened views and independent feelings. Education is more gene¬ rally diffused here than elsewhere on the civilized globe. The civil relations of life are less complex—there is less of poverty and less of oppression. The cry of bread and the approach of general want are never known: popular sentiment is disposed to mildness, and to the adoption of virtuous restraints. If the Penitentiary System should be abandoned in such a country, what would the legislators of Europe hereafter say? What would those who must hereafter raise their voices in our own halls of legislation say? A system founded on benevolent principles was tried for thirty years under circumstances the most propitious: it terminated in failure and disappointment. Why should we again traverse the same ground of experiment to meet with the same calamitous results! The causes of its failure would not descend to an impartial pos¬ terity with the story of its unfortunate termination. A lasting and unqualified condemnation would settle over its untimely grave. Devoutly do we trust that this train of prospective reflections will never exist in sober reality. Is an attempt to improve the criminal laws of nations worthy of a free people? Is an attempt to wipe from the penal codes of empires the shades of barbarism and cruelty by example, worthy of a Christian land ? Are the interests of humanity and the elevation of our species objects worthy of constant solicitude, among a people who have laid the deep foun¬ dations of the most rational and perfect constitution of government that the long career of six hundred centuries has produced? When popular states, in the vigour of virtue and enterprise, forget the glorious march of the human mind that has struck them into existence—when they forget their character in the scale of princi¬ palities and kingdoms, and the hopes of the bond and the free that are embosomed in their fortunes—when such states turn back and pursue the steps that lead to the dark policy of despotic govern¬ ments, the prospects of progressive improvement among mankind are indeed forlorn and discouraging. There are principles and feelings in the American nation, that will produce results more grateful and beneficent. To laws well adapted to their end, and to the certain and undeviating execution of these laws, we look for the direct prevention of crimes and the reform of offenders. These are the premises which we lay down, and attempt to sustain. But we must go further; we must endeavour to narrow down the neces¬ sary application of these laws by the diffusion of elementary education, especially among the poorer classes of children. Deter¬ ring men from committing crimes by the fear of punishment, is one 170 American Literature and Intelligence. thing: creating in the mind a deep abhorrence to what is morally wrong, is another. The generous and liberal endowment of our free-school establishments, more especially in our large towns and cities, is directly connected with a sacred observance of the laws. This will lessen the number of those unfortunate beings who become the subjects of severity; and the more rare we render offences, the more force we give the influence of example, and the more restraint we impart to the sentence of a criminal tribunal. When many suffer, shame is divided, and felons mutually coun¬ tenance each other. When one suffers, he stands in the solitude of disgrace and reproach, and distinction carries poignancy and retribution. “ In submitting this Report to the American people, the Com¬ mittee feel sensible that they have but commenced a work whose completion will require may subsequent exertions. The community is prepared for a great change in the administration of our penal laws; and if we have been successful in directing the views of the public to proper objects of consideration; if our ideas of existing defects in the Penitentiary System, and of the most appropriate remedies to be applied for their eradication, are calculated to awaken candid and anxious inquiry, we feel that manifold benefits may follow our labours. The Committee also feel sensible that no time should be lost in collecting those facts, arranging those tables, preparing those data, that will enable us to institute comparisons, and to draw more perfect deductions. The history of our Penitentiaries is crude and defective. Their management has not been suffi¬ ciently uniform to afford a well-tested series of facts, and to permit general demonstration. The increase of population; the changes in the internal condition of the country; the want of employment in the most populous places; the great facilities for the forgery and circulation of spurious notes, created by the rapid and impolitic increase of banking institutions, disqualify us from establishing those tests of the efficacy or inefficacy of laws that can be found in older countries, where there is stability in all the interior relations of the State. Yet some land-marks may be erected. In case solitary confinement should be resorted to in the United States, to that extent which would meet the views of the Committee, an important change in the Criminal Codes of the different States would become requisite. The term of imprison¬ ment would be necessarily much shorter than it is at present, and be graduated to the moral complexion of different offences, from the highest to the lowest crime. The first question is, How shall we render punishments effectual ? The next is, To what extent shall they be applied? When the entire seclusion of convicts is fully tried, the term of confinement, as we have previously remarked, can be settled. “ Since the foregoing pages were written, the Honourable Samuel M. Hopkins, of the New-York Senate, has made a most American Literature and Intelligence . 171 inteiesting report to that body on the Penitentiary System of our own state. It embraces many of the views which we have ad¬ vanced, and recommends the solitary confinement of convicts in strong and emphatic language. Mr. Hopkins deserves the thanks ot the public for his lucid and convincing exposition. In this country and in Europe it will be examined with interest. It states the overwhelming fact, that since the commencement of our sys¬ tem xn this state no less than 2819 convicts have been discharged out of the state prison, by pardons, and the whole number of con¬ victions has been 5069. Of the whole number of felons, con¬ siderably less than one half are natives of this state, and nearly one-third are from foreign countries. The rest of course are from various parts of the Union. “The national government has no superintendence over the Penitentiary System: its improvement devolves on the different States. The Committee will therefore send this Report into the various sections of the Union; and they hope that it will elicit, in return, the strictures and suggestions of men who are capable’ of casting light on the grand inquiry which it embraces. “The Committee return their sincere thanks to those gentlemen who have forwarded them answers to their circulars. Their letters are contained in the appendix, and will be read with the liveliest interest. In rendering this tribute of gratitude, they feel regret that a great majority of their circulars were neither answered nor noticed. In conclusion, it becomes necessary to remark, that the foregoing is but a Report in part. It will be followed by a second Report, as soon as circumstances may render it expedient. “ Charles G. Haines, Chairman of the Committee:' (Note by the Chairman of the Committee.) “The following named gentlemen compose the Committee from which this Report emanates:—The Hon. Cadwallader D. Colden, Thomas Eddy, Esq. Hon. Peter A. Jay, Rev. James Milner, Rev.’ Cave Jones, Isaac Collins, Richard R. Ward, and Charles G. Haines, Esquires. Mr. Colden was Chairman of the Committee," and on him devolved the duty of drawing up the Report on the Penitentiary System. On his election to Congress, he found him¬ self unable to attend to the subject, from the pressure of public and professional business, and Mr. Haines was selected to supply his place.” r J A pri\ate letter, fiom one of our highly esteemed correspond¬ ents at New-York, gives us the following account of the stations occupied by the principal members of this valuable Committee ; namely, Mr. Colden, late mayor of New-York, and now Member in Congress for the first district—Mr. Jay, late recorder of the city—Dr. Milner, Foreign Secretary to the American Bible Society and Rector of St. George’s, New-York—Thomas Eddy, a most 172 Poetry. respectable member of the Society of Friends and Colonel G. Haines, late secretary to the Governor. W e hope upon some future occasion to present our readers with some extracts from the voluminous appendix by which this report is accompanied. POETRY. LINES WRITTEN ON THE SEA OF ICE. I sat me down upon a mossy stone, And gaz’d upon the Alpine scenes around. Beneath the Icy sea, expanded lay In mighty masses and tremendous heaps, The dreadful work of many a winter’s storm. Fancy could picture, in its varied shapes, A thousand forms and images sublime. Now ’twas an ocean into tempest wrought, Rolling with hideous sounds and madd’ning rage, To spend its fury on the neighbouring vales ; But in a moment, stayed by His behest Who only speaks, and all he wills is done— Stayed in its headlong course—and instant chained In icy fetters and eternal frost, With mighty waves, and fearful gulfs between; And all the wildness of the hideous srjene ! And now it seem’d some city’s mighty waste, And frightful ruin, scatter’d o’er the vale, Hurl’d from the summits of the neighbouring hdls. Here might be traced, in Fancy’s eye, the form Of many a lofty tower, and stately dome— Here fretted masses, like cathedral aisles— There pointed summits, bending to their fall— Embattled turrets—steeples, pinnacles, And lovely fragments, wrought with wondrous skill, Beyond the genius or the power of man. On either hand the rugged mountains rose In frightful heaps, to meet the ethereal sky, And drink the influence of the noon-tide sun, Regardless of the snows that lie beneath; Or envious clouds that o’er their bosom crept; The roar of cataracts, and the thund’ring fall Of avalanches rushing to the vales, To feed the billows of the Icy sea— The only music of the awful scene. Poetry. 173 Save now and then, at distant intervals, The lively note of solitary bird, That, more advent’rous than its kindred tribe, Leaves far beneath the haunts of busy men, And sits and sings amid these scenes sublime, To cheer the traveller on his lonely way. THE HEBREW MOURNER. BY THE LATE REV. J. W. EASTBURN, OF NEW-YORK. Why trembling and sad dost thou stand there and mourn, Son"of Israel, the days that can never return ? And why do those tear-drops of misery fall On the mouldering ruin, the perishing wall ? Was yon city in robes of the heathen now clad, Once "the flourishing Zion, where Judah was glad, And those walls, that disjointed and scattered now lie, Were they once vowed to heaven, and hallowed on high? Yet why dost thou mourn? O to gladness awaken, Tho’ Jehovah this City of God has forsaken, He preserves for his people a city more fair, Which a ruthless invader no longer shall share. No longer the tear for yon City shall flow, No longer thy bosom the sad sigh bestow; But night shall be followed by glorious day, And sorrow and sighing shall vanish away. The Prince whom ye pierc’d, and nail’d to the tree, There reigns in ineffable glory for thee. There Jesus, who died for your sins on earth, lives ; Haste, haste to his bosom—he sees, and forgives. To THOMAS CAMPBELL, Esq. Suggested by reading the “ Pleasures of Hope.” Campbell! sweet bard, would’st thou erect a fane, That death might shake, and time corrode, in vain; That envy’s shafts might pass as gently by, As zephyrs trembling through a summer’s sky— Build thou on rock—nor seek to raise, sublime, 174 Poetry. A hope that withers in the grasp of time; A hope that only blooms when far away, Gilded with beams without reality; Where scowling clouds in ceaseless tempests sweep, Life’s dreary round, on sorrows troubled deep. Say not how angry waves the lover bore, A lifeless carcase, to his natal shore; Or mother’s eye, how beam’d with joy to see The dark oblivion of futurity; Nor call the murderous hand of vengeance down, To light the torch of hero’s fair renown; Bid Brama’s sons in expectation live, That ling’ring Brama will their cause retrieve; And veil the light of truth where’er it shone, In heathen lands, “ where damned deeds were done.” Nor wailing say, how moon, and stars, and shade, Exist to bless with hope the lingering maid; Nor vengeance ask for Poland’s hapless wrong— Nor melt in tender strains the dulcet song, v Nor with beguiling hope enlivening notes prolong. ) But, if thy heavenward eye a hope would bring. That trampled death in dust, and spoil’d his sting; Tell now, when Eden’s king his glory lost, And the wide bound of pure obedience crost, A hope from heaven was given that ne’er shall fade; “ The Woman’s seed shall bruise the Serpent’s head.” What, though revolving ages still were found Wrapt in the fold of time’s mysterious round; From heaven’s high altar, (whose continuous blaze Suffus’d the universe with glorious rays,) A living coal illum’d the darksome way, And taught obedient Fancy where to stray; On Sinai’s lifted brow the Prophet stood. And saw, with tears of joy, “ the garment roll’d in blood While rising hope around the embryo world Girt her fair zone, to hell despair was hurl’d. Tell how the Eastern sages saw from far The beaming glory of the Bethlehem star; How angel tongues the rapt’rous song began, “ Glory to God!—on earth, good will to man!” And how adoring shepherds join’d the strain, And render’d back to heaven the praise again: Nor e’er forget that blest, but dreadful day, That saw the rending tombs again give way; That heard the dread, the last expiring groan, Shake earth’s firm centre, and the eternal throne; 175 Poetry. And pray’d in all the agony of woe, “ Father, forgive;—they know not what they do.” Tell the exulting hope that oft inspir’d The apostles breast, and with new ardour fir'd ; Tell how the world shall own the gentle sway, Of Him who bids “ the winds and waves obey Lift up the standard hope, by grace unfurl'd, Till righteousness shall deluge all the world; And bear salvation to the vilest men; The widows’ funeral pyre, the murderers’ den. Then trace the Christian to his dying bed, And there ambrosial sweets unnumber’d shed; Raise his bright gleaming, but expiring eye, To catch the blood that stream’d on Calvary; Fill his fond heart with every blest desire, And burn the dross of sin with heav’n’s eternal fire ; Pour through his waiting soul the floods of joy, And let this theme his raptur’d tongue employ:_ * Why do thy chariot’s rumbling wheels delay * Rs burning axles—trace the aether way? Come, oh ye angel throng with glory crown’d, W ho bow adoring his high throne around; £ Come, Cherub!—Seraphim!—thou heavenly fire, Exulting, strike with me the golden wire, ‘ And bear me to the realms of bliss above, ‘ Crown’d with immortal glory, and a Saviour’s love!’ So shall thy brightening fame coeval run Down time’s dark channel to th’ expiring sun; While polish’d verse, and rounded periods shine, To charm the soul with majesty divine; Genius shall strew with flowers thy lengthening way, And round thy path Hesperian breezes play; Till smiling critics, with relenting hand, Quench in Parnassian streams their burning brand. Histoii. R. Matthews. SPRING. From the Boston Recorder. Smile, Nature, smile: the tearful eye Of widowhood, thou need’st not wear; Winter, thy sturdy foe, ’s gone by, Fresh bound thy streams—soft glows thine air. Poetry. Weep’st thou to lift thy youthful brow, And smile, while aches this bleeding heart Oh! I have lov’d, and love thee now, Chang’d Nature as to me thou art. Yes, thou may st smile, and not for me, Enshroud thy virgin charms in gloom; And veil thy face in sympathy, With shade, and sadness of the tomb. There was—and low that form is laid, And still that bosom’s conscious glow— And deep the sleep—and dense the shade— And hush’d the life-blood’s vital flow. He lov’d thee too, and he is gone, From this fond heart is early riv’n ; And now thou seest me all alone, To weep—and trace my way to heav’n: Abroad upon thy modest face, Meek Nature, earliest love of mine, I fix my sad and silent gaze, And mourn that alter’d look of thine. For not in all thy desarts wide— In blooming vale—on mountain grey— Or stormy ocean’s troubled tide, In earth, or air, or sky, or sea, 4 Meets me the friend I lov’d so well, And ne’er shall meet on mortal shore; And long this bosom’s anguish’d swell, Shall speak—that we shall meet no more. Yet there’s a land, which ne’er was trod By mortal foot, and there is he; Nature, there dwells thy Maker God, And there, the friend these eyes shall see. And soon life’s journey measur’d o’er, And death’s dividing torrent past, My soul shall reach that holy shore, That quiet peaceful home at last; There death shall ne’er our spirits sever, But we shall meet—nor part for ever. 177 PHILOSOPHICAL AND LITERARY INTELLIGENCE. Xau> aVP<» iu the summer of last year, J t ,? te f d the . m | tbod °f boring through the earth to the main spring at his taim in Broad-lane, Page Green, Tottenham, when he obtained copious and constant supply of water from a depth of 120 feet V7n eS 8 teet abo ' T e the surface, and flowing over, forms an ele¬ gant little cascade. It has neither increased nor diminished since w . as ., ta PP ed - jibing succeeded on his own premises, he t ought a similar experiment might be tried with equal success on the waste ground on the west side of the high road, opposite thegate- way leading to the workhouse, and which would be of most essen¬ tial benefit, not only to the inhabitants residing in that part of the parish, but to the public at large. This suggestion being made to the vestry, it was acceded to on behalf of the parish, and the work commenced. It was completed under the direction of Mr. Mathew by John Goode. The ground was bored to the depth of 105 feet, when a line spring of water issued forth, which rises six feet above the sur¬ face of the ground, through a tube within a cast-iron pedestal, and flowing over the lip or edge of a vase, form;, a bell-shaped continual sheet of water enclosing the vase, as in a glass-case; it is collected and again conducted downward through the pedestal to the place of its discharge, out of the moutli of a dolphin, about eighteen inches from the ground, for the convenience of placing a pail or pitcher under. Jhe quantity of water throw n up and discharged is at the rate of fourteen gallons a minute. This method has several advantages over the old metnod of sinking wells. It is cheaper—safer—and procures the purest water. We are credibly informed that the instruments tor boring, &c. have been just sent out by Government to Van Die¬ men s-land. Needle Pointing.— An honourable mark of approbation has been , tbe S ° c,ety of Arts > Manufactures, and Commerce to ”u : -^ brabaQ b of Sheffield, for the ingenious and humane invention which he has lately introduced for preserving the lives of those who are engaged in the injurious occupations of needle-pointino- and gunding upon the dry stone. It is a fact, perhaps not generally known that needle-pointers, and all who are employed iu grinding ”P° n i 7 st01 . ie ’ are Sldj j ect to a serious complaint which has hitherto baffled the skill of the medical profession. Surrounded by an atmo¬ sphere impregnated with an almost impalpable steel and grit dust they are constantly inhaling it into their lungs, which gives rise to a icitciL asthma, that generally terminates the sufferer’s career at the early period of from 25 to 35 years of age. It has been stated by the medical gentlemen at Redditcli, where the principal manufactory of needles in the kingdom is carried on, that, during his practice of 30 years, he has scarcely known a solitary instance of one needle- pointer having arrived at the age of forty—16 or 18 years generally producmg a new race. It was from an assiduous attention which Mr. Abraham had paid to the properties of magnetic power, that he was first induced to believe that he could construct an apparatus which would obviate the danger attendant upon needle-pointing. The ap- 180 Philosophical and Literary Intelligence. paratus is extremely cheap and simple in its construction. A screen of canvass divides the room where the pointers are at work, coming directly across the grindstone, and extending from the top of the room to the bottom, and made very close round the tram of the stone. An opening is cut in the canvass, directly over the stone, leaving a space between the face of the stone and the canvass of about one and a half inch, through which the stream of steel dust is passed off be¬ hind the screen, and the current of air produced by the revolution of the stone prevents it from returning. An arrangement of magnets is fixed between the screen and the workmen, which arrests the very fine particles of steel, that, in passing oft* from the stone in an ignited state, frequently rise, from their levity, perpendicularly before the pointer. Without such a guard, these almost imperceptible par¬ ticles would be inhaled at every inspiration. This invention has given a spur to the ingenuity of others, and by so doing, caused a contrivance which is in use at the present time, and is likely to answer the desired purpose. The plan is perfectly simple. A wooden box, with a niche in the front, is placed directly before the grinding stone, a part of which revolves in the niche above mentioned. The dusty particles of steel and stone are forced into the box by the celerity of motion with which the grinding stone moves. The heavy ones fall to the bottom and the lighter ascend up a wooden chimney that communicates with the box, and may be seen issuing out of its top (which is fixed in a square of the window) deprived of their power to do mischief by the manner in which they are operated upon by the open air. The contrivance, simple as it is, appears calculated to accomplish all that can be wished, and the seeming wonder is, that so easy a method of removing the grievance has not been hit on before. Paper Roofs .—A manufactory of paper from straw, has been es¬ tablished atOkanion, near Warsaw, the success of which is expected to reduce the price of paper. This manufactory will be confined, for the present, to pasteboard and thick paper. The proprietor, Mr. Asili Henrick, intends to prepare, according to an invention of his own, a kind of paper, fit for roofs, which is to be water and fire proof. Damp in Walls.—An easy and efficacious way of preventing the effects of damp walls upon paper in rooms has lately been used, and, as we undertand, with success. It consists of lining the wall or the damp part of it with sheet lead, purposely rolled very thin; this is fastened up w r ith small copper nails, which not being subject to rust are very durable, and the whole may be immediately covered with paper. The lead is not thicker than that which is used in the chests in which tea is imported, and is made in sheets, of which the width is about that of common paper-hangings. Machine fofimalting Bread. — A machine has lately been introduced at Lausanne for making bread—that is, for preparing the fermenta¬ tion of the dough—which seems to deserve imitation in other countries. It is simply a deal box, a foot in height, and tw o feet in length, placed on supports, by which it is turned by a handle like the cylinder used for roasting coffee. One side of the box opens with a hinge to admit the dough, and the box is turned round. The time requisite to pro¬ duce fermentation depends on the temperature of the air, the quick¬ ness of the turning, and other circumstances: but when the operation is performed, it is known by the shrill hissing of the air making its escape* which generally happens in half an hour. The leaven is Philosophical and Piterary Intelligence. 181 always extremely well raised; perhaps too much at times.—The labour is nothing, for the machine may be turned by a child. No hooks, poiuts, cross-bars, or any other contrivance, can be wanted, to break and separate the mass of dough; for these operations are suffi- ciently effected by the adhesion of the dough to the sides of the box. If the machine be made of greater length, and divided by cross par¬ titions at right angles to the sides, different kinds of dough may be prepared at the same time. One evident advantage of such a con¬ trivance is, that bread manufactured in this way must be perfectly clean and free from accidental soiling. ^Sew plan of saving Shipwrecked Mariners. —Some experiments were lately tried in Hyde Park, of Mr. Trengrouse’s plan to save ship¬ wrecked mariners, by opening a communicator! with a stranded vessel when it would be impossible for a boat to render any assist¬ ance. The operations took place over the Serpentine River, in the presence of Lord Sydney, several Members of Parliament, Naval Officers, and others, who were admitted into the private gardens of the Royal Humane Society’s Receiving House on the North Bank. The object of Mr. Trengrouse is to fire a rocket, invented for the pur¬ pose by the King’s Pyrotechnic, Madame Hengler, with a line affixed to it, from the shore to the ship, when a strong rope is tied to the first line, and brought to the shore, where it is made tight; a chair of a pecu¬ liar construction is then suspended by pulleys from the main rope, in which any person can secure himself, and is drawn safe to land. The chair is then pulled back to the vessel, and every person may thus be saved. In the above manuer was the experiment conducted, but in consequence of the rocket not being sufficiently elevated, nor the line strong enough, the plan did not at first succeed, but was at length carried into execution, and a man seated in the chair was brought safely to the opposite bank of the river. The inventor, who resides in Penzance, has been enabled to save the lives of several persons in the above manner off the dangerous coast of Cornwall. Lightning Conductors at Sea. —An invention has been tried by Mr. W. vS. Harris, a gentleman of Plymouth, for conveying the electric fluid, by means of a copper conductor fixed in the masts', through the bottom of ships, and completely succeeded, as will be seen from the following details:— Seventy years have elapsed since Dr. Franklin demonstrated the efficacy of metallic conductors in protecting buildings from the de¬ structive effects of lightning. Although the application of conductors on land is generally judicious, and their advantages are admitted, yet, on shipboard, where the effects of lightning are most to be dreaded, from the inflammability of the materials of which the ship and stores are usually composed, the introduction of electrical conductors has been lamentably neglected or injudiciously employed, The conductor hitherto employed is a chain of wire, usually kept in a box, and used only wffien danger was apprehended, which has often been too late. From these considerations Mr. Harris was induced to submit a model of a complete mast, furnished with permanent con¬ ductors, to the inspection of the Honourable Navy Board, who ex¬ pressed their decided approbation of the principle, and requested him to exemplify its efficiency by an experiment, which was carried into effect on Moudav, September 16, on board the Caledonia , at Ply¬ mouth, Jn the piesence of the Navy Board, Sir A. Cochrane, Commis¬ sioner Shield, several C aptains in the Navy, and the principal officers 182 Philosophical and Literary Intelligence. of the dock-yard, in the following manner:—The Louisa cutter having had a temporary mast and topmast fitted with a copper conductor, according to Mr. Harris’s plan, was moored astern of the Caledonia, and at the distance of eighty feet from the cutter a boat was stationed with a small brass howitzer. On the tiller head of the Caledonia were placed the electrical machine and an electrical jar, with the outer coating of which a line was connected, having a metallic wire woven in it: this line being carried out of the starboard window of the ward¬ room, terminated in an insulated pointed wire in the immediate vicinity of the touch-hole of the howitzer; a similar line was passed from the larboard window, which communicated with the mast-head of the cutter; and at the termination of the bolt through the keel, a chain w as attached, connected with another insulated pointed wire in the boat, placed in the vicinity of the touch-hole—the space between the insulated points being the only interval in a circuit of about 300 feet, from the positive to the negative side of the jar. Some gunpowder being placed in contact with the conductor in the cutter, and the pri¬ ming in the interval of the insulated points, the jar was charged, and the line attached to the mast-head of the cutter being brought into contact with the positive or inside of the jar, a discharge of electric matter followed, which was passed by the line to the mast-head, and by the conductor through the powder to the chain in the water by which it was conveyed to the interrupted communication in the boat, where it passed in the form of a spark, and discharging the howitzer, returned to the negative or outside of the jar by the liue leading into the starboard window, thereby demonstrating that a quantity of electric matter had been passed through the powder (without igniting it) in contact with the mast of the cutter, sufficient to discharge the howitzer. Mr. Harris then detached the communication between the keel of the cutter and the positive wire in the boat, leaving that wire to communicate with the water only; but this interruption did not impede or divert the charge, as the discharge of the howitzer was effected with equal success as in the first instance, the water forming the only conductor from the cutter to the boat. In order to demon¬ strate that a trifling fracture or interruption in the conductor would not be important, it was cut through w ith a saw, but this produced no material injury to its conducting power. These trials, carried on under the disadvantage of unfavourable weather, could not fail of convincing all present of its efficacy, and called forth the decided approbation of the Navy Board in particular which was evinced by Sir T. B. Martin requesting Mr. Harris to su¬ perintend the equipment of the masts of the Minden, 74, and Java frigate, preparatory to its general introduction into the navy. New South Wales .—At Sydney in New South Wales, three public Journals, and five other periodical publications, now issue from the press. A second printing-office has also been established at Port Jackson. They now export cattle to the Isle of France, and the market at Sydney is considered as plentiful in the different commodi¬ ties of Europe, as w ell as of India and China. Ascertaining the Longitude .—An ingenious instrument has been in¬ vented by Mr. Harley of the Chain Pier at Trinity, for ascertaining the longitude. It has been submitted to six naval officers, who con¬ cur in opinion that it will completely answer its intended purpose on land,or at sea in calm weather: but they arc decided in their opinion ot the impracticability of using it at sea in stormy weather, owing to 183 Philosophical and Literary Intelligence. the violent motion to which it will be subjected : this objection, how¬ ever, if it cannot be obviated, must apply to all other instruments of a similar description. Mr. Harley has taken his instrument to Lon¬ don, to be there inspected. The reward offered for the discovery of a complete instrument for ascertaining the longitude is, we believe, £ 20 , 000 . Caledonian Canal. —After a labour of nearly twenty years, and an expenditure of about £900,000, on this great national undertaking, the country will feel a great degree of satisfaction in hearing of the completion of it. Considered in itself as a work of magnitude, it has not, perhaps, its equal in the world; and its importance in opening a communication between the eastern and the western seas, thereby avoiding the dangerous navigation of the Pentland Frith or the Channel, will be highly prized by the mercantile and other classes, long after the expense will be forgotten. It has afforded, during these eighteen or twenty years, employment for the population of those forlorn wastes through which it passes; and not ouly mitigated the hardships consequent on the late rapid changes in Scotland, which have chiefly affected the lower classes, but aroused them from a state of inactivity ; and by joining with those skilful workmen who resorted to it from all parts of the kingdom, they have acquired habits of industry, and other advantages which will last while they are a peo¬ ple. At 10 o’clock on Wednesday, October 30, the Lochness steam- yacht, accompanied by two smacks, departed from the Locks of Muirtown on the first voyage through the cjmal, amidst the loud and enthusiastic cheerings of a great concourse of people, and the firing of cannon. Small vessels may now pass the canal from the Moray Frith to Fort William, to the Isles, to Glasgow, Liverpool, and Irelaud. Capt. Scoresby’s Discoveries in the Arctic Regions. —The Baffin, the ship of our friend Capt. Scoresby, jun. arrived at Dover on the 19th Sept, from Greenland, with 195 tons of blubber, the produce of nine whales. The Baffin obtained her cargo principally near the east coast of Old or West Greenland, which has been named Lost Greenland, from the long period in which it was invisible to Europeans. Within sight of this interesting country, Capt. Scoresby remained for three months, and in the intervals of the fishery employed himself in making obser¬ vations on the geography and natural history of this hitherto almost unknown region. The result is a real survey of the coast from lat. 75 N. down to 69, comprising in extent (reckoning the various in¬ dentions and sinuosities observed) of about 800 miles! The coast visited by Capt. Scoresby is a continuation toward the north of that on which were planted the ancient colonies from Iceland, the fate of which is still veiled in such deep obscurity. Capt. Scoresby dis¬ covered several very extensive inlets; some of them indeed, it was ascertained, penetrate at least 60 miles within the general cut of the coast, and even then were without any visible termination. From the number and extent of these inlets, from the direction w hich some of them pursue, and from the many islands with which the coast is flanked, he believes the whole country to be a vast assemblage of islands: and he has grounds for concluding that some of the inlets are passages communicating with Baffin’s Bay! But this is not all. The general form of the land w as found to be so very unlike what is represented in our maritime charts, that only three places laid down could be recognized; and the error in the longitude of these, accord¬ ing to most of the charts, was no less than 15 degrees. Capt. Scoresby 184 Philosophical and Literary Intelligence. landed on various parts of the coast, and in some of the bays; and on each visit to the shore discovered traces of inhabitants, some of them apparently recent. In one place he met with a considerable hamlet of deserted huts, among which were many graves. About this place he obtained many fragments of the domestic and lishing utensils of the inhabitants. Though the weather at sea was generally cold, the ther¬ mometer being about 38 or 40 degs. Fahr.,on the hills near this hamlet it was hot and sultry, and the air swarmed with muscjuitoes. Capt. Scoresby has made a large collection of plants and of minerals, es¬ pecially of rocks; he has also brought home some zoological speci¬ mens. Animals of the higher orders were rare in that country, but he shot a white hare, and caught an animal of the genus mils, with a short tail. The high degree of interest which Captain Scoresby’s dis¬ coveries in this quarter must excite, will, we trust, induce him to publish his journal, which, according to his invariable laudable cus¬ tom, is kept with great care. To those who know the enterprising genius and philosophic spirit of Captain Scoresby, his success will cause much more pleasure than surprise. When we see how much he has accomplished without any other means than that of a private individual engaged in an arduous and anxious occupation, we cannot help regretting that the Government of this great commercial country has not seized the opportunity of employing the individual attention and talents of Captain Scoresby in prosecuting his researches, no less conducive to the advancement of science than to the glory of our country. North- West Land Expedition .—Captain Franklin has lately reached London, having succeeded in surveying the northern coast of North America, from the mouth of Copper Mine River, for more than 500 miles to the eastward. He found the mouth of that river in lat. 67 deg. 48 min., which is four degrees less than what Hearne made it; and no point of the coast to the eastward exceeded 68 deg. 20 min.; in one place it came down to 66 deg. 30 min. to the Arctic Circle. The sea, which he explored as far as- the 117th degree of west longitude, was studded with innumerable islands, between which and the main land was an open channel of water, four or five miles wide, and from ten to forty fathoms deep, no ice whatever, but some small masses here and there adhering to some rock or promon¬ tory ; all of which is highly favourable to the success of Captain Parry, who, however, could not have arrived on the part of the coast to which Captain Franklin proceeded, until the latter had left it on his return, which was on the 25th of August, and at which early period the winter set in, and continued with great severity, though, as every body will remember, w r e had no winter in England. W hen at the farthest point of their progress, the expedition, with suitable means of conveyance, might easily have got round to Hudson’s Bay ; but situated as they were, and possessing only a few slight canoes, it would have been perfect madness to have dared the perils of an open and ever-agitated sea. At this time they were totally ignorant of the movements of Captain Parry ; but supposing that that navi¬ gator had appeared on the coast, just as Capt. Franklin was about to abandon it, what, we ask, would have been the feelings of our adventurous countrymen!—On the 5th of September, on their return by land, a snow r -storm occurred, which covered the earth with two feet deep of snow; this w as the forerunner of all the misfortunes that befcl the party. The musk-oxen, the rein-deer, the buffaloes, 185 Philosophical and Literary Intelligence. and immense flights of birds, immediately hastened away to the southward. Their provisions were all expended, no firewood was to be had; the fatigue of dragging their baggage through the snow, induced them to leave their canoes behind. With great difficulty, and in the utmost distress from cold and want of food, they reached the Copper Mine River, which lay between them and Fort Enterprise, w here they had passed the previous winter, andwhere they expected to find a supply of provisions. There was no wood to construct a canoe, or even a raft, and eight days of the only fine weather during the whole season were lost in fruitless attempts to cross the river, which was at length effected by a sort of boat or basket of rushes, which, with the utmost difficulty and danger, carried over the party one by one, tilling every time with water. From this moment the Canadians began to droop, and before they reached their destination, not less than eight of them perished from cold and hunger, the whole party having subsisted almost wholly on a species of lichen which grew on the rocks, and by gnawing pieces of their skin cloaks. With exactly the same hard fare, and sometimes even without that for two or three days together, the five Englishmen, Capt. Franklin, Lieuts. Hood and Black, Dr. Richardson, and an English seaman, supported themselves by their buoyant spirits, and did all they r could to cheer up the desponding Canadian hunters, but in vain; they became insubordinate, refused even to go out in search of game or firewood, straggled away from the rest of the party, and frequently laid them¬ selves down on the snow, indifferent as to what might befall them. Just as these sufferings w ere at their height, they caught a solitary elk—a circumstance which, in the first moments of their transport, they regarded in much the same light as the manna rained from heaven. Judge, then, of their despair, when, just as the knife or the hatchet was raised to slaughter the devoted elk, the animal by a strong effort escaped from their toils, and hurried away to wilds as yet unvisited by a human enemy. Never, perhaps, was there a greater disappointment; from something like hope they were again plunged into the lowest depths of despair, and such altogether was the effect of this incident, that the bare recollection of it, even at the distance of nearly twelve months, never fails to move Dr. Richard¬ son to tears. With the most anxious desire to preserve their lives. Dr. Richardson and Lieut. Hood consented to remain behind to attend to three of these infatuated people, who were unable from weakness to proceed. Two of them died, and the remaining one, a good marksman, and more vigorous than any of the party, became so savage, and so ungovernable, that he refused to endeavour to shoot any thing tow r ards their subsistence, or even to fetch a little firewood, which Dr. Richardson and the English sailor were obliged to do; and while this savage was left alone in the tent with Lieut. Hood, the latter being indisposed, and sitting over a little fire, he shot him with his musket through the head, and killed him on the spot. After this he became more violent than ever, his looks w ere w ild, and he muttered threats that could not be mistaken, so that Dr. Richardson, for his own safety and that of the sailor, who had been a most faithful companion, found it necessary to get rid of the monster, by shooting him through the head. After the lamented and cruel murder of Lieut. Hood, Dr. Richardson and the English sailor were twenty days’ march behind Capt. Franklin, who had pushed on w ith the stronger of the party, in the confident hope of being able to 18G List of New Publications. send his companions supplies. But before these supplies could reach them, they most providentially fell in with a party of Indian hunters; and from these “stoics of the wood—and men without a tear,” they experienced a series of humane attentions which might well put to the blush the boasted civilization of European nations. At one glance, the sagacious Indians penetrated into all the miseries of our countrymen’s situation, treating them as patients in every sense of the word, and administering food, not as they would have had it, but as best suited their impaired and exhausted frames. At their departure they made them various little presents, particularly of shoes finely ornamented with porcupine quills; and altogether the kindness which Dr. Richardson and his companion experienced at the hands of these Indians, fully realized all that Campbell has so finely fabled of the ‘ Oneyda people.’ Of twenty persons which com¬ posed the expedition, ten have perished ; eight through cold, fatigue, and famine, and two by violent deaths ; but the rest of the party, after almost unparalleled sufferings, have returned to their friends and their country. It must be highly gratifying to the naval olficers, that in their absence they were not forgotten, but that each has received a step of promotion in the service. Lieut. Hood was con¬ sidered as an excellent officer, and an accomplished young man, who, among other acquirements, was an admirable draughtsman. To this relation we have only to add, that there is no truth whatever in the report that the Canadians were so enraged at the loss of the eight hunters employed in the expedition, that they were upon the very point of offering violence to the persons of the British officers. Indeed, how could this be? The surviving Canadians, of course, informed their friends that every thing had been quite fair, and fostered their natural love of the marvellous, by an account of mon¬ sters seen by land and sea, (many of them approximating far nearer than the mermaid to the human form), with a thousand other grossly exaggerated relations of personal peril, suffering, and achievement.— One great advantage accruing from this hazardous journey will be an extension of the fur trade; for it is a law well enough understood among nations, that the power which first visits an unknown region, thereby establishes a sufficient claim to its natural productions;°and’ but for this expedition, the Russians, from their settlement at Beh¬ ring’s Straits, might easily have penetrated to the east, and thus lessened our chances of carrying on a traffic, which has already been considerably circumscribed by the progress of civilization. LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. AGRICULTURE. 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Journal of a Tour through the Netherlands to Paris, in 1821. By the Author of Sketches and Fragments, &c. &c. F’cap. 8vo. 8s. Travels in Egypt and the Holy Land. By William Rea Wilson, Esq. Svo. 13s. 195 RELIGIOUS AND PHILANTHROPIC INTELLIGENCE. Merchant Seamen's Bible Societi/.— The Fourth Annual Meeting of this Institution was held on Monday May 13, at the City of London lavern, Lord Exmouth in the chair. The Report, detailed a number ot instances of the cordiality with which Bibles had been received on board ships m the river Thames, and of the readiness of seamen to purchase them, where not distributed gratuitously. The total sale during the last year, in London, amounted to 255 Bibles, and 89 Testaments. The total distribution of the Society, since February 1818, was 6208 Bibles, and 8778 Testaments: so large a diffusion of the sacred Scriptures, to a class of men so long forgotten or neglected lias been productive of the most beneficial results. A liberal sub¬ scription was made. Home Missionary Society.— The third Annual Meeting of this Society was held on Monday, May 13th, at the City of London 1 a\ ern. The crowds that were assembled last j ear, and the num¬ bers that were unable to obtain admission, induced the Commit¬ tee to provide two rooms; but the attendance was so great, that even these were not sufficient, though the largest in the Tavern, and one of them the largest in the City. Hundreds, therefore, went awav much disappointed. Several of the speakers who were invited to attend, arrived late, and it was a hopeless task to obtain an entrance for them into the upper room ; equally difficult was it to press through the solid mass in the lower room: it was therefore thought advisable to obtain a third at the Old Loudon Tavern; but two Meetings beino- held there at the time, some delay was occasioned till one of the rooms was vacant. The large dining-room was at length at liberty and this was speedily filled by the friends of Home Missions. In the upper room of the City of London Tavern, R. H. Marten , Esq. took the chair. About thirty Ministers spoke in behalf of the great cause of Home Missions. ^ Ladies' Benevolence to the Jews. —On Monday, May 13, at twelve o’clock, a Meeting of elegantly dressed Ladies, amongst whom were several of distinction, assembled at Freemasons’ Hall, to forward the Institution for promoting Christianity among the Jews. Prepa¬ ratory to the Meeting taking place, tables were placed round the room, which were covered with wdiite cloths, and tastefully decorated with patch-work dolls, pin-cushions, drawings, baskets, ornaments of various descriptions, and every fanciful workmanship that could be devised, being the produce of Ladies in the country, who in¬ terested for the welfare of the above Institution, employ their time in making them, and send them to London annually for sale, in sup¬ port of the charity. The place was so formed as to “have the appear¬ ance of a bazaar; and behind the tables, several Ladies of the Committee were seated, to dispose of the articles. By one o’clock the room was crowded with Ladies, who proceeded to the various stalls to make purchases, and in a short time the whole of the articles were bought, and thus contributed a handsome sum to the funds of the Institution. Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge in the 196 Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. Highlands and Islands. —On Monday, June 10, n General Public Meeting of the Subscribers and Friends of this laudable Institution took place at Freemasons’ Hall. In the absence of his Iloyal Highness the Duke of Sussex, the Rev. Dr. Manuel took the chair. It appeared from the Report, that the Society was instituted in the year 1701, for the Improvement of Public Morals, and in the year 1709 it received a Charter of Incorporation from her Majesty Queen Anne, and hence it gradually received Royal Patronage. Upwards of 350 schools are now supported by the Society, and about 20,000 children are receiving the benefits of instruction, and habits of indus¬ try are instilled into them. The Scriptures have been translated into Gaelic, and in that, and the English language, have been widely distributed; and tracts, with a variety of books for elementary tuition, have been circulated in the Highlands and Islands, the population of which is estimated at about 400,000 persons. The yearly revenue of the Society generally amounts to £5000. A cor¬ responding branch has been established in London for the last cen¬ tury, whose sole object is to assist the funds of the Parent Society. Anniversary of Idle Academy. —Tuesday, June 18, the Examination of the Students in this Academy occupied the whole of the day, and furnished to their Examiners the most satisfactory evidence of their attainments. Being distributed into five classes, they read, in Latin, portions of Cornelius Nepos, Caesar, Virgil, Cicero, Horace’s Odes and Art of Poetry, and in the Annals of Tacitus his descrip¬ tion of the Conflagration of Rome. The Senior Class had, during the year, read in this author, the Life of Agricola, the Manners of the Germans, and the Fifth Book of his History, as far as relates to the Jews—In Greek, passages in Plutarch, Xenophon, Longinus, and the Fourth Book of Homer’s Iliad—In Hebrew, Genesis xlii., Eze¬ kiel xxiii., and Job xli.—In Syriac, the 25th chapter, and part of the 10th, of Matthew.—The Fourth Class had read the greatest part, and the Fifth the whole of the Chaldee in the original Scriptures. On the following day, the General Meeting of the Subscribers was held in the adjoining Chapel, when three of the students delivered Essays: —Mr. C. Holgate On the Claims of Divine Justice; —Mr. Holroyd, On the Superiority of the Christian Dispensation ;—and Mr. Parsons, On the Intellectual Progress of Finite Beings. After which, the Rev. T. Scales, of Leeds, gave the students a serious and solemn address. On forming the Meeting for business, Mr. Holland was called to the Chair, the Report was read, and several resolutions were moved, with appropriate speeches by the ministers present. In the Even¬ ing, the Rev. R. W. Hamilton, of Leeds, closed the interesting exer¬ cises of the Anniversary with a Discourse addressed to an attentive audience. During the half year preceding Christmas, there were sixteen students in the Academy, and afterwards fourteen till Mid¬ summer. In the course of the year, six have finished their academi¬ cal studies, and gone to labour in their Master’s vineyard: Mr. Aspinall at Grassington, and Mr. Blackburn at Eastwood. Mr. Holroyd has been stationed at Woolton, and Mr. Holgate at Pres¬ cot, both places near Liverpool. Mr. Parsons has accepted an invitation to York, and Mr. Turner another to Great Drilfield. The present circumstances of the Institution are encouraging; public patronage has increased in its favour, and every returning year brightens its prospects of success. Wymondley College .—On Thursday, Sept. 12, was held the Annual Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. 197 Examination of the Students at Wymondley College, Herts by the Trustees of the late William Coward, Esq. ' Portions of the Classics were read from Virgil, Livy, and Cicero; and from Lucian, Herodo¬ tus, and Plato. Some portions also from the Psalms and Isaiah, in Hebrew. In the Classics, most of the Students were not informed beforehand of the passages they w ould be called upon to read. The examination was continued in Logic, Intellectual Philosophy, and Theology; when the students were required to give an oral abridg¬ ment of the lectures they had received in these branches. They were also called upon to demonstrate various problems, taken indis¬ criminately from several books of Euclid. Some, in addition, read sermons of their own composing. The Trustees expressed them¬ selves in the warmest terms of approbation, and said, “We have attended many examinations here, but never did we feel greater pleasure and satisfaction than we have enjoyed throughout the whole of the examination this day.” Society for River-men.— On Wednesday Sept. 18th, a Preliminary Meeting was held at the British School-room, in Horselydown to torm a Society for River-men in general.—Various exertions had be e n previously made, to excite the attention of persons who reside on the banks of the Thames to this object; and the elTorts of the British and Foreign Seamen’s Friend Society and Bethel Union, had for several months been of the most unwearied description at Horselydown • but the increasing, and extensive business of that Noble Institution requiring such undivided attention, and the demands on its funds becoming very considerable, it was deemed advisable that a dis¬ tinct Institution should be formed for River-men, and persons invited to assist it, whose professio i and habits rendered them best adapted tor promoting religion and morality among this interesting class of men. The place in which the meeting was convened had been memo¬ rable, as having been the school-room where the preliminary meet¬ ings of the Seamen’s Friend Society had been held under very humble circumstances, by the same friends as laid the plan rru B Zi l -\ a> l d Fo, : e ii n Seamans Friend Society and Bethel Union.— The Third Annual Meeting of this Society was held on Wednesday evemng, Oct. 2, at the City of London Tavern, and was numerously attended, the Rt. Hon. Lord Gambier in the chair. The Report com- pnsed “a retrospect of the proceedings” of the Society, and the means taken to diffuse through all ranks of the community a proper concern tor the moral and religious state of seamen. The success of the exer Lons it has already made exceeds the most sanguine expectations of its warmest friends, and is to be seen in the fact, that the Bethel Union is now frequently applied to by moral and religious parents who have children with an inclination for the sea, to point out to them such vessels in the merchants’ service as had commanders who feared God. It likewise appears that the society has taken into consideration the state of the watermen who ply on the river Thames for whose religious instruction no specific provision has been made’ The retrospect stated that the society had done what it could for them, by causing sermons to be preached at different stairs and in V i- r l? US ™ chapeIs: an ? added ’ that a new floating chapel, to be moored oft the Tower, was in contemplation for their benefit. To check as far as possible the drunkenness and impurity to which sailors are exposed by lodging in public-houses, and the shameless imposition practised upon them by unprincipled men, the society took, last year, 198 Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. a house in Hermitage-street, Wapping, furnished it plainly with beds, &c., and placed it under the superintendence of a pious active man, who has spent the greater part of his life at sea. The most happy consequences are anticipated from this plan, which has met the approbation and support of the East India Company. The retrospect, which extends over 20 closely printed pages, concludes with a minute detail of the efforts which the Society has made at our different outports for the improvement of our sailors, and of the attempts which have been made in foreign countries to co-operate with its exertions. After this had been read and approved of by the meeting, Mr. Brown read a statement of the Society’s funds, which were found very unequal to its expenditure. Cheshunt College. —The Autumnal Meeting of the friends of Cheshunt College was held at Sion Chapel, Whitechapel, on Thursday, Oct. 17, Avhen the Rev. W. Kemp, resident Tutor, introduced the Themes, which were delivered by two of the senior students. The former by Mr. B. Woodyard, on “ The Mercy of God,” the latter by Mr John Dryden, on “ The Justice of God.” The Rev. John Townsend, of Bermondsey, delivered a very excellent sermon from 1 Tim. iii. 1. Wesleyan Methodists. —The following Statement has been published in the Minutes of the last Conference, held in London the beginning of last August. Dr. Adam Clarke, Pres.—R. Newton, Sec. Number of Members now in Great Britain. 211,392 Ditto in Ireland. 22,718 Ditto in Foreign Stations. 29,758 Under care of the British and Irish Conferences. 263,868 Under care of the American Conferences. 281,146 Total number of Members now in the Wesleyan Metho¬ dist Societies throughout the World, exclusive of regular travelling preachers. 545,014 Preachers and Missionaries in Great Britain and Ireland 855 In Foreign Stations and in America... 1173 547,042 American Methodists. —Episcopal Church, exclusive of those in British America, under care of the British Conference : Whites.. Coloured 297,699 281,146 1U I tU •••••••« TIj», Last year (1821).. Increase 16,553 Travelling Preachers. Supernumerary. Superannuated. Admitted to full connection this year, Remaining on trial. Admitted on trial. Located in the year. 1106 24 71 92 124 185 37 3 Died Important Information for Dissenters .— The General Turnpike Act, passed during the last Session, completely sets at rest the question of Dissenters being exempt from paying toll on Sundays, when proceed¬ ing to their usual places of worship. The Aet states, (section 32,) 199 Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. that tolls shall not be demanded or taken “of or from any person or persons going to or returning from his, her, or their usual place of religious worship, tolerated by law, on Sundays, or on any day on which divine service is by authority ordered to be celebrated.” This Act, howeyer, it must be observed, does not extend to any turnpike within ten miles of London. National ancl Benevolent Institution —On Saturday, June 17, the Annual Meeting of this laudable Institution, founded by P. Herve, Esq. for the relief of distressed persons in the middle ranks of Life, of whatever Country or Persuasion, was held at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen-street, Lincoln’s-Inn-Fields. It appeared from the Report of last year, that fifty-seven individuals had been relieved by the Institution as Pensioners, aud received from £50 to £10 per annum, according as their cases merited relief. The widows of a Baronet, and a Chief Justice, who had through unavoidable circum¬ stances been driven to distress, were included in the number; and numerous instances w r ere stated, of the widows of officers and others, who had been cherished by the Institution. Reduced Gentlemen have also been allowed pensions, after being discovered in the most abject circumstances, suffering under all the privations of distress, age, and affliction; and several pensioners have been added during the past year. Since the demise of his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, who was Patron, his Duchess has induced Prince Leopold to become the Patron of the Institution. The receipts of the Institu¬ tion amount to £953. 18s. 7d., and the expenditure to an equal sum. With a view of providing for the permanence of the Institution. £1055. 7s. 6d. have been invested in the purchase of £1500 stock, in the names of the Trustees to the Charity; and the General Committee have the power of forming a Local Committee in any part of the country, for the purpose of extending and promoting the interests of the Institution.—The Report contained the names of numerous persons of distinction. When the Meeting broke up, a handsome collection was made by the company. City of London General Pension Society —A Meeting of the Sub¬ scribers to this Institution w r as held on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the City of London Tavern, forithe purpose of electing Pensioners, the Rev. James Rudge, D. D. F. R. S. Vice President, in the chair; when nine Males and four Females were declared the successful candidates.—On the above occasion, the following awful and melan¬ choly circumstance took place, it is supposed, through over anxiety. One of the candidates, B. Gray, aged 75, was suddenly taken ill in the room; the Chairman immediately sent for Mr. Pugh, of Grace- church-street, but before he arrived the poor man had expired. On the result of the election being known, it w as ascertained that he was one of the successful candidates.—His widow will be a candi¬ date at the next election, in April. Society for the general Education of the Poor in the Highlands. _ The General Meeting of this Society was held in the Town Hall, In¬ verness, Oct. 30. J. A. Steward Mackenzie, Esq. in the chair. The following is an Extract from a Report by the Rev. D. Fraser of Kirkliill, one of the Secretaries of this Society, wiio examined 15 Schools in Kintail, Loclialsli, Skye, Strathspey, Strathdearn, and Strathglass. In regard to these, it may be said in general, that the teachers appeared to observe the regulations of the Society pretty 200 Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. c'osely, though in some cases they had much difficulty to encounter from the prejudices of the people; they seemed to discharge their duty faithfully, and in some cases most zealously and successfully. The progress of the children was very gratifying in the great majority of instances. All who have come the length of reading at all, read the Gaelic with ease, and are most intelligent in giving an account of what they read in that language. Many testimonies were given of the beneficial effect on children and parents, produced by the diffusion of the Scriptures through the schools. Several intelli¬ gent persons, both clergymen and others, expressed their warmest approbation of the plan of teaching Gaelic first in all the Schools of the Highlands. One respectable clergyman mentioned, that in a certain district of his parish, out of a population of 600, only eight persons could read any thing some years ago, and that now 240 can read the Gaelic with ease, and that there is no family without a Bible—that a wonderful change in the character of many individuals has been the consequence; and all this arose from the introduction of a Gaelic School into the district. He further stated, that he holds these schools to be the means best adapted for the religious instruc¬ tion of the Highlands. Even in those districts where the people are Roman Catholics, these schools can be introduced without any opposition on the part of the people, or their spiritual guides. The teacher in one of the schools mentioned, on being interrogated as to the feeling of the Catholics towards the schools, that the Priest, who lives next door to the school, made no objection to the Roman Catholic children reading the Gaelic Scriptures. In another instance, the Catholic Priest was present at the examination, and seemed much pleased to hear the children questioned as to the meaning of the scripture passages they read. The children were all Catholics but one family. “ If any thing occurring in course of this near local inspection could be said to be painful, it was the manifest proof before one’s eyes, of the existence of extreme poverty and wretchedness. The immediate sources of it were the failure of the crop last year, and of the herring- fishing this season; but it was supposed to have a more permanent source in the excess of the population over the means of sub¬ sistence. Since the finishing of the roads there is no stated labour, and the fishing is so precarious that the people are often liable to be entirely thrown out of employment, and consequently deprived of the means of subsistence. In one district, just before the potato crop of this season was ready, and a few weeks before it was visited, hun¬ dreds of the inhabitants had no other subsistence than shell-fish, called lampreys, which they collected from the rocky shore. In an¬ other district, where the school was unusually numerously attended, very few were present; the cause was inquired into, and it was found' that a fever raged in the district, by which a great many were confined, and there was little doubt this was brought on by extreme poverty and want of food. It was mentioned by several intelligent persons of the country, that they believed that the state of some districts in Skye and the neighbouring coasts.was just as wretched as Ireland was represented to be during the late scarcity, although the people bore it quietly, and made shift to exist. The effect of this poverty was mani¬ fest in the pallid looks and tattered garments of the poor children in the schools; and it was supposed to produce a degree of apathy, which Anecdotes. 201 was observable in some parts in regard to education. The pressing wants of the body did not seem to allow of their taking any interest in the cultivation of the mind.” Scottish Hospital— On Saturday, November 30, being St. Andrew’s Day, was held the Annual Meeting of this Institution, for the election of Officers, &c. and in the evening the Subscribers and Friends dined together, at the Albion Tavern; Aldersgate-street, the Duke of Cla¬ rence in the chair, the Earls of Errol and Glasgow, and Lord Saltoun, being among the company, which amounted to about 300. A liberal subscription was made in support of the charity. Seamen's Hospital. — The following is a statement of the benefits conferred by this Institution, since its opening in March, 1821. Cured and discharged at the request of the parties.292 Ditto, having obtained Ships.*. * 266 Ditto, Ships found them by the Committee.*’ .* ~88 Ditto, conveyed to their homes. 12 Ditto, absented themselves. 27 Ditto, expelled, (after being cured,) for misconduct.. 17 Died 32 Under cure, and convalescent. 92 Total received, 826 Completely clothed, after being cured. 40 Supplied with Shoes and Stockings only. 81 . Highland Libraries .—These important Institutions are still advanc¬ ing. A large cargo of religious books, for this purpose, lately arrived from a respectable bookseller in London. This is the second donation sent from this gentleman, to the Rev. J. Brown, Whitburn, and will be put immediately into the hands of Ministers and others, who will with wisdom and diligence answer the benevolent wish of the donor. As there is much to do in the Highlands, in respect of religious know¬ ledge, it is hoped other booksellers in different places will follow the example of the above gentleman. Messrs. Oliphant, and David Brown, Booksellers, Edinburgh, will take charge of any parcels sent. Prison School .—A School is organized and conducted byM. Appert- Bouclier among the criminals in the prison at Montaigue, in France, which has already resulted in a great increase of order and moral im¬ provement. The object is the reformation, and restoration to society, of those who have been separated from it by their vices—and the’ success even now apparent gives the utmost encouragement to fur¬ ther exertions. “ In fact, the appearance of the prison is entirelv changed,” by introducing moral instruction into its apartments. ANECDOTES. SINGULAR FATE OF AN EXTORTIONER. Monsieur Foscue, one of the Farmers-general of the province of Languedoc, in France, about the middle of the last century, had amassed considerable wealth by grinding the faces of the poor, and 202 Anecdotes. by every other means, however low, base, or cruel, which his inge¬ nuity could devise, or his rapacity execute. By these means he had rendered himself universally hated, and every one in his province was wishing his downfall. It was probably in consequence of some hint of his wealth which had been given by one or other of the nume¬ rous enemies his avarice and cruelty had made him, that he was one day ordered by government to raise a considerable sum in a very short period; upon which, as an excuse for not complying with the demand, he pleaded extreme poverty. Fearing, however, at the same time, that some of .the inhabitants of Languedoc had already given, or would give information to the contrary, and that his house would be searched, he resolved on hiding his treasure so effectually as to escape the most strict examination. With this view, he dug a cave in his wine cellar, which he made so large and deep that he used to go down to it by a ladder. At the entrance was a door with a spring lock upon it, which on shutting would fasten of itself. Not long afterwards, Monsieur Foscue was missing; diligent search was made after him in every place; the ponds were drawn, and every method that could be suggested was taken to find him, but in vain. His house was soon sold, and the purchaser beginning either to rebuild it, or to make some alterations, the workmen discovered a door in the cellar with a key in the lock, which he ordered to be opened; and on going down, they found Monsieur Foscue lying dead on the ground with a candlestick near him, but no candie in it, as he had eaten it, as well as gnawed the flesh oil' his arms for subsistence; and on searching farther, they found the vast wealth which he had amassed. It was supposed that when this miserable man went into his cave, the door, by some accident, shut after him, and being out of the hear¬ ing of any person, that he perished for want of food, in the midst of treasure which he had wrongfully amassed, but which, by a righteous retribution of Providence, was made the means of his punishment.— Query. May not this anecdote have furnished Sir Walter Scott with one of the catastrophes of Waverley? JOHN WESSEL. Pope Sextus IV. having a great esteem for John Wessel of Groen- ingen, one of the most learned men of the age, sent for him, and said to him, “Son, ask of us what you will, nothing shall be refused that “ becomes our character to bestow, and your condition to receive/’— “ Most holy Father, my generous patron,” said he, “ I shall not be “ troublesome to your Holiness. You know that I never sought after “ great things. The only favour I have to beg is, that you will give “ me out of your Vatican Library, a Greek and a Hebrew Bible.”— “ You shall have them,” said Sextus: “but what a simple man are “you! Why do you not ask a Bishopric?” “ Because” replied Wes¬ sel, “ I do not want one.” The happier man was he, happier than they who would give all the Bibles in the Vatican, if they had them to give, for a Bishopric. KHAN ZIGAND. In the year 1715, Zigand, the great Khan of the Calmuck Tartars, hunting in a forest with his whole court, an awkward slave unfortu¬ nately wounded him in the eye with an arrow, so that he lost the use 203 Obituary. of it. The attendants of the Khan, enraged at the accident, immedi¬ ately fell on the wretched slave, and were going to sacrifice him on the spot, “ Let him in peace depart,” said the good Khan, in time to save him from their fury. “We must condemn the intention only, “ not the action. This man has accidentally wounded me. Would “ his death restore to me my lost eye?” Not content with sparing his life, the magnanimous prince granted him his liberty. OBITUARY. John Stewart, Esq. — Feb. 20. In Northumberlaud-street, Strand, John Stewart, Esq. generally known by the designation of Walking Stewart. He was born in Bond-street, and educated at the Charter- House, and in 1763 was sent out as a writer to Madras, through the influence of the late Lord Bute. Here he was employed as a secre¬ tary to the Nabob of Arcot, and expended a large sum in giving official entertainments by order of his master ; but within two years after his arrival in India, at the age of about IS, he determined on the very extraordinary measure of leaving a lucrative situation in the Company’s service, in order that he might see the world. The reasons which he assigned for this singular conduct were, that he was resolved to travel, the amor videndi being irresistible—that he would see, if he could, the whole world—would unlearn all he had learned—and would become an Automathes, thinking and writing for himself. In pursuance of this resolution, he addressed a letter to the Court of Directors, which, as a specimen of juvenile insolence and audacity, is preserved among its records to this day ; telling them, as it does, that he was born for nobler pursuits and higher attainments, than to be a copier of invoices and bills of lading to a company of grocers, haberdashers, and cheesemongers. Within a few weeks after he had written this unique epistle, he took his leave of the presidency, without beat of drum, and began his pedes¬ trian and wandering life; but some of his friends, lamenting his abrupt and uncourteous departure, and fearing that he might be involved in pecuniary difficulties, sent after him, begging him to return, and offering him any assistance he might stand in need of. To their kind invitation he replied, however, that his resolution was taken, and though his finances were but slender, they were adequate to his wants. He accordingly proceeded on his route over Hindos- tan, and walked to Delhi, and thence to Persepolis, and other parts of Persia. He afterwards traversed the greater part of the Indian Peninsula, visited Abyssinia and Ethiopia, and was present in the latter country at an entertainment of natives, in which the males and females appeared in statu natures. He then entered the Carnatic, and became known to the Nabob, who evinced an esteem for him, which, in his latter days, became the means of his support, as the Nabob appointed him his private secretary. Still imbued, however, as powerfully as ever with the restless spirit of locomotion, he quitted the Carnatic with the mad resolution of walking to Seringa- patam, which he effected through many difficulties. When arrived there, Tippoo Saib hearing that an European had entered his city, 204 Obituary. ordered him to be immediately arrested, and brought before him at his Durbar. He there questioned him as to his motive for coming into his territories : to winch the traveller replied, merely to see them. Tippoo then told him, that he must consider himself his subject, and a military one; that he must be enrolled in his army, and, as he appeared to be a gentleman, he would make him, after some tactical information, a captain of Sepoys. Nolens volens, he accordingly became one, was several times engaged against the Malabars, and was wounded in the right arm in the service. He continued a detenu of Tippoo’s for several years, until the late Sir James Sibbald was appointed, by the Presidency of Bombay, to settle the terms of peace with this Eastern despot, when Stewart availed himself of the Ambassador’s assistance to procure his release, which was, with some difficulty effected; and he set out to walk to Europe. Crossing the desert of Arabia, he made his way to Marseilles, and walked through l 1 ranee and Spain to England. For some time after his arrival, he appeared in the Armenian dress which he had worn during his travels, for throughout he affected singularity. He brought over with him but a moderate fortune, and that he invested in the French funds, which soon after failed. This greatly distressed him ; but he was relieved by the generosity of a husband of one of his sisters, until the French began to pay their dividends, by which he found his income reduced two-thirds. On this, however, by the exertion of great frugality, he contrived to live; but shortly afterwards met with a fresh difficulty, in a resolution of the French Government not to pay dividends upon stock in their funds, to persons resident in England. Upon this, Stewart, with a resolution and firmness which marked his character, embarked for New-York, and resided there long enough to become an American citizen, and, after sending a certificate of this fact to France, returned to Europe. While on the other side of the Atlantic, he traversed the various states of America on foot, supporting himself chiefly by lecturing in the towns through which he passed. Shortly after his return, he walked through Scot¬ land and Ireland. On his way from the latter country, he was neaily shipwrecked, and at the moment of his extreme danger beg¬ ged some of the crew to take care of the book he had written, and intended to be published, intitled, “Opus Maximum,” a favourite work of his, in which he supported the absurdities of the atomical philosophy, of which he was an ingenious, though infatuated dis¬ ciple. The Parliamentary Commissioners for investigating the debts of the Nabob of Arcot, awarded him £15,000 in liquidation of Ins claims upon his highness; a great part of which he invested in a life annuity, on which he was enabled to live in a «-enteel style. For some time he gave weekly dinners, with a view as he said, to draw all the intellect of the metropolis around him • but this plan he afterwards changed, for concerts and lectures on a Sunday evening, read by himself. The last ten years of his life were passed in the neighbourhood of Charing-Cross and Cock- spur-street, that lie might be, to use his own singular phraseology m the « full tide of human existence and he was often to be seen sitting in St. James s-Park, drinking milk warm from the cow. He was an eccentric being; but his mind, though warped by many strange fancies and wild-goose theories, wanted not for strength. A remark, which he made upon Hastings’s trial, was characteristic of Ins mode of thinking and expression“ To try Mr. Hastings by the 205 Obituary. “ rule of Meum and Tuum, is like bringing Alexander the Great to a “ ‘ Quarter Sessions!’” Yet, if his intellects were not deranged, his notions were most extraordinary, owing chiefly perhaps to the affec¬ tation of being the founder of a sect, a love of novelty, and a want of education ; though his moral conduct is admitted to have been correct. His works, in the composition and publication of which he amused himself for many years, though no one would buy, and few would even read them, have very quaint titles, sufficiently ex¬ pressive of the absurdity of their contents. Such were, “ Travels “ to discover the Source of Moral Motion, and the Apocalypse of “ Nature, whereby the source of Moral Motion is discovered,” 1759; —“The Moral and Intellectual Will of John Stewart, the only man of “ nature that ever appeared in the world,” 1810;—“ The Scripture of “ Reason and Nature.” His last publication had for its object a demonstration, that the liberties of all countries were in proportion to the taxes they paid, so that Britain has the heaviest taxation, and is the freest country of Europe, Holland the next, &c. With such crudities he amused himself; but his writings and conversations alike proved that his mind was excursive, conversory, and illo¬ gical. Rev. Edward Daniel Clarke, LL.D. —March 9. At the house of his father-in-law, Sir William Beaumaris Rush, Bart. Pall-Mall, in the 54th year of his age, the Rev. Edward Daniel Clarke, LL.D. Pro¬ fessor of Mineralogy in the University of Cambridge, Rector of Harlton, Cambridgeshire and of Great Yeldham, Essex. This cele¬ brated traveller was a branch of a literary family, his maternal grand¬ father having been the very learned Dr. Wm. Wotton. His paternal grandfather was the friend of Markland and Bowyer, and himself the author of “the Connexion of the Roman, Saxon, and English Coins,” and of several other valuable antiquarian works; whilst his father, the Rev. Edward Clarke, was a man of genius, an excellent scholar, and an author of no inconsiderable merit, having published “ Letters on the Spanish Nation,” and various other minor works. His eldest son is the Rev. James Stanier Clarke, LL.D. Chaplain and Librarian to his Majesty, well known to the public as editor of the Memoirs of James the Second, and author of a Life of Lord Nelson. The second was the subject of this brief notice, who was born in the year 1798, and at a proper age entered of Jesus College, Cambridge, in which university he proceeded, B A. 1790, M.A. 1794. Soon after taking his degree, lie accompanied the present Lord Berwick abroad, and remained with him for some time in Italy. His Lordship still has in his possession a curious model of Mount Vesuvius, formed on the spot by Dr. Clarke, with the assistance of an Italian artist, from the very materials of the volcanic mountain. Animated with a love of travelling, he left England in 1799, with his college friend Mr. J. M. Cripps, and in his company took a most extensive tour through Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Lapland, Finland, Russia, Tartary, Circassia, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Greece, and Turkey, returning from Constantinople in 1802, through Germany and France. The important information collected during this journey, has been long before the public, by whom it has been duly estimated, no travels in the language having perhaps been so popular as those of Dr.CIarke. He himself has said, that a perfect traveller must have the pencil of Norden,the pen of Volney, the learning ofPococke, the perseverance of Bruce, the enthusiasm of Savary, qualities by far the greater por- 20 G Obituary. tion of which were united in his ow n person. No difficulties were ever allowed to be insuperable, and upon all occasions lie imparted to others a portion of his own enthusiastic energy. To the Univer¬ sity Library, of w hich he was the keeper, he presented many of the invaluable fruits of his extensive researches in foreign countries; amongst which are, a very celebrated manuscript copy of the works of Plato, nearly a hundred other volumes of manuscripts, and a colossal statue of the Eleusinian Ceres, respecting which he pub¬ lished a very learned tract, under the title of “ Testimony of Different “ Authors respecting the Colossal Statue of Ceres, placed in the “ Vestibule of the Public Library at Cambridge, with an account of “ its removal from Eleusis, Nov. 22, 1801.” 8vo. 1803. For these and other services rendered to the University, its libraries and lite¬ rary institutions, the degree of LL.D. was very properly conferred upon him, as an honorary mark of the esteem of his grateful Alma Mater. But, besides the curiosities given to the University, Dr. Clarke formed in his travels a large and most valuable collection of minerals and plants, some of the latter having been procured from the celebrated professor Pallas in the Crimea. Greek medals also engaged his attention whilst abroad, many which adorned his cabinet being of singular rarity. It is supposed, and not we hope without reason, that the University will embrace the opportunity of making an invaluable addition to their museum, by purchasing the whole, or at least the greater part, of this splendid collection. To the exertions of Dr. Clarke, his country is also indebted for the cele¬ brated sarcophagus in the British Museum, which he caused to be surrendered to our army. This curious piece of antiquity, he has satisfactorily proved to have been the tomb of Alexander the Great, in a very learned treatise published by him in 1805, under the title of “The Tomb of Alexander, a Dissertation on the Sarcophagus “ brought from Alexandria, and now in the British Museum.” Not long after his return to England, Dr. Clarke married Angelica, daughter of Sir William Beaumaris Rush, Bart., and being already in holy orders, was instituted to the rectory of Harlton, Cambridge¬ shire, to which that of Great Yeldham in Essex was added. In 1806, he commenced a course of lectures on mineralogy in the University, and two years after, a professorship was founded for the encourage¬ ment of that science, and he was appointed to the new academic chair, which no one could be better qualified to fill. Natural History had been his earliest and most favourite study, and that particular branch of it which concerns the mineral kingdom soon engrossed his attention. He came therefore well prepared to discharge the duties ot his professorship, and in the delivery of his lectures he was without a rival. His eloquence was inferior to none, (in native elo¬ quence, few r lecturers perhaps have ever equalled him in this country,) his know ledge of his subject was profound and extensive, his method of elucidating it clear and simple, whilst in illustrating it from his various and beautiful specimens of minerals he was peculiarly happy. Many of these specimens he had himself collected, in regions of the earth the most celebrated both in sacred and profane history, and they seldom failed to give rise to the most pleasing associations by their individual locality. To him, as a professor and public lecturer, may in short with great justice be applied, the sentence inscribed on the monument of Goldsmith, Ci niliil quod tetigit non ornavit.” In further illustration of his favourite science, he published, in 1807, a very elabo- 207 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. rate “ Methodical Distribution of the Mineral Kingdom.” To his generous ardour in pursuit of science, he fell indeed a lamented vic¬ tim. He looked habitually to the fame of the University with which he was connected, rather than to himself; and in his laborious endea¬ vours to exalt her reputation and promote her interest, he unhappily neglected his own health ; thus leaving to his afflicted family and sur¬ viving friends the most painful and bitter regrets, whilst to the Univer¬ sity itself he has bequeated a debt of gratitude, which will, we doubt not, in due time be amply and liberally discharged. To the higher qualities of his mind—to liis force and energy as a Christian preacher —to the eloquence and excellencies of his discourses—theUniversity can bear ample and honourable testimony, as, whenever he filled the pulpit, he attracted a crowded and attentive congregation. He was a warm and zealous friend to the Bible Society, having stood forth as its public champion in a very able “ Letter to Herbert Marsh, D.D. “ in reply to observations in his pamphlet on British and Foreign “ Bible Society.” 8vo. 1811. The very high estimation in which he was held by foreigners, is sufficiently proved by the numerous societies of which he was an honorary member. In private life, his character was amiable, as his conduct was exemplary. An indulgent parent—an affectionate husband—a warm, zealous, and sincere friend,—he pos¬ sessed the enviable power, of winning the esteem and affection of every one with whom he associated. Those who once knew him, loved him always. The kindness of his manners—his anxiety for the wel¬ fare of others—his eagerness to make them feel happy and satisfied with themselves, when united to the charms of his conversation, were not easily resisted ; he had therefore as many friends and as few enemies as any man. Besides his justly celebrated travels, and the works which have been incidentally noticed, Dr. Clarke was author of “ A Letter to the Gentlemen of the British Museum,” 4to. 1807. “ Description of the Greek Marbles, brought from the shores of the “ Euxine, Archipelago, and Mediterranean, and deposited in the “ Vestibule of the University Library, Cambridge.” 8vo. 1809. For his amusement during a short stay, which he made a few years since at Brighton, he also wrote and published some periodical papers under the title of “ Le Reveur,” which were afterwards collected in a duode¬ cimo volume, but by some accident few copies are now extant. His remains w ere interred in the chapel of Jesus College,Cambridge, on the 18t of March, being preceded to the grave by the Master, (then Vice-Chancellor of the University,) and the|Dean, and followed by his private friends, the fellow s of his college, (of whom before his marriage he was the senior,) and many members of the senate. The service was performed by the Master and Dean. PROVINCIAL AND MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Deaths. — Dec. 1821. At Shiraz, in Persia, Rev. Dr. Taylor, form¬ erly a Missionary of the London Society .—March 9. At Barville Park, near Graham Town, Algoa Bay, Major-Gen. Charles Camp- 208 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. bell, late Commander of the Forces at Newfoundland.—15. Rev. William Bell, a Wesleyan Missionary on the banks of the Gambia, 27.— April. At Calcutta, John M'Lacldan, Esq., formerly teacher of mathematics in Glasgow. He has bequeathed a handsome legacy, supposed to be about £20,000, the residue of his fortune, for the establishment of a Free School in Glasgow, for the education of poor Highlanders residing in and about the city, and for supplying books and stationary to those who are not able to purchase them.— 22. At Trincomalee, after a short illness of a fever, caught in the discharge of his duty in the Royal Naval Hospital there, William Boyd, M.D .—May 19. At Douglas, Isle of Man, Rev. John Braitli- waite, a Preacher in the Methodist Connection.—27. Rev. Dr. Milne, the learned and invaluable Missionary of the London Society in China. He died four days after his return from Sincapore and Penang, whither he had been in hopes of benefiting his health.— June. At his native town of Pesaro, Count Giulio Petecari, one of the most celebrated literary characters of Italy. At the age of thirty lie married the daughter of the celebrated Monti, and after¬ wards joined with his father-in-law in his elaborate w'ork on the Italian language. Besides his various contributions to the Biblio¬ theca Italiana, he published “ Sopora gli Autori del Treceito,” and “ Dell Amor Patria de Dante/’—In Jamaica, Samuel Fothergill, M.D. formerly a physician in London, 44 .—July 28. In Crawford, Elizabeth, second wife and relict of the Rev. Caesar de Missy, formerly one of his Majesty’s French Chaplains at St. James’s. Surviving her lamented husband for 47 years, she occupied much of her time in filling up, with the aid of a good memory, the notes of the sermons which he had left behind him. These, with some other MS. volumes of her husband’s writings, she has bequeathed to the British Museum.— Auy. Rev. Robert Baynes.—On his passage from Madras, Rev. C. Church, M.A. son of the late Rev. C. Church, of Whitehaven, 37.— Sept. M. Delambre, one of the perpetual secreta¬ ries ot the French Academy of Sciences, and highly esteemed for his astronomical and other acquirements. He was a native of Amiens, one of the original members of the Institute, a member of most of the learned societies in Europe, and author of a History of Astro¬ nomy, held in the highest estimation.—General Oliver Delancey, Colonel of the 17th Dragoons. This officer emigrated from America when the colonies rendered themselves independent, entered the British service, and rose to the rank of General in 1812. He had at one time a seat in Parliament, and held the lucrative office of Bar- rack-master-general, from which he was removed, on the discovery of a great defalcation in his accounts. He w as author of a pam¬ phlet, first published in America, and several times reprinted in England, under the title of “ Considerations on the Propriety of imposing Taxes in the British Colonies,” (Lond.) 1766.—At Paris, Madame Condorcet, widow of the celebrated Condorcet, and niece to Marshal Grouchy.—4. At Valencia, General Elio, who w as executed in pursuance of the sentence of a court-martial on him, which was confirmed on the 3d. inst. by the commandant of the district. It con¬ cluded in the following terms“ The Court have condemned, and do condemn, by an unanimity of votes, the said Lieut.-Gen. Don Xavier Elio to the ordinary punishment of the garrote, as provided for by the first article of the law of April 16, 1821, he being previously degraded.” At eleven in the forenoon of the following day, Elio was Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. 209 brought out of the Fort, where he had been under confession; he was escorted by two companies of grenadiers and a piquet of cavalry, along the road which passes round the new public walk, and the wall of the convent of Predicadores, to the Puerta del Real, the spacious plain on which the scaffold was erected, where he suffered with great courage and fortitude—9. Of a surfeit, after breakfast¬ ing alone with the King of France on a German dish called Nouilles., ordered by his majesty’s express desire, M. the Duke d’ Escaro’ Iutendant of the king’s household.—In Hereford-street, Park-street, aged 68, Lieutenant-Gen. Sir Hildebrand Oakes, Bart. K.G.C.B. Lieut.-Gen. of the Ordnance, and Colonel of the 52d Regiment of Foot. He commanded a brigade at the taking of Minorca, served with distinction in Egypt under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, having been wounded in the action in wdiich that gallant veteran was killed, and w as on the whole engaged in 3 sieges, 7 battles, 13 inferior actions and 17 other important military services.—10. The day on which he had completed his 76th year, the celebrated natural philosopher, mathematician, and philologer, D. Giambattista Venturini, Profes¬ sor Emeritus in the University of Padua, and member of many learn¬ ed societies.—12. At Dieppe, (whither lie had gone from Paris for the benefit of sea-bathing,) suddenly, from a violent haemorrhage, Don Jose Tiburico Echevarria a native of Marracaybo in Columbia, and one of a mission sent from that country to Spain. He paid a short visit to England in April, and was much esteemed here for his amiable qualities.— Oct. M. Deseine, sculptor to the family of Bour¬ bon Conde, who executed the monument of the Due d’Enghein.—At Paris, M. Legendre, a celebrated French mathematician, 71.—Count Bertholett, one of the most eminent chemists of the age.—Whilst engaged in the discharge of his duty, of an apoplectic attack, Mr. George Pace, inspector and superintendant of the Telegraphic and Semephoric Establishment at the Admiralty, 56.—2. At Madeira, Rev. Robert Williams, M.A. Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge.— 6. At his son’s house, Sloane-street, in the 71st year of his age, Signor Carlo Rovedino. His death w r as owing to water in his chest, under which he suffered for several weeks. This gentleman was well known for his musical talents in this country, and on the Conti¬ nent, as a bass singer.—9. In Cumberland-Place, New-Road, Win. Dickenson, Esq., formerly of Muskara Grange, near Newark Not¬ tingham, one of his Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for the counties of Nottingham, Lincoln, Middlesex, Surrey, and Sussex. He was the author of “ A History of the Antiquities of the Town and Church of Southwell, county of Nottingham,” 1787, 4to., to which he added a Supplement in 1819 ; “ The History of the Antiquities of the Town of Newark, county of Notts, (the Sidnacester of the Romans,) interspersed with Biographical Sketches,” 1806, 1819; “A practical Exposition of the Law relative to the office and duties of Justices of the Peace,” 2 vols. 8vo.; “ The Justice Law of the last Five Years,” 1818; “ A Practical Guide to the Quarter Sessions,” 1820.—10. At Whitehall-Place, Henry Nugent Bell, Esq. student in the Inner Tem¬ ple. This gentleman had acquired some celebrity by his exertions in the recovery of the Huntingdon Peerage, of which he published a detailed account. An action to recover a sum of money advanced to him by Mr. Cooke, an engraver, for the investigation of a claim to an estate, was tried on the very day he died, and a verdict passed against him, on evidence very far from creditable to his character. VOL. VI. - NO. 11. P 210 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. \ —At Marseilles, Madame Letitia Bonaparte, the mother of Napoleon Bonaparte. Her chief heir is her grandson, the young Napoleon, who, it is said, will ultimately receive an immense fortune. To her eight children, now living, Joseph Bonaparte, Lucien, Louis, Jerome, Eliza, Pauline, Caroline, and Hortensia, she bequeaths the sum of 150,000 scudi, (£37,500 sterling,) making in the whole three hundred thousand pounds. The four daughters of Lucien are to have each a marriage portion of 25,000 scudi. To her brother, Cardinal Fesch, who already rolls in wealth, she has bequeathed a superb palace, filled with the most splendid furniture, and with rarities of every sort. The evening preceding her death, she called together all her household. She was supported on white velvet pillows; her bed was crimson damask, and in the centre hung a crown decorated with flow ers. The whole of the apartment was lighted in a grand style. She called her servants, one after another, to her bed-side, who knelt, and kissed her extended hand, which was skinny, and covered with a profusion of rings. To her chief director of finances, Juan Berosa, she said, “ Juan, my blessing go with thee and thine !” To Maria Belgrade, her waiting maid, “ Go to Jerome, he will take care of thee. When my grandson is Emperor of France, he will make thee a great woman.” She then called Colonel Darley to her bed¬ side; he had attended her in all her fortunes; and, in Napoleon’s will, a donation of £14,000 had been assigned to him. “ You,” said she, “ have been a good friend to me and ray family: I have left you what will make you happy. Never forget my grandson; what he and you may arrive at is beyond my discerning; but you will both be great!” She then called in all her junior servants, and w ith a pencil, as their names were called, marked down a sum of money to be given to each. They were then dismissed, and she declared she had done with the world, and requested water. She washed her hands, and lay down upon her pillow. Her attendants found her dead, with her hand under her head, and a prayer-book upon her breast. Thus perished the mother of one who has been a meteor on earth, and a blazing star to direct others! She had some amiable qualities ; and, considering that her rise from poverty to wealth was so rapid, her way of conducting herself, and her proud manner, may be par¬ donable. She did much good from ostentation, and died regretted for what she could do, not lamented by any one for what she had done.—16. At her house in the Adelphi Terrace, Mrs. Garrick, widow of the celebrated David Garrick. She was in her 99th year, having survived her husband 43 years. By her death, the library of the British Museum will be enriched by her husband’s valuable col¬ lection of old English plays, and the celebrated statue of Shakspeare by Roubiliac. She has left upwards of £1300 to public charities, and amongst numerous tokens of remembrance to her friends, £100 to Mrs. Hannah More.—19. In Great Coram-street, on his way from Scotland to Geneva, Dr. Alex. Marcet, 52.—In Leicester-square, Thomas Mackenzie, Esq. M. P. for Ross-shire.—25. After a lingering- illness of nearly four months, James Sow r erby, Esq. F.L.S. M.G.sf. &c. an artist of considerable talent, well known as the engraver and publisher of the complete Flora of Great Britain, under the title of the “ English Botany,” and as a most intelligent and laborious culti¬ vator of the science of natural history, 65.— Nov. In Exmouth- street, Spa-Fields, R. Earlom, Esq. a celebrated engraver in Mez- jsotinto.—In Boswell-Court, R. Wooddesson, Esq. a Bencher, of the Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. 211 Inner Temple.—At his apartments in Robert-street, Bedford-Row, in very indigent circumstances, Mr. John Dougall, author of “ Mili¬ tary Memoirs,” 1 vol. 8vo.; “The Modern Preceptor,” 2 vols. 8vo .; “ The Cabinet of Arts,” 2 vols. 8vo., and several other school and elementary works.—12. At his house in Sloane-street, in his 82d year, the Right Hon. Wm. Lord Grantley, Baron Markiugfieid, Lord High Steward of Allertonshire and Guildford, Colonel of the First Royal Surrey Regiment of Militia, F.S.A. &c. &c. His Lordship was the eldest son of Sir Fletcher Norton, the celebrated lawyer, who, after serving the office of Speaker of the House of Commons for ten years, was created Lord Grantley in 1782. The two sons of the late Lord dying in infancy, he is succeeded in his titles and estates by his nephew', Fletcher Norton, Esq. eldest son of the late Hon. Fletcher Norton, many years one of the Barons of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland.—15. At his lodgings, Upper Gloucester- street, Regent’s-Park, Mr. John Debrett, formerly an eminent book¬ seller in Piccadilly. He w as the compiler of the “ New Foundling Hospital for Wit,” 6 vols. 12mo. 1784; “ Asylum for Fugitive Poems, in Prose and Verse,” 4 vols. 12mo.; “ Parliamentary Papers,” 3 vols. 8vo. 1797, and of the Peerage and Baronetage known by his name.— 19. In Norfolk-street, Strand, Mr. G. Trallis, Professor of Astro¬ nomy in the Royal Military Academy, Berlin.—20. Mr. Rouley, a Local Preacher amongst the Wesleyan Methodists in the West-Lon- don Circuit. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Venn. J. H. Pott, Archdeacon of Lon¬ don, Prebendary' of Mora, in the cathedral church of St. Paul: Rev. Henry Tattam, R. of St. Cuthbert’s, Bedford, Chaplain to the English church at the Hague: Rev. T. L. Strong, B.D. Chaplain to the Bishop of Landaff, St. Michael, Queenhithe, London, R. Ordination. — Any. 11. Rev. Messrs. Salier and Gibbs, over the Baptist Free-chapel, Lower Chapman-street, St. George’s in the East. BEDFORDSHIRE. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. Henry Tattam, St. Cuthbert, Bed¬ ford, R. Rev. H. W. Whinfield, Battlesden-cum-Potsgrave, R. BERKSHIRE. Death. — Nov. At Newbury, suddenly', Rev. David James, for 44 years Pastor of the old Presbyterian congregation in that town, which office he resigned in 1805. Ecclesiastical Preferment. —Rev. William Whitelock, Sulhampstead Abbots, and Sulhampstead Banister, R.R. New Church. —On Monday, June 17, the New Church at Windsor was consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury, with the usual ceremony. The Sermon was preached by the venerable Archdeacon of Berks, and the Gentlemen of the Choir of St. George’s Chapel assisted at the service. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. Deaths. — Sept. 15. At Eton, by his own hand in a fit of temporary insanity, Rev. E. Halhead, M.A. Fellow of New College, Oxford.—30. At Frogmore Lodge, High Wycombe, Rev. John Manning, LL. B. an Alderman of the Corporation. Ecclesiastical Preferment. —Rev. H. W. Whinfield, R. of Battlesden- eum-Potsgrave, Beds, Tyringham-cum-Felgrave, R. 212 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. Netv Chapels opened. — Auy.QJ. A Baptist Meeting-House at West- cott, in the hamlet of Waddeson. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Tyler, Wrffin, (Independent) and Williams.— Sept. 3. An IndependentChapel at Marsh Gibbon. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Aston, of Buckingham, Gunn, of Aylesbury, and Tyler (Baptist) of Haddenham.—26. A Baptist Meeting-House in Haddenham in the parish of Chearsley. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Paul, of Chenner, Heafford, of Chalgrove, and Tyler.— Oct. 10. A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Haddenham. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Burdsall, Robert Martion, and Cubit. Ordination.—May 29. Rev. W. Hopcraft, over the Baptist Church at Long Crendon. CAMBRIDGESHIRE. University Intelliyence. Elections. —Rev. H. Godfrey, D.D. Presi¬ dent of Queen's College, Vice-Chancellor: Mr. T. Short, Under Keeper of the University Library. CHESHIRE. Death. — Nov. 8. At Macclesfield, Rev. John Beaumont, for 36 years a Preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist connection. Ecclesiastical Preferment. —Rev. G. Pearson, a Minor Canon in Chester Cathedral. Ordination.—July 30 and 31. Rev. G. Ryan, late of Bridlington, Yorkshire, over the Independent Church in Orchard-St. Stockport. CORNWALL. Death. — Nov. At Filleigli, Rev. J. B. Karslake, R. of the conso¬ lidated parishes of East Buckland and Filleigh, and R. of Creacomb, Devon. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. J. Glanville, Jacobstow, R. and St. Germain’s, P. C.—Rev. S. Archer, Lewanneck, V.—Rev. W. Martin, Gwenapp, V.—Rev. John Nolan, Torpoint, P. C.—Rev. G. Prideaux, Bayton, P. C. New Chapel opened. — Auy. 1. Bethel Chapel, Torpoint, for the use of the congregation under the pastoral care of Mr. Shephard. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Trevor, of Liskard; T. Horton, of Morna- square Chapel; Parrott, of Dock. CUMBERLAND. Deaths. — Nov. At Egremont, Rev. A. Brown, 72.—At Allonby, W. Lomas, M.D. DERBYSHIRE. Deaths. — Feb. 21. Mr. John Ordish, of Thurvanstone, a Local Preacher in the Wesleyan connection.— Oct. At Derby, Rev. John Lindsey Young, M.A., V. of Cockerbam, Lancashire.—3. At North Wingfield, of a mortification occasioned by breaking his leg, Rev. Henry Hankey, R.—18. At Shipley Hall, Ed. Miller Mundv, Esq. M.P. He represented the county in Parliament 39 years, 72. Neiv Chapel opened.—Oct. 1. A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, at Ashborne. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Joseph Taylor, Sen. and Robert Newton. DEVONSHIRE. Deaths. — April 19. At Chegford, on the borders of Dartmoor, Mr. Thomas Langford Pannell, for 20 years a local-preacher in the Wes- Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. 213 leyean connection.— July 9. At Plymouth, Rev. Richard Sumner, Roman Catholic Priest, and on the loth of the same month, his bro¬ ther Rev. James Sumner. They were the twin sons of the late Mr. Thomas Sumner, of Leagrim, near Preston, Lancashire, prosecuted their studies together for the same sacred calling, and died within a week of each other at the age of 47.— Oct. At Sidmouth, Rev. John Le Marchant, P. C. St. Helen’s, in the Isle of Wight.— Nov. At Ply¬ mouth, Admiral Boger, 83.—At Iddesleigh, Rev. J. Bannister. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. John Cummins, Rackenford, R.— Rev. E. Southcomb, Rose-Ash, R.—Rev. Joseph P. Priest, Lang- tree, R.—Rev. John Moore, Otterton, Y. New Chapel opened. — Oct. 2. An Independent Chapel at Comb- martin. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Rooker, of Biddeford ; Gardener, of Barnstaple ; and Bromley, of Appledore. Ordination.—July 4, Rev. R. Clapson, from Hackney Academy, over the Independent Church assembling in Glenrochy Chapel, Enfath. DORSETSHIRE. Deaths. — Oct. 2. At Loders, Rt. Hon. Sir Evan Nepean, Bart. F.R.S. High Sheriff of the county. From a purser in the Navy, he succes¬ sively became a commissioner of the Privy Seal, Secretary to the Admiralty, Secretary of State for Ireland, a Lord of the Admiralty, and Governor of Bombay, 71.— Nov. At Lyme Regis, Rev. Henry Porter, R. of Springfield, Essex, and of Enfield, Middlesex. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. W. Oldfield Bartlett, Worth- Maltravers, V.—Rev. J. M. Colson, St. Peter’s, Dorchester. R. New Chapel opened. — Auy. 21. Hope Chapel, Weymouth, in the Independent connection. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. J. Trego ; J. A. Roberts; and J. E. Good. Ordination. — Auy. 15. Rev. Abraham Wray, from Stepney Aca¬ demy, over the Baptist Church at Lyme Regis. DURHAM. Deaths. — Auy. 5. At Stockton, Rev. W. Hartley, Pastor of the Baptist Church in that town, 82. — Nov. At Durham, Rev. E. Walsh, Roman Catholic Minister, 84.—At Bishop Wearmouth, Thomas Col- lingwood, M.D. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. Matthew Chester, St. Helen’s, Auckland, P. C.—Rev. R. Green, Wheelton, P. C. ESSEX. Deaths. — Oct. At a very advanced age, Rev. Peter de Beauvoir, of Downham-hall, R. of Downham and of Weekford. Since his decease his executor has paid the sum of £38,000 at the stamp office, as the duty upon £720,000 payable to the residuary legatee, Richard Ben¬ son, Esq. who was no relation to the testator, but has since taken his name. About £50,000 were bequeathed in other legacies, indepen¬ dent of freehold estates of considerable value.—12. At the Brook, near Romford, Rev. Matthew Wilson, Y. of Thurrock Grays, and author of “To your Tents; an address to the Volunteers,” 1816.— Nov. 10. Rev. Charles Onley, of Stested-hall. Ecclesiastical Preferment. —Rev. B. Chase, B.D. Tendring, R. New Chapel opened. — Sept. 3. An Independent Chapel at Great Wakering, near Southend. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Burls, of Mal¬ den, and J. Clayton, jun. of London. 214 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. Ordination. — Oct. 31. Rev. Peter Sibree, from Hoxton Academy, (son of the late Rev. Mr. Sibree, of Frome,) over the Independent Church at Weathersfield. GLOUCESTERSHIRE. Deaths. — Aug. At Henbury near Bristol, Anne Goddard, 105. She retained her faculties to the last, and could see to read without the assistance of glasses.—26. AtCheltenham, afteran illness of two days Lieut. Gen. John Haynes, H. E. I. C. S.— Sept. 23. At Queningtno, Rev. John Wolvey, R. of Astley.— Oct. 3. At Clifton, Henry Charles Lichfield, Esq. Barrister at Law, a Bencher of the Hon. Society of the Inner Temple, and late one of the Solicitors to the Treasury, 66.— Nov. At Staunton, Rev. T. K. Mallet.—Rev. W. Shippen Willes, of Astrop-house, Northamptonshire, and for nearly 30 years R. of Pres¬ ton Bisset, Bucks. He was son of the late Mr. Justice Willes. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rt. Hon. Rev. Lord William Somerset, a Prebendary in Bristol Cathedral.—Rev. Mr. Bullock, St. Paul’s Bris¬ tol, V.—Rev. R. Vavasour, Stowe St. Edmond’s, R. New Chapels opened. — Sept. 10. An Independent Chapel at Hewels- field, on the borders of Monmouthshire. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Bishop, of Gloucester, Burder,of Stroud, and Penihall, of Whitchurch. — Oct. 2. An Independent Chapel at Michel Dean. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Jay, of Bath; Bishop, of Gloucester; and Thorp, of Bristol. Ordination.—July 11. Rev. W. Wild, over the Independent Church at Chalford. HAMPSHIRE. Death. — Sept. 6. At Portsmouth, a well-known musician and ec¬ centric character, called Billy Rolles. He was always supposed to be in the depths of poverty, but in his miserable looking scrutoire, were found "between sixty and seventy pounds in money, and mort¬ gages to the amount of nearly £700. Ashe died without a will a labourer in the Gun-wharf, as his next of kin, is his heir. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Fev. R. Tredcroft, A.M. R. of Combes Prebendary of Hampstead, in Winchester Cathedral.—Rev. H. Hub¬ bard, Hinton Ampner, R.—Rev. R. Dickenson, R. of Headlev. Milton in the New Forest, P. C. * New Chapels opened. — Sept. 26. An Independent Meeting-house *at Brashfield. Preachers, Rev. Messrs Reynolds, of Romsey; and Adkins, of Southampton.—9. A Baptist Chapel in Lake Lane, Port- sea. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Miall, of Portsea; Draper, of South¬ hampton; and Bulgin, of Poole. HEREFORDSHIRE. Death. — October. The Rev. R. Hodges, 34 years Rector of Knill Chapel. Ecclesiastical Preferment.— Rev. G. H. L. Gretton, A.M Allens more and Clehanger, V. ' HERTFORDSHIRE. Deaths. — Sept. At Hemel Hempstead, Rev. S. Grover, A.M. Fel¬ low of Exeter College, Oxford.—15. At Watford, Mr. G. Whitiingstall an eminent brewer. He has died immensely rich, leaving the mass’ of his wealth to his sister; though it is said, that he has also left property to the amount of £ LOO,000 to a distant relative, and £10 000 to a lad who is no way related to hini. Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. 215 o HUNTINGDONSHIRE. Death.—Nov. At Sawtry, Rev. James Saunders, LL.B. R. of Sawtry and V. of Great Gidding. Ordination.—Sept. 18. Rev. J. Chappell, from Newport Pagnel Academy, over the recently formed Independent Church at Yaxley. KENT. Deaths. — Aug. 23. Of apoplexy, Doctor Robert Wright, Physician to Greenwich Hospital, late of Haslar, 67.-24. Shooter’s Hill, Gen. Sir Thomas Bloomfield, Bart, of Attleborough, Norfolk, Colonel Commandant of the 9th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, and Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Foundery at Woolwich. The General served with great credit in America, and commanded the artillery in the attack upon Copenhagen in 1807, for which latter service he received his baronetcy and the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. He w as not only a skilful officer, but a pious character, —25. About four o’clock in the afternoon, the village of St. Nicholas, in the Isle of Thanet, was visited with one of the most tremendous storms of thunder and lightning ever known in the memory of the oldest inhabitant; in the course of which, tw r o labouring men, named George Beddingfield and Richard Jolincock, who were at work in a field near the village, were instantaneously struck dead by the electric fluid, which was observed to descend to the earth to within two feet of Beddingfield, whose clothes were torn in pieces, and his body rendered a shocking spectacle, his head being dreadfully burnt, as also one ot his legs. The body of Jolincock was also much dis¬ coloured and blackened. They w'ere both married men, and besides a wife, Jolincock has left six children; and what adds to the calamity, his wife had been delivered of the youngest only a few hours. Two other persons were knocked down and injured at the same moment. The bodies were conveyed to the church to await a Coro¬ ner’s inquest, and the sensation occasioned in the village by this dreadful occurrence is indescribable.— Sept. Rev. Sir John Fagg, Bart, of Mystloe, near Canterbury.—27. At Ramsgate, the Rev. John Owen, Rector of Paggleslian, Essex, and Preacher at Park-street Chapel, London, the laborious Secretary and eloquent advocate of the British and Foreign Bible Society, 57.— Oct. 4. At Deal, Rev. Benjamin Leggatt, for 36 years a Preacher in the Wesleyan connec¬ tion, 63. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Hon. and Rev. George Pellew', a Pre¬ bendary in Canterbury Cathedral—Rev. A. C. Payler, Headcorn, V. —Rev. Hen. Reddel Moody, M.A. Chatham, R. New Chapels opened.—Sept. 3. A new Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at St. Nicholas, in the Isle of Thanet. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Gilpin and Calder.—Oct. 15. A new' Independent Chapel at Maid¬ stone, for the use of the congregation under the care of the Rev. E. Jenkins. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. J. Clayton, jun. and A. Fletcher of London, and Liefchild of Kensington. LANCASHIRE. Deaths.—Aug. 15. At Blackburn, Roger Cuuliffe, Esq. banker —> Sept. 12. Suddenly, by an apoplectic fit, Rev. Henry Knight, upwards of thirty years pastor of the Protestant Dissenting Church in Yelver- toft, 54.—16. Mr. George Burrell, principal Librarian of the Athe¬ naeum, Liverpool, 33.— Nov. At Halliwell, near Bolton, at the advan- 216 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. ced age of 108, Mrs. Anne Macdonald. In early life she went to America, and remained there 14 years; during which time she was present at the memorable siege of Quebec, when she was laundress to General Wolfe. All women, except herself, were ordered into the woods during the siege, and she was slightly wounded by a splinter from a shell. She resided for more than half a century in the imme¬ diate neighbourhood where she breathed her last, and was regularly in the habit of w alking to and fro from Bolton once or twice a week, a distance of two miles each way, until within a few months of her death.—2. At Liverpool, Rev. J. Parker, Roman Catholic Priest, 75. —At Manchester, Mr. William Walmsley. LEICESTERSHIRE. Deaths. — Sept. 3. At the Vicarage-house, Belgrave, Peter Oliver, Esq. A.M. author of “ A short Account of the Reformers and Martyrs of the Church of England,” 8vo. 1798, aged 71.— Oct. At Hathern, Rev. Thomas Beer, 36 years R. of Long Whatton, 85.—Rev. Fran¬ cis B. Willis, B.A. V. of Calthorpe. New Chapel opened.—July 16. A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Barrow-upon-Soar. Preachers,"Rev. Messrs. Newton, Isaacs, and Stead. Ordinations.—July 13. Rev. J. Roberts, from Hoxton Academy, over the newly formed Independent Church at Melton Mowbray.— Oct. 9. Rev. Mr. Gear, from Hoxton Academy, over the Independent Church at Market Harborough. LINCOLNSHIRE. Deaths. — Sept. At Market Raisen, John Atkinson Robinson, B.A. of St. John’s College, Cambridge, 24.— Nov. At Lincoln, Rev. G.Kinfr, R. of Ashby-de-la-Land. 6 MIDDLESEX. Death. — Nov. 5. At Hackney, Benjamin Spencer, M.D. 67. Ordination.—Oct. 3. Rev. J. B. Shenston, over the Baptist Church at Crouch-end. NORFOLK. Deaths. — Feh. 10. At Lynn, Rev. John Dean, a Preacher in the Wesleyan connection, 56.— Nov. At Westacre, High-house, Anthony Hammond, Esq. in his 81st year ; and, after a life of extraordinary activity, riding foremost in the coursing as well as hunting field, and on the most spirited horses, even until within a few weeks of his death. He is succeeded by his uncle, Richard Hammond, Esq. in the possession of his extensive landed property. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. Samuel Savory, Houghton jux- ta Harpley V.—Rev. T. Wright, Kilverston, R.—Rev. W. B. Coul- cher, Bawsey, R. New Church.—Sept. 5. A new Baptist Church was formed at Swaff- liam. Odinations.—July 24. Rev. W. Evans, from Hoxton Academy, over the Independent Church at Wymondham.— Sept. 18. Rev. John Tippetts, from Hoxton Academy, over the Independent Church at Broad-street, Lynn.—Oct. 22. Rev. H. E. Robinson, over the New Congregational Church at Wetton. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. Deaths.—Oct. Rev. James Wykes, A.M. upwards of twenty years 217 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. R. of Harslebeecb.—Rev. R. Thornton, V. of Cold Abbey andWceden Beck. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. John Watson, D.D. Ringston- cum-Denford, V.—Rev. W. Thursby, All-Saints, Northampton, and Hardingstone, V. Ordinations. — Feb. 6. Rev. S. Adams, late of Kislingburg, recog¬ nized a Pastor of the Particular Baptist Church atWalgrave, near Northampton.— Sept. 5. Rev. J. Coleman, co-pastor with Rev. D. Hemel, over the Independent Church, Woolaston.— Oct. 10. Rev. Stephen Deacon, over the Particular Baptist Church at Eart’s Barton. NORTHUMBERLAND. Deaths. — Nov. At Cullercoats, W. Mills, 101.—At Low Farnham, Mrs. C. Green, 102. Ordinations.—July 11. Rev. W. Colefax, from Idle Academy, over the Independent Church at Hexham.—17. Rev. David Douglas, from Bradford Academy, over the Baptist Church at Hamsterley. NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. Death. — July 12. At Watnall, where he had gone for the benefit of his health, Mr. George Watson, of Mount-East-street, Nottingham. His wife died on the 6th, and was buried on the 7th. On the Sunday following, the bans of marriage between himself and another person were published, at St. Mary’s church; on the next morning he went to Watnall, and died in the evening. New Church. — Oct. 2. St. Paul’s Chapel, Nottingham, ivas conse¬ crated by the Archbishop of York. Miscellaneous Intelligence.— The Corporation of Nottingham have granted 144 square yards of waste land to the congregation of Jews in that town, on a lease of nine hundred and ninety-nine years, to be set apart as a place of interment for the members of that long perse¬ cuted, but ancient body of people, who hitherto have been obliged to convey their dead, at a great expense, from that part of the country toBirmingham, their nearest burial-place. OXFORDSHIRE. Deaths. — Aug. 18. At Adderbury, Rev. Holford Cotton, M.A. 28 years V.—19. At Walcot, Rev. Richard Pickering, B.D. R. and also R. of Winterborne Abbots with Winterborne Stapleton, Dorset. — Sept. Rev. H. Heathcote, R. of Brisebrand, near Henley-upon- Thames.—8. At the King’s Arms Inn, Oxford. Rev. Alfred James Trash, P.C. of Kersay and Lindsay, Suffolk.—12. Of cholera morbus, at Oxford, Rev. Samuel Gauntlett, many years Warden of New College, Prebendary of St. Paul’s, Y. of Portsea, Hants, and R. of Colerne, Wilts, 78.— Nov. 4. In High-street, Oxford, Rev. Hugh Moeses, M.A. R. of Whitchurch, Oxfordshire, and Y. of East Farleigh, Kent, 59. New Chapel opened.—July 18. At Swerford, a small neat place of worship, supplied by a Baptist, and an Independent Minister. Preachers, Rev. (Messrs. Woolley, of Doddington (Independent), and Taylor, of Shipton (Baptist). University Intelligence. Elections.— Rev. Chas. John Ridley, M.A. Fellow of University College, Rawlinson’s Anglo-Saxon Professor.— Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny, M,D. Fellow of Magdalen College, 218 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. O Aldrich, Professor of Chemistry.—Rev. P. M. Shuttleworth, M..4. Warden of New College. SHROPSHIRE. Deaths. — Oct. C. Evans, better known by the name of ‘ Carolus the Hermit of Tong,’ where he had lived for seven years in a lonely and romantic cell on the domain of C. Durant, Esq.— Nov. 24. At his seat, Hardwicke, Sir John Kynaston Powell, Bart., for 38 years one of the representatives in Parliament for this county, Colonel of i(s Volunteers, High Steward and senior Alderman of Shrewsbury. &cc. Dying without issue, he is succeeded in his titles and estates by his only brother, the Rev. Edward Kynaston, of Risby and Fornham, St. George, Suffolk, one of his Majesty’s chaplains. SOMERSETSHIRE. Deaths.—Aug. 13. At South Brent, Mrs. Grace Phipps. This lady was suddenly seized with a violent pain in her eye, which subsided after a few hours; she then fell into a profound sleep, from which she never awoke, dying the following morning.— Sept. At Bath, Rear Admiral Christie, of Baberton, county of Midlothian, N. B.—Oct. 30. Rear Admiral Paget, G. B., who had sailed round the World with Capt. Vancouver, and filled, for many years, the post of Naval Com¬ missioner at Madras.—31. At Bath, Major Gen. Procter, 59.— Nov At Bath, Sir H. White, K. G. B. ’ Ecclesiastical Preferment— Rev. J. Allan, A.M. of Christ’s Church Oxford, Head Master of the Free Grammar School, Ilminster. New Chapels opened.—July 28. An Independent Chapel at Thale Preacher, Rev. Mr. Lane, of Wells.— Aug. 20. An Independent Meeting-house at Bridgewater. Preacher, Rev. Mr. Lowell of Bristol. ’ Ordination.—Aug. 20. Rev. Joseph Carp, from the Western Aca¬ demy, over the Independent Church at Bridgewater. Literary Intelligence.— A Public Library and Reading: Room is about to be established at Taunton. STAFFORDSHIRE. Deaths.—Nov. At Longdon-IIall, Sir J. E. Heathcote.—Rev R Bentley, V. of Leek.—At Walsall, Rev. P. Pratt.—At Hauo-hton’ near Stafford, Rev. V. Yonge. o OD , New Chapels opened.—Aug. 8. An Independent Chapel at Whitbv Rocks, near Leek. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Farmer of Hanlev Roby, of Manchester, and Ball, one of the Home Missionaries of the county.— Oct. 2. A new Independent Chapel at Tean. Preachers Rev. Messrs. M’Call, of Macclesfield, and Farmer, of Hanley. SUFFOLK. Death.—Oct. At Bury St. Edmund’s, Rev. Henry Harrison, 38 years R. of Shimpling, Norfolk. Ecclesiastical Preferments.— Rev. Richard Exton, Atlielin^ton R —Rev. Mr. Curtis, V. of Leominster, Sudbury, R._R ev . c” Hatch B.A. Fellow of King’s Coll. Cambridge, Kersey and Lindsay P c* on the presentation of the Provost and Fellows of that College — Rev. Robert Simpson, Warslow and Elkston, P. C. New Chapel opened.—Aug. 7. A Baptist Meeting-house at Aldbo- " .-wt C j ChefS j ^ V ’ ¥^ ssrs * Cox of Ha ckney, Robinson of Cratfield (Independent), and Spurgeon of Meatished. Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. 219 Ordination. — Sept. 18. Rev. W. Mayhew, from Hoxton Academy over the Independent Church at Walpole. surrey. Deaths. — Aug. 31. At the vicarage Wandsworth, Rev. Rober Holt Butcher, LL.B. 44 years Y. of that parish, and 32 years V. o- Cheshain, Bucks.— Sept. 27. At Beddington, James Pigott, Esq. Admiral of the Red. Ecclesiastical Preferment. —Rev. H. Aylcng, M.A. Head Master of Guilford Grammar-school. New Chapel opened.—Aug. 27. A new Chapel at Banstead, for the use of “ The Good Samaritan Humane Society.” Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Stodhart of Pell-street, and Chin of Walworth. SUSSEX. Death. — Oct. 20. At Hastings, J. H. Smyth, Esq. M. P. for the University of Cambridge, and son-in-law to the Duke of Grafton. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. G. Wells, R. of Weston, a Pre¬ bendary of Chichester Cathedral.—Rev. W. W r ells, Harting, R.— Rev. Wm. Yaux, Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Patch¬ ing with Tarring, R. New Chapels opened.—July 8. A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Worthing. Preacher, Rev. Jabez Bunting.— Sept. 16. The First Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Hastings. Preachers, Rev. Jabez Bunting and Rev. Dr. Collyer. WARWICKSHIRE. Deaths. — Nov. At Birmingham, G. Milne, M.D. Physician to the Birmingham Hospital.—Rev. W. Elliot, curate of Walford.—Rev. W. Corne, R. of Texhall and Swinnerton. New Chapel opened. — Nov. 3. A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Nineveh, near Birmingham. Preacher, Rev. S. W oolraer. WILTSHIRE. Deaths. — Aug. 13. At Laverstock, Rev. J. Haines, M.A. of Bear- minster, Dorset, 91— Sept. Rev. Mr. Price, of Colerue. New Chapel opened.—Sept. 26. An Independent Chapel at Ber¬ wick St. John. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Good of Salisbury, Minch of Frome, and Evans of Shaftsbury. Ordinations. — Sept. 24. Rev. John Green over the Independent Church assembling in Ebenezer Chapel at Market Lavington.— Nov. 7. Rev. T. Best, over the Independent Church at Frome. AVORCESTERSHIRE. Death. — Oct. AtSheldesley Rectory, Rev. J. Robinson. YORKSHIRE. Deaths.—Aug. 18. At Martin, near Skiptou in Craven, Mr. Francis Watson, a Local Preacher among the Wesleyan Methodists.— Sept. 18. At the Vicarage, East Grinton, Rev. T. Edmonson, V. of that place, and Master of the Free Grammar School Fremington — Oct. Rev. William Robinson, M.A. P. C. of St. Mark’s, Longwood, in the parish of Huddersfield, and Master of Longwood Free School.— Nov. At the Cote in Fexby. Rev. J. West. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. W. Cockburn, A.M. Deanery of the Metropolitan Church of York.—Rev. Mr. Benson, Ledsham, V.— Rev. J. B. Graham, Holy Trinity, Miklegate, York, V.—Rev. S. Red- 220 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. head, Colverly, V.—Rev. Wm. Flower, Jun. Chaplain to York Castle, Malton, P. C.—Rev. T. B. Atkinson, Holy Trinity Chapel, Richmond, P. C.—Rev. T. Holme, Head Master of the Free Gram¬ mar School, Kirby Ravensworth. New Chapels opened.—June 19. A Baptist Chapel at Bedale. Preacher, Rev. Dr. Steadman.—20. A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at East Moor, near Wakefield. Preacher, Rev. S. Woolmer.— Oct. 21. The foundation stone of a Fourth Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Sheffield was laid by Thomas Iloby, Esq., who munificently contri¬ buted £500 towards its erection. Ordinations.—May 7. Rev. John Rouse, from Bradford Academy, over the Baptist Church at Kilham.— July 3. Rev. J. Rheeder, from Idle Academy, over the Independent Church at Ossett.— Aug. 7. Rev. J. Walton over the Independent Church at Sutton, near Thirsk. —22. Rev. A. Blackburne, from Idle Academy, over the Independent Church at Myrtle-Grove.— Oct. 16. Rev. R.Aspinall,from the Academy at Idle, over the Independent Church at Grassington, near Skipton.— 24. Rev. James Parsons over the Independent Church assembling in Lendal Chapel, York. WALES. Deaths. — Oct. At Hafod, county of Cardigan, Rev. David Jones, 23 years R. of Ruckinge, Kent.—Rev. W. Bowen, of Swansea.— Nov. At Kenmarth, Pembrokeshire, Mrs. Hannah Joel, 105. Ordinations.—May 29. Rev. W. Richards, late of Abergavenny Academy, over the Baptist Church at Penyrhool, Brecon.— Sept. 26. Rev. J. Griffith, late of Carmarthen College, over the Independent Church at Beaumaris.—Rev. W. Griffiths, late of Carmarthen Col¬ lege, over the Independent Church at Holyhead. SCOTLAND. Deaths. — Aug. 11. In the 53d year of his age, William Erskine Lord Kinneder, one of the Senators of the college of Justice in Scot¬ land. His Lordship was known to the literary world by his “ Addi¬ tional Stanzas to Collins’s Ode on the Superstitions of the Highlands.” He wrote also the preface to the “Bridal of Triermain,” and until his friend Sir Walter Scott avowed that work, enjoyed the almost un¬ divided reputation of being its author.—31. At Croy, Rev. Huo-fi Calder, Minister, 78 .—Sept. 2. At Aberdeen, Rev. W. West, a Preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist connection, 79.—Rev. William M‘ Ilquham, Minister of the Church of Relief, Tollcross, in the 53d year of his age, and 24th year of his ministry. On the afternoon of the previous Saturday, his eldest daughter died in her 16th year. They were interred in the same grave.—14. At the Manse of WestKilleede, Rev. Arthur Oughterson, in the 87th year of his age, and 52d of his ministry.—23. At St. Andrews. Rev. Wm. Crawford, D.D. Professor of Moral Philosophy in that University.—29. Of a sudden fit of gout in the stomach, at Scone Palace, whilst on a visit to his sister the Countess of Mansfield, Very Rev. George Markham, D.D. F.S.A. Dean of York, R. of Stokesley, second son of the late Archbishop of York.—iVor. At Aberdeen, W. Livingston, M.D. Professor of Me¬ dicine in that University, and Physician to Gordon Hospital.—At Ettrike Maise, Rev. J. Bennet.—At Grey Abbey, Edinburgh, Mrs. Agnes Beck, 104—7. In St. Mary’s Isle, at the seat of his sister the Countess of Selkirk, James Wedderburn, Esq. Solicitor General for Scotland, 40. Summary of Missionary Proceedings. 221 Ordination.—Aug. 7. Rev. James Spence, over the Congregational Church assembling in Blackfriars-street chapel, Aberdeen. IRELAND. Deaths.—July 21. In Great Denmark-street, Dublin, the Rt. Hon. Grace Baroness Norwood in her own right. Her Ladyship married June 2, 17<8, the Rt. Hon. John Toler, Lord Norbury, Lord Chief Justice of the court of Common Pleas in Ireland, by whom she had two sons and two daughters. She is succeeded in her barony by her eldest son, the Hon. Daniel Toler, now Lord Norwood, who is also heir apparent to the Barony of Norbury.— Sept. 19. At Nymphsfield, at a very advanced age, Charles O’Hara, Esq. M.P. for the county of Sligo, and formerly a Lord of the Treasury in Ireland.—21. At his villa, near Clontarf, Lodge Evans de Montmorency, Viscount Frank¬ fort de Montmorency, one of his Majesty’s most Hon. Privy Council, a Trustee of the linenboard, a Vice-president of the Dublin Society, and a Commissioner for improving the port and harbour of Dublin.' His Lordship is succeeded in his titles and estates by his son, Lodge Ray¬ mond, a minor.— Oct. At his seat, Moor Park, near Kilworth, county of Cork, in the 53d year of his age, Stephen Earl of Mountcashel. His Lordship is succeeded by his eldest son, Viscount Kilworth, besides whom he has left four sons and two daughters.— 1, At Kilburn, Rev. Tlios. Shore Woodman, 32.— Nov. At Dublin, Rev. J. Bahan, a Roman Catholic Priest.—At the convent in Kilkenny, Rev. W. Berry, 80.— At Beragli, county of Tyrone, Rev. W. Burke, 80. SUMMARY OF MISSIONARY PROCEEDINGS. The Missionary Intelligence of the present quarter is not very extensive, but it is on the whole encouraging. We regret, however, to commence it by noticing the loss sustained by the Moravian Mission, in the destruction of their beautiful church at Groenekloof, by the late violent storms in the Cape of Good Hope, and its neighbourhood, together with the gardens of the Hot¬ tentots of the settlement: on the other hand, it is encouraging to state, that the number of stations belonging to the Brethren^s^!; of persons engaged in their superintendence, 131. Their greatest success is in Greenland; in the West Indies, Antigua, and St. Kitt’s • and among the Hottentots in Africa; the least among the Calmuc Tartars, who are much opposed to the preaching of the g»ospe!. The wiide of the Missions are placed under the superintendence of the oldest conference of their University, consisting of 10 Brethren. In India, the Baptist Mission continues to succeed. From Cal¬ cutta, we learn that the Hannonj - of the Gospel, compiled by Mr. Yates in Bengalee, is nearly completed, five out of six of its parts ha^ng been published. The circulation of tracts and preaching of the gospel in various districts of the city, have excited considerable attention among the natives, in consequence of which, some of the more opulent of them have established by subscription a periodical work in defence of Hindooism—a circumstance which, by exciting inquirj, is favourable to the advance of truth. The regular congre- 222 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. gation at the new chapel is on the increase. The education of native females seems likely soon to be effected on a much larger scale than could reasonably have been anticipated in so short a time. At a late examination of the scholars in the Native Schools at Calcutta, in the house of a wealthy heathen, the unheard-of spec¬ tacle was displayed, of between thirty and forty native girls of all castes, exhibiting the progress which they have made in reading ; about 300 Hindoo females, in the whole, are under instruction in Bengal. A school for them has been commenced atSerampore, with good prospects of success. Those at Dinapore, Lyme Digah, and Moin-poora, are also increasing. The school-room at the second station being cold, a neighbouring Brahmin has permitted Mrs. Rowe to teach her girls in his veranda, which is exposed to the sun, whilst at the last the work of tuition was re-commenced, at the particular and earnest request of the Zemeendar, the females of whose family, including his wife, are taught in his zenana, (apartments for the women,) partly by tw r o of the elder scholars in the girls' school. Su¬ matra presents, how'ever, still more encouraging prospects, as educa¬ tion flourishes there more perhaps than in any part of the Eastern world. By permission, and under the patronage of the liberal and enlightened governor of Bencoolen, the Missionaries have lately com¬ menced an Anglo-Malayan school, for children of the half caste, partly supported by a monthly payment from the scholars—partly by public contributions,—and in part from a sum of money given by the govern¬ ment. Upw ards of a hundred scholars are already taught in it, and schools have been commenced in six distant villages, whose inhabit¬ ants petitioned for them, and promise to send near 200 children for instruction there ; school-books are preparing and printing for their use. The press, however, is not as yet in full action, owing to w'ant of assistance in its working departments. The Malay congregation does not increase, but the prayer-meetings are attended by many young men of the half-caste. In Java, congregations cannot be col¬ lected, but the Missionaries are compelled to go from house to house, without, as it would seem, effecting much good by their Christian visits, as the people are much under the influence of their priests. The cholera morbus has raged dreadfully on the island, and swept thousands and hundreds of thousands to their graves, and amongst them, some of whose conversion hopes were beginning to be enter¬ tained. The translation of the New Testament into Javanese is finished, as are also some tracts and compendiums of Christianity, the latter having been distributed amongst the natives, seemingly with acceptance. From other parts, scarcely any intelligence has^ been received. Mr. Tinson has reached Jamaica in safety, and been received with every demonstration of affection and respect by the „ poor negroes, at whose importunate solicitations he was sent; and w'ith the utmost cordiality by the rector of the parish, in which he purposes commencing his labours as soon as some unexpected diffi¬ culties shall be removed, delaying for a while his license to preach in that part of the island. More serious obstacles have prevented the settlement of Mr. Bourne at Belize, in Honduras ; instructions have therefore been sent out, on the receipt of which, he will proceed at once to the Mosquito shore, where the Indians are very desirous to receive English teachers. The London Missionary Society is still making progress in the East, and though its advances in that quarter may be slow, we trust Summary of Missionary Proceedings. 223 that they are sure. The first-fruits of the Mission at Bellary have at length appeared, in the conversion and public baptism of an old Hindoo of near 70 years of age, and of his daughter, who formerly led a very profligate life, now happily changed for a walk and con¬ versation becoming the gospel which she professes. From Dessai a chieftain has written several interesting letters to the Bellary Mis¬ sionaries, in consequence of his having read the holy Scriptures distributed during the festival at Humpee last year. In them lie' laments the want of proper instructors, approves of the method of salvation revealed in the sacred volume, and earnestly requests the Missionaries to pay him a visit. The subscription for their new chapel has been liberal, and its erection is commenced—the En°-lish congregation is increasing,—the native schools are well attended°and flourishing—the preaching in Canarese and Tamul isattended by sta¬ tionary, rather than augmented numbers. At Belgaum, a most in¬ teresting proof has been exhibited, of the importance of religious instruction in the native schools, one of the boys, in consequence of learning the doctrines of Christianity there, having been so convinced of the folly of idolatry, as to refuse to venerate the household gods of his parents, and to remonstrate with them on the worship which they paid them. For this conduct he was turned out of the house, and taking refuge in the school, remained there some time without food- on the intercession of his teacher, he was, however, at length per¬ mitted to return home, his parents promising not to oppose his change of views, provided he would not speak disrespectfuly of theirs. The Travancore seminary is found abundantly to answer the purposes of its institution. Its pupils already accompany the Missionaries in their visits to the congregations, and those who have entered on their work as readers, discharge the duties of their important calling with great diligence and effect; some knowledge of the gospel having, by their instrumentality, penetrated many dark and unenlightened places. The press established at this station excites general interest, and has already furnished the schools with books of learning, and the congregations with religious instruction suited to their particular wants. The schools, too, flourish here, as they do like¬ wise at Quilon, where the resident liberally supports two at his sole expense. At Surat, the Gujaratee Bible' is printed to the end of Leviticus ; and of the Testament in that language, about 1000 of its eight parts have been distributed in the city and its adjacent villages. About 10,000 tracts, in that tongue, have also been given away since'the press was established. In this w r ork, some of the natives assist, one of them having lately requested a supply of the Scriptures and of Tracts for distribution, on a visit which he was about to pay to some villages at a considerable distance from the city. The native schools go on well, and may not improperly be called Christian, as every thing of a heathen and superstitious nature has been gradually ex¬ cluded. One of them consists of 50 Dhera children, a class of Hin¬ doos, who from their eating carrion are abhorred by the other castes and compelled to live in districts by themselves. The other castes’ mingle in the schools, but if these are to be taught, they must be taught separately. Preaching is carried on in Gujaratee, but hitherto without any remarkable success. The Missionaries at Chinsurah have lately added four native schools and 200 scholars to those already under their care, the whole of which prosper beyond their most san¬ guine expectations. On a Sabbath morning, the children assemble in 224 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. the large Bengalee chapel, where they are catechized, and have the scriptures expounded to them. That this is not done without the desired effect, was some time since abundantly evinced, when on Mr. Townly taking a catechism into the street, and reading it aloud in order to attract a congregation, as he speedily did, his first ques¬ tion of “ Who created you?” was unexpectedly answered by a little boy in the midst of the crowd, with, “ God created me.” This native Missionary then went on with his questions, and the child with his answers throughout the book, to the great astonishment of a people, amongst whom five years ago, the name of Christ scarcely dared to be mentioned, nor a printed book to be put into his hands. Two of the Missionaries at this important station, accompanied by a native preacher, have made a tour of 100 miles into the interior, spending a month in preaching and distributing tracts. Since theii return, while the cold weather continued, all the villages within fifty miles round the station have been visited, preaching being frequently carried on during the greater part of the day. By the instrumenta¬ lity of the native teacher just mentioned, a young Brahmin who was also a Guoo, or religious teacher, has been converted to the truth, his disciples, of whom he had many, forsaking him on his change. His piety appears to be real, whilst his talents, particularly for preach¬ ing, are above the ordinary level. He is going through a regular course of instruction, the better to qualify him for this important work, under Mr. Townly, who is translating, for his use, Dr. Bogue’s Lectures into Bengalee. We wish that we had nothing to record but what har¬ monized with this encouraging account: but we are compelled again to revert to the shameful conduct of our Indian government, in per¬ mitting the self-immolation of widows; a horrid practice, which even the Dutch proverbial for their cupidity, have prohibited in the districts subject to their jurisdiction. In the small district of Hooghly alone, no less than 195 poor unhappy females have, with the disgraceful connivance of Englishmen, been sacrificed, in this manner in the space of the last year. The Chinsurah Missionaries lately at¬ tended one ofth ese Suttees, in the charitable but vain hope of pre¬ venting, by arguments, the fiendish exhibition. They addressed, however, the hapless victim almost senseless with intoxicating drugs —her daughter, about to evince her filial piety by setting fire to the pile which was to consume the mother—and the surrounding Brahmins— without effect. The Government of Fort William has indeed lately issued an order for the regulation of Suttees, prohibiting the burning of a pregnant woman, of a girl under the age of sixteen, .or of a widow to whom drugs or spirituous liquors have been administered, so as to deprive her of ability freely to consent to her immolation, and this because such proceedings are contrary to the Hindoo Shas- ters; but the same proclamation expressly permits the horrid suicide, where “ it is authorized by the tenets of the religion of the inhabitants “ of their dominions,” not even requiring “ any express leave or per- “ mission previously to the performance of the act of Suttee,” which, we blush for our country whilst we record it, is thus legalized by Chris¬ tian Legislators. The Societies’ Missionaries have again visited Humpee during the great Hindoo festival, at which little less than a million of deluded idolaters were present. The lodging of these heralds of the Cross were repeatedly filled wdth the devotees, a crowd of whom would also at times surround the house, and listen w ith attention to their attempts to proclaim the unsearchable riches 225 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. ot grace. Several of them were afterwards seen in their tents, perusing the Scriptures, which had been put into their hands, and on 1 “f} ul ring into the effects produced by their visits at former feasts, the Missionaries were gratified to learn, that in a large town at a considerable distance, several respectable merchants were in the daily habit of devoutly perusing the Scriptures, with which they had first become acquainted at this feast of devils. The directors of the society have resolved to attempt, as soon as they shall find it practi¬ cable, a translation of the Scriptures, in the languages of Siam, Cochin China, and Japan, a design, the execution of which we fear that the la¬ mented death of Dr. Milner will contribute to retard. Mr. Jeffreys, and the artisans who accompanied him to Madagascar, have arrived safe at Tamatave, and were about to proceed to the capital. The schools under the care of the Missionaries at Tananarive are succeed- ing well, the children, about 50 in number, making great progress in e English language. Several girls are under tuition. The King gi\es daily proofs of attachment to the English; and our government at the Mauritius has acted towards the Missionaries with great kind¬ ness and liberality, supplying them abundantly with tools, &c. free of expense. The Mission to Russia has been blessed to the conversion of a deist so very learned, that lie is said to understand no less than 12 languages. He has been publicly baptized, and is activelv en¬ gaged in translating Dr. Bogue’s Essay into Russ. Turning from north to south, we notice with pleasure, that the Rev. Mr. Faure minister of the Dutch church at Graaf Rennet, but formerly a student at Gosport, has, in company with his Landdrost, lately paid a visit to Eattakoo ana Gnqua Town, and has since been in the country of the Bushmen, establishing a new Mission amongst them, to be supplied by native teachers. He is about to publish a religious Magazine, vt Inch will, we hope, be productive of great benefit to the colony. The Directors have, at his request, sent out paper for the work. Mr. Moffat is making great progress at Lattakoo, in the Bootshuanna anguage: some thoughts are entertained of removing the town to a iar better situation, a few miles distant, where the supply of water is more abundant and certain, the people having suffered grievously rom extieme drought, whilst the failure of three successive crops has destroyed many, from hunger. In their w ay from Bethelsdorp to their station, Mr. and Mrs. Monro and their family were attacked by some Caflrees, or other wandering robbers, who fired six times into tlieir waggon, and set fire to it at both ends. Being without arms, Mr. Monro jumped out of the waggon, extinguished the fire, dragged out lus wife and children, and fled barefoot and nearly naked, walking or rather running, six or seven miles, until they reached a farm-house- and on returning to the spot, he fouud their w r aggon and its contents' reduced to ashes. The driver had been shot in his flight on the first attack of the waggon; but though a shower of small shot passed through the upper part of his hat, he providentially sustained no other injury than the grazing of the top of his head. Some slight wounds inflicted upon two of the female Hottentots in the waggon, was there¬ fore all the personal injury sustained by the Mission party, who seem indeed to have been wonderfully, and almost miraculously preserved by the God in whose service they were journeying through these pathless wilds and haunts of savage men. The Missionary seems indeed to have been a particular object of this savage attack, for when one of the females in the w aggon cried out to the marauders, as they VOL, VI.—NO. 11. O 226 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. approached the waggon, “ There is a Missionary with us,” he fero¬ ciously exclaimed, “ I will be his death.” But he was delivered, by the God in whom he trusted, from the hands of violent men, although suffering severely with bis family trom the loss ot their entire equip¬ ment, stores, and money. From the South Seas, no recent intelligence has been received, but private letters from the deputation to their friends,confirm the favourable account given in our last summary. Thir¬ teen islands have thrown away their dumb idols, and become worship¬ pers of the living God, and others would follow their example, could their earnest prayers for Missionaries be promptly answ ered. In the West Indies, the Mission at Demerara is increasingly useful, the number under regular religious instruction being about two thou¬ sand. It is much, how r ever, to be regretted, that a narrow policy in the government and planters prevents the Missionaries from teach¬ ing the slaves to read, as they willingly would do, were they allowed. At. Berbice, Mr. Ray, by desire of the governor, lately improved the execution of a man condemned to death, for a murder by Obiahism, his excellency, with the Fiscal, &c. attending the service. They after¬ wards gave him permission to preach upon their estates on the west coast; and thus three other doors are opened for proclaiming the gospel on the island. A new school-room has been opened under the patronage of Governor Beard, to whom the society is under the greatest obligations. The intelligence received by the Church Missionary Society since our last summary, is more gratifying than extensive. The corresponding Committee at Madras have published a report of a visit paid to its mission in Travancore, by the Rev. James Hough, Chaplain to the East India Company, singularly interesting to those who feel concerned for the revival of the Syrian Churches in Mala¬ bar. That at Cotymwas found to be sunk in a superstition, scarcely less opposed to the pure light of the Gospel than that of the Roman Catholic Church, though some most encouraging prospects of amend¬ ment were exhibited, in the perfect understanding w'hich subsists between the Metropolitan and the able and prudent Missionaries of the Society. In the conversation held with the former, he expressed to Mr. Hough his perfect satisfaction with the proceedings of the Missionaries, and the regulations of their College—his readiness to admit the English mode of worship into the Syrian Church—to have the part of the prayers in which the people join, translated into Malaylim, their vernacular tongue, instead of Syriac, which they do not understand, but in which the parts of the service peculiar to the Cantanars, or priests, must be performed—and to direct the priests to preach every Sunday, when they shall be capable of doing so, instead of but occasionally, as they now do. He admitted also, that the Cantanars were improved both in understanding and moral conduct from the instruction of the Missionaries: some of them indeed have made considerable progress in their studies. The celi¬ bacy w r hich they practised, in consequence of their temporary con¬ nection with the Church of Rome, they have for the most part abandoned, chiefly by the persuasions of Colonel Monro and of the Missionaries. The Metropolitan, “ a man,” say the Missionaries, “ of remarkable wisdom, dignity, judgment, and humility,” himself encouraging a practice, not contrary to the canons of his Church, by occasionally performing the marriage ceremony himself. Since that period, a letter full of expressions of gratitude and good-w'ill Summon/ of Missionary Proceedings. 227 has been addressed by this excellent prelate to the Society, as the generous patrons and protectors of the Syrian Churches in India. At Cotym, Mr. Hough witnessed the gratifying spectacle of service in Malaylim being performed by one of the Missionaries in a Syrian Church, to about ten Cantanars and 160 lay Syrian; all of whom appeared to be very attentive, particularly to the sermon. “ It was singular,” he truly observes, “ to see the person, who in the morning officiated as priest at the Syrian altar, now performing the office of clerk to Mr. Bailey; this was the head Malpan of the College, who expresses his admiration of most of our pray¬ ers, and will permit no one else to read the responses.” Rapid progress is making in a very correct translation of the Scrip¬ tures in Malaylim. Five churches in the interior were afterwards visited, when most of the priests were found to be wretchedly ignorant; though one, who had passed a year with the Missionaries, appeared to be an intelligent and pious man, able to give a reason for the faith that is in him. Mr. Hough w ent also to Cochin, which the Missionaries visit once a w r eek, though a wide field is opened therefor the labours of a stated minister amongst the natives, countrv- born Portuguese, Dutch, and Jews. They have established an English school in Jew-Towm, and a Malabar one in the Fort. Tw o schools are also formed at Alleppie, in one of which English and Malaylim are taught; in the other, Tamul. Siuce this gratifying- visit, the schools at all the stations are increasing, and the college is in a more flourishing condition. The number of the former are now thirty-six, and their scholars are 800, whilst a grammar-school has been established as a proper preparative for the latter, in which forty boys are taught. Some of the pupils of the Missionaries evince considerable mathematical talents, and others an extraordinary- aptitude for the acquisition of languages, of which the Hebrew*, Arabic, Syriac, and Sanscrit, might soon be grammatically taught! With the first, the Malpans, or chief priests, express a very ardent desire to become acquainted. The field is indeed wide, and pro¬ mises an abundant harvest, but the labourers are few ; whilst the opinion or prejudices of the Syrian Christians, yvith respect to epis¬ copal ordination, seem naturally to point out this Society as the fittest cultivators of so fruitful, but long neglected a soil. Their objections to religious teachers, upon yvhom the hands of a bishop have not been laid, are indeed so insuperable, that they deny the validity of baptism administered by such an one.—At Calcutta, the Society has made considerable advances in the important work of female education. In consequence of some of the native directors of the school-society there hesitating on the propriety of educating females, at least of the lower order, Miss Cooke’s* services have been relinquished to this Society ; and under its protection, she has applied herself zealously to her work. As she finds opportunity she purposes affording instruction at home, to the female children of the higher classes of natives; whilst, at the judicious suggestion of a gentleman of their number, a separate school will be attempted for poor children of high caste, with a view to their becoming hereafter teachers in the families of their wealthy countrywomen. She has already made sufficient progress in Bengalee to enable her to super¬ intend the establishment of schools, three of which are now in operation, containing about sixty girls; and the natives evince a disposition towards them, affording reason to expect that a wish for 228 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. female schools will, on their parts, soon become general. It is intended, therefore, to erect, without delay, a school-room, with a dwelling-house attached, in the Native town, in which an extensive system of female education may be attempted; and an appeal to the ladies and inhabitants of Calcutta in its support was so successful, that 3000 rupees were subscribed in a few weeks, the Governor-General and his lady each contributing 200.. The mothers of several of the children have been introduced to Miss Cooke, and expressed themselves in the warmest terms of gratitude for the pains she is taking for their children’s sake. We regret to close our account of the proceedings of this active and valuable Society, with the intel¬ ligence of their agents having been compelled, for the present at least, to leave New Zealand, where all missionary exertions are suspended, being rendered fruitless by the state ot confusion and warfare into which the whole country is by this time plunged. Shunghee talks of nothing less than the subjugation of the whole island, and its chiefs, to his authority. To that one .object all his views are directed; and in execution of them, he issued his mandate to some of the Missionaries, prohibiting their removal from their places of residence, on pain of his displeasure and his ven¬ geance, being determined to rank among his foes whosoever pre¬ sumes in any way to thwart his plans. This sudden change is the more to be regretted, as, from the reports of the agents of the Wesleyan Methodist Mission, the natives were very friendly to them, flocking around them whenever they visited their villages, and appearing to be much gratified by an intercourse with them. Some progress had been made in teaching the children and others to read English, and both parents and chil¬ dren seemed to be so delighted with their new employment, that they frequently were seen teaching each other early and late in the open air.—In South Africa, a station has been established in Great Namacqua-land, under the auspices of one of the chiefs ; and though the Missionary and his family undergo great privations, they are supported and encouraged by very promising prospects of success. A peace has been negotiated between the Namacquas and Bosje- mans, through the mediation of the Missionary, and the contending parties assembled around him to hear the word of life. A Namac- qua chieftain, from the coast, so ignorant of the arts of civilized life, as to fear that a waggon would hurt him if he went near it, has visited the station, and declared his intention of coming with his people to settle in its neighbourhood. The foundation of a new chapel has been laid at Graham’s Towm, (now the permanent head¬ quarters of the Hottentot corps,) in Albany, and a second Mis¬ sionary has reached that new r and important settlement, which is not free from the plundering expeditions of the Caffrees, and has been visited by a severe blight, w'ell nigh destroying the harvests. A chapel is also erecting at Salem, and,both there and at Graham’sTown, the congregations are increasing in number and attention. A society has also been established for the distribution of Dutch and English tracts. A church has been formed amongst the Hottentots, but the schools for their instruction are rather in a languishing condition, for want of sufficient superintendence.—In Western Africa, the present prospects of this Society are not so cheering; the death of one Mis¬ sionary, and the severe illness of the other, having interrupted the commencement of the mission at Mandarie, though at St. Mary’s 229 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. some good has been done.—From the West Indies, good news continues to be received. In Antigua, upwards of £530 has been raised in support of the missions in this Society. The chapels are crowded and frequently as many are assembled witlioutsidc, as within. The religious society exhibits a corresponding increase, in JJomimca, a steady progress is making amongst the negroes whilst the minds of some of their Catholic masters and overlookers seem opening to the truths of the gospel, which many are reading- tor themselves, though the threats of the priests prevent a numerous attendance of Creoles on the French preaching. The new Governor the Earl of Huntingdon, has promised his best services to forward the views of the Missionaries. In the Bahamas, additions have been made both to the congregations and society ; and, on the whole the prospects of the mission are encouraging. This is the case also,’ we are happy to find, with that newly established at Montserrat, where access has been obtained to the slaves upon several of the estates amongst whom much good seems to be doing. Some coloured per¬ sons of respectability are also amongst the encouragers of missionary labours here. In Tortola, and the Virgin Isles, the efforts of the Society are also crow ned with increasing success, labouring, as its agents do, in cordial co-operation with the minister of the Established Church, w ho is settled there. An invitation has been given to them to visit the isle of Anagada, which they hope soon to accept Want of assistance prevents a like course being adopted by the Missionaries at St. V incent’s, who have been earnestly entreated to extend their circuit to the island of Bequia, at this time without a minister, or place of worship of any kind. The chapels which they now r supply are well filled, and often overflowing, principally with negro hearers. In St. Christopher’s, tw-o hundred persons were after the most careful examination, added to the societies within three months; an adult school has also been instituted, in which 150 grown persons are taught to read, and catechized, whilst 400 slave children, who are unable to attend the regular Sunday schools are catechized every Sabbath-day after the forenoon service. The prejudices, long entertained against missionary exertions amongst the slaves of our West India islands, are rapidly dying away, and giving place to more correct and Christian views. At a late Quarter Sessions at Spanish Tow r n, Jamaica, the magistrates bore honourable testimony to the Wesleyan mission having done much good ; whilst a similar certificate from some of the magistracy and gentry of Kingston, procured one of its members a licence to preach at Port Royal, where a favourable opening has presented itself, the permission being granted in the handsomest manner, even dispensing with the taking of the oaths. The foundation-stone has been laid at Kingston of a new chapel, towards which the members of the corpo¬ ration, and many gentlemen of the city, including Jews and Roman Catholics, have cheerfully and liberally subscribed. At the other stations on this important island, the Missionaries meet with similar encouragement, and every where their congregations are on the increase. Encouraging prospects are also exhibiting at Barbadoes, an island which has hitherto disappointed every hope, and in which the mission of the Society has been several times suspended. The chapel is well attended, and often crow ded to excess, but the slaves on the only estate which the Missionaries are permitted to visit, evince little or no desire for instruction.—At Liverpool, in Nova 230 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. Scotia, the congregation increases in number and attention, as does also the Sunday-school.—Turning to the East, we are ? ratified to find that some progress is making in Ceylon, though lt ls J ,u ^ 1 ^* During a late alarming contagious sickness the inhabitants of one of the villages in the neighbourhood of Colombo, sent to the Mis¬ sionaries to come and pray with them for the removal of the disease, as of course thev readily did. The scholars of the schools were lately examined at the Mission-house by Sir Richard Ottley, who distributed rewards for their progress, with which he was wel satis¬ fied. At Kornagallee, in the Candian part of the island, the Mission- house and chapel have been opened; the English commissioner, and several of the more respectable of our countrymen, attended the sermon, as did also some of the Candian chiefs, who delayed a tourney to meet the Adigar, that they might be present. To three of them, Cinghalese Testaments were presented from the pulpit, and they received them with every token of respect. Te Deum was sung by the children of the native schools, which flourish and increase, now that the chieftains have unequivocally expressed tlieir approba¬ tion of them. At Negombo, the influence of the Roman Cathohe priesthood still prevents any accession to the congregations of the society, and seems even to have diminished the number of attendants on their schools. A chapel has been opened at Timpale, and another at Chilain, the latter entirely paid for by subscriptions on the spot. During their recent tour through Tartary and Persia, Dis. Hender¬ son and Paterson have kindly visited the stations of The Edinburgh Missionary Society, and have sent home to the Committee a very favourable report on their condition. The Missionaries at Astrachan have acquired the Tartar, Turkish, Russian, and Persic, and con¬ siderable progress is making in the translation of the k^cuptuies into the first of these important languages. At Karass, some advances have been made in preaching to the people in that tongue. The labourers stationed in the Crimea are making rapid progress in the pure Turkish, in order to qualify themselves for the due execu¬ tion of the important duty to which they are appointed. At Nazran, as at the stations already named, the agents of the society are highly esteemed by the people, and respected by the constituted authorities. „ „ In aid of the Evangelical Missionary Society at Basle, we rejoice to find that an auxiliary has recently been formed at Geneva, whence a subscription of about ELIO has been already remitted to the parent institution. , . , „ „ The American Board of Foreign Missions have received fuller details of the proceedings of their late lamented Missionary, Mi. Parsons, and his active colleague Mr. Fisk, than we have hitherto been able to present to our readers. During his stay in the holy eitv the former was introduced to the Armenian Patriarch, who told him’ that he had examined the Old Testament in the Armenian tono-ue printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and ap¬ proved it as an edition without errors. Repeated and earnest applications were made for Armenian Testaments, which could not be supplied, and on his informing the Pilgrims that perhaps some of his friends would pass through Armenia with Bibles and Tracts tor sale, they replied, “ We shall rejoice, and all will rejoice when they “ arrive.” During his journey from Smyrna to Jerusalem,, this indefatigable agent of the Society, “ w orking,” indeed, “ whilst it w as 231 Sunimavy oJ~ .Missionary Pi'ccecdwgs. day, ere the night suddenly “came, in which he cannot work,” three thousand tracts were distributed by his hands; one thousand of them, together with 97 Arabic Psalters, and 70 Testaments in different languages, within the walls of Jerusalem itself, the very tact of their being procured by the Pilgrims, to whom they were tor the most part given, or sold, imparting to them, in the estimation of those by whom they w ill probably be read, at a distance of some thousand miles, a degree of sanctity that will give them a higher claim upon the attention of a multitude of Christians. “ All,” he writes, “ are willing to read, and to all,” he truly adds, “ God can impart his blessing. At Jerusalem, a Missionary might advan¬ tageously be stationed, one of whose chief duties "it should be, to read the Soiiptures to the crowds ot auditors, whom such an employ would readily congregate around him. The five Greek bishops resident there, give their cordial sanction to such a plan; and as Mr. Parsons left them, they said, “ We wish to see yon soon again in this city.” Providence has however seen fit in its wisdom to disappoint that wish; but other labourers, we doubt not, will be sent forth into a vineyard possessing such peculiar claims upon the labours of the Christian world. In his return, he distributed tracts amongst the scholars in a school at the island of Stamphalia. During his absence, his colleague frequently visited the Greek priests at Sidicui, where he resided for-a month, and read the Scriptures to them. The barbarian war raging between the Turks and Greeks has impeded his operations, but not damped the ardour of his hopes : out of evil, the Lord can bring forth good ; and we doubt not that in this case he will do so.—In the Sandwich Islands, the mission of the Society prospers, King Tamoree of Attoi, having become more powerful than ever, and, with his influence, increasing the support of the Missionaries, who are also in high favour with the people. The schools are progressively improving. The American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Colour, has purchased an extensive and valuable tract of country at Mesurado Bay, on the coast of Africa, situated between five and six degrees of north latitude, consisting of an island in the mouth of the river, which extends a considerable distance, and occupies the wiiole cape. The Mesurado empties into the Atlantic, and is stated to be about three hundred miles long; its head waters being near those of the Niger and the Gambia, and take their rise on the north¬ east side of a chain of mountains, called the Long Mountains. This situation is represented as being high and healthy, and it is supposed will be an important station to America—that it will afford relief and refreshment to her vessels of war cruising on the African coast and to her merchantmen engaged in the East India trade. It is not often that we have occasion to notice the exertions of Roman Catholic Missionaries; Wt the Diario Romano has lately announced an event, which will, we hope, pave the way for the introduction of a purer gospel into regions where the name'of Jesus is scarcely known. We allude to a request preferred by the Queen of Thibet to the College of the Propaganda Fide at Rome, for eighty Missionaries, for the conversion of her subjects to the Christian faith, which she was induced to adopt by an Italian from Bresica. w r hom she has made her first minister. 232 POLITICAL RETROSPECT. Since our last, nothing very material has occurred at home. Hi Majesty has been highly gratified by his visit to Scotiand, where h lias been received with enthusiastic loyalty by the great mass of the people, and by none more so than the Highland Clans, mo devoted in their honourable, but ill-fated attachment to the bouse of Stuart.—The appointment of Mr. Canning to succeed the Marquis of Londonderry in the Foreign department is highly honourab.e to himself, and will, we hope, prove advantageous to the country, it is decidedly the triumph of splendid talent over anstrocratical pride, as the right honourable gentleman would never have been ad¬ mitted into the cabinet, could his present colleagues there have done without him. But without him, the Tory administration would have had no efficient leader in the House of Commons, but Broug- ham and Macintosh would have been left in undisputed superiority as speakers there. Mr. Peel was, it seems, the only person of wlioin they thought, in the event of certain antipathies in the mind ot the Sovereign not being overcome ; but the figure lie cut when op¬ posed to Mr. Plunkett, was not precisely of a description to indicate his capacity for leading the ministerialists in the House of Commons, highly respectable as his talents unquestionably are, perhaps even more solid than those of Mr. Canning, but less showy and imposing. The liberality of our countrymen to the miserably distressed inhabitants of the sister kingdom lias, we rejoice to find, not only been equal to the pressure of their immediate necessities, but ex- ceeded it by many thousand pounds. These have been de\oted to various objects calculated to promote the permanent benefit of the country, especially of its distressed districts ; such as the encourage¬ ment of the fishery, of the linen manufactory, and the general im¬ provement of the condition of the poor. We cannot, however, but wish that more evident symptoms had been exhibited of the good effects of this bounty; but scenes of murder and incendiary confla¬ gration are still of too frequent occurrence in many counties, and will we fear, continue to be so until a change of system is intro¬ duced. The Guild of Merchants at Dublin have resolved upon petitioning for the repeal of the Union; and if we thought that measure could benefit Ireland, most heartily would we support it: but that alone would do more harm than good ; and her salvation might easily be effected without it. We hail with pleasure the slightest appearance of vigour, combined with moderation, in the Irish government; and this has certainly been exhibited in the com¬ mencement of a cleansing of the Augean stable of her magistracy, and the firm and resolute prevention of the Orange triumph in the annual coronation of the statue of King William at Dublin. To these however we look but as the promise of better things to come. The conduct of Great Britain at the Congress is supposed to have been such as became her; protesting against the interference of the Holy Alliance in the internal concerns of Spain, or of any other country, and firmly announcing her own determination to become no party in such a warfare. . ,, A , In France, four of the Rochelle conspirators, the eldest but Political Retrospect. 233 27 years of age, have been condemned to death; seven were sen¬ tenced to imprisonment of one, two, and five years; one has been placed under the surveillance of the police for fifteen years; and 13 were acquitted. Some idea of the miserable state of subjection in which the Press is kept in this country, may be formed from the fact, of four of the editors of the Paris papers having been fined and imprisoned without trial, because the Procureur flu Roi at Poictiers asserted, that they had given an incorrect report of the trials there. They demanded permission to prove the correctness of their state¬ ment, but this was denied them. Berton, and five of his associates, have also been sentenced to death for the conspiracy at Saumur, whilst eight others of the party have been condemned to heavy fines and imprisonment. The farce of granting advocates to the accused, in obedience to the strict letter of the law, was kept up, but in truth they had none, as those they wished for were denied; a young and inexperienced one was thrust upon them, who refused to act, and to whom they refused their confidence. He therefore declined an office whose duties he could not fulfil, and, for a conduct highly honourable to him, w as struck off the list of advocates. A precious specimen this of French constitutional liberty! Some of our brother journalists, whose general opinions we highly respect, have com¬ pared this conduct to the policy of our own laws, in denying to parties, accused of crimes short of treason, the assistance of counsel. But here they only shew their own want of information, as in all cases counsel are allowed to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to take all manner of legal objections, beingonly prevented in cases of felony from making a speech to the jury, which, from the advocate not being in any measure answerable for the truth of its statements, could only tend to distort facts, and mislead the honest judgment of the jurors. But in such crimes as those of which Berton was ac¬ cused, a prisoner has but to name his counsel, and that counsel must be assigned him, and with a fee, or without it, he must act. Berton, and one only of his fellow-conspirators, have been executed, but their execution has not put a stop to the progress of disaffection, nor can it do so until a thorough change takes place in the views of the French government, which is any thing but popular, though the late elections have terminated in their favour. We fear that they are inclined to go to war with Spain ; but the want of means will, we apprehend, control their will, especially as the determination of England to preserve a neutrality- must, we doubt not, in a great mea¬ sure control the warlike spirit of the other members of the alliance. It is said that the representatives of France at the Congress of Verona were instructed to propose some measures, which we cannot believe that even the ultra Royalist ministry of France could ever hope to carry. Amongst these, is the establishment, in every country of the union, of a standing army, to be employed at the request of any sovereign who is a member of it, in the suppression of any movements in his states intended to alter the existing order of things—the superseding, by a general law-, all local and national regulations of the press, so as to prevent the publication of any opinions that the high contracting parties may deem prejudicial to their arrangements of European politics ; and to carry into effect this precious system of censorship, the establishment of a tribunal for the punishment of offenders against the present order of things, ex¬ tending its jurisdiction over all representative go\crnmcnts, whose 234 Political Retrospect. senators are to be amenable for using language, or inculcating doctrines in their national assemblies, subversive of the present system of legitimacy. Finally, measures are to be taken for com¬ pelling Spain to enter into the views of the Alliance by the establish¬ ment of a Chamber of Peers. This, we repeat, is too absurd to be credited ; but if the French ministry should prove to be so wicked and so foolish as to suggest such a thing to a Congress to which a British minister was a party, we are perfectly satisfied that it never could be adopted there. Even the Cabal administration dared not to have supported, nor the most absolute of the Stuarts to have sanctioned it. The cordon sanitaire has at length taken the more appropriate title of an Army of Observation. In Spain, things are rapidly approaching to a crisis, and it seems that a civil war is not easily to be avoided. The Marquis of Mata Florida has taken upon himself to establish what he ridiculously calls a Supreme Government at Urgel, near the Eastern Pyrenees, whence he has issued two treasonable proclamations, abolishing the Cortes, and re-establishing the order of things existing before the King swore to the constitution, i. e. the old absolute monarchy of Spain, to which it is evident that numbers are still attached. Gene¬ ral Mina and his stall' quitted the capital some time since, to take the command of the army of Catalonia, estimated at 26,000 men, and forming the right wing of another body of 20,000 men covering Navarre and Arragon, and forming the counter cordon of the Pyre¬ nees. By the treaty now negotiating between Portugal and Spain, it is said that a corps of 12,000 Portuguese is to cover the left bank of the Ebro, from Haro to Tortosa, whilst another of 8000 is to protect the frontiers of Portugal on the sides of Gallicia, Castella, and Estremadura. Quesada, one of the insurrectionary generals, has already been defeated, and his army is dispersed; nor is it likely that the other leaders of the revolutionists will be able to stand against the forces marching against them from all quarters. General Elio has at length been executed for his alleged misconduct at Valencia, falling a victim to a mistaken devotion to a King little worthy of such a sacrifice, and to a form of government which he should rathei have endeavoured to amend than uphold. The Extraordinary Cortei have been convened, and to their deliberations we look with sanguim expectations of the restoration of peace and order to this distractec country, in which both parties seem to have been guilty of very great and very blameable excesses. The revenue has avowedly failed, and a large loan must be negotiated, where or how is a question more easily proposed than answered. In the meanwhile, the late favourites of the weak and irresolute Ferdinand have been banished. Mina has obtained some recent advantages over the Army of the Faith, in consequence of which the ultra-royalist regency of Urgel has retired upon the French frontiers, whilst the Cortes are making vigorous efforts to raise troops and money to put them down. We regret, however, to find, that this civil war has already been attended with the loss of many lives, as at the storming of Castlefollet 1200 men were put to the sword by the victorious Constitutionalists. Quesada having fled, after his defeat, to the general of the French Army of Observation, O’Donnel has obeyed the call to take upon himself the command of the Spanish Ultra troops, and seems to be acting with some spirit, and to be buoyed up with flattering expecta¬ tions of success. Political Retrospect. 235 In Russia, the government evinces increasing jealousy of the prevalence of liberal opinions, and, in its fears, has magnified the ridi¬ culous mysteries of Freemasonry into political conspiracies to over T throw the existing order of things throughout Europe, every person in office being required, by a ministerial rescript, to appear before his superior, to declare that he withdraws for ever from the order, on pain of losing his place. It is also said that every Freemason is to engage, in writing, that so long as he remains in Russia he will have no intercourse with any secret society either in or out of the empire. We rejoice most sincerely to find that the Greeks have been still further successful. On the 7th of July, Chourschid Pacha, who had under his own command 70,000 Macedonians, repulsed the Greeks with considerable loss, but on the following day suffered a total de¬ feat, in which it is said that four Pachas were made prisoners. Hav¬ ing been previously joined by the Pachas of Negropont, Larissa, and Jenina, his forces were estimated at 100,000 men, but a great part of them consisted of undisciplined hordes and of brigands. The Turk¬ ish general, after sending a despatch in the pompous and florid style of the Ottoman courts, announcing the extermination of the infidels, was attacked by the Greeks, whom he had routed, in the defiles of Neopatria on the one side, and on the other in the celebrated pass of Thermopylae, a second time consecrated to the cause of freedom and the valour of the Greeks, who on this occasion had formed an ambus¬ cade, into which their Turkish oppressors fell. Chourschid Pacha saved himself with 4000 men, on the side of Larissa, having, according to statements, which are most probably much exaggerated,sustained a loss of 50,000 men, that of the Greeks being computed at 18,000. They were commanded by the gallant Odysseus, (w r ho died in his country’s cause, in regions long since immortalized by the bravery of# the Greeks,) and by generals Ypsilauti, Bararres, and Norman. The last appears particularly to have distinguished himself, as after the battle the army saluted him by the honourable title of the heroic prince, and carried him through the camp upon their bucklers; a triumph which reminds us of the olden days of Sparta, and seems to afford a glimmering of their return, in their best features only. This victory seems likely to lead to important results, as it has in¬ spired the Greeks with great confidence. They are now in possession of some of the most classical regions of their country, of every thing that can inspire them with courage and devotion to the cause of free¬ dom. After the capture of Athens, the Parthenon was purified by one of their archbishops, at the head of four and twenty priests, and consecrated to the Virgin Marj", whose statue replaced that of Minerva —a change of idolatry to which we should be indifferent, but that we look upon the Christianity even of the Greek church, as infinitely pre¬ ferable to Mahomedanism, superstitious as both religions are. It will prepare the way also, we doubt not, for the introduction of a purer faith, the great end which, in our view of them, these commotions are intended to answer. Already are the Greeks adopting measures, which will, we doubt not, be instrumental in preparing the way for this great change, the ruins of the Athenian academy, but recently under the direction of the Turks, having been converted into a Christian college, and to supply it with able professors, the Senate of Corinth have directed all young Greeks at present in the German Universities, to continue their studies, as their country 236 Political Retrospect. w ill hereafter need well informed men, and has at present as many combatants as she requires. On the side of Persia, the Ottoman troops are said to have sustained several reverses. Owing to the remonstrance of Russia, the Greeks are less molested at Constantinople than they formerly were, and on the death of the late Patriarch, were permitted quietly to elect a successor. By a Fabian system of warfare, they seem to be wasting the strength of their opponents, who are about to resort to the unoriental system of paper currency. Corinth has, on the other hand, been captured by the Turks, and the possession of the key of the Isthmus, by their enemies, cannot fail to be a severe blow to the Greeks, who are not however dispirited by it. Cbourschid Pacha is said to be in the most forlorn condition, whilst the Alba¬ nians have deserted the Ottoman standard, and even the Turkish people are murmuring loudly against the conscriptive demands of their rulers for men and money, for a war popular only whilst it was carried on at the enemy's cost. Cyprus has presented a second sacking and massacre of Scio, and it is added, that the Turks have deter¬ mined to make extermination the principle of their warfare. Horrid, however, as is the idea, we cannot but remark, that self-defence will call for extermination in return, and if their purpose is correctly stated, the sooner such a set of wretches are exterminated from the earth the better. s THE INVESTIGATOR. APRIL , 1823. Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. We should long ere this have followed up the plan we commenced in our sixth number,—a brief retrospect of the ravages of death amongst the great, the wise, the excellent, of the earth, during the second year of our labours, but that w'e were anxious to render it the more complete by the insertion of the names of several illustrious foreigners, and even some natives of our own country, resident abroad, the intelligence of whose decease is some considerable time before it reaches England. We now resume this department of our labours, under very different circumstances to those in which we com¬ menced it last. Our retrospect opened w ith the death of our venerable Sovereign, the father of his people, and of one of his illustrious sons, whose removal w r e had personally the greatest reason to deplore; our present re-introduces death, it is true, into our palaces, but to remove thence a Queen, placed in such unfortunate circumstances, that nei¬ ther to herself, nor to her country, was a continuance of her life desirable. On her character and conduct we wish, at this distance of time, to preserve the silence of the grave, in which it is our earnest hope that her ashes are but depo¬ sited for a joyful resurrection to an eternal life, and a happy entrance into those mansions of ever-during felicity, “where “ the wicked cease from troubling,—where the w 7 eary are at “ rest.” Besides her Majesty, a queen but in name, our own royal family sustained, during this year, the loss but of an infant princess, daughter of the Duke of Clarence, who breathed but a few hours in a kingdom to whose throne she was the heiress of the next generation. But before we pass to the legitimate princes of other states, we must briefly recur to the death of a man, who seemed to be raised up as a rod in the hand of Providence, to shake the thrones and dominions of the earth to their foundations, and trample their crowns and sceptres under his feet, as he mounted an elevation, whence he looked down upon them with scorn, but to be precipitated himself, when his hour was come, far VOL. vi.— no. 12. R 238 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. lower than he had thrust the lowest of them down. Buona¬ parte, the Emperor of France, the conqueror again and again of the vast continent of Europe, the chieftain whose eagles spread their triumphant wings from the Seine to the Wolga, who dictated the terms of peace to kings and emperors in their capitals, and scattered mighty armies as the wind scatters the sand upon the sea-shore;—Buonaparte, linger¬ ing out year after year, a captive in one of the most barren and isolated regions of the earth, and dying there of chagrin and ennui;—surely this is one of the most impressive lessons ever read, on the instability of human grandeur, the vanity of all terrestrial things. We admired not the man; yet when we recollect what he was, and what he did, we cannot but feel that we do honour to the legitimacy of princes, by placing on the same page with him, the Elector of Hesse Cassel, a ruler distinguished by nothing but his riches, which, for the sovereign of so small a state, were immense, and if pro¬ perly used, instead of being hoarded, might have benefited rather than injured his people, as it is to be feared that their acquisition must have done. He was soon followed to the grave by another branch of the numerous house of Hesse, Prince Charles of Hesse Rothenburg, a man who, forgetting his rank and birth, was led by the meteor glare of the French revolution, to become a saus-ciilotte citizen of the new Repub¬ lic, in promoting whose views, he filled for a long time the unprincely station of one of the editors of “The Journal des “ Hommes Libres,” in which his articles are distinguished by the signature of “Fiat Lux.” To these, we have to add another German Prince,in Augustus Frederick, youngest son of the reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, and nephew to our late Queen Charlotte; whilst we complete our royal obituary by merely naming the Duchess Dowager of Orleans; Caroline, Dowagers Landgravine of Hesse Hom- berg, and the Princess Charlotte of Bavaria. The College of Cardinals lost, during the period embraced by our memoir, four of its members, namely, Pamphili; de la Luzerne; de Putro, sub-dean of the sacred college; and last, though not least, Alexander Augustus Talleyrand de Perigord, the venerable and exemplary archbishop of the metropolitan see of Paris. To these ecclesiastics, filling the highest rank in the Romish hierarchy, (the papacy alone excepted,) we add the name of the Prince de Broglie, bishop of Ghent, a prelate, who as richly deserved the elevation which he did not attain, as any member of the college, which his zeal for the interest of his diocese, his 239 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. patience under persecution, his moderation in prosperity, his firmness in adversity, would have enabled him to adorn. Of Gregory, the lamented patriarch of the Greek church, we have elsewhere given too copious an obituary, to require any further notice of him here, than a passing tribute to the readiness with which he promoted the circulation of the scriptures in the church of which he was the head, and a renewed expression of our regret, that such a man should have fallen a victim to the brutal vengeance of a race, whose tyranny, bigotry, ignorance, and ferocity, cannot but induce a wish that they were swept from the earth, whose fail- face their cruelties deform. Of the nobility of our own country, who died during the year, two only demand any other mention than their titles, namely, the Marquess of Londonderry, of whose amiable and philanthropic character we have already given some very pleasing details; and Lord Sheffield, a writer of con¬ siderable merit on various branches of political economy, and the friend and biographer of Gibbon. To these, we add the Marquess of Drogheda; the Earls of Dysart, Car- hampton. Stair; Viscount Chetwynd ; Barons Dunsay, Caw¬ dor, Tyrawley, Suffield, Clifford, Clanmorris, Tara, and the Baroness Abercrombie, created a peeress in her own right, on the death of her gallant husband, the hero of Aboukir. Of men who took an active, some even a prominent, part in the political transactions of their day, several were removed in the short revolution of the twelvemonth. These were. Sir James Macpherson, for some time governor-general of India; Francis Drake, Esq., formerly the British envoy to the court of Saxony; Camille Jordan, an active member of the French chamber of deputies ; the Duke de Coigny, a peer and marshal of France under the old regime ; Quirette, one of the deputies of the national convention sent to the head-quarters of Dumourier to arrest him, but delivered up by that general to the Austrians; Baron Edielcrantz, a Fin by birth, and for many years president of the Swe¬ dish Board of Trade at Stockholm, a situation in which he evinced great skill in that important branch of the science of political economy, which was more immediately placed under his superintendence; and M. Alopaeus, well known in the diplomatic circles as the Prussian ambassador to seve¬ ral of the European courts. With these, we connect James Perry, the able conductor of the Morning Chronicle through a stormy period of European politics; a man, whose 240 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. paper was long the organ of Whig sentiments, whether that party, to which he was consistently attached through life, was in power or in opposition. We have again to record the death of a Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, whom the infirmities of old age, as was the case in the former instance, from a very ill state of health, had forced to retire from the duties of his high station. Sir James Mansfield was one of the soundest lawyers of his day; but political considerations, whose untoward ope¬ ration is at once the bane of the bar, and the worst feature in the administration of justice in our country, prevented his elevation to the bench, until he had attained the full age of man. Hence, at “ threescore years and ten” he brought to the seat of justice but the ruins of a noble mind, and disappointed the high expectations which had been formed of him, by occasional proofs of the petulance and imbecility of age whilst seated there,—and by continuing to hold his seat sometimes asleep, and often but half awake, amidst daily increasing infirmities, some years at least too long. Baron George, of the Irish Court of Exche¬ quer, from which he had retired for some time, is the only other judge whose death we have here to record, if we except Sir William David Evans, the Recorder of Bombay, a man of profound learning and very deep research, as was abun¬ dantly evinced by his arranged edition of the Statutes, and extended one of Salkeld’s Reports—his examination of the judicial decisions of Lord Mansfield—translation of Pothier on Obligations,—and other legal works, productive to him, we have reason to believe, of more fame than profit. With all his learning, however, like many profoundly learned men, he wanted common sense. Absent beyond any thing we ever met with in the whole circle of our acquaintance; passionate, hot-headed, and impetuous, though ready at all times to do an act of kindness to his friends,—in the common and daily occurrences of life, he often committed the most egregious blunders, and was even little more to be depended on in those of greater importance, for when he arrived at Bombay, he found that he had left his patent behind him in his chambers at Gray’s-Inn. This was strikingly charac¬ teristic of the man. No one, however, could hear him argue, or read his works, without being filled with admira¬ tion for his talents; nor could he be known in the circles of private life without being esteemed and loved. From him we pass to three of his cotemporaries at the bar, who, though differing widely in their characters and attainments. 241 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. are entitled to honourable mention in our retrospect. Of these, Mr. Serjeant Runnington was a man of more celebrity as a lawyer than as an advocate, one of the fathers of special pleading, now reduced to the principles of a regular science, though, when he commenced its practice, but in its infancy, the learned and accurate editor of some of the best law treatises of Hale and of Gilbert—of the Statutes at Large, in itself an Herculean task—and author of a treatise on the law of ejectment, which, after standing the test of six-and- thirty years, is still held in considerable repute. Mr. Top¬ ping, on the other hand, was chiefly distinguished as a powerful advocate. He had risen by merit, from the attor¬ ney’s desk to the leading business on the northern circuit; and after his celebrated philippic against the overbearing demeanor of the late Sir Vicary Gibbs, to a very fair share of the London practice. He was kind-hearted, but rough in his manners, and hypochondriacal in temperament, an admirable examiner of witnesses, and an eloquent speaker where he had the feelings to operate upon, whilst in a just cause he spoke from heart to heart. In this he had no supe¬ rior, and few equals; but in making the best of a bad cause, or the worse appear the better reason, he was not at home, and was often beaten by inferior men. A junior upon the cir¬ cuit, when “ honest Jack Lee” was its leader, he was, per¬ haps, (if we except Mr. Serjeant Hullock, but just elevated to the bench, which he will adorn,) the last of that sturdy old school of barristers, who could go composedly into court after dinner, to address juries half-drunk, and judges not always sober; making up for their own want of leisure to push the bottle round, by drinking half the night. Francis Hargrave, Esq., another of the King’s counsel, was a man of very different talents and disposition. In profound and elaborate research into the history of our laws and legal institutions, he was the worthy successor of the Cokes, the Plowdens, the Littletons, the Seldens, and the Hales, of more plodding and learned generations of lawyers than England in all probability will ever see again. Without practising much in our courts, his opinions and researches did more than those of most other men of his day, to exalt the character of the profession to which he was an ornament, and which the valuable collection of law¬ books and manuscripts he had formed may benefit in ages yet unborn; as, after the incurable nature of the insanity with which this learned man for many years was afflicted, was clearly ascertained, it was purchased by the nation at 242 'Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. the sum of ofSOOO, and is now deposited in the British Museum. To these three eminent men, we add with regret, the name of John William Buck, Esq., the reporter of cases in bankruptcy, a man removed in the prime of life from a profession, to which, in its chancery department, he pro¬ mised to be an ornament. The military and naval service of Great Britain lost, during the year 1821, several gallant officers, though few, if any of those who had attained a foremost rank amongst the heroes of their country; yet neither has their country, nor their pro¬ fession, any reason to be ashamed of the names of Lieut.- General Charles Crawford, formerly the British Commis¬ sioner to the Austrian army under the command of the Archduke Charles, and author of some useful works on the military art ; Lieutenant-General Popham, brother of the gallant admiral of that name, an able officer, who saw much service in the East Indies ; Admirals Sir John Colpoys ; Sir George Campbell, considered by the immortal Nelson one of the best officers in the navy, though unhappily ter¬ minating his honourable career with his own hand; Sir Richard Rodney Bligh, who, in 1794, in maintaining a most unequal conflict with five French ships of seventy-four guns, exhibited, perhaps, as striking an instance of gallantry as was ever displayed in the British navy; Sir William Young, Vice-Admiral of Great Britain, an officer of great merit, which he displayed particularly in the command of the blockading fleet off Flushing during the rigorous enforce¬ ment of the Milan decrees. Our navy lost also four other able officers of somewhat lower rank; these w r ere, Vice- Admiral John Hunter, who, in the command of the Sirius, formed, with governor Philip, the first settlement of New South Wales, of which he was afterwards governor himself- Rear-Admiral Burney, one of the companions of Cook’ and perhaps the best and most scientific geographer that his country has produced, as was evinced by his laborious, accurate, and voluminous History of Voyages of Discovery’ Account of the Eastern Navigation of the Russians, and’ other works, doing honour to the pen of a son of the learned and elegant historian of Music, and a brother to the celebrated Dr. Charles Burney, one of the best classics of his day, and to Madame D’Arblay, who holds as high a rank amongst the novelists ; Rear-Admiral the Hon. Francis Farington Gardner, the gallant and promising son of one of the many celebrated heroes of the last glorious reign; and Capt. William Robert Broughton, the companion of Van- 243 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. couver in his voyage of circumnavigation, and a competitor with La Perouse for some of the discoveries to which he lays claim, an officer who also gave many proofs of his bravery and nautical skill under Sir Sidney Smith and Lord Gambier, and in the command of the naval armament employed in the capture of Java. Other services have also sustained the loss of some general or flag-officers of reputation. That of France, Marshal Count Peter Riel de Bournonville, the conventional minister of war, whose failure to arrest Dumourier at the head of his army we have already incidentally referred to, and who, in the early period of the Revolution, distinguished himself in the command of the French troops in several actions; and General Rapp, one of the aids-du-camp of Buonaparte, for whom he very gallantly defended Dantzic for some months, after the disastrous retreat of the French army from Rus¬ sia.—Portugal, Field-Marshal John Shad well Connell, a native of Great Britain, who attained to the highest rank and distinction in the Portuguese service.—Sweden, Lieut.- General Baron Charles Von Cordell, one of the best engi¬ neers of Europe, who distinguished himself greatly in the defence of Stralsund, and in directing the Swedish artillery in the battle of Leipsic, and several other engagements. From the Russian military service, the venerable Field- Marshal Count Gudoowitch, and from her navy. Admiral Sir George Tate, (a native of England, as has been the case with her best naval officers,) were also removed by death in a good old age. During the same short period the ranks of science have been considerably thinned, though we are not inclined to think that the aggregate of the loss exceeds that of the pre¬ ceding year. From the antiquaries, has been taken one of the most learned and laborious of their body, the Rev. Thomas Dunham Whitaker, LL.D., the historian of Whal- ley and Craven, and, as far as the sudden termination of his life and labours would permit, of the extensive and important county of York. But of him we are preparing a more extended notice. Turn we now therefore to Claudius Rich, the learned and indefatigable explorer of the ruins of Baby¬ lon, who, at an early age, fell a victim to the ardour of his pursuit of science in the distant and unhealthy regions of the East. To these justly distinguished names, we have to add the humbler, though still highly respectable ones of William Stevenson, Esq., of Norwich, the very accurate editor and continuator of Bentham’s History of Ely Cathe- 244 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. dial; the younger Stothard, whose accidental death, whilst engaged, in the vigour of his youth and the prime of life, in his favourite pursuit, we have elsewhere recorded, and whose place, as an antiquarian draughtsman, it will be difficult to supply. To this class also belonged the Rev. Dr. Daniel Augustus Beaufort, compiler of the “ Civil and Ecclesiasti¬ cal Map of Ireland,” and of a most erudite memoir accom¬ panying it, and also worthy of notice for the zeal and fidelity with which he discharged the duties of a parochial priest. Here also the name of Richard Fenton, Esq., will find its most appropriate place, on account of his “ Historical Tour through Pembrokeshire;” although his Memoirs of an Old Wig, and other writings of a lighter nature, would well entitle him to honourable mention in another place. We add also that of Perceval Lewis, Esq., author of a very curious historical work on Forests and Forest Laws. The mathematician has to deplore the loss of Professor Vince, of Cambridge, a man as deeply learned in the various branches of the sciences of calculation and demonstration, as most of those who have directed their attention to them, in a country which gave a Newton birth. He will long live in his works, as will also Professor Bonnycastle, of the Royal Military Academy of Woolwich, whose elementary treatises on most branches of the mathematics have de¬ servedly become text-books in most of our seminaries of education. Antonio Colatto, Professor of Mathematics in the University of Padua, and Dr. Holden, of Horton, long known in the north of England as an accurate calculator of tide-tables, complete the list. But it is in the science of medicine, and the kindred pursuits connected with it, on which the most numerous losses of the year have fallen. At the head of these, his professional rank, as president for many years of the Royal College of Physicians, entitles Sir Francis Milman to be placed. He long filled, also with great credit, the post of Physician to their late Majesties, and to the royal household ; and was author of a tract or two on professional subjects' very creditable to his skill as a practitioner. The death of Dr. Bateman we have already noticed in a very long obi¬ tuary, in which the interesting details of his conversion from the scepticism but too prevalent in his profession, to the truth as it is in Jesus, may perhaps have thrown some¬ what into the back ground the talents which rendered him an ornament to his profession. But that profession sus¬ tained a much severer blow, as severe a one indeed as well 245 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. could be sustained, in the removal of Dr. James Gregory, Professor of Medicine in the University of Edinburgh, and perhaps at once the most scientific and popular lecturer ever placed in that important chair, though he himself suc¬ ceeded Cullen in it. To his name, we have to add those of Drs. Robert Darling Willis, whose attention is well known to have been successfully directed to the treatment of mental derangement; James Carmichael Smith, celebrated for his discovery of the effects of nitrous acid in preventing contagion, for which he received a parliamentary remunera¬ tion ; Edward Nathaniel Bancroft, an army physician of considerable practice in the West Indies, where he obtained the useful information communicated to the public, in his valuable “ Essay on the Yellow Fever,” his chief profes¬ sional work, though, as a miscellaneous writer, he will be advantageously remembered as the author of “ The History of Charles Wentworth,” a novel; a “Natural History of Guiana;” and some “ Researches concerning Permanent Colours/' But long as this list already is, it would be in¬ complete without mentioning Richard Budd, formerly of Bridge-street; Edward Rigby, of Norwich, whose reputa¬ tion as a medical practitioner and writer, deservedly high as it will long remain, was nearly equalled by his skill as a practical and experimental agriculturist, on which most use¬ ful science he published several highly esteemed works; and Helenus Scott, formerly first member of the medical board at Bombay, and well known in his profession by the introduction of some new and very efficient modes of treat¬ ing diseases of warm climates. In the Baron de Corvisart, France has also lost one of her ablest physicians and most celebrated medical writers, his works having deservedly been translated into most of the languages of Europe. To him we add Dr. Dufour, a man in very large practice in the French metropolis. Nor, considering the comparative num¬ ber of eminent men which it produces, did the surgical department of the healing art sustain a loss much less severe than the medical. Mr. Taunton was a man in extent sive practice, of considerable skill, and long and advan¬ tageously known as a anatomical and surgical lecturer in the metropolis. Thomas Keates, for many years surgeon to the King, and surgeon-general to the army, rendered essen¬ tial service to the latter by a small but valuable Treatise on Gun-shot Wounds, which, together with the introduction of a. new mode of treating Hydrocele, was highly creditable to his professional skill; but his controversy with the com- 24 G Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. missioners of military inquiry, was perhaps of a more per¬ sonal and doubtful character. James Wilson, Professor of Anatomy to the Royal College of Surgeons, and for many years a very popular lecturer in that science, and on sur¬ gery, in the Hunterian school in Windmill-street, will long be remembered with respect; as will also John Ring, one of the most active supporters of vaccination, in defence of which, he engaged in a very warm, though not always a most courteous warfare, with Dr. Moseley, Mr. Goldson, and others of its opponents; he was also a poet of some talents, though better known by his version of Virgil, partly original, and partly altered from Pitt and Dryden, than from the invective productions of his own genius. We close our list with Thomas Whately, distinguished for his new and successful treatment of the diseases of the urethra, for the removal of some extraordinary polypi from the nose, and by the works which he published upon those subjects, and upon other branches of the art of healing. The only botanist whom we have to mention in our list, is the Rev. Hugh Davies, rector of Beaumaris and Aber, in North Wales, and author of “ the Welch Bota- nology.” The place of Mr. Adam Walker, the popular though self-taught lecturer on philosophy, will, we doubt not, be ably filled by his son. At ninety years of age, indeed, he could not himself be capable of much active exertion, though his works may long communicate much instruction in the sciences to which he more particularly devoted himself, now that he is no more. As a philologist and classical scholar, we cannot but mention with high respect the Rev. Dr. Neilson, Professor of Greek in the institution at Belfast, and author of a Greek giammai, and other elementary works in the language which he cultivated with equal devotion, assiduity, and suc¬ cess, and which will, we doubt not, long be held in their pre¬ sent high, but well-merited repute. As able orientalists, we must notice also the death of Colonel Edward Mackenzie, surveyor-general of India, in whose languages and antiqui¬ ties he was profoundly versed ; and of Andrew Jukes, M?D., taken on account of his intimate acquaintance with the Persian tongue, and with the manners and customs of the country where it is vernacular, from the pursuit of a very different profession, to conduct a delicate and important negociation with the court of the Shah, though his sudden removal prevented him from bringing it to that successful Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. 247 conclusion, towards which he had made very considerable advances. In poetry, the loss of the year has been trifling-, more so even than the last. The first in order, though not perhaps merit, (for she wrote but little, though she w r rote that little w r ell,) was Mrs. John Hunter, widow of the celebrated sur¬ geon and anatomist of a former generation, whose name she bore for forty years, and sister to Sir Everard Home, one no less celebrated in our own. “ Queen Mary’s Lament,” with the beautiful songs composed by her for the canzo¬ nets of Haydn, during the year which that admirable com¬ poser passed in England, (amongstwhich, “The Mermaid’s Song,” and “ My Mother bids me braid my Hair,’’ deserve to be particularized,) do great credit to her lyrical pow r ers, and to her native sensibility. That of Keats, it is difficult to estimate. He w T as certainly a young man of considerable talent, though we cannot but think that his poetical produc¬ tions have been extravagantly over-rated. At twenty-five, however, he w 7 as abundantly young enough, had his life been longer spared, to have seen and to have corrected the affectations which form the chief drawbacks from his merit. Mrs. Piozzi, as a poetess at least, is also of very doubtful reputation. Her “ Three Warnings” and one or two other little things, deserve to live, and will do so, whilst the as¬ sured immortality of the Bseviad and Meeviad will not permit her Della-Cruscan nonsense utterly to perish, as it would be well for herself and her foolish colleagues, that it should. Her tittle-tattle biography of Johnson, and her connection with that literary Goliath, will keep alive a name, not of itself perhaps entitled to any very enduring celebrity. Another minor poet, not much known beyond the immediate circle of his friends, was also removed, in the Rev. William Gibson, prebendary of Lincoln, w ho twice gained the Seatonian prize at Cambridge, and in 1775 pub¬ lished a poetical essay, under the title of “ Religion.” Mr. Wm. Meyler, proprietor of the Bath Herald, and au¬ thor of a volume of “ Poetical Amusements,” brings up the rear of this list, as a writer of mere jeux d ’ esprits and occa¬ sional pieces, giving him a title to be considered a versifier rather than a poet, very properly may do. The losses sustained by the other branches of the Fine Arts, have, however, been far severer, especially in Music. The reputation of Dr. Calcott, as a composer, is deservedly so great, that it is only necessary to name him, as relieved from a world of trial and of suffering, of which he had for some time scarcely been a conscious, and certainly not a rational 248 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. % inhabitant, to join, vve trust, a more harmonious choir than any which has sung, or shall hereafter sing, his strains on earth. To him we have to add the less celebrated names of Dr. Hague, for upwards of twenty years professor of music in the University of Cambridge; Mr. Abraham Mendes (often called Charles) Furtarda, a celebrated player on the piano forte; Joseph Dale, a very eminent teacher of the same instrument; and Mr. A. Herschell, of Hanover, brother to the celebrated astronomer, and himself a musician of con¬ siderable celebrity. Edridge, of deserved celebrity as a miniature painter, from which branch of the art a still greater ornament was removed in the aged academician Cosway; Pocock, as a marine painter, not often excelled, if he was equalled in the present times; Cranch, to whose pencil we are indebted for a very spirited delineation of the death of Chatterton— George Frost, of Ipswich, a self-taught imitator of Gains¬ borough; Crome, of Norwich, one of the original institutors of the Society of Artists—these constitute, we believe, all the painters removed by death, during the year 1821, at least in our own country; for France lost from her artists in the course of that year, Dufau, native of St. Domingo, who, as an historical painter, reflected no discredit on the in¬ structions of the celebrated David. But though no artist himself, the fine arts were deprived of a sincere and power¬ ful friend in Michael Bryan, Esq., the well-known author of the Biographical Dictionary of Painters and Engravers,” whose opinions upon painting had long a most influential operation upon the taste of the British public, to whom he was most judiciously selected to introduce the celebrated Orleans collection. In Engraving, two artists of merit were removed, in the younger Bartalozzi, who, though he attained not to his father’s fame, was possessed of considerable talents, and trod closely m his footsteps, and William Angus, an historical engraver of some reputation, the pupil of Walker, and teacher of Cooke, who, like many pupils, has far surpassed his master. t u a «? “ ere ’ as * ts most a PP r opnate place, the name of John Walters, Esq., a reputable architect in London. The list of miscellaneous authors, dying in the year, is numerous, and contains, of course, names of various merits and degrees of worth. Sir C. W. Rouse Boughton, Bart., formerly in the East India Company’s service, and atterwards a leading speaker in the House of Commons, on questions connected with its interests, is chiefly entitled to be mentioned here, on account of a very judicious treatise 249 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. which he published on the landed property of Bengal, and for some elegant versions from Oriental writers, in which he at once displayed the extent of his learning and the correctness of his taste. Next to him we name Oliver Cromwell, Esq., the prolix and inelegant, yet interesting biographer, of his illustrious ancestor and namesake, the Protector, of whose house he appears to have been the last male descendant; and John Scott, the industrious but unfortunate author ot the two visits to Paris, and original editor of the London Maga¬ zine; a man to whose talents w T e have elsewhere done justice, though reprobating, as it deserved, the unchristian act which prematurely deprived his family and society at large of the full benefit of their exertion. To his name succeeds, and not inap¬ propriately, that of Samuel Rousseau, a learned printer, and self-taught orientalist, in which character he is advan¬ tageously shewn as the compiler ot “Flowers of Persian “ Literature,” and several other works, and also a very able teacher of the Persian lauguage. But depending latterly, as did Scott, for his support, entirely upon the booksellers, as one of the humblest and most laborious of their hacks, he w 7 as the real Clarendon, Hyde, Bacon, Cooke, and halt a score of other celebrated names, making their appearance in divers folio, quarto, and octavo histories, collections ot voyages, dictionaries, &c. &c. &c., doled out to the middling and lower classes of society, in sixpenny numbers once a week. Another man was removed from the same compil¬ ing class, though occupying a much higher grade in it, in Afexander Stephens, the anonymous editor of the “ Public “ Characters,” “ Biographical Indexes to the Houses of Lords “and Commons,” “Annual Necrology,” and many other publications, chiefly biographical, upon whose correctness and impartiality, every thing but the firmest reliance is to be placed. They were written, indeed, for the day ; and beyond the day, few, if any of them deserve to live. But literature sustained a much severer loss in Dr. James \V att, of Glasgow, the projector and editor of that useful but most Herculean work, the “ Bibliotheca Britannica,” in which, we are happy to find, that he had made so consider¬ able a progress, as to secure its completion within a reason¬ able period by his son, whose life will, we hope, be spared, long after he has finished so arduous an undertaking. To admirers of novels, and of the drama, Mrs. Inchbald will be a loss, as she certainly possessed considerable talents in those dangerous walks of literature, and had the further merit, of not prostituting them to the purposes to which some other of their female cultivators have conseciated even 250 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. superior powers; though, in our view of the subject, the ranks of female writers were deprived at once of more solid reputation and usefulness, in the removal of Mrs. Elizabeth King, the intimate friend of Hannah More, and a successful imitator, not only of her admirable style of writing, but of her judicious and ever active philanthropy. In the Rev. Dr. Vicesimus Knox, high mental powers were directed to the promotion of the best interests of the human race, espe¬ cially of the young, of whom, as head master of Tunbridge school, he was for many years an able and laborious instruc¬ tor. His essays and elegant extracts (besides which, he wrote or edited many other valuable and popular works) will long render his name respectable and respected in the belles lettres department of English literature; whilst the cause of benevolence was much indebted to his exertions, not only for some very eloquent sermons preached in aid of the funds of various public charities, but for having, from the press and the pulpit, borne a decided testimony against the unlawfulness of offensive wars. To these we add Robert Harding Evans, editor of the Parliamentary Reports; Richard Twiss, the traveller; Donald Me Niel, of Inverary, well known by his remarks upon Dr. Johnson’s extraordinary tour to the Hebrides; Mr. John Ballantyne, the celebrated printer of Edinburgh, and himself the editor of a new col¬ lection of our novelists, and of some other works; James Watson, of Manchester, a writer for the papers and maga¬ zines, whose roving disposition and dissipated habits have caused his name to be added to the long, melancholy list of those who seem to have been gifted with talents but to abuse them, and who, aftest having lived most wretched lives, have, by their own suicidal hand, precipitated themselves into the presence of their Maker and their Judge ; Major James, the compiler of the Military Dictionary, and author of many a minor poem, pamphlet, opera, and farce, of too ephemeral a reputation to require to be mentioned here ; Dr. Polidori, the domestic physician of Lord Byron when abroad, and the real author of the Tale of the Vampire, published as his Lordship’s, and of some other trifling works; Dr. Joseph Harper, for some time professor of civil law in the University of Oxford, but better known to the literary world by a very profound work on “ the Princi- “ pies of Philosophical Criticism, as applied to Poetry;” the Rev. Dr. Barrett, vice-provost of Trinity College, a most eccentric and miserly being, but whose “ Enquirv into the “ Origin of the Constellations that compose the" Zodiac,” evinces him to have been a man of considerable learning 251 Necrological Retrospect of the Year 1821. and research ; Mrs. Catharine Cappe, the conjugal biogra¬ pher of the late Re^! Newton Cappe, and authoress of seve¬ ral esteemed publications; and the Rev. John Malham, author of several sermons, tracts, and useful school-books. Of foreign literati, we have, in this department, to notice the removal of M. de Fontaines, the translator of Pope’s Essay on Man, and joint-editor with La Harpe, Roland, and others, of Le Memorial, (a paper suppressed by the National Convention, by whom its editors were sentenced to be transported, and to have their property confiscated,) and Le Mercure de France, and an intimate friend of Chateau¬ briand’s, with whom he was a fellow* emigrant in England; the Abbe Canon, known byhisw'orks on education; Angelo Anelli de Desensano, author of several Italian dramas, and lighter works of literature; Dr.Erich Bollman, an enterprising Hanoverian, less celebrated for his various writings on sub¬ jects of political economy, which yet possess considerable merit, than for the courage and dexterity with which he managed the escape of Narbonne from Paris, after the horrid proscriptions of August 1792; and for the still more adventurous deliverance of La Fayette from the fortress of Olmutz; M. Foder, Privy Counsellor of Justice at Hano¬ ver, a political and miscellaneous writer of some reputa¬ tion in Germany ; and finally, Achard, the Prussian natura¬ list and political economist, who discovered the process of making sugar from beet-root. Nor can we omit making honourable mention here of that interesting youth, William Friend Durant, who, though but posthumously known to the public as an author, was so decidedly one of the most gifted of the sons of genius, that his premature removal from this world, which he seemed so well qualified to adorn, was far from being one of the lightest losses which literature and science sustained during the year, towards whose termination he was suddenly sum¬ moned to his rest. We hope soon to be enabled to lay before our readers, at least one of the unpublished produc¬ tions of his highly cultivated and early vigorous mind. As strongly characterized for piety as for learning, the only son too of a faithful and laborious minister of the gos¬ pel, his name forms no very unnatural link between men of literature, and those whose chief reputation is derived from their zeal and fidelity as ministers of the gospel.—But on this part of the subject, the complete exhaustion of our reserved limits compels us to defer entering, until our next. 252 A few Reasons for Baptizing Children in general, in a Better addressed to a Friend. [Communicated by the Author.] My Dear Friend, You observe in your last, that you understand that all who practise infant baptism, are not agreed, whether it is our duty to baptize children in general, or only the children of believers. It is true there are some very worthy minis¬ ters, who consider the children of believers only as the proper subjects of baptism, and there are others who believe they have a warrant to baptize children in general, irrespec¬ tive of the faith or belief of their parents. The following considerations satisfy my own mind, that when parents, whether believers or unbelievers, bring an infant to me at a proper time and place, and desire me to baptize it, if I were to refuse, I should be guilty of sinning against God. 1. It appears to me, that in a Christian land, the children of unbelievers are the subjects of the kingdom of Christ in the same sense as the children of believers. They have the same right to hear the gospel of the kingdom, to read the word of the kingdom, and to be instructed in the laws of the kingdom. The children of unbelievers, as well as the children of believers, are kindly invited to the great supper—the door of the church is as open to the one as the other—the law of God requires obedience from the one as well as the other— the reward of obedience, and the punishment for disobe¬ dience, await the one as well as the other. There is no difference whatever between them in these respects. There¬ fore, if they are like other subjects of the visible kingdom of Christ, and have an equal claim to all these privileges— have we a right to deprive them of baptism ? 2. The ungodliness of parents cannot free their children from the duties incumbent on them, as the subjects of Christ’s kingdom. If so, is it not unreasonable to think that their ungodliness can deprive them of their privileges as such ? Is it not quite inconsistent to suppose that the right of children to the privileges of the kingdom of Christ should be founded on the outward profession of their parents, and that their obligation to obey the precepts of the kingdom should be founded on something else? 3. It is granted by all, that baptism is an outward sign of spiritual blessings. It likewise must be apparent to all, that Reasons for Baptizing Children in general. 253 the faith of parents cannot be the foundation of their chil¬ dren’s claim to the blessings signified by baptism. There¬ fore if the right of children to the blessings is not founded upon the external profession of their parents, it is inconsistent to suppose, that their outward profession can be the founda¬ tion of their children’s right to the outward sign of such privileges. 4. The visible profession of parents is, in itself, too pre¬ carious, indeterminate, and unsuitable, to found thereon the right of children to the precious privileges of the kingdom of Christ. Parents, when dedicating their children to God by baptism, may be visible professors of the gospel, but within a few months they may have publicly revolted; con¬ sequently in that case the right of the child (i. e. the out¬ ward profession of its parents) would be overturned, and the baptism of the child, by the apostasy of its parents, would become null. On the other hand, the parents may not be professors at the time most suitable and convenient for them to have their child baptized, but afterwards come to own the Son of God. By this time, however, the poor child is perhaps laid in the silent grave, having been deprived of the privilege of baptism, for want of its parents coming to profess Christ sooner! We know, alas! that the profession of many parents is hypocritical and deceitful; consequently, if God has founded the right of children to the ordinance of baptism on the outward profession of parents, the right of many children must be founded on hypocrisy, fraud, and deceit! Is this worthy of God? Is this consistent with his nature, or in unison with his manner of dispensing the precious blessings of the gospel dispensa¬ tion ! Is our God accustomed to found the right of those who possess immortal souls to blessings so precious and important, upon a foundation so precarious and deceitful? I humbly think, my friend, that to indulge the thought that God has founded the right of children to an ordinance so important, on a foundation so weak and uncertain as the outward profession of parents, tends very much to cloud his character as a God of wisdom, love, and faithfulness. 5. We all know, that at the last day, God will not deal with the children of a gospel land, according to their rela¬ tion to their parents, but according to their relation to his kingdom. Should we not, therefore, act towards them now according to their relation to his kingdom, rather than accord¬ ing to their relation to their parents? 6. The privileges of the Jewish dispensation pertained VOL. vi.— no. 12. s 254 Reasons for Baptizing Children in general. to all who were under it, and undoubtedly all such had a just right to circumcision, as the visible sign of those blessings. In the same manner, the privileges of the gospel dispensa¬ tion belong to all who are under it; consequently, all such must have a just right to baptism, which is the appointed visible sign of gospel privileges. 7. The wickedness of parents, among the Jews, did not dispossess their offspring of their right to circumcision, and the blessings pertaining to that dispensation. "VV as Asa deprived of these privileges by the wickedness of his father Abia? Did Hezekiah lose his right to circumcision by the atrocious wickedness of his father Ahaz? Or was Josiah s right to these blessings abolished by the base and villaiums conduct of his father Ammon, and his grandfather Manasseh ? If not, is it at all likely that the ungodliness of parents in a Christian country can dispossess their children of their right to baptism, and the blessings connected with the gospel dispensation? 8. Very pernicious effects seem to flow from the doctrine that confines baptism to the infants of believers, to the exclusion of all others from this precious ordinance. The doctrine appears full of cruelty: what can be more cruel than to deprive an infant of so great a blessing on account of the ungodliness of its parents ? If there are some parents impious and cruel enough to live without praying for their children—without giving them good advice—without setting before them good examples—without evincing any concern for the salvation of their immortal souls, &c. shall the church of Christ, too, withdraw her helping hand ? God forbid. Rather let her run with greater speed to succour these—let her guard them with greater constancy, and instruct them with greater diligence, than the happy chil¬ dren who are under the inspection of pious parents. By baptizing children, they are brought under the observation and care of the church of Christ; but by leaving them unbaptized, they lose this privilege. By being baptized, they understand, when they come to age, that they are related to the church of Christ, and that they had been recognized in their infancy as the subjects of his kingdom, by a solemn ordinance—that they have a claim to the privi¬ leges of the gospel dispensation, and are under the most solemn obligation to fulfil all its requirements. There seems also to be a tendency in this doctrine, or manner of proce¬ dure, to cause those who are deprived of this privilege in their infancy to entertain unfriendly thoughts of the church of God, Reasons J'or Baptizing Children in general. 255 when they come to age. I would appeal to yourself, myfriend— sliould some church have rejected you in your infancy, and that on account of the impiety of your parents, could the consideration of this do otherwise, than influence your mind to indulge unkind thoughts of that church, and prevent your uniting therewith, with promptness and cordiality? Besides, I think there is a tendency in the doctrine not only to make the children who are rejected entertain unkind thoughts of the church of God, but to harden the hearts of the parents, and to drive them further and further from that church. I conscientiously believe, that the practice tends to harden the parents, to paganize the child, and to increase the wickedness of the land. Were all the ministers of Christ to act according to this doctrine, thousands of in¬ fants; yes,—children of the kingdom, children of a Christian country, would be buried unbaptized. W ould this have been the conduct of him who said, “Suffer little children to come unto me,” had he lived in our day? No; I am per¬ suaded, my friend, that such would not have been the con¬ duct of our tender and compassionate Jesus. 9. The above observations appear to me to be in perfect unison with the whole strain of the word of God, especially the following passages, Luke xviii. 15, 16. “And they brought unto"him also infants, that he would touch them; but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said. Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt, xxviii. 19,20. “ Go ye therefore, and" teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Acts ii. 38, 39. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” These passages, with many others, prove that baptism belongs unto all who are the subjects of the kingdom of God —to all who are to be instructed in the glorious mysteries of the kingdom —and to all interested in the promises: and it is impossible to debar any of these from the ordinance of baptism, without disannulling their relation to the kingdom of Christ, subverting their right to Christian instruction , and tearing from them the blessings 256 Reasons for Baptizing Children in general. contained in the promises, and thus leaving them to the uncovenanted mercies of God!! You have observed, my friend, that those of our paedo- baptist brethren, who refuse to baptize the children of unbelivers, when infants, admit them afterwards, when they come to age, into church communion, without once inquiring whether their parents were believers or unbelievers, when they were baptized. Such conduct clearly proves, either that they consider the baptism they received (from others) as valid, or else that baptism is not necessary. It is not in their power to avoid one or other of these consequences. I cannot think they would assert that baptism is quite unne¬ cessary; consequently, they must consider the baptism they had received as valid. Must not then every one see, that their practice in receiving members into church communion, without making any inquiry whether their parents were believers or unbelievers at the time they were baptized, completely overturns their sentiments on baptism? If I err in this, I wish to have more light on the subject, and greatly desire that they would shew the world the consistency of their conduct, when so receiving members into church com¬ munion, with their sentiments on baptism. Thus, my friend, I have, according to your request,given you a very brief statement of my reasons for not refusing to baptize any infant, if required by its parents or guardians, at a proper time and place; and it appears to me, that the most proper time and place to dedicate an infant to the Lord, and recognize it as a subject of his kingdom, is in the church, before the whole congregation, It has been observed by some, that we profane the ordi¬ nance by baptizing the children of immoral characters. I grant this would be the case, if we were to go into the houses of such, and baptize their children privately. But when such parents bring their children voluntarily to the house of God, I cannot see how we profane the ordinance by bap¬ tizing them, not so much, as they stand related to their parents, but rather as they stand related to the kingdom of Christ; and on these occasions, have we not the most favour¬ able opportunity of doing good to such persons, by en¬ deavouring to impress their minds with the awful responsi¬ bility of the character they sustain, and how deeply it concerns them to forsake their sinful ways, and give them¬ selves, as well as their offspring, unto the Lord? If the above remarks should in any measure prove ser¬ viceable to you in fulfilling the ministry which you have On Mercantile Oaths. 257 lately received in the Lord, it would afford great pleasure to, my dear brother, Your sincere friend in the gospel, Llanbrynmair. John Roberts. Some Remarks on the Moral Influence of Regulations connected with the Collection of the Customs, and on the Inexpediency of multiplying Oflicial Oaths. By a Merchant. It is with sincere satisfaction that I have lately observed, that the evils which exist in that department of the Treasury which is connected with the collection of the Customs, have at length attracted the attention of his Majesty’s ministers. It has long, indeed, been a matter of general notoriety, that the respectability of those who occupy the higher situations in that department, is inadequate to prevent the contagious influence of corruption, in all the inferior branches of the system; that the existing regulations are in many respects inefficient, that subordination is undermined by the influ¬ ence of irregular solicitation; and that the interests of the revenue, and the convenience of the merchant, demand an immediate and radical reform. Under these circumstances, the appointment of Commissioners to investigate the nature of the evil, has been hailed as an auspicious event, whilst the abilities of the gentlemen appointed to conduct the inquiry have excited sanguine expectations of the result. These expectations will not, I trust, be altogether disap¬ pointed, as the facts which will pass under review, in the course of the investigation, will suggest the absolute neces¬ sity of some material change. The difficulty will consist in devising a remedy that shall be efficient; and the problem would appear to be, to combine the greatest possible secu¬ rity of the revenue on the one hand, with the greatest possible convenience of the merchant on the other. To this point, the attention of the Commissioners will in all probability be confined, and the solution of this difficult problem will entitle them to the gratitude of the community. But as the guardians of the public morals, as well as of the public purse, our Legislators should withhold their sanction from any measure of political utility, till its moral influence is examined and approved. If, therefore, it should appear that the regulations of the custom-house operate powerfully on the morals of a large proportion of their fellow-subjects, they should require, that in any alterations that may be adopted, regard should be had to the effects of this operation. I 258 On Mercantile Oaths. as well as to the protection of the revenue and the conve¬ nience of trade. Now a very superficial view of the nature of the system will justify the presumption that its moral consequences are not indifferent. From the multiplicity of its details, and the wide range of its operation, it is neces¬ sary almost indefinitely to subdivide the official authority which is essential to its success; and the responsibility, which would have been respectable, if not attenuated by its diffusion,—and efficient as a moral check, if less indiscrimi¬ nately conferred,—becomes insignificant in proportion to the number by whom it is shared. The poor and the ill-edu¬ cated, those whose distresses expose them most to the allure¬ ments of illicit gain, and whose moral advantages protect them least against the influence of solicitation, are the parties necessarily employed to carry the system into effect; whilst the difficulty of detection, and the impracticability of control, render it in the highest degree probable that the virtue of these inferior agents will not be proof against the attack. Unhappily this probability is advanced to historic certainty, by the lamentable “evidence of facts. The Board of Trade are well aware, that corruption has extended widely through the subordinate ranks of the custom-house officers; that perquisites are exacted in violation of their oaths, for the discharge of the ordinary duties of their situa¬ tion; and that, sheltered under official pretences, they con¬ trive grievously to embarrass those who refuse to incur the guilt of subornation of perjury, and to offer bribes which they themselves have sworn not to accept. Now, when we re¬ flect how rapidly the character is degraded, when the moral sanction is once impaired; when once there is a deliberate sur¬ render to temptation, a voluntary acquiescence in the habitual violation of duty; and when we consider how large a num¬ ber are employed in the inferior branches of the customs,— we may form some idea of the extensive injury which results from the vicious influence I have described. Its demora¬ lizing effects, however, have a still wider range, and the mercantile classes have not been proof against their conta¬ gion. Although attempts to evade the duties, in the ordi¬ nary course of commerce, are, I sincerely believe, as rare as they are disgraceful, yet the difficulty of obtaining the despatch essential to mercantile success, and often at¬ tainable only by indirect solicitation, exposes the mer¬ chant to a frequent struggle between his interest and his duty. Now when temptation is so powerful and per¬ tinacious on the one hand, and the modes of bribery On Mercantile Oaths. 259 so numerous and so specious on the other, it would require no ordinary measure of the charity which “believeth all things,” to believe that interest and sophistry level all their shafts in vain. The Board of Trade, indeed, are conscious that such a proposition cannot be maintained. It would, I am well aware, be in many cases most unjust to impute to Government the moral delinquency of the subject; yet since the morals of a people are connecte intimately w'ith their laws, an enlightened Legislatoi will find it difficult entirely to absolve himself from a participa¬ tion in those crimes to which his enactments have presented any unnecessary temptation. Such an one will be far too deeply interested in the moral welfare of his country to give his sanction to any system which he believes to be justly chargeable with gratuitous encouragement to vice. 1 et that the present system of custom-house regulations is open to this imputation, will not be denied by any one, who is prac¬ tically conversant with its details. It forces an oath on the inferior officers, that they will receive no illicit remuneration, under circumstances which render its violation morally certain; it places their interest and their duty in direct and constant opposition; it offers a premium to their indolence, by rendering their salary independent ol their exertions; and presents encouragement to oppose obstructions to the regular despatch of business, in the irregular emolument they expect to receive for their removal. For proofs of what I have advanced, I refer to the Treasury and the Board of Trade; and I am persuaded that it is only neces¬ sary to convince our conscientious Legislators ol the opera¬ tion of the system, to secure their influence in effecting a salutary change. When it was represented to j\Ii. I eiciva , on the introduction of the present system, that it presented temptations to perjury, of which he seemed to be little aware, he replied, that the penal consequences of the neglect of duty afforded a security against such fears. It soon appeared, however, that the apprehension was too well founded; that oaths might be violated, and official duties neglected, under evasions and pretences, through which the law could never penetrate; and that, even in cases where leo-al criminality could be substantiated by prooi^few mei chants were found willing to sustain the odi° u f offices of an informer, or gratuitously to add to the difficulties of their situation. . r Since, then, the securities which were relied upon, lor the efficiency of the present regulations, have been proved 260 On Mercantile Oaths. to be utterly unavailing, it is absolutely necessary that others should be substituted, or that an entirely new system should be introduced. Which of these different measures would best attain the end proposed, it would probably be very difficult to determine, and the experience of the gentlemen to whom this task is assigned would render any private suggestions on the subject presumptuous or premature. Deeply interested as I feel in the success of every effort to remove obstructions to mercantile despatch, it is not my intention, in these observations, to propose any specific plan, by which that object may be accomplished. The Treasury are in possession of the sentiments and suggestions of those who are most conversant with the subject; and my present design is simply to point out the extreme importance of eradicating, as far as possible, from the system of Custom¬ house Regulations, every motive to irregularity and corrup¬ tion. A reference to this object will suggest many consi¬ derations which might have been disregarded without impro¬ priety, if the only ends in view had been the protection of the revenue, and the convenience of trade; I will advert only to two, which appear to me of primary importance;— the necessity of making the interest of the officers coincide generally with their duty; and of securing to the lowest class a salary adequate to their support. Before I conclude these remarks, for the length of which I ought perhaps to apologize, may I be allowed to suggest, whether the inquiry might not be extended to the best method of dispensing with the multiplicity of oaths, by which our revenue code is so lamentably disgraced. How such an abuse can have so long been tolerated in a Chris¬ tian country, it is almost impossible to conceive. Its ex¬ istence, indeed, can be accounted for on no other principle than the difficulty of exterminating an evil once incorporated in the system, and implicated with all its official forms. To call upon the High and Lofty One, who inhabiteth Eternity, to witness the truth of the commonest assertions in the details of commercial life; in the hurry of distracting engage¬ ments, perpetually to invoke that sacred Name which the Jews, in their solemnities, were scarcely permitted to pro¬ nounce, is in the highest degree irreverent, if not abso¬ lutely profane. If a merchant, in the discharge of his vessel, finds that in consequence of some error in the documents received from abroad, he has paid the duty on a greater quantity of commodities than were actually in the ship, he is compelled to take an oath before he can recover the excess. / On Mercantile Oaths. 261 although the custom-house officer, who attended the dis¬ charge^ has certified that his statement is correct. If he is o-oing to receive the drawback on goods shipped to foreign parts, he is compelled, after producing an official certificate that then have been landed at the destined port, to sw ear that they have not been landed, nor intended to be lelanded m any part of Great Britain, &c., and that they were, at the time of entry, the property of A. B. This oath is required, although the merchant may, at the same moment, inform the collector, that the goods have been relanded in Great Britain, in consequence of the vessel being stranded on her passage, but that they w T ere subsequently reshipped, and arrived at the destined port. When the merchant is preparing to ship particular descriptions of goods, which he has received promiscuously from the interior of the country, he is com¬ pelled to swear that he believes the duties of excise to have been fully paid; although it is known that he has no precise information on the subject. If the commodities happen to be printed calicoes, he is compelled furthei to siteai that they have been printed since the 10th of May, 1787; if plate-olass, that it has been made since the 5th of Julv, 1812.° Before he can recover the duty on particular goods, which he is going to re-export, he is compelled, in the fhst place, to obtain an oath from the parties by whom they were originally imported, and then an oath from all the intermediate persons through whose hands they may have passed. If an accident prevent him from shipping his goods by the vessel he intended, he must take an oath before he can enter them for another ship. But I will not proceed further in this long catalogue ot oaths; the preceding statement is sufficient to prove that they are multiplied to a most lamentable excess, ^iovv, it cannot but be displeasing to the Governor of the universe, to behold the sacred record of his divine communication thus prostituted to the commonest purposes of life, degraded from the dignity of its high and awful errand, to rank among the instruments of official forms. Who that has learned to ap¬ preciate justly this depository of our brightest hopes, to dis¬ cern in it a solution of the phenomena ot humanlife, an anti¬ dote to the evils which press so heavily on our frail condition, and the only rational support in the fearful hour of our mysterious change, but must mourn to see it divested o a its sublime associations, and consigned to insignificance and contempt? . . . I cannot conceive that any considerations ol political On Mercantile Oaths . utility, can be admitted in justification of this abuse. The Divine prohibition, “Swear not at all,” which must be al¬ lowed, even in its most restricted sense, to forbid the irreverent use of oaths, is a prohibition of universal obliga¬ tion. It is not abrogated by the interests of extending commerce, nor the most urgent requisitions of political or civil life. Amidst the changing forms of society, its autho¬ rity is unimpaired; and while human laws may adapt themselves to the varying exigencies of the times, this precept will remain indexible, to the latest period of the Christian world, an awful and impressive witness to the solemn nature of an oath. But the efficiency of this sacred test, as an instrument of political utility, may very fairly be called in question. The superior efficacy of an oath, to that of a simple declaration, is derived from its superior impres¬ sion on the mind; from its tendency to recall to memory those sublime religious sanctions, by which moral obligation is most effectually enforced. But it is in the nature of habit, indefinitely to weaken this effect, and experience has proved, that by the prostitution of this sacred test to every trivial purpose, its moral influence is injured or destroyed. To what other cause are we to attribute the proverbial ineffi¬ ciency of a custom-house oath;—the distinction which generally prevails, between an oath taken in attestation of an indifferent fact before the collector of customs, and a fact equally indifferent before the judge in a court of justice ? I will not say, that it is to this cause, too, that we are exclu¬ sively to attribute the facility with which agents are found, in periods of interrupted commerce, to execute illicit pro¬ jects by systematic perjury and fraud; I will not venture to affirm, that it is to this cause alone that we are to impute the conception of such projects in respectable classes of society, and their tacit encouragement by the governments of enlightened countries: but I have no hesitation in assert¬ ing;, that it is impossible daily to witness its practical ope¬ ration, without a conviction that it contributes most essen¬ tially to these results. Impressed with a sincere respect for the distinguished character of a British merchant, I cannot be indifferent to the relaxation of those principles, from which its superiority is derived. It is with the deepest regret, therefore, that I see them exposed to the injurious influence of a vestige of barbarism so inconsistent with the spirit of the times°. It is inconsistent, too, with true philosophy, for it proceeds in ormosif inn fn flio ii_1_ • i • On Mercantile Oaths. 263 inconsistent with a due regard to the moral welfare of society, for its tendency is to vitiate and ensnare ; it is inconsistent with the manners and institutions of our country, and the principles of the religion we profess. Is it not also most inconsistent with those illustrious efforts for the circulation of the Scriptures, which have been vindicated m our senate with so much ability and zeal? It is some consolation, indeed, to discern in this very inconsistency, the germ of a principle which will exterminate the abuse. But shall we refuse to expel a malady injurious to the system, because it is probable that it may one day be outgrown? Is it nothing that, in the mean time, it is impairing the vigour of the con¬ stitution, and sowing the seeds of subsequent disease . To those who recognize a connection between national chastisement and national crime, every addition to our guilt forbodes a calamity in reserve.—But it is unnecessary to advert to considerations of this nature, to secure their hostility to whatever is unfriendly to public morals, ihe principles which have urged so many of them to advocate the circulation of the Scriptures, imply a solicitude loi the best interests of the human race;—a sympathy with human frailty, that will place no fatal stumbling-block in a weaker mo¬ ther's way, nor add to the dangers, of a conflict, of doubtful and momentous issue, one difficulty by which its hazard may be increased. Address to Christian Females in Favour of Missionary Societies. The day in which we live is distinguished for Missionary exertions, proceeding upon a scriptural principle and pre¬ senting a character no longer problematical. Already the effects produced exceed the most sanguine expectations of the earliest friends of the Missions, and afford a P led S® °J increasing and illimitable success. Children are spreading their garments in the way of the Messiah, and proclaiming his triumphs: from the mouth of babes and sucklings, strength is ordained; the young are crying Hosanna to the Son of David!” and infancy and age hasten to lay their offerings at the feet of the Prince of peace. Un de r circum¬ stances so auspicious, females will not wonder that the friends of missions should look to them for a zeal as fervent as their passions; for a love as tender as their affections. 2(34 Address to Christian Females for assistance as prompt as their benevolence; and for a charity as graceful as their character. In making an ap¬ peal to their understandings and their hearts. Missionary Societies are aware that they have claims written in their constitutional temperament; their acknowledged habits from time immemorial—their peculiar obligations to Christiani¬ ty—and their active services, tendered with a promptitude and earnestness which appear designed and calculated to repair the ruins of the soul. It is from woman that we expect the charities of life— from the cradle to the tomb. She was made “ an help¬ meet for man ;” and when can she exert the gracious power so honourably, so scripturally, so successfully, as when she “ provokes him to love and to good works.” She has only to look around her upon the miseries of the uncon¬ verted world, in order to excite her zeal, and call forth all her benevolence, do what do Missionary Societies direct their attention? and what objects are they called to secure ? Is she a mother ? The cries of ten thousand infants fill her ears, who are devoted by superstition or policy to a violent death. Is she a wife ? The co-equality of rights, and the participation of endowments resulting from them,' so essential to the security and the harmony of society, must be an object infinitely important—and these are un¬ known among the poor heathen to whom our Missionary Societies are teaching “ a more excellent w-ay.” When a Missionary, in South America, was reproving a married woman of good character, for following the custom of destroying female infants, she answered with tears, ‘ l wish t0 God, father, I wish to God, that my mother had, by my death, prevented the distresses I endure, and ‘ have Y et t0 endure as long as I live. Consider, father, our deplorable condition. Our husbands go to hunting, ‘ and trouble themselves no further. We are dragged ‘ alon g> with one infant at the breast, and another in a ‘ basket. They return in the evening without any burden; ‘ we return with the burden of our children; and thus ‘ tired with a long march, are not permitted to sleep, but must laboui the whole night in grinding maize to make chica for them. They get drunk, and in their drunken- ' ness beat us > draw us by the hair of the head, and tread * us un der foot. And what have we to comfort us for slavery that has no end? A young wife is brought in ‘ JT on us > who is permitted to abuse us and our children, ‘ because we are no longer regarded. Can human nature 265 in Favour of Missionary Societies. 4 endure such tyranny? What kindness can we shew to 4 our female children equal to that of relieving them from 4 such oppression, more bitter a thousand times than 'death? I say again. Would to God that my mother 'had put me under ground the moment I was -born!* Observe, this was not a peculiar case, but a national custom.”* But these are uncivilized and savage nations; and what can be expected from barbarians but barbarity ? Turn your eyes, then, upon the East—upon India, whence Europe has derived her primitive elements of science, through the medium of Egypt and Phoenicia; the one the reservoir of the accumulated knowledge of oriental nations— the other, under the character of the navigators of the globe, the transporters of those treasures to the isles of Greece, the empire of Rome, the remote shores of Britain, and every place which they touched in their adventurous voyages. The writer of these pages would disdain to touch your hearts, unless he had possession of your understand¬ ings also; he therefore supplies you with facts, and leaves the inferences to your judgment and your feelings. Look then at India, where the devotee is crushed under the car of Juggernaut—where the clue to his temple is furnished by human bones, bleached by the meridian sun, and scat¬ tered on the road, at the distance of fifty miles from the altar of this oriental Moloch where the wife expires upon the funeral pile of her husband—is sometimes forced there by her ow r n child—the son of her womb, of her vows, of her fondest solicitude—whom she has nourished at her breast, and reared upon her knees, but who has no pity for the parent who gave him life. Instances have occur¬ red, too, where the first-born has himself bound his mother, and cast her upon the flames. British women, awake! the voice of millions cries in your ears for succour; consult the hand-writing of heaven upon your hearts, and refuse your benevolent interposition if you can ! But in the day that you deny your assistance to the perishing heathen, renounce the constitutional temperament which distinguishes your sex, and gives you to act, while men deliberate. Your acknowledged habits justify this appeal to your characteristic feelings. To whom has the traveller looked for relief? When Park fainted under the shadow of the tree, in the evening which closed many days of hunger and * Cecil’s Sermon before the Society for Missions to Africa and the East. 266 Address to Christian Females toil, it was an African woman who brought him rice and milk, and bathed the feet swollen by travel, while she sung to soothe the exhausted powers, a song which came home to his heart, because it arose out of his circumstances : it was the spontaneous eloquence of female sense and sensibi¬ lity. And can it ever be forgotten, that the traveller who had wandered from the frozen circles of the poles, to the vertical sun of the torrid zone, recorded, as the result of his long and often painful experience, that he had found man¬ kind as variable as the climes which he had visited, but woman ever tender and compassionate. To whom do xoe look for the gentle offices of life? To our mothers, our wives, our sisters, and our daughters. And shall the chari¬ ties so liberally and constantly dispensed, be denied to Societies which labour to diminish the calamities over which female sympathy weeps? Such institutions have the strongest claim upon your active co-operation, because they present the only sphere of action commensurate with your benevolence. But what expectations must not be formed, when, in connection with this native susceptibility, the obliga¬ tions of females to Christianity are remembered? This is the only system which has given to woman her rights, and placed her in her due rank in the pale of the creation. It is not the American savage alone who treats his wife as a slave. The worshipper of Mohammed does it. The philo¬ sopher of the East offends against God and nature, in reducing his wife to a state of painful subserviency. The polished empires of Greece and Rome degraded themselves by similar barbarity. It was the Bible which taught that woman is “the co-partner of man,” and that it was “not good for him to be alone ;”it was Christianity which claimed their equal liberty with their husbands, and which abolished alike the system of Eastern despotism and of Western slavery. British females—ye owe your rights and liberties to Christianity; and not to exert all your energies to extend this inestimable grant, is in effect to despise the blessing. But we confidently appeal to those active services which your sex has already rendered to this great cause; to glo¬ rious examples, which have shewn that if the woman was first in the transgression, she has also been the first to counteract the ills into which she was betrayed, by her attachment to the Lord of life, and her early promulgation of the gospel of the grace of God. Women received into their habitations Him who had not where to lav his head: and ministered to in Favour of Missionary Societies. 267 his pressing, but uncomplaining wants. A woman’s tears bathed his weary feet, and she washed them with the hairs of her head. The constancy of women followed him to Calvary when his disciples all forsook him and fled: and their sighs were incense poured round his cross, amidst the execrations of an infuriated multitude, when he “made his soul an offering for sin.” Lingering there until the body could be removed, their love was not extinguished with life, they prepared the corpse for sepulture; and were found early in the morning hastening to his tomb, while the guilty worid was slumbering, and the terrified disciples were hiding themselves in an upper chamber. They first proclaimed his resurrection ; and to them were the celestial messengers sent with the glad tidings of this infinitely important event. Afterwards, how constantly do we find them associated with the labours and triumphs of the gospel—inspired by apos¬ tolic zeal—impelled by more than mortal energy, and com¬ bining with Christian ardour the graces of female gentleness. The extensive charity of a Dorcas, and the mild spirituality of a Lydia—the enlightened conceptions of a Priscilla, the “unfeigned faith which dwelt” in a Lois and an Eunice ;— the boundless hospitality of that “elect lady” celebrated by the beloved disciple, whose works of mercy are in everlast¬ ing remembrance, while her name has perished—and are associated, in Christian bosoms in all ages, with the tender affection towards our Lord, of her who anointed him to his burial, and whose generous act was to be told wherever the gospel was preached — these are but some of the stars shining in a constellation of female excellence in the hemisphere of religion. Such characters are produced by the Holy Spirit on the imperishable pages of truth, not for admiration alone, but for imitation also. Surely our countrywomen will strive to emulate them. You may be stars also. “Arise, shine, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” We receive these primitive evidences of female attachment to Christ, and in diffusing the knowledge of the truth, as a pledge of what will be done bv women in this generation for the furtherance of missionary labours. Will it be asked what females are expected to do? We leave the decision of their conduct to the impulses of their hearts and the dictates of their judgment. Let but their affections be consecrated to the cause, and their understand¬ ing will be sufficiently faithful in expedients to promote it. Their husbands will be gently prevailed upon to lay apart 268 Address to Christian Females, on Missionary Societies. some of their substance to serve religion. Their children will be nurtured in a missionary spirit, and learn to asso¬ ciate with all their pleasures, the records of missionary pri¬ vations and triumphs. They will solicit the repetition of the often-told tale, and glow with a martyr’s zeal for the sal¬ vation of the souls of men. Listen to the eloquent appeal of a masterly preacher on this subject. “ Christian matrons! «from whose endeared and endearing lips we first heard “ of the wondrous Babe of Bethlehem, and were taught to ** bend our knees to Jesus—ye, who first taught these eagles “ how to soar, will ye now check their flight in the midst of “ heaven? ‘I am weary,’ said the ambitious Cornelia, ‘of « ‘ being called Scipio’s daughter; do something, my sons, «* to style me the mother of the Gracchi.’ And what more “ laudable ambition can inspire you, than a desire to be the “ mothers of the Missionaries, confessors, and martyrs of “Jesus? Generations unborn shall call you blessed. The “ churches of Asia and Africa, when they make grateful «mention of their founders, will say—‘ Blessed be the « * wombs which bare them, and the breasts which they have « * sucked!’ Ye wives also of the clergy, let it not be said, «that, while ye love the milder virtues of the man, ye are ** incapable of alliance with the grandeur of the minister. “ The wives of Christian soldiers should learn to rejoice at “ the sound of the battle. Rouse then the slumbering ** courage of your soldiers to the field, and think no place so « safe, so honoured, as the camp of Jesus. Tell the Mission- “ ary story to your little ones, until their young hearts burn, “ and in the spirit of those innocents who shouted Hosanna “ to their lowly King, they cry, ‘ Shall not we also be the “ * Missionaries of Jesus Christ?’ Such an appeal to Christian females cannot be made in vain. They are not the triflers, who balance a feather against a soul. They will learn to retrench superfluities, in order to exercise the grace of Christian charity. They will emulate those Jewish women, who “worked with their hands” for the hangings of tabernacle,and brought “bracelets and ear-rings, and jewels of gold,” for the service of the sanctuary. They will conse¬ crate their ornaments to the perishing heathen; and render personal and domestic economy, a fountain of spiritual bless¬ ings to unenlightened nations and to distant ages. They will resign the gems of the East to save a soul from death: and bind round their brow a coronet of stars which shall shine for ever and ever! ^ * Horae’s Sermon before the Church Missionary Society. ■ ■ 269 Some Account of the Connection or Sympathy between Elec¬ tricity and Magnetism; and Electro-Magnetic Discoveries. There are few general maxims in common use, and few principles even among empirics, which have not immediately or remotely a bearing upon truth. Even the subject of animal magnetism , which a few years ago made so consi¬ derable a figure upon the continent, and was carried to such a ridiculous length, is shewn by recent discoveries to have really more actual connection with received principles than has been generally imagined. We do not mean to intimate any belief in the extraordinary powers attributed to magnetism in a medical view; but we only wish to pre¬ serve the idea from complete ridicule, by shewing, that if electricity be sometimes serviceable in the cure of diseases, and magnetism have electrical properties, there is nothing absurd in supposing that magnetism may be also useful. The first creditable experiments on any connection be¬ tween magnetism and electricity that we meet with, were made by Professor Ritter, of Jena, and communicated by him to the Royal Academy of Sciences at Munich. He first observed, that a magnetic wire, and another not magnetic, excited galvanic palpitation in frogs. He afterwards pub¬ lished the following results: 1. That every magnet is equivalent to a pair of hetero¬ geneous metals united together; its different poles represent¬ ing different metals. 2. Like these, it gives electricity; one pole positive, and the other negative. 3. A certain number of magnets produced electricity in such a degree, that the electricities afforded by the poles of different magnets, were successfully indicated by the electrometer. 4. Such a battery produces voltaic effects in dead and living bodies. 5. The south pole of magnets gives positive electricity; the contrary pole negative. 6. In this view of electro-magnetism, the earth, con¬ sidered as an immense magnet, may be supposed to account for the many electrical phenomena of the earth and at¬ mosphere ; such as aurora borealis, &c.* These results have been objected to, and we believe on very good grounds; at any rate, they are at present so doubtful, that they cannot be yet received among the mag¬ netic laws. But though the particulars now named may * Nicholson’s Journal, xv. p. 78. VOL. VI.—NO. 12. T 270 On Electro-Magnet ism. not have been established, yet a most intimate connection between electricity and magnetism has been recently dis¬ covered, and satisfactorily proved, by M. Oersted, Secre¬ tary of the Royal Society of Copenhagen. The new light in which he has taken up the subject, and the extraordinary and satisfactory results that have been obtained from it, entitle him in every respect to the honour of the discovery of electro-magnetism. Several philosophers, it appears, in making experiments some years ago with the magnetic needle, when placed in the open galvanic circuit, were not successful in finding either sympathy or influence; but Oersted, placing the needle near a wire connected with the opposite extremities of a galvanic apparatus, and rendering the circle complete, found that the magnetic needle was greatly disturbed. The effect, however, was found to be various, accordingly as the relative position of the needle and the connecting wire was changed. Thus, when the connecting wire was placed in the magnetic meridian, and directly above the compass- needle, consequently parallel to it, the effect was very con¬ siderable,— the pole nearest to the negative end of the battery being moved to the westward ; but when the uniting wire was placed below the compass, the pole that was nearest the negative end of the battery moved to the eastward.* Oersted found that tne phenomena were not influenced by the nature of the uniting wire; wires of platina, gold, silver, brass, iron, plates of lead and tin, and even mercury, being employed in the experiments with the same success. Neither did the uniting w'ire lose its effect when interrupted *>y water, unless the interruption amounted to several inches in length. He also found that the action of the uniting w'ire might be transmitted without any diminution of its effect, through glass, metals, wood, water, rosin, earthenware, and stones. And that even when these various substances were interposed at the same time, they scarcely seemed to diminish the effect. M. Oersted likewise observed, “that the electro-magnetic effects do not depend upon the intensity of the electricity, but solely on its quantity. A plate of zinc of six inches square, introduced into a vessel of copper, containing the dilute acid,f produces a considerable electro-magnetic * Edin. Phil. Journal, vol. iv. p. 168. t The conducting fluid he usually employed, consisted of pure water, containing l-60th of its weight of sulphuric acid, and a similar quantity of nitric acid. 271 On Electro-Magnetism. effect; but when the plate has a hundred square inches of surface, it acts upon the needle with such force, that the effect upon it is sensible at the distance of three feet. He conceived the effect was diminished, rather than in¬ creased, when forty troughs, similar to this single one, are united in the battery.” Oersted’s first law of electro-magnetic effects is this: "When opposite electrical powers meet under circumstances which offer resistance, they are subjected to a new form of action, and in this state they act upon the magnetic needle in such a manner that positive electricity repels the south, and attracts the north pole of the compass; and negative electricity repels the north, and attracts the south pole; but the direction followed by the electrical powers in this state is not a right line, but a spiral one, turning from the left hand to the right.” The general phenomena of the galvanic conductor have been very well represented by M. Prechtel, of "V ienna, who forming iron-wire into a spiral, touched it from end to end in the direction of the axis; the effect of this treatment was to produce a row of north poles on one side, and of south poles on the other. A touched needle presented to such a spiral exhibits appearances in many respects similar to those of the galvanic conductor. This curious and interesting subject has been pursued with success and originality by M. Ampere, Biot, Buch, Von Buch, and various other philosophers on the con¬ tinent, and in our own country by Sir H. Davy, Mr. Fara¬ day, Sic. Some of the most interesting results only we shall notice : for in the space that we propose to devote to this subject, it is impossible to enter into the detail of investigations, which have occupied talents of the very highest order that could be supplied by almost any kingdom in Europe. When the conducting wire is formed into a helix, its electro-magnetic properties are greatly augmented, and the phenomena varied accordingly as the helix turns to the right hand or towards the left; and accordingly as the position of either the galvanic apparatus, or the conducting wire, is changed. Thus a compass needle introduced within a helix, which is connected with a pair of plates placed in an east and -west position, the copper west, experiences a contrary deviation from w'hat occurs, if the position of the plates be inverted so as to bring the copper towards the east. And the phenomena of a right helix, as to the direc- 272 On Electro- Magnetism. tion of the deviation, are in general the reverse of those with a left helix. It was observed by Dr. Traill and Capt. Scoresby, that a magnetic needle introduced into a helix, forming the conducting wire between a pair of plates of zinc and copper of ten inches square, always conformed itself to the axis of the helix, whatever was the position of the helix as to the points of the compass, or the direction of the helix when inclined to the horizon, or placed in a vertical position. With a right helix, they found that the north end of the needle always pointed from the zinc towards the copper: that is, if introduced at the zinc extremity of the spiral, the north pole was attracted into the spiral towards the copper; and steadily maintained the same position when passed quite through the spiral. With a left helix, the south end of the needle pointed from the zinc towards the copper, which was the reverse of the effect observed with a right helix. Since the magnet is hot affected by any bodies but such as are magnetic, it was reasonably inferred that the con¬ ducting wire which attracted or repelled magnetic needles, must be itself magnetic. This inference seems to have been made, and investiga¬ tions founded upon it taken up, about the same time, both by M. Arago and Sir Humphry Davy. # Both these philosophers discovered that the conducting wire had not only the power of acting on bodies already magnetized, ‘‘but that it was itself capable of developing magnetism in iron that had not previously been magnetized.” With the use of an apparatus of 100 pairs of plates of four inches. Sir H. Davy found the conducting wire (which was seven or eight feet long, and about the twentieth of an inch in diameter,) so highly magnetic as to attract iron filings, in a quantity forming a mass round it, ten or twelve times the thickness of the wire. The effect was similar in every part of the connecting wire. The discovery of this fact naturally led him to attempt to magnetize «teel by the galvanic influence. He accordingly “fastened several steel needles, in different directions, by fine silver wire, to a wire of the same metal, of about the thirtieth of an inch in thick¬ ness and 11 inches long, some parallel, others transverse, above and below, in different directions;” placing them in “ an electrical circuit of a battery of thirty pairs of plates, ©f qine inches by five, and trying their magnetism by means ♦ About Sept, and Oct. 1820. On Electro-Magnetism . 273 y of iron filings,they were all found to be magnetic.” “Those which were parallel to the wire attracted filings in the same way as the wire itself. But the needles in transverse direc¬ tions exhibited each two poles,” “those under the wire (the positive end of the battery being east) had their north poles on the south side of the wire, and their south poles on the north side; and those placed over had their south poles turned to the south, and their north poles turned to the north, and this was the case whatever was the inclina¬ tion of the needles to the horizon.” “On breaking the connection, all the steel needles that were on the wire in a transverse direction retained their magnetism, which was as powerful as ever, while those which were parallel to the silver wire appeared to lose it at the same time as the wire itself.” In different positions of the battery, as to the poles of the earth, the effect was uniformly the same. Sir H. Davy found that absolute contact of the steel needles to the wire was not necessary—as needles were rendered highly magnetic by mere juxta-position in a transverse direction, “and that through very thick plates of glass:” “and a needle that had been placed in a transverse direction to the wire merely for an instant, was found as powerful a magnet as one that had been long in communication with it.” The magnetic action extended to considerable distances, and the effect was considered as proportional to the quantity of electricity passing through a given space, without any relation to the metal transmitting it: thus the finer the wires, the stronger their magnetism. In a wire of platinum, ignited almost to fusion, the strongest magnetic effects were exhibited, the wire attracting large “quantities of iron filings, and even small steel needles, from a considerable distance.” These effects were produced by “twelve batteries of ten plates each of zinc, with double copper arranged as three.” Sir Humphry Davy was equally successful in developing magnetic properties by electricity. He fastened bars of steel two inches long transversely to a wire of silver of l-20th of an inch, and passed through it the discharge of an electrical battery of 17 square feet, highly charged, by which the steel bars were rendered “so magnetic as to enable them to attract small pieces of steel wire or needles; and the effect was communicated to a distance of five inches above or below, or laterally from the wire, through water or thick plates of glass, or metal electrically insulated.” Striking as these phenomena are, they are found to be f 274 On Electro-Magnetism. greatly augmented by the employment of a spiral conductor. M. Ampere and Arago having wrapped needles in paper (or in glass tubes,) and placed them within a helix, found them strongly magnetized in a few minutes. Whenever a right helix was used, they found that the end of the needle towards the negative end ol the battery pointed to the north, and with the left helix towards the south.* The experiments of Arago, on the magnetizing of steel by both galvanism and electricity, like those of Sir H. Davy, by which they were closely followed, were very important, as completely identifying voltaic and common electricity. Von Buch applying the augmenting power of the spiral, as a conductor to an electrical machine of two disks of 18 inches diameter, found, that in merely taking sparks from the extremity of the spiral, one turn of the machine was suffi¬ cient to render aneedle within the spiral evidently magnetic. The next discovery in electro-magnetism which we shall mention, is that of a kind of polarity and direction in electro¬ magnetic apparatus. M. Ampere, conceiving magnetism to be simply dependent upon currents of electricity, was wishful to ascertain the action of the earth upon the currents excited by the voltaic battery. For this purpose he em¬ ployed a small wire, bent so as to form almost a complete circle of about 16 inches in diameter: “the two extremities were made to approach, and were placed one just beneath the other; and being attached to steel points, were con¬ nected by them with two little cups of platina containing mercury, fixed so as to receive them; only one of the points touched the bottom of the cup it was placed in; so that the friction was scarcely any, and the mercury secured a good contact. The cups were connected with other wires, that passed off to the voltaic battery; so that it was easy to make this moveable circle connect either one way or the other between the poles; and being enclosed in a glass case, any movement it might receive was readily observable, without danger of its resulting from any other cause than the electric action.” “When the extremities of this apparatus were connected with the poles of a battery, the circle imme¬ diately moved, and after some oscillations placed itself in a plane perpendicular to the magnetic meridian of the earth; and on every repetition of the experiment, the same effect took place.”f M. Oersted constructed an apparatus of a similar kind, and obtained the same result. By a modification of his apparatus, M. Ampere shewed * Annals Phil. Oct. 1821, p.277. + Annals Phil., Oct. 1821: p. 272. 275 Electro-Magnetism . that electro-magnetism had also a reference to the magnetic dip as well as direction—and by changing his mode of suspension, his apparatus directed itself towards the posi¬ tion of the dipping needle. Electro-magnetic bodies being thus shewn to adjust themselves to the magnetic position, they might reasonably be expected to partake of the nature of real magnets, and be attracted, repelled, and disturbed by the action of magnets presented to them. M. Ampere was again successful in his attempts to imitate a magnet by an electro-galvanic apparatus. Considering magnets “ to be assemblages of currents perpendicular to their axes, he wished, in his imitation of them, to do away with the eftect due to the extension of the wire in the direction of the axis of the helix, and succeeded in this by making the wire at one end return through the helix, so as not to touch it in any part: for in this position, its magnetic effects being contrary to those belonging to the length of the helix, and also near to them, they neutralized or hid each other.” In a small apparatus constructed on this principle, the wires at the extremities of the helix were returned inside about half the length until they nearly met, then one being bent perpendicularly upward and the other downward, they formed an axis of vertical suspension. “The extremity of a battery being connected with these two ends of the wire, the helix became magnetized, and was attracted and repel¬ led by a magnet precisely as a real magnet would have been.” M. de la Rive describes two apparatuses; one intended to shew the attraction of an electrical current by a magnet, and the other his artificial electro-magnet, which are more simple than those of Ampere, and equally efficacious. The first is made of two slips, one of zinc, the other of copper, passing through a cork float, and connected above by a cop¬ per wire curved. When this apparatus is placed on the surface of dilute acid with the lower parts of the slips immersed,” it is attracted or repelled by a magnet presented to the cop¬ per wire above.* “The other is a zinc and copperplate, floated on a cork as before, but connected above by a helix,” of the form used by Ampere, but both ends of the wire descending through the middle, and one connected with the zinc, and the other with the copper slip. On “the instrument being placed on acidulated water, the ends of the helix will be attracted and repelled, like the poles of a magnet. * Fig. 12. Annals, Phil. Oct. 1821, p. 288. t Fig. 13. Ib. 276 On Electro-Magnetism. Sir H. Davy arrived at the attractable property of electro¬ magnetic bodies in a different way, and by means of a dif¬ ferent apparatus. “As bodies magnetized by electricity,” says he, “ put a needle in motion, it was natural to infer that a magnet would put bodies magnetized by electricity in motion; and this I found was the case. Some pieces of wire of platinum, silver, and copper, were placed sepa¬ rately upon two knife edges of platinum connected with two ends of a powerful voltaic battery, and a magnet presented to them; they were all made to roll along the knife edges, being attracted when the north pole of the magnet was presented, the positive side of the battery being on the right hand, and repelled when it was on the left hand, and vice versa, changing the pole of the magnet. Some folds of gold leaf were placed across the same appara¬ tus, and the north pole of a powerful magnet held opposite to them; the folds approached the magnet, but did not adhere to it. On the south pole being presented, they receded from it.”+ Another discovery in electro-magnetism, very nearly connected with that just described, and the last of a general nature we have to mention, is that of the attraction and repulsion of conducting wires—or, (assuming the fact of electro-magnetic currents,) the attraction and repulsion of these currents. We are indebted to M. Ampere for the discovery of the fact, that the phenomena of attraction and repulsion, shown by the magnetic needle w'hen near the conducting wire, can also be illustrated by the mutual attractions and repulsions of other conducting wires. Instead of going into the detail of his investigations, w r e shall merely state his general results, which he himself gives as follows: 1. “That two electrical currents attract when they move parallel to each other, and in the same direction; and repel when they move parallel to each other in contrary directions.” That is, two parallel conducting wires con¬ nected with the same poles of a galvanic apparatus, and in the same direction, attract each other, if they are parallel; but connected with different poles, they repel. 2. That when the metallic wires traversed by these currents can only turn in parallel planes, each of the currents tends to direct the other into a situation in which it shall be parallel, and in the same direction. * Annals, Phil. Aug. 1821, r- 8?. 277 On Eleeiro-Magnet ism. 3. That these attractions and repulsions are entirely diffe¬ rent from the ordinary electrical attractions and repulsions.* These laws. Ampere derived by regular induction, from the effects exhibited on a great variety of apparatus, inge¬ niously contrived and beautifully executed. A particular account of his apparatus and researches is given in different numbers of the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal for 1821. Sir Humphry Davy, in continuing his experiments on the subject of electro-magnetism, has recently obtained several results on the effect of temperature on the conducting wires in diminishing or increasing the magnetic effects— which results are of considerable consequence to the prac¬ tical magnetician. One experiment may be mentioned, namely, the discovery of the attraction and repulsion of electrical flame by the magnet; a fact which is not merely a matter of curiosity, but illustrates, in a new way, the mutual influences of the electrical and magnetical currents. Hav¬ ing charged “the great battery of the London Institution, consisting of 2000 double plates of zinc and copper, with a mixture of 1168 parts of water, 108 parts of nitrous acid, and 25 parts of sulphuric acid, the poles were connected by charcoal, so as to make an arc or column of electrical light,” one to four inches in length : to this arc or column of light a powerful magnet was presented, by which it “was attracted or repelled with a rotatory motion, or made to revolve according to the different position of the poles.”*!' Such is the general view of the present state of electro¬ magnetism. Excepting the researches of Sir H. Davy, and a few insulated experiments by Faraday and others, little else has been done in Britain towards the elucidation of this important subject: the greater mass of information, yet com¬ municated to the world, being the result of foreign investi¬ gation. Sir Humphry Davy, in some of his experiments, has been anticipated by foreign philosophers ; but as regards propriety of arrangement, acuteness in conducting the ex¬ periments, a decision of the results, and the peculiar clear¬ ness and precision of the details which he has given to the public, he has not been exceeded, if equalled, by any of the philosophers who have embarked in this new and interesting field of research. * Annal, Phil. Oct. 1821: p. 276. f Annals, Phil. Jan. 1822, p. 2.—Currents, in like manner, are pro¬ duced in mercury, by the juxta-position of magnets, when the mer¬ cury forms a part of the galvanic circuit. 278 A Sermon preached by Mr. Matthew Henry, as a Farewell to his Fellow-Students at Gray’s-Inn, in 1687. TO THE EDITORS OF THE INVESTIGATOR. Dear Sirs, Having favoured the public with the address of the eloquent Dr. Mason on retiring from the pastoral office, I have no doubt the introduction of another discourse, also valedictory, by Mr. Matthew Henry, the justly celebrated commentator, will be esteemed an interesting successor to it. It may not be in the recollection of all your readers, that when that excellent man was in his 23d year, the study of the law was approved of by his venerable father, Philip Henry, as a course well adapted for his improvement, but without the most distant intention of inducing him to abandon his “ thoughts of the ministry.” “ The times were then very dark; he was young, had time enough before him to mix that with his other studies; the knowledge of the law would not only be convenient for one that was heir to a handsome estate, but might be of use for the better understanding the nature of the Divine law and govern¬ ment, and the forensic terms so much used in the holy Scriptures, and in other divinity books, both ancient and modern.”* Accordingly, in April 1685, he went to London, and obtained a chamber in Holborn-Court, Gray’s-Inn. He devoted his mind, however, so intentlyf to the acquisition of legal learning, as to excite a fear in the breasts of some of “ his friends and very near relations,” lest the result should be unfavourable to the ministerial office. “But,” observes his biographer, “he was true to his first and early resolu- * Mr. Tong's Life of Matthew Henry, pp. 39, 40. Edit. 1716. •f My caution, not to over-study yourself, was occasioned by what you wrote—that you had read Littleton so oft over, and had begun Coke upon him, which I thought could not well be, especially during the first month, which affords most diversions, without overtasking yourself; my meaning was, that you should apportion your time wisely according to present circumstances, part to reading—the morning especially—and part to acquaint yourself with persons and places, and affairs &c., which you have hitherto much wanted opportunity to acquaint yourself with—having some ground of hope that you will improve by it, letting go the chaff and refuse, and retaining that which may do you good hereafter. For, this present time you are to look upon as your gathering time, and to be as busy as the ant in summer, the factor in the fair or market, the industrious merchant when in the Indies.-Letter from Mr. Philip Henry to his Son Matthew Henry, May 30, 1685. Orig. MS. 279 Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. tion, and, therefore, while he was at Gray’s-Inn, he not only promoted social prayer and religious conference with his particular friends, but would sometimes expound the Scripture to them; and when he left them, he bid them farewell in an excellent lively discourse from 2 Thess. 2. i.”J It is that discourse which accompanies this letter, and being transcribed from the original manuscript, now before me, it will, I hope, find a place in the Investigator. I ought to add, that it has never been printed. I am. Dear Sirs, very truly, yours, - " J. B.W. 2 Thess. ii. 1. latter part —And by our gathering together unto him. These words may be considered either, 1. In connection and coherence with the context; and so they are part of a most pathetical and affectionate obtesta¬ tion, whereby the blessed apostle doth beseech, or rather conjure, the pious Thessalonians to whom he wrote, not to be soon shaken in mind, or to be troubled by false erroneous notions concerning Christ’s second coming, as if it were to be very sudden, even in that generation, which conceit was not only ill grounded, but drew after it a pernicious train of ill consequences. To caution them against this, he be¬ seeches them—by Christ’s coming—and by their gathering together unto him,—not to be soon shaken. Now, obtestations are usually made by such things as are, 1. Weighty, and of consequence in themselves, else it cannot be expected they should influence the person besought by them. Now surely such is Christ’s second coming; tis the principal spoke in our wheel, and the main hinge on which all our faith and hopes turn, 1 Cor. xv. 2. Dear and of precious account to us, which are apt to carry the request with greater force and energy home to the affections. Thus Job besought his wife by the dearest pledges of conjugal love. Job xix. 17. So Cant. ii. 7. Now, Christ’s coming is a Christian’s longings : ’tis the character of a saint, that he loves Christ’s appearing, 2 Tim. iv. 8. So then the meaning of the words is this. My dear Thessa¬ lonians, let me entreat you by the sweetest endearments imaginable, by every thing that can command your greatest respect and strongest love, especially by the long-expected coming of your dear Lord and Master, and all the hopes you have in that coming, as ever you hope to meet him j Life, p. 41. 280 Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. with comfort and see him with joy, and to be for ever with him, be not soon shaken in mind or troubled. Hence, I might observe to you by the way, 1. How much Paul was concerned for the good of the Thessalonians; this affectionate request is not that they would be kind to him, but to themselves. 2. Of what consequence it is to the people of God, not to be troubled or shaken in mind. Paul would not have been so earnest about a trifle. Christ’s heart is much upon it, that his people should be a comforted people. 3. That the second coming of Jesus Christ is a truth well known, firmly believed, and earnestly desired and longed for, by all true Christians. 4. As they stand by themselves, and so they are a short, but very pithy, description of the future happiness of glori¬ fied saints at the second appearance of Jesus Christ. Doct. At the second coming of Jesus Christ, all the saints shall be gathered together unto him. Here are two distinct things that go to make up this happiness, which must be considered severally and apart: 1. That the saints shall then be gathered together. 2. That they shall be gathered together to Jesus Christ. Of the first only at present. That all the saints shall shortly bee gathered together. And this the Apostle speaks of here as a thing well known, and firmly believed among the Christians to whom he wrote, and therefore it comes in as a thing taken for granted; he having before spoken of it, and proved it to them, not by strength of reason, for reason never dreamt of such a thing, but by the word of the Lord , 1 Thess. iv. 15. i. e. by authority from Christ; for it is a matter purely of revelation, and is therefore called a Mysteri/, 1 Cor. xv. 51. and without controversy, great is this mystery of Godliness. There are two gatherings of the elect together antecedent to this great gathering, at the end of time. 1. In conversion—when poor souls, that have been long wandering out of the way of God, and duty, are gathered to Jesus Christ, as to their great Shepherd, and blessed by the power of god’s spirit and grace. Christ dy’d thus to gather the elect, John xi. 52; hee came from heaven to seek and to save lost souls, to gather them out of the world, here one and there another, and form them into a body, a peculiar people for himself—a preacher is, Coheleth, a gatherer, Ecel. i. 1. 2. By death—when God sends that King of Terrors, but 281 Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. to the saints a King of Comforts to pick up his Jewels one by one, and secure them in his own Cabinet, Death gathers us to our people, ’tis the scripture phrase of dying, to be gathered to our Fathers; for death brings us to those that are the people of our choice and love, whether good or bad. Saints and Sinners. Death gathered Lazarus into the bosom of Abraham. But the general gathering will be at the resurrection, they will not be all gathered together till then. Death gathers souls together, but at the resurrection souls and bodies shall be reunited and so gathered together—then when the mystical body is completed, when as many as belong to the election of grace are called in, then shall be the great meeting, for then and not till then, will the bride, the lamb’s wife, have made herself ready, Rev. xix 7.; as long as any remain uncalled shee’s unready. In the unfolding of this Mystery we shall endeavour to shew, 1. The circumstances of this meeting, or gathering to¬ gether. 2. The ends and purposes of it. 3. Some properties of it. 4. What happiness there will be in it. 5. The application. For the 1st—The circumstances of this meeting or ga¬ thering together; the W T 01’d is, tTurwayuy»). 1. The persons that shall be gathered together; and those are all the saints, even as many as belong to the Election of grace; all the saints that ever were in the world from the begining of time; all that are now in the world, and that ever shall bee to the end of time, shall be all gathered together. It will be a general rendezvous of all that ever approved themselves good Soldiers of Jesus Christ; all that were given to Christ by the Father from Eternity in the purpose of his love, all that were called with an effec¬ tual call in the fulness of time, and were enabled by the sanctifying grace of Jesus Christ, to overcome the world, and die in faith. All the Old Testament Saints who got acquainted with Christ by the dark shadows of the law. All the new Testament Saints, to whom life and immortality were brought to light by the Gospel. All the great and famous Saints, men of renown in their generation, of the first three, and all the obscure Saints that stole to heaven without making any noise in the world, they shall all be gathered together, from the East and from the West, Mat. viii. 282 Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. 11. i.c. from all parts of the world. Christians of the Eastern Churches, whom we never saw nor heard of, and Christians of the Western Churches, among whom our portion is cast, (the Donatists did not think of this when they confined the Church to the South, grounding it on Cant. i. 7.) from the four winds. Matt. xxiv. 31. a general assembly, Heb. xii. 22. 2. The Instruments that shall be employed in gathering them together are the angels, who are from first to last ministering spirits to the Saints, Heb. i. 10. He shall then send forth his angels. Matt. xiii. 41. Mai. xxiv. 31. Mar. xiii. 27. And they shall do this, 1. As Christ’s servants, ready to go when he bids them go, come when he bids them come, and do what he bids them do, for though Christ, in his humiliation, were made a little lower than the angels, yet Christ in his exaltation, is Lord of the angels: perhaps the archangel, 1 Thess. iv. 16. 2. As the Saints’ friends, and as such they will not only do this, but be glad to do it. If they rejoyced at the laying of the first stone of our redemption in Christ’s incarnation, Luke ii. 14. much more at the compleating of it. If there be joy among them at the conversion of one, Luk. xv. 10. much more at the compleat salvation of all the elect. How swiftly will they fly (those winged messengers) to call toge¬ ther the dispersed members of the mystical body, to change the living and to raise the dead, and to gather them all to Christ their head :—hereby an end will be put to their attendance upon the saints; then they will need no longer to wait upon them in a troublesome world of sin and sorrow, when they shall have landed them all safe in the haven of everlasting bliss and happiness. 3. The time when this shall be—at the second appear¬ ance of Jesus Christ to judge the world at the last day—at the coming of Christ:—in the text—the times and seasons of which it is not for us to know, the Father having put them in his own power. Acts i. 7. only in general, that he shall come, though he tarry. Then, and not till then, shall this great gathering together be. 4. The place should seem to be in the air, 1 Thess. iv. 17. to meet the Lord in the air, in the middle space between heaven where Christ dwells, and earth where their poor bodies lie, as if the blessed Jesus were so desirous of their Company, that when the time, the set time of their meeting is come, he would not stay till they were brought up to him. Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. 283 but would come so far to meet them in the air, where (it is supposed) the Judgment will be managed—Christ the Judge riding upon the wings of the wind, and making the clouds his pavilion. Some have made bold to fix his throne over the valley of Jehoshaphat, grounding it on Joel iii. 12. Meet¬ ing the Lord in the air, necessarily implies, a strange chancre in the body, P/ul. iii. 21.; for our bodies now are even chained by nature to this earth, to which they tend, but then they shall be made light and agil, spiritual bodies, fit to mount up from this lump of filthy clay into the purer regions of the air. 5. The manner and method of this meeting seems to be thus: 1. There shall be a gathering together of all nations and all persons. Matt. xxv. 23. 2 Cor. v. 10. Our first father Adam will then and there meet with all his posterity, and at one view see all that ever came out of his loins—persons of all countries, nations, and languages; of all ranks, quali¬ ties, and conditions; of all places, callings, and employ¬ ments; of all ages and generations, from the beginning to the end of time, they must all appear—all that ever were endued with rational souls, or were acted by immortal beings, must appear. Rev. xx. 12. What an astonishing- thought is this. 2. When all are thus together, the good and bad shall be separated. Matt. xxv. 32, 33. xiii. 44. Ezek. xxxiv. 17. As for all other divisions and subdivisions of men into high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, they shall then be done away, and all the sons of Adam shall in those respects stand upon the same level; but that fundamental distinction of men into good and bad shall then remain, and according to it shall they be instated in their everlasting condition—tares and wheat separated. Then shall we discern, Mai. iii. 18. 3. The Godly being thus divided from the wicked, shall be gathered together, and not one shall be missing. Qa. W hether the Saints thus gathered together shall know one another? A. Divines generally agree that they shall—this they ground, 1. Upon Scripture—the three Apostles knew Moses and Elias in Christ’s transfiguration—the rich man knew Abra¬ ham, notwithstanding the gulf fixed—much more—Adam in Paradise, though he had never seen Eve before, yet pre¬ sently said—This is now bone of my bone. This argument Luther urged the night before he dv’d. *284 Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. 2. Upon Reason. (1.) Heaven is a perfect place, and no knowledge shall there cease which now we have, but only that which implies our imperfection, (1 Cor. xiii. 12.) and what imperfection doth this imply. (2.) Heaven is a happy place,and if it will any w T ays conduce to the happiness of the Saints there to know one another, (as surely methinks it should,) I do not doubt but they shall. Love, which then remains, implies knowledg’e, 1 Cor. xiii. 13. Not that we shall then know one another after the flesh as we do now, 2 Cor. v. 16, by stature or complexion, by titles of honour and dignity, or by terms of affinity and consanguinity, which shall then be no more, but by the image of Christ, in whom all shall be swallowed up, and our spiritual relation through him to one another, and this extends not only to our old acquaintance, but to all the Saints. For the second. —The ends and purposes of this gathering together of all the Saints, such a solemnity will not be for nothing, but, 1. That they may be attendants upon Christ in his glo¬ rious coming, they must be gathered together to wait upon their dear master when he comes in the clouds, and every eye must see him—he will come with ten thousands of his saints, Jude xiv. pvpiaaiv ayiaig, with his holy Myriads, Zech. xiv. 5. they must come to grace the solemnity, and to be visible monuments of his honour. He comes to be glori¬ fied and admired in them, 2 Thess. i. 10. that heaven and earth may adore and admire him as the wonderful redeemer, when he thus leads his redeemed ones in eternal glory— the multitude of the people is the honour of the prince, the holy Jesus will then be glorious indeed when he appears thus nobly attended with his holy myriads; the messengers of the Churches were never so much the glory of Christ as they will then be, 2 Cor. viii. 23. Now they must come together to attend upon him accordingly, and ’tis fit they should wait upon him who hath so often waited upon them, to be gracious; waited by his spirit knocking at the door of their souls. When Christ rode in triumph (for so it was more like than to the battle) the armies of heaven followed him. Rev. xix. 14. 2. That they may be Assessors with Christ in his righ¬ teous Judgment; for know ye not, (observe how he speaks of it as a known truth among the Christians,) that the saints shall judge the world, 1 Cor. vi. 2. not by pronouncing of the Judgment, that is Christ’s work. Mat. xxv. 34, 41. but by consenting to Christ’s Judgment, by saying, Righteous art Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. 285 thou, O Lord, by applauding Christ’s judgment: when Christ shall say to Drunkards and swearers, depart ve cursed, though it were their own Father and brother, or child, or friend, they shail even clap their hands and sing Hallelujah, Rev. xix. 1, 2. Let them go accurs’d as they aie, tor they have no wrong done them. Also they shall judge the world by their lives and conversations. Noah’s faith condemned the unbelief of the old world, Heb. xi. 7. oo hereafter the saints shall be ready to answer all the frivolous pleas and pretences of sinners—when those of ie same age, calling, condition, education, relations, opportunities, repented and believed, what excuse can they have for their unbelief and impenitency? Jude, 15: he comes with ten thousands of his Saints,' that out of their mouths he may convince all. Ministers must be gathered together to witness against the people to whom they pieacht; Lord, we called, invited, intreated them to return and be reconcil’d. We warned them to flee from the wrath to come; told what would be the issue of their sinful courses, but they stopped their ears, and hardened their necks: would not return. Many a time did we speak to them m the bitterness of our souls, and were sent from soul 1 '& t l a ^ k eart ’ bleeding over their poor perishing 3. That they may all be presented together by Christ to the Lather—God gave a remnant to the Son to bring by grace to glory, and he took one after another to bring them all safe to heaven; and when he has got them already then will he present them by head and poll to him who ga^e .them him See Job. xvn. 6, 12. This is the will of the ather, (Job. vi. 39.) that he should give an account of his trust, and he will do it accordingly. We have the form of Presentation, Heb. ii. 13. 4. That they may all together be put in possession of the heavenly Kingdom—the whole flock must then be gathered together to follow the great shepherd of the sheep "into the everlasting fold. Job. xiv. 3. That those whose precious souls were brought to heaven one by one, may- after the reuniting of souls and body be. all brought together in numph to the purchased possession, every one with his crown on his head and his palm in his hand, beine made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. For the 3d— Some properties in this meeting. 1. It will be a great meeting— though the people of God voL.vj.— no. 12. u 286 Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. in one place, one age, and generation, %but a few,!* little flock, Luk. xii. 32. Mu. 1 Km. xx. 27. like the grape o-leanings of the vintage; yet when they come all together St the end of time, there will be a very great number a great multitude which no man could number. Rev. vn. 9., how few soever we see now brought to grace, we shall then see the Captain of our salvation bringing many sons to glory, Heb. ii. 10. And surely that will be a great meeting. Now we have our little meetings and are glad of them, c think twenty or thirty pretty fair for a meeting; nay, we comfort ourselves many a time, that if we are but two oi three we are within reach of the promise; and S, J C " mee £ ino-s how sweet are they. But our meeting at Christ s coming will be a great meeting, when all God s spiritual Israel,°from Dan to Beersheba, is gathered together befoie the Lord, that will be no Conventicle; whole nations, E< 2. Itwilfbe a public meeting—they shall meet the Lord in the air, 1 Thes. iv. 17. Now you know what is done above in the air, every body sees; all the world shall be witness to this great meeting, every eye shall see him. Rev i. 7.; and those that see him will be sure to see them with him. The Christians have many a time been confined to private meetings, the disciples together, but the doors shut for fear of the Jews. But then all the Saints shall be gathered together in the face of all the informers and per¬ secutors in the world, and shall have a public meeting m despite of them and all their malice; there the gates shall not be shut at all, Rev. xxi. 25. for there’s no fear of ene¬ mies to disturb them. Here many times the people ot God, when they do meet, dare not sing Psalms, lest their spiteful neighbors should hear them; but there’s no danger in heaven, where the Saints shall for ever sing Hallelujahs to him that sits upon the throne, not caring if all the persecu¬ tors in hell and on Earth hear them—men may hinder our gathering together now, but if God will gather together, who can hinder him? Jobx i. 10. 3. It will be a merry meeting. The profane world nave those now which they call their merry meetings ; but that mirth is madness, and the end of it will be bitterness ; the true merry meeting will be when all the saints meet in heaven. They have now their sorrowful meetings, mourn- in» - over their own sins and the sins of the times, making the Tabernacle of meeting a Bochim, a place of weepers, Jud. ii. 5. Our meetings here are often in the valley ot Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. 287 Bacall; but there the scene shall be altered, there shall not then be a diooping look, a sorrowful heart, or a weepino" eye, among all those holy myriads. See Isa. xxxv. 10. This gathering together will be to sit down {Mat. viii. 11.) as at a feast now a feast was made for laughter, and so will this be for spiritual laughter—then will the saints peifectly fulfil that sweet precept, 1 Phes. v. Rejoy ce ever¬ more, and this their joy no man taketh from them,'Jo//, xvi. 22 ; for a stranger intermeddleth not with it, 7V. xiv. 10 : those fountains from which all our tears flow. Sin and trou¬ ble will then be dry’d up for ever. It must needs be a joyful day with the Saints when they shall even enter into that joy of their Lord which doth but enter into them here. 4. It will be a holy meeting. Our merry meetings on Earth are seldom holy meetings; but that will. The place, a holy place, typified by Jerusalem the Holy City; the Company a holy company, none but the holy Myriads ; especially, the work holy work, to love, and praise and worship, to sing Hallelujahs to Him that sits on the throne, and to the Lamb for evermore. Lloliness becomes God’s house for ever, Ps. xciii. 1. and the holiness of this meeting will be the greatest glory of it—a holy convocation. o. It will be an unmixed meeting. Even our holy meet¬ ings in the world have their mixtures of corruption. (1.) Corrupt persons, tares among the corn, chaff amon°' the wheat, good and bad fish together. Ham in the Ark. Saul among' the prophets, Judas among the Apostles. God peimitting it to be so, for w T ise and holy ends. But in this great meeting it shall not be so; wheat and chaff shall be for ever parted, never a guest at that feast without a wed¬ ding garment, Zech. xiv. /. Rev. xxi. 2. Isa. xxxv. 8. Joel iii. 17. (2.) Corrupt natures; we carry those along with us wheie\ei we go, do what w 7 e can they will follow us even to the solemn assembly; but when we put off the body we shall partjwith them for ever, and not replace them w’lth the body. \V hen the sons of God come then together, there shall be no Satan among them, from the body of death we shall then be for ever delivered, and rid of that burthen w hich clogs us now in our mountings heavenwards. 6. It will be an everlasting meeting. Our meetings here, though they are sweet they are short, and the shortness embitters them, but here we shall meet never to part more. See how' loth the good people were to part from the passover. 288 Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. and therefore doubled the time, 2 Chr. xxx. 23.; yet the four¬ teen days had an end; but in heaven we shall keep a Sabbath that shall have no night at the end of it, nor no working day to come after it. There was a way out of Paradise, but no way into it again; a way into heaven, (a milky way to us, a bloody way to Christ,) but no way out again. Ever with the Lord, 1 Thes. iv. 17. For the 4th. —To prove this a happiness. That it is a part of heaven’s happiness I stick not to say : but on the other hand, we must be careful not to look for too much from the Saints,no not in glory, nor to expect that from the enjoy¬ ment of them, which is to be had only in the vision and fruition of God. Saints must be dear to us, but they must not be our Christs; yet doubtless he who so often mentions our consociation and conjunction in his praise, doth thereby intimate to us, that this will be some advantage to our joys, some Ingredient to our happiness; which I prove, 1. From the common rules among mankind. (1.) That like rejoiceth in its like, and the nearer the likeness the greater the joy. We see this even among the brute crea¬ tures, that birds of a feather will flock together, and love to do it; much more among men. We see daily how much pleasure those take in the society of each other that aie alike in age, condition, calling, and employment; especially those that are alike in their desires, and designs. What delight do sinners take in the sinful wicked company of such as are altogether like themselves, Ps. lvi. 6. How glad are the Drunkards of Ephraim to meet in the Alehouse, and will allow no fellowship to be good fellowship but theirs. So as to other associations. Scholars are the company which the Scholar delights in, &c., and the ground of this delight is likeness.—Now among the Saints. 1. There is something of a likeness here in this world; as far as they are sanctified they are all made conformable to the same image of Christ, and qui conveniunt in aliquo tertio inter se conveniunt; the likeness in nature, affections, aims, principles, desires, employment, is the ground of that true pleasure that there is in the present communion of Saints. But forasmuch as the best are sanctified but in part, the likeness is accordingly but partial, and the delight, therefore, imperfect—But, 2. At the resurrection this likeness shall be perfected, the new man grown up to his full stature, all made com- pleatly like Christ, and like one another—all their hearts kindled with the same divine fire, all employed about the V Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. 289 same blessed work—and how sweet must the harmony needs be when there is never a jarring string. (2.) That love of the person doth necessarily beget a delight in the company of the person loved. As likeness, so love is the ground of this delight, (though truly not often parted). How earnestly doth the passionate lover desire the 'company of the person he has fix’t his love upon. How slowly do those hours pass wherein he wants it, how sweetly do those minutes slide away wherein he enjoys it, and how contemptible is any other company compared with it, all which is owing to his love. Now all the Saints a^’e taught of God (who alone can do it effec¬ tually) to love one another. All that are through grace passed from death to life, have in them a rooted principle of love to all the brethren, which is it that makes the com¬ munion of Saints so sweet in this world, much more in the other where love (that everlasting grace, 1 Cor. xiii. 8. 13.) shall be made perfect—the more love of the person, the more delight in the company. 2. From the common experience of all the Saints who will witness what delight they have had in the society of God’s people, how sweet and refreshing it has been to their souls. See Ps. xlii. 4. Besides the many instances of this in the Scripture, I need only appeal to the experience of those that fear God, what comfort and quickening they have received by the Society of fellow Christians, with what cliearfulness they have travelled on in the ways of God when they have met with good company, how their spirits have been cheared, their hearts comforted, and their hands strengthned by such fellowship; how they have been sharpen¬ ed by it, Prov. xxvii. 17. But how much greater will the delight be hereafter, if we consider these three things. 1. That then we shall be with all the Saints—a general assembly—here the salt of the Earth is scatter’d, but there all the Eagles shall be gathered together about the car¬ cass—all that ever were, are, or ever shall be companion of all, Ps. cxix. 63. 2. With none but saints, all wheat, no tares; all corn, no chaff; all saints, no hypocrite; no false brethren creeping in to spy out our liberty; no pricking brier nor scratching thorn; no spots in that feast of charity; no Doeg. If we would have it so now, we must needs go out of the world, 1 Cor. v. 10. 3. With Saints made perfect. Here the best have their imperfections, their ignorance and follies, roughness and 290 Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. unevenness, (more or less of it,) which doth much embitter their society, and render it the less pleasing. Every one must have some grains of allowance for humor and temper, but no need of it there—all these infirmities shall be done away, and every thing shall tend to make their society most amiable. For Application . 1. Let us give all diligence to make it sure to ourselves that we are of this number, that we may not be missing at that great gathering together. 1. It is a thing of consequence to us to make this sure, Tis no trifle, but a serious matter—if we be not among them then, we shall not be among them for ever—and if we be not among them, I tremble to say among whom we shall be, but the word of God saith it, that we shall be with the Devil and his Angels, Mat. xxv. 41. Those that are not gathered with the wheat into the barn, must be bound in bundles with the tares for the fire. See Mat. xiii. 30. If our souls be not gathered with saints, they must be gathered with sinners, which David prays so earnestly against, Ps. xxvi. 9.; and see the portion of such. Mat . xxiv. 1. 1 Sain. xxv. 29. 2. It is a thing that may be made sure; we are bid to make our calling and election sure, 2 Pet. i. 10. and in so doing we make our salvation sure—the call is general, the Gospel excludes none that do not exclude themselves. To help youthen in the trial, will you give me leave to ask you, 1. Have you made a covenant with God by sacrifice, i. e. by Jesus Christ the great propitiation; those and those only that have done this, are the Saints that shall then bee gathered together, Psal. 1. 5. 1 know you have done it by profession, ’twas done for you in your baptism, but have you done it in power? have you made it your own act and deed? have you deliberately and sincerely taken God in Christ to be your God, and given up yourself to him to be his? If not, do it, and do it quickly; as you tender the eternal salvation of your precious and immortal souls, do it. God is ready to covenant with you; why will not you be as # ready to covenant with him ? are not the terms sweet, and easy, and gracious, and highly reasonable, that if you will be for him, he will be for you ? Could they be better ? 2. Have you chosen the people of God to be your people? ’tis certain none shall be gathered to them in glory here¬ after, that are not gathered to them by grace here. Death gathers us to our people—’tis a common Old Testament phrase. Now the question is, who are our people '' Are we 291 Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. truly willing to take our lot with the saints here and for ever, willing to live the life of the righteous, as well as to die the death of the righteous—chusing their present way as well as their last end—to suffer with them as well as to reign with them? What is our esteem of God’s people ? Are the sons of Sion precious to us ? Lam. iv. 2. Can we prize despised holiness ? Who are the people of our choice and love ? What is the company that we desire and delight in, and in which we are as in our element? are we compa¬ nions of all that fear God ? Ps. cxix. 63. If so, we shall be companions with them for ever, for death only changes our place; it doth not change, but only refine and improve, our company. Those that are for wicked company now shall have enough of them, for ever partakers with adulterers, Ps. 1.18. shall have (as the margin there reads it) their por¬ tion with adulterers, viz. without—and so companions in tribulation shall be companions in the kingdom. See Rev. i. 9. What is the frame of the spirit and the workings of your heart, when you meet a saint? Do you love the bre¬ thren, rejoyce to see them, grieve to part with them, as the Christians did to part with Paul? Act. xx /.. 2. Do I speak to any that have good hopes through grace, that they shall be gathered with the Saints at the great gathering day, and shall not be missing at that merry meeting. I hope I do. Let such know that this text and doctrine speaks duty and comfort. 1. Do the duty that it calls for from you. 1. Take heed of doing any thing unworthy your hopes. Let every one that hath this hope in him purify himself, 1 Joh. iii. 3. Those that are going to a holy meeting should be holy cleanse themselves^ 2 Cor. vii. Dare those be un¬ holy now that hope to be shortly among the holy myriads? Let not those that expect to partake with Saints shortly in any thing, partake with sinners now. When a temptation to sin comes, think of this,—I milst shortly appear before God’s terrible tribunal, and am not without hopes of being with the sheep on the right hand, and then shall the secrets of all hearts be made manifest: dare I then do that now which I should blush for a man, much more for a Saint, to see me do. Am I to be in such company, and shall I go and wallow in the mire and defile my garments, and give just cause to the Saints to be ashamed to have me amongst them? Those that hope to sit down with the Saints at their feast of glory, must take heed of being spots in their 292 Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. feasts of charity—the members of that corporation should live as such, Phil. iii. 20. 2. Keep up a universal love to all the Saints. We must love all men as men and brethren by nature, but we must have a special love for the household of faith; ’tis the badge of our profession, Joh. xiii. 34, 35. And dare we be seen abroad without our badge ? This love must not be confined to any sect or party, or persuasion of men; but wherever we see any thing of Christ. If you see any holy, humble, sober, self-denying Christian, that you verily believe keeps up the power of religion in his heart, whatever dividing name he is known by, be sure you love him dearly, for you hope to be with him for ever. Shall those that are bound for the heavenly Canaan fall out by the way about a trifle? Those that are to be one in the inheritance for ever, should be one in their affections now. 3. Be companions to all those that fear God, Ps. cxix. 63. let your delight bee in the Saints that are on the Earth, for your happiness is like to be with the Saints in heaven— chuse them for your companions now, whom you hope to have for your companions to eternity, and delight in their company. David did so, though a king upon the throne; yet he loved the company of the meanest of his subjects that did truly fear God. Take heed of bad company, not only of such as are openly profane, but of such as are car¬ nal, and worldly, and formal, and are strangers to the life of God and the power of Godliness. Company is of an assi¬ milating nature, and we are very apt insensibly to grow like those with whom we converse; especially those with whom we delight to converse. Death changes our place, but not company. 4. Take heed of keeping up distances and estrangements towards any of God’s people that you are acquainted with. I doubt this is too common a fault among professors of religion. Some small matter of unkindness makes them as strange one to another as if there were no acquaintance, nor never had been—these things ought not to be so. Shall not one house hold those now, whom one heaven must hold shortly? I do not love to see Christians so unconcerned as many times they are in the concernments one of another; all seek their own, Phil. ii. 21. few seek the good of the body. 5. Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is, Heb. x. 25. Those that are to be Matthew Henry’s Farewell Sermon. 293 gathered together hereafter for holy work, should gather together as often as they can here for such work. Those that are bound for heaven in t’other world, should begin their heaven in this; not only in doing the work of heaven, (as well as it can be done in this imperfect state,) but meet-, ing together to do it, Mai. iii. 16, 17.—the Lord loves the gates of Zion, and so should we—do not neglect public worship ; the more the merrier in the work of God, for it is the liker to heaven—when you cannot do what you would, do what you can; ’tis the property of froward children to throw away what is given them, because they shall not have what they would, and then the parent serves them but well enough to take all away—yet desire and long for more; let us be found among those that are sorrowful for the solemn Assembly. See Zeph. iii. 18. Sorrowful for the corruptions of them—the less pure they are, the less like to heaven. 6. Be often thinking and often talking of this gathering together. If you did really believe it, and expect it, surely you would be more frequent in your meditations of it. Think and speak of that blessed day when we, who were w T ont to pray together, and hear together, and fast and repent together, shall be singing together, and rejoicing and triumphing together; and should not the thoughts of this fill us, especially on sabbath days? ’tis pity Christians when they meet should part without talking of heaven. 2. Take the comfort that this tenders to you, ’tis matter of comfort. 1. In reference to the dispersion of the Church, the members of Christ are scatered all the world over, like the Salt of the Earth,-like Levi, scattered in Israel, Gen. xlix.; and’tis uncomfortable to think of it, that there should be so many of our fellow members that we never saw, nor are ever like to see in the flesh; but stay awhile and you shall see them all together shortly, and never a one missing. 2. In reference to the divisions of the Church. Sad divisions even in Christ’s house, two against three, and three against two. Endeavours to heal have been ineffec¬ tual, and for these divisions all the godly have great search¬ ings of heart. But in heaven they shall all be healed with¬ out a scar—there Luther and Calvin are of a mind, that were not so here—that’s a city compact together, a holy quiet world; no dissenting brethren in heaven; no signs, badges of distinction; no dividing names. 3. In reference to the disorders and distractions, and 294 Condition of the Population , fyc. discomposures of the Church; here tares are mingled with wheat in the same field; good fish with bad in the same net; by the neglect of discipline, brethren walking disorderly —’Twill be otherwise there. 4. In reference to the disturbances and restraints of solemn Assemblies. Primitive Christians forced to meet in the night in dens and caves; our brethren in branee at this day; no disturbed meetings in heaven. 5. In reference to the distance and death of Christian friends and relations, who are dear to us, but removed by providence or death; well, we shall be with them again shortly. Perfectus est quern putas mortunm, 1 Thess. iv. 13. 6. In reference to our own dissolution and departure out of this world, who would be afraid to go to such good company ? Substance of a Report on the Condition of the Population, $>c. of the District of Lumba Selapan, in Sumatra, made to the Hon. the Lieutenant-Governor of Fort Marlborough, bp a Committee appointed for the purpose. [Communicated by the Hon. SirT. S. Raffles, Kut. Lieut.-Gov. of Fort Marlborough.J As it was not considered necessary that the Committee should proceed to each separate village, but merely to those which were most easy of access, and best adapted for collecting and taking an account of the small ones, we proceeded from Fort Marlborough to Paggar Din, and from thence round the Lumba Selapan, being a distance travelled by us of forty-one miles, though the whole circumference may be about sixty miles, and the breadth twenty, being- situated between the Bencoolen and Soongey Lamow rivers, and extending in an easterly direction to Nibong Lau, and north-easterly to Sebenjole, which is twelve miles distant in a straight line from the sugar-loaf. It contains sixteen villages and thirty-four hamlets, inhabited by one thousand nine hundred and seventy-two people, under the authority of two Paserahs residing at Benteering and Paggar Din. The general appearance of the villages was far from giving- one an idea of wealth, prosperity, or industry, though con¬ tentment was evident. They consist of a few scattered houses, surrounded by woods of fruit and forest trees, which, from the density of their shade, give a gloomy appearance to every thing around, and cause a chilly dampness from exhalations continually rising from the / of Lumba Selapan, in Sumatra. 295 earth. Each of the villages is situated on a rising ground ; at the bottom of which flows a small rivulet, in a semicir¬ cular direction, so as almost to make an island of each of them. The reason of the natives choosing such spots is principally for the convenience of obtaining water for cook¬ ing, &c., for transporting their timber during the floods, and partly as a defence against attacks of enemies. The houses in some of the villages are built entirely of wood, though the generality are made of bamboos, palupo, &c., and are tolerably commodious; they are roofed, some with alternate layers of ijau and lallang, which will last five or six years, and others with lallang only, which requires renewing every three years. There are only two Baleis in the whole of the Lumba Selapan districts, one at Paggar Din, and the other at Sebenjole, and no place of public worship, owing to the villages having been burnt down several times. The origin of the Dusan Selapan, from what we could learn of the oldest and most intelligent persons in that district, appears to be as follows : The present inhabitants are descended from a race of people who migrated under the command of Tuan Shaick Abdool Sookur from Tannah Preoh, in the district of Beliti and Tabat Pinging, near Muarro Beliti, (villages situated on the river Calingi,) and settled at Paggar Iatti on the confines of the Rejang dis¬ tricts; whence, after driving out by force of arms the original inhabitants, called Rejang Sawah, who being unwilling to become Mahometans, fled to Rawas in the interior of Palem- bang, where their descendants are still said to exist; they came down and finally settled at Benteering, Paggar Din, Sebenjole, and Pakoohajie. The Tuan Shaick being worn out with age and fatigue, died, and was buried at Soongie Api, near Pakoohajie, where a stone, called Battoo Rajah, points out to the descendants of his followers the place of his interment, which is considered sacred, and is annually or biennallv, according to circumstances, visited by the whole of the tribe, when a buffalo is killed, and a feast given to his manes. After the Tuan Shaick’s death, his followers divided themselves into eight portions, each headed by a chief, and fixed on different spots for erecting villages; thus Benteering, Paggar Din, Sebenjole, Pakoo¬ hajie, Cumbang Sree, Sabat Passummah, Baroogie, and Terra Dannah, arose under the denomination of Lumba Selapan. Sometime after this division of the tribe, the supreme authority was, by the Sultan of Palembang, vested 296 Condition of the Population, fyc. in the family of the present Pangeran of Soongie Etam, but for what reason we were unable to learn. The society in each of these villages is the same as in other countries, where the inhabitants consider themselves as descended from the same stock, and where the elders have the management and direction of the concerns of the village. The principal people in each village are the dupat- ty, the radin, the imam, khatip, and bilal, who settle all causes both worldly and spiritual, for their anak-buahs, if they choose to abide by their decision. The whole of the inhabitants appear to live on amicable and friendly terms one with another; they enter each other’s houses without the least ceremony, go from one village to another without making the least provision for their journey, and are always sure to be well fed with the kind of victuals they are accustomed to, and comfortably lodged. Their hospitality to strangers is great; they are charitable, in as much as they will relieve a neighbour w r ho has consumed his store of paddy, or whose crop has failed, by lending him a portion. They are honest, in as far as they respect the property of those who reside in their own, as well as in the other villages of their own tribe. A robbery seldom is committed but by persons of noted bad character, who are to be met with every where. They are to all appearance as devout Mussulmen as one will meet with in other countries where Mahometanism is practised. They assemble by beat of gong every Thursday evening in the balei, to lament for the sins they have committed during the week, beating their breasts, stamping, calling on the name of God and their Prophet, and with other demonstrations of sorrow and contrition, and on Friday midday they pray, being assembled in the same manner. The ceremony of praying is the same as it is to be met with in books on the Mahometan religion. Slavery, as in all other sovereignties and petty states, in this island is allowed ; but few persons, from their poverty, are able to procure slaves. No inhabitant of the Lumba Selapan can be sold as a slave to any person out of, or in the district, but he may become a Mengheering debtor, if unable to pay his debt after a certain space of time, but this is far from common, as the people are fond of their liberty; and besides, their circumstances, and their mode of living, preclude them from contracting debts to any considerable amount. Gambling of all descriptions, and cockfighting, we were told, was not allowed, as their ancestors had entailed a heavy curse on the present race, that should they allow of 29? of Lumba Selapan, in Sumatra. such practices in Lumba Selapan, they prayed that their posterity might be destroyed and dispersed. An instance, however, of the people disregarding this curse of their ancestors, occurred at Pelajow, the dupatty of which re¬ quested to gamble, and the dupatty of Paggar Duin, and others, came up to share in the sport. In cases of petty thefts, the offender w T as directed to pay double the value of the property stolen, and fined five dollars; which fine has since been increased by the two Pangerans to twenty dollars, half of which goes to the Pan- geran of Soongie Etam, and half to the proatteens. The fines of the proatteens are divided amongst themselves, they are from twenty-four to tw r enty-eight dollars, and the smallest twelve dollars; those higher than twenty-eight being for cases of greater criminality, are called the Tuankus fines, and are usually settled entirely by him; they are shared equally, or ought to be so, between him and the proatteens. The proatteens have the right of trying and settling causes in their own villages, but in the event of a dispute arising about the decision, a reference is made to the Pangeran, and eventually to the Company. The present laws and customs, which are similar to those of the neighbouring tribes, if properly adhered to, and if due attention were paid to the dupatty’s orders, are suffi¬ cient to keep the people in order without any alteration being made; but at present there appears to be but little difference between the dupatty and his anak-buah, the latter accosts the former as freely as he would his equal, and if ordered to do any thing he thinks disagreeable, tells his dupatty he will not do it, or else walks sulkily away without saying any thing. There has certainly been a very great decrease in the population of Lumba Selapan district; this is to be attri¬ buted to the severe, arbitrary, and sometimes unjust mea¬ sures of the Tuanku Belang, the father of the present Pangeran, which forced many of the inhabitants to leave this district and return to the interior of Palembang, and partly to the ravages of the small-pox, which has swept off one-seventh of the inhabitants. This disease, together with losses by frequent fires, has dispersed the remaining inha¬ bitants of the English villages into other villages, and numerous small hamlets. The decrease is easily to be seen from the present state of Paggar Din, which formerly consisted of three hundred houses, but at present, with its hamlets, does not exceed fifty. There appears to be no 298 Condition of the Population, fyc. particular impediment to the increase of population, the people appear to be healthy enough, and to live to a decent age. It may however happen that the early intercourse oi the two sexes, the inconstancy of the man, the labour and fatigue that the woman, whilst she becomes a marriageable virgin till her death, undergoes, must naturally prevent a great increase of family; the heat of the climate may also be another impediment against a multiplicity of births, for it is well known, that people, inhabitants of eastern climates, are not so prolific as those of northern ones. The marriages among their own tribe are all by Semando, as the parents are unwilling altogether to lose their daughters; however, the men are allowed to take wives from the Rejang, or other districts, by jujur, of which some avail themselves, as wives so obtained in a manner become slaves. No two persons in the same village can be married to each other, on account of their consanguinity; they must take wives and husbands from different villages. On a marriage by semundah taking place, the intended husband presents six dollars, one hun¬ dred bamboos of rice, one buffalo, cocoa-nuts, one bamboo of gunpowder, one bamboo of sweatmeats, five fowls, and twelve small knives; which present the woman returns by giving twenty pieces of cloth of her own making, some worked with gold thread, the prices of which are from one rupee to six soocoos each. The rest of the ceremony is the same as is practised in Bimbangs at Marlborough. The state of agriculture is very low, not one hundredth part of the lands being cultivated, the people having no idea or inclination to improve their land, which after the crop is removed is left to itself till the brushwood grows up, and renders the soil capable of bearing another crop. Culti¬ vation may be said neither to have improved or become worse, as the same method is at present observed as when the people first settled in these districts. The people pay most attention to their rice, they also plant sweet potatoes, plantains, and sugar-cane, merely as a reserve in case their stock of paddy should fail them before they cut the new crop. They also plant long pepper under the shade of their fruit trees, which grow in a complete forest round the villages. The chief of their fruit trees are dooreans, lances, mangusteens, chupahs, binjies, jacks, cocoa-nuts, and the anow tree, which last is their principal support, as it sup¬ plies them with ijoo for making ropes and for roofing their houses, and its juice or toddy affords sugar, which is bought by people from Marlborough at the rate of twelve cakes for 299 of Lumba Selapan, in Sumatra. a satallie. Each anow tree produces from a satallie to four fanams per day, making on an average from forty-five to sixty dollars as the yearly produce of each tree, which is said to give its juice for thirty years, after which time it dies away. The soil in general is rich, being a black mould about a foot deep over a layer of red earth, and is capable of producing vegetables, and most kinds of grain. The process of preparing the ground for planting their paddy is very simple; the man goes and looks out for a convenient spot for making his laddang, he then cuts down the wood, which, when properly dried, he burns, and then with his wife and family proceeds to sow the paddy, which is done in the following manner. The whole family, with small square pointed pieces of w T ood, make holes in rows at regular distances from each other, into which the grain is put without any thing more being done to the ground. On the blade of paddy appearing, the labour commences, and planters are daily employed in rooting up the lallang and in frightening away the birds, rats, and elephants, which destroy great quantities of plants, and sometimes whole laddangs. The paddy has many enemies, not to speak of drought, to contend with, and consequently requires the greatest care and vigilance to protect it. The average produce of the crops may be fifty fold in laddangs, and one hundred fold in sawahs. This process of cultivation is the ne plus ultra of the improvement in Lumba Selapan districts, but there appears no particular reason why it has not attained a higher degree of excellence, as nature and the soil only require that the grain should be sown in the way above alluded to, and the ground kept clean from weeds, &c. till the corn is ripe. Every village has a certain portion of land allotted to it, which may be said to be freehold, as no rent for the use of it is paid to the Pangeran. The Pangeran’s authority at present appears merely nominal; the only acknowledgment of his being Pangeran is this, that on emergencies, when the people cannot agree among themselves, they apply to him to settle their disputes. No revenues appear to have been derived by the Pangeran of Soongey Etam from these districts, but a present of one hundred bamboos of rice and ten fowds a year used to be given to him by each village, by w r ay of acknowledging his supre¬ macy. This present has however been dropped during the time of the present Pangeran, on the ground of his having neglected their interests, and taken the whole of the great fines to himself. The Pangeran has no claims either to the 300 Condition of the Population, 8rc. services of the people or to the produce of the soil; should he require either, he must pay the regular price. 1 he only case in which he is entitled to the services of any one, and then but for a short time, is the following: should a person come and reside in his house, he the visitor is obliged to work for his food. With regard to a register of births, deaths, and marriages being kept, the Committee beg to recommend that the Imam ajul Kliatib, who are always present on each of these occa¬ sions, should keep a regular account, which should be transmitted for insertion into a general book set aside for that purpose, either to the magistrate’s office, the Pangeran’s court, or wherever the register is intended to be kept. Lastly, the Committee beg to state, that the expenses they have incurred in the prosecution of the above inquiries are, in the first place, owing to a prevailing custom of the people in these districts, killing in each of the large villages a buffalo, and in the small ones a goat, on any European’s entering them. The buffalo is presented to the company or Commission sent by government, and it is expected that it wall be divided in the proportion of one half to the dupat- ty, one fourth to the Commission, and one fourth to servants, coolies, and other followers attending on the Commission; at the same time also it is expected, that the Commission, on leaving the village, will further pay for the buffalo, goat, or any thing else that may have been given by the people. Secondly, it is customary for the young women to come and pay their respects to the Commission, and present each a box full of seree, in which, on returning, the Com¬ mission are expected to put a looking-glass, a fan, or such like thing. These are the principal expenses, not including coolly hire, which the Committee were put to, and which they endeavoured all in their pow 7 er to avoid, but the dupat- ties and elders of the people appeared evidently hurt and displeased at the refusal of the presents above alluded to, and by the Committee’s telling them not to put themselves to any trouble, or inconvenience, on their account, as they merely intended to stay the night. On this account, the Committee considered it necessary to incur the expenses alluded to, and they trust that their conduct in so doing will not be blameable. The Committee are well aware that in general presents should be made by the chief authority alone; but they beg to observe, that there are occasionally circumstances with render it necessary that certain presents in the name of Government should be 301 of Dua-Blas, in Sumatra. given on the spot by those who are sent upon any duties similar to those of the Lumba Selapan Committee; for if only a kind of promise were made of presents being here¬ after given, it w r ould impress the minds of the people with an unfavourable idea of the liberality of the Government and the respectability of its servants. It is for this reason that the President of the Committee wrote down to obtain the sanction of Government. The Committee have forborne to make any remarks on the general history of each village separately, as the accounts the people give of themselves are so contradictory and unsa¬ tisfactory, that the Committee cannot rely on their correct¬ ness. The Committee have not been able to take down the bearings of the several villages, on account of the uneven nature of the ground, and on account of trees interven¬ ing on those spots which might have been favourable for ascertaining their respective situations. The Committee have, how'ever, settled the positions of Paggar Din, which is in the centre of the district, the Sugar-loaf bearing from it N. N. E. and Brookit Candis S.S.E. and that it is distant nine and a half miles from Fort Marlborough. Substance of a Report on the Condition of the Population, $c. of the District of Dua-Blas, in Sumatra, made to the Hon. the Lieut.-Governor of Fort Marlborough, by a Committee appointed for the purpose. [Communicated by the Hon.Sir T.S. Raffles, Knt., Lieut.-Gov. of Fort Marlborough.] We beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your letter under date the 3d July, in which we are honoured, by being directed to form ourselves into a Committee for the pur¬ pose of taking a census of the population of the district of Dua-blas, and to acquire and to convey to you some general and particular information upon points connected with the internal state of that portion of territory supposed here¬ tofore to have acknowledged the authority of the Pangeran of Soongv Itam. We should have commenced our inquiries, in pursuance of your instructions, before the 25th ultimo, but thought it expedient to allow the Pooassa, or month of Ramzan, to pass over, as w’ell as the week subsequent to it, in order that we might find the inhabitants in their villages, with the inclination and leisure to attend to the queries we proposed putting to them, and to their dupatties and chiefs VOL. vi.— is o. 12. x 302 Condition of the Population, &>c. Previous to entering upon the subjects of which it is our intention this letter and its enclosures shall treat, we think it right candidly to acknowledge, that we entertain little expectation of being enabled to communicate to you much interesting information, which may not already have been conveyed to you through the medium of other channels, and by men better able to do so in a luminous and perspi¬ cuous manner ; but we respectfully conceive, that indepen¬ dently of our obeying the instructions you have, as Lieut.- Governor of this settlement, given to us, it may not be use¬ less to put the stamp of direct and official testimony to local facts, although they may already be known and admit¬ ted. Upon our direct and official testimony, your liberal views and intentions of reform and amendment, as affecting the district of Dua-blas, may rest, or it may confirm your opinion respecting the propriety of leaving so unpromising a country to its fate, upon what perhaps will be considered the just and fair grounds, that the talents and exertions to be applied for the problematical attainment of the objects alluded to, may be more certainly and successfully directed towards some other portion of the territory under your government, possessing more natural advantages than the district of Dua-blas; a district which, we are strongly inclined to think, has heretofore retrograded both in point of population and civilization, under the influence of an European government. In filling up the different forms, we have strictly adhered to the instructions conveyed to us in your communication, and we venture to guarantee the general correctness of our memorial statements, to which we paid the more particular attention, from the belief, that little beyond vague conjecture has yet been made known regarding the number of people in the several dusuns and their talangs, and from the conviction of its importance as matter of fact, unconnected with either the systems or theories which may be adopted, in order to account for the scantiness of the population, and infecundity of the country. With reference to the observation we have just made in a preceding part of this letter, we deem it an act of justice, indeed we perform a pleasing duty, in thus officially notify¬ ing, what has been to us a source of sincere gratification, that during our short residence amongst, and communica¬ tion with, the inhabitants of the district of which we have taken a census, they every where received us with the most perfect frankness and good humour. We feel satisfied, that xinder the influence of an enlightened, active, firm, and 303 of Dua-Blas, in Sumatra. benevolent system of government, the agents of that govern¬ ment will, unless they forfeit it by their own want of con¬ duct and temper, invariably meet with deference from the natives of Dua-blas, who will, we are persuaded, on no occasion lose sight of the respect which they conceive to be due to the power and intellectual superiority of those Europeans who may condescend to treat them with consi¬ deration, with kindness, and with urbanity. We admit, that they are at present an indolent, apathetic race, one whom it will be an arduous task to raise in the scale of civilized society, and we must likewise admit them to be a people in whom it is seemingly very difficult to create a lively interest in any thing useful, nor is it easy to obtain from them information even upon subjects which they per¬ fectly comprehend. This seeming indifference on matters which one would conceive must be interesting to them, and this habitual reserve, may originally have arisen from distrust of those Europeans with whom commercial views alone brought them into contact; and the effects of long- established prejudice, whether just or otherwise, are not to be overcome in a day; but we are decidedly of opinion, that with proper management, and under the control of a wise, liberal, efficient, and at the same time (within just bounds) severe government, the villagers of the territory alluded to, may ultimately be roused from their sloth and apathy to habits of industry and comparative activity; they are indeed, as you will gather from the tenor of this letter and its enclosures, very little shackled by the influence of the Pangeran’s authority, and perhaps also as little sw T ayed by superstitions and prejudices as any small tribe of people on this Island. We therefore anticipate the arrival of that period, when the natives of Dua-blas will retrieve, or rather establish a character for mildness and openness, when they will have justice shewn to them, in the opinion of Europeans, for the possession of the good qualities they will be seen really to possess, in proportion to the heavy oblo¬ quy under which they have heretofore laboured, from the universal belief and conviction of their ferocity and treachery. The country of the Dua-blas is of a triangular form. Its greatest length is about fifteen miles, and breadth somewdiat less than ten. Its surface is rendered irregular by deep undulations and ravines. The ravines or valleys almost invariably run parallel to each other, from the north-west to the south-east, or directly in a line with the coast, the 304 Condition of the Population, 8fC, land having, as has often been remarked, the appearance of a continuation of the waves of the sea. The whole of this country partakes of the character of the surrounding districts. The natural beauty of the coun¬ try is greatly owing to the number of small brooks by which it is watered. They generally run in a south-west mean¬ dering direction from the hills. The Bencoolen (which has often been described) is the only considerable stream. The banks of several of the smaller brooks are in many parts richly clothed with hanging woods. In many places they are extremely beautiful and picturesque, and worthy of employing the descriptive powers of the pen and pencil of abler delineators and writers than the Committee who have now the honour to address you. The soil of the district of Dua-blas is almost every where the same. The basis, a hard red clay, with a thin stratum of black mould on the surface. The cause of the scantiness of this stratum of mould may be accounted for by the unevenness of the face of the country, and the heavy rains which fall during many months of the year, washing away the detached particles into the ravines, where the soil is productive and good. We allude at present to the upland grounds; but the soil of the sawah, or swampy lands, only differs in having rather a thicker coat of black mould; the basis is, we find, invariably the same, cold hard red clay. The early history of the ancestors of the present race inhabiting the Dua-blas, is involved in fable and obscurity. They lay claim to great antiquity of descent, being, accord¬ ing to their own traditions, descended from the same stock as the people of Palembang and Moosi. Menangkabow appears to be the parent source from whence the various southern tribes of this island derive their origin. The accounts given by the several dupatties or chiefs, differ from each other in many material points. That which seems to be borne out by probability, is nearly as follows: Pre¬ vious to the introduction of the Mahomedan religion, a family feud existed between Tuanko-orang-Muda and Imbang Juja, which caused a separation of the people attached to the southern districts of Menangkabow. Palem¬ bang afterwards seems to have been the ruling power to which the southern division became subject. It is indeed difficult to reconcile, or to comprehend, all their various unconnected accounts, but there appears to exist no doubt upon the minds of all the people in the district of Dua-blas, of their having left their parent land under the following of Dua-Blas, in Sumatra. 305 circumstances. About ten gelers or generations ago, being oppressed by their chiefs, they fled from Trawas and Laki” tan in the Moosi country, then under the authority of the Sultan of Palembang, and sought and obtained protection from the Pangeran of Sillebar, who assigned to them the lands which they hold at this day. They continued nomi¬ nally under the rajah of Sillebar, until that chief had no longer the semblance of authority, or even respectability. They then voluntarily gave themselves over to the authority of the Pangeran of Soongy Itam. We must not here omit to notice the mark of confidence placed in the Committee b v some of the dupatties, in entrusting to us the copper and silver plates on which they allege are written their patents. They are principally in the Rejang, and one in an unknown ancient character. We have not had time or opportunity to get them translated, but we hope they will, when this is effected, throw some light upon their early history and con¬ nections. This chieftain, Pangeran of Soongy Itam, what¬ ever his pretensions may be, has certainly at the present day little actual authority in the district; nor does it appear to be very determinate in the minds of the people. Some of them are willing to acknowledge him as their nominal chief at all times and in all situations, whilst others allege, that he is entitled to be considered chief only when sitting in his judicial capacity in court, and never had a voice in the election of a Pembarab, even at the time when that dignity was elective. It is now attached, as a matter of course, to the dupatties of those dusuns which in times past generally had the power of electing to that office. The present Pan¬ geran of Soongy Itam, according to the tradition of the natives of Dua-blas, is descended from a chief, who was one of the household officers belonging to the palace of Bagindo See Bejam, at that time king of many lands on this Island. This officer became the adopted son of the king, who, to reward him for his good conduct, gave him the title of Dupatty Khalippa Rajah. On the arrival of the English on this coast, the Proateens, denominated Dua-blas, made an application, which was received, to confer upon the Dupatty Khalippa Raja, the title of Pangeran. On his obtaining the high-sounding title, although perhaps in fact only a shadow of real distinction, he laid claim to certain privileges and immunities ; and half the fines levied, and the duties collected, were conceded to him by the inhabitants placed under the influence of his government. The king, or ehief, to whom the Pangeran was indebted for his elevation. 306 Condit ion of the Population, fyc. Bagindo See Bejam, possessed territories bounded by the Bookit Barissan, on the south, as far as the Bencoolen river, and to the northward, as far as the Songy Jerangye. One prominent feature in the customs and habits of the people, amongst whom he has passed so short a period, which cannot fail to strike the most casual observer, is the inde¬ pendent state in which the people of the dusuns live. The dupatty exercises no influence over his people, beyond what he possesses as the head of his own family; which, in some cases, comprises the greater proportion of the people in the village. The dupatties, as well as their nominal dependents, would, we are convinced, most willingly, should it meet your views, and accord with the interest and inclination of the Pan- geran of Soongy I tarn, whom we shall suppose to possess a legal title to their fealty,give themselves to the authority of the local government at Fort Marlborough; but we cannot ven¬ ture to assert that they would do so, were the person at the head of it an officer for whom they did not entertain senti¬ ments of personal regard, founded upon a persuasion that he would not, although possessed of absolute authority, trench upon their liberties, or upon their ancient customs and institutions. The government of this tribe has hitherto been, and probably will remain for some time to come, a government of opinion. One chief public functionary at Fort Marlborough may carry a measure involving many important points into effect with ease, which another officer, as able and as pure in principle, and actuated by the same benevolent motives, would find it difficult, and perhaps impossible, to accomplish. The inhabitants of this district, like the natives of those Malay islands with which we are acquainted, place the utmost confidence in a man of rank, whom they believe to be actuated by conscientious motives, and whom they have been in the habit of regarding with respect and esteem: taking therefore into consideration the subject adverted to, (of the policy we entertain little doubt,) we feel confident that the prosperity of the country, and the general amelioration of its inhabitants, would be the certain consequence of your taking the direct and immediate super¬ intendence of it and its population into your own hands. At present the people have no fixed principles of action, they lie open and exposed to a thousand evils, whereas, were they under the direct influence of your administration, that influence would give a tone to the habits of the people; they would become united by one common interest, a kin¬ dred spirit would actuate them, and we should see the men. of Dua-Blas, in Sumatra. 307 who are now seen in sloth and idleness, busy in the cultiva¬ tion of their sawahs, and in the improvement'of their con¬ dition in society. We are aware, that the assumption of authority by an European government in India, is liable to many objections, and to be viewed by the world in general with jealousy; but perhaps, as in the present instance, those considerations should not have too great weight; the more especially when we feel conscious, that we are actuated in undertaking so arduous a task by a love of justice and moderation. We feel inclined to think that nothing is wanting to improve the state of society in the Dua-blas, but regular government, whether it be native under British control, or wholly British. A regular government, esta¬ blished amongst the people, would kindle a love of industry and a feeling of kindness in their intercourse with each other, and with their neighbours. We should not feel ourselves justified in passing over in silence your direct command and desire relative to the increase or decrease in the population of the district of late years. We are not of opinion that the population was ever much more numerous than at the present instant; there are no remains or vestiges of ancient villages, or of land appearing to have been in a state of cultivation in the old time. We met with nothing during our progress through the country, which led us to conclude that it ever had a more abundant population: and if the traditions of the people themselves be true, the land assigned to them by the Pangeran of Sillebarwas uninhabited at the period when that chief first afforded them an asylum in his territory. The numerical strength of the population, although always small, was, we have reason to suppose, greater iu many of the villages previously to the unfortunate circumstances attending the murder of the late Mr. Parr. It would be unbecoming in us to pass an opinion respecting the justice or policy which led to the severe measures adopted by the government immediately subsequent to that event; we can¬ not however help thinking, that if the government alluded to had possessed more accurate information regarding the habits, customs, and natural spirit of the people, those melancholy, and in the district of Dua-blas, memorable transactions, which ultimately led to the partial depopula¬ tion and temporary desolation of the fairest portions of the country, would never have taken place. It is a remarkable feature in the history of this portion of 308 Condition of the Population, fyc. the country, that there are neither slaves nor debtors to be found amongst the inhabitants of the dusuns, under our immediate consideration; hardly a single individual pos¬ sesses capital sufficient to purchase a slave, or greater than he requires in order to meet his own urgent wants, conse¬ quently where there are no money lenders, there can be no borrowers. This principle only applies to the resident natives of Dua-blas, many of whom, from unavoidable circumstances, have become mengheering debtors to Euro¬ peans, Chinese, and Malays in Marlborough, and the sea coast. To the same cause is to be attributed the universal practice of marriage by semando, the Committee having only met with two instances of marriages by jujur, and these in the dusun of Tanjong Agong, a village situated close to the town of Bencoolen. The present state of agriculture has been so often and so ably discussed by Mr. Marsden, and other writers much more competent than ourselves, that it might be considered supererogation on our part to do more than barely acknow¬ ledge our desire to have met your order and instructions, had we been capable of throwing any additional light upon the question; but it may at the same time be proper to notice, that an impulse appears lately to have been given, in consequence of the proclamations which have been issued on the subject of the cultivation of rice in the sawah lands, and from the knowledge, that the importation of that article will no longer be carried on to the same extent as formerly. It may, perhaps, be considered out of our province to notice the spice plantations situated in the district of Dua-blas, the more especially as we have been led to believe, that an official report upon this subject is in progress by the super- intendantof the Honourable Company’s plantation; but the President of the Committee having been for many years resident at the Moluccas, where he had opportunities of observing the nature of the soil, and the small degree of attention requisite to bring the trees to the highest state of perfection there, cannot resist this opportunity of paying his tribute of praise and admiration to the extraordinary and indefatigable exertions which have been made, under the most unpromising circumstances, by the several gentlemen engaged in this most interesting and important speculation. We believe, that few of the plantations in the Moluccas are in a higher state of fecundity and luxuriance than some which we could particularize in the neighbourhood of these 309 of Dua-Blas, in Sumatra. dusuns ; we shall be happy, should it meet your desire, at a convenient season, to enter, in conjunction with Mr. Superintendant Lumsdaine, upon a further detail of our sentiments regarding the cultivation of spices in general, and of nutmegs in particular. The cultivation of the clove and nutmeg tree we believe to be of the greatest importance to this settlement, and we shall rejoice, if through our means, any improvement in the mode which has been hitherto adopted, can be submitted for the consideration of government; at present we must defer dwelling any longer upon this, and many other matters of minor consequence. Our return and account of the progress of vaccination connected with the small-pox, has already been transmitted to Mr. Lumsdaine. The kind and liberal intentions of Government have hitherto been frustrated in the successful introduction of this disease, and in consequence of several deaths having taken place subsequently to w T hat was thought to be real vaccination, many of the people have lost, and openly avow their having done so, their confidence in the virtues of this preventive of the small-pox. If God sends sickness, some of them say, we must submit to his will, the fulfilment of which we do not wish to prevent; others, again, express their desire to receive the benefit; but we are not certain whether this expression of their desire arises more from the wish to comply with what they conceive to be the W’him of government, than from any persuasion of the bene¬ ficial effects attending the vaccination itself. When the small-pox prevails in this district, the inhabitants fly into forests, avoiding the village where the disease prevails, and thereby escape infection. If we are to judge from the few deaths which have taken place in most of the dusuns within the last year, we must pronounce the climate to be extremely salubrious. The people every where have a healthy appearance. All that is requisite to make them a respectable, a comfortable, and a happy people, is a good and an efficient system of internal administration. And in closing this short Report, the Committee take the liberty of observing, that some of the most intelligent of the native chiefs, with feelings of gratitude for the interest already taken in their welfare, look to you, sir, for the attainment of this most desirable object. 310 ORIGINAL LETTERS FROM PERSONS EMINENT FOR LEARNING OR PIETY. (Copied from the Originals, in the possession of John Bickerton Williams, Esij. of Shrewsbury.) XVI. FROM BISHOP WARBURTON TO DR. DODDRIDGE. Dear Sir Your favour of the 17* of May was sent me to London where I then was & yet am till tomorrow when I return to P. P. I am greatly flattered by your thoughts of Julian: be¬ cause I know the sincerity of your Professions. Some people of Consideration would persuade me to take to task at the end of the 2 d p* of Julian a Chapter of one Hume on Miracles in a rank atheistical book called Phil: Essays. And as the subject of the 2 d part may be a little ticklish, perhaps it may be prudent to conciliate warm tempers by such a conclusion. I was very sincere in the hint, which you are pleased to call advise, of my last Letter. As I am in saying that I do not know of any thing which your Abilities & application are not capable of. You are very good to inquire after my motions. I shall not be in Towne either in June or July. Towards the decline of Summer I have some thoughts of taking a Jour¬ ney into Lincolnshire. If I do I may take Northampton in my way & will take my chance of finding you at home. As to the Disquisitions I will only say that the temper, candour & charity with which they are wrote are very edify¬ ing & exemplary. I wish success to them as much as you can do. But I can tell you of certain science, that not the least alteration will be made in the Ecclesiastical System. The present Ministers were bred up under and act entirely on the maxims of the last. And one of the principal of his was not to stir what is at rest. He took a Medicine for the Stone that killed him. And on his death-bed he said he fell by the neglect of his own maxim. Those at the head of affairs find it as much as they can do to govern things as they are 8t they will never venture to set one part of the Clergy ag* another, the consequence of which would be, that in the brigues of political contests one of the two parties would certainly fall in with the faction (if we must call it so) ag 4 the Court. Original Letters from Persons eminent for Piety, fyc. 311 Your truly divine labours are not only more excellent, but will certainly prove more fruitfull. But above all I join with your Friends in encouraging you to a subscription which I make no doubt will turn out a considerable benefit. Books of infinitely less importance have lately done so. And I ardently wish that one who has deserved so greatly of our common Christianity, may not have the whole of his reward to wait for, in another life. To understand that all your good family are well, gives me extreme pleasure. My truest respects to all. and parti¬ cularly to the young Gentleman who is beginning his studies. I must now begin to call him my learned friend & have sent him a magnificent Ed n - which no money will buy (I mean they are not to be sold) of the Essay on Man & Essay on Criticism. Dear Sir believe me ever with the truest esteem your most Affectionate friend & Brother To The Rev d - Doc* - ; Doddridge at Northampton. XVII. FROM DR. WATTS TO DR. DODDRIDGE. Dear S k Coming to London yesterday I met your Letter recom¬ mending a very compassionable Case. But e y Trust that is committed to me with my Brethren by Mr. Hopkins’s will relates only to Ministers and their Widows; Your friends Circumstances of Distress should have been as amply considered as possible, had it lain within the reach of our Trust. In an hour or two after I came, a Poor woman came to me w 1 ! 1 another Letter from You, I have forgot her name I think e y Place of her abode is Henning- ton neer Northampton, she has 4 daughters I think all young &, but 2 s * a week from e y parish. She seemd very thankfull for 4»- which I gave her. She says M”- Cook had relieved her upon your letter, tho I question whether her Journey wou’d answer her Expences. Poverty increases 312 Original Letters from Persons eminent in e y Nation. Objects of Charity multiply on all hands in City & Country. I would send your friend a Guinea my self if that would be of any considerable service to him: If you think so I allow you to give it him, & draw upon ?o r humble Ser vt & Bro. June 3d 1732. XVIII. FROM THE REV. SAMUEL CLARK, OF ST. ALBAN*S, TO DR. DODDRIDGE. S‘-Alban’s May 11. 1723. Dear S*, I recd Y B in w ch You give me an account of v® Pros- W J pect you have of a Call to Coventry. I had some Conver¬ sation relating to v‘ matter with M r Jennings last Xtmas: we both Joynd in our sentiments, y l it w d be an agreeable Situation for You if way were opend by Providence. I think it must needs be of great advantage to You to be with such a person as M r Warren His Good sense. Pru¬ dence, Piety, Learning, & Good temper, will render his Conversation, Example, & Ministry very useful to You. Pray my humble Service to him; 5c tell him I shall think it a very good Providence, if a Person for whom I have so much concernd myself, shall have y® happiness of standing in such relation to him. I do not know any thing y‘ coud be more conducive to fit You for eminent Service in v e Church of God, if You wisely improve y® Advantage, as I doubt not You will. I am extremely pleasd with y e Mea¬ sures You propose as to a prudent Conduct of Y r Self, if You shd settle at Coventry. Prudence is, I coud almost say, above all things necessary’ to a Minister in order to his Usefulness. At first. Caution, Circumspection, 5c Observa¬ tion will be necessary. Experience, 5c an Enlarged Know¬ ledge of Men & things will afterwards enable You to act with greater advantage, according to y e rules of Prudence. The Acceptance Providence favours You with, makes it necessary as I believe I have at other times Observd, y* You be very much upon Y r Guard ag* all y® Ebullitions of Pride 5c Vain Glory’, w ch are so naturall to us all, & es¬ pecially when we first come abroad into v e World with advantage. Humility is y e best ornament to Valuable Gifts. 313 for Learning or Piety. The Shade it casts upon ’em makes ’em appear ye more Lovely, & gives ’em y e greater Efficacy. Let y r heart be full of a Sense of those manifold Defects, an inward ac¬ quaintance with Y r self will easily Discover. Have often before Y r Eyes y e Nature Sc. Importance of y e work You are engagd in, St y e Account You have to give, St You’ll always find ,reason to say from y r heart, with y e blessed Apostle, Who is sufficient for these things ? Let y r great Concern in all y r ministrations St Conversation be y e advancing of y e Glory of God St y e Salvation of Souls, St you’ll then be y e less desirous of or pleas’d with y e Applause of men. You’ll excuse my giving You these Cautions. My Expe¬ rience St Observations of myself 8t Others give me reason to think ’em not needless. I entirely approve of y r Acceptance of Coventry rather y n Kibworth, if You have y e Option ; St heartily pray God You may be an Instrum 1 of much Service in y 1 Considerable Place. I Suppose You have rec d both y e Letters I wrote to you relating to Kibworth. Pray my humble Service to M r Jennings St his Lady. I am As soon as ye matter is determine! I Y r Affectionate friend shall expect a letter from you. All here present their Service to You & are well excepting Mrs Downes who has been ill a Considerable time. 8t Humble Servant Ffor M r Philip Doddridge at ye Revd M r Jennings’s in Hinckley Leicester. XIX. FROM THE REV. HUGH FARMER TO THE REV. MR. FOWNES. Dear Sir The affair you speak of in your letter as a personal, is also a public, concern; and in both views to be lamented. To you it must occasion much anxiety; though I am per¬ suaded that the same prudence and good temper, which, so much to your own reputation, you discovered on a former very trying occasion, will carry you through your present difficulties with equal credit. A good conscience, under the guidance of a sound understanding, is the best casuist, and such as you ever have at hand to consult.. As to the public interest, I tremble for it. When I was 314 Original Letters from Persons eminent last in your place of worship, I was sorry to see how many had left it. Of those that remain, how many will be driven away by the introduction of a liturgy, and especially by a liturgy formed upon the Socinian plan? You know the fate of the liturgy at Liverpool, though I do not remember that it was professedly calculated to subserve the cause of Socinianism. I look upon every Christian church or so¬ ciety, built upon a proper foundation, the right of private judgment, and the sole authority of Christ in matters of religion, to be a great support to Christianity in the world; and therefore can not but be sorry when any such society is dissolved or endangered. Did M r Tayleur and his asso¬ ciates attend to the probable consequence of their own proposal of introducing a Socinian liturgy into the Chappie, I am persuaded they would wave it out of regard to the general interest of religion and liberty ; nay, out of regard to their own system of religion. For if they should drive away from your society all who have not adopted that system, and consequently dissolve your society, they them¬ selves will fall into discredit, and probably even grow cool to principles which they cannot support. Those who are dissatisfied with the established worship, certainly ought not to attend upon it. But it is a matter of great moment how they dispose of themselves afterwards. They might prove a great accession of credit & strength to the dissenting interest, or to the general interest of religion 8c liberty, were they (without introducing litur¬ gies) to join themselves to such societies amongst protes- tant dissenters as are formed upon the Christian plan. Nor can I see that their doing this is liable to any consider¬ able objection, provided the devotional part of the public service be formed upon a proper plan, and such as all Christians can join in. In his sermons, the minister should be allowed to propose his own particular opinions, as far as he judges them of any real use to his hearers. If the Socinians who quit the established church, attempt to set up separate societies of their own, they will certainly fail in the attempt They will not be numerous enough to form themselves into distinct churches. Their chief con¬ verts will be from amongst the Dissenters, whose interest they will prejudice without deriving any great benefit from it themselves. And by forming their churches upon the plan of Socinianism, 8c making it the term of Christian communion, and a part of their worship, though they may hereby promote a favourite speculation, yet they will 315 for Learning or Piety. promote bigotry, and alter the very nature & design of Christian societies, which certainly were not originally con¬ stituted & intended to bear testimony to Socinianism, but to the mission & Messiahship of Jesus Christ, & to spread the knowledge & promote the influence of the general doc¬ trines of Christianity. Any thing that looks like making a denial of Christ’s pre-existence a term of Xtn communion, must appear highly blameable even to Socinians themselves, when they reflect that the only article of faith made ne¬ cessary by Christ & his apostles to Christian communion was, faith in him as the Messiah, the Son of God. This is the great article which distinguishes, & which should unite, all Christians. And nothing can justify their dis¬ union and separation from each other, but some very weighty consideration. You perceive. Sir, that what I wish is that M r Tayleur may join you, not indeed as a disciple of Socinus, but of Jesus Christ. As to the part that it becomes you to act, you need no advice, & can receive none from me, W'ho am ig¬ norant of many circumstances necessary to enable me to form a proper judgment. Will it not have an odd appearance to the w T orld, if M r T, while he scruples attending upon you at the Chappie, should employ you to officiate in his own house ? I shall be glad to be informed of the progress of this affair. But pray do not resign your charge, till you can no longer preserve it with integrity & honour. Had my health enabled me for stated service, or could I have obtained assistance without injuring a very deserving person, I should still have continued to preach at Walthamstow. I received the 7 guineas for M rs Holland, but can by no means consent to deduct the postage, but should rather make addition to the benefaction, were that expected. I paid the entire sum to M r Longman the day I rec d it (w ch * was yesterday) who will remit it to M r Eddowes, with orders to pay it to you. 1 was yesterday in company with several of our brethren, who were of various opinions with respect to the success of our bill. It will certainly be clogged with a declaration. Pray present my compliments to M rs Fownes, M r Mason & family, M p Smith, and all friends. I am Sir Y r affectionate 8t faithful hble Walthamstow servant April 1 1779 i 316 Evangelical and Rational Christianity compared. P.S. My ideas on the chief subject of y r letter correspond to your’s I rely entirely on y r secresy. One of my bre¬ thren told me yesterday, that those dissenters who have joined M r Lindsay, are become indifferent to the dissenting interest. The revd s Mr* Fownes High Street Salop REVIEW. Letters on Unitarianism; addressed to the Members of the first Presbyterian Church, in the city of Baltimore. By ‘Samuel Miller, D. D. 8vo. pp. 312. Trenton, U. S. George Sherman. If the two systems, denominated Evangelical and Rational Christianity, were fairly brought to the test of experiment, as to their comparative efficiency in converting profligates to a holy life, and infidels] to the belief of Revelation: if the criterion, “by their fruits ye shall know them were ap¬ plied to them in this particular, we presume that the warm¬ est abettors of the anti-evangelical scheme would be com¬ pelled to yield the palm, and admit, that where they can boast their units, the system they oppose can boast its thousands. Nor can it be matter of surprise that this should be the case, to such as carefully and impartially investigate the motives which the systems respectively furnish for the accomplishment of this purpose. The subject is important, and worthy of the most serious consideration; for if it shall appear that the system which those, who assume to them¬ selves the title of rational Christians, are so anxious to propagate, has in it little or nothing calculated to put men out of love either with their vices or their scepticism, we conceive that they must resign all right to the epithet rational, if they contend for it a moment longer—for that which affords encouragement to sin and infidelity, cannot be of God. In the conversion of a profligate to a holy life, the views entertained respecting sin must have an important influence. The system denominated Evangelical, represents sin, all sin, as odious and abominable in the sight of God, and pol¬ luting and ruinous to man—opposed to the nature of God, Dr. Miller’s Letters on Unitarianism. 317 which is infinitely holy—to his law, which is infinitely good—to his government, which is infinitely just. For all sin, though immediately committed against a fellow mortal, and in violation of human laws, is a blow immediately aimed at the authority of the supreme Governor. Hence David said, referring to his conduct in the case of Uriah and Bath sheba, Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight. Every other consideration was ab¬ sorbed by the deep conviction of the daring attack, of which in this instance he had been guilty, against the government of God. Thus Job exclaimed, I have sinned, and xchat shall / do unto thee, O thou preserver of men ; and the prodigal in the parable is represented as saying to his father, F have sinned against heaven, and in thy sighi . Now when once a man is brought to regard sin in such a light as this, it is easy to perceive that he is furnished with the most powerful motives to abandon it. He discovers that he is degraded by it—that he has lost the moral imao- e of the Deity m which he was created, and the possession of which was the chief glory of his nature : that in proportion as sin is forsaken and holiness is cultivated by him, he is restored to his pristine dignity, and reinstated in the like¬ ness and the favour of God. He perceives that sin is the cause of all the disorders that prevail in society around him, and that if it were allowed an uncontrolled domi¬ nion, this earth would be converted into a scene of pollu¬ tion and uproar, crime and misery, equalled by no concep¬ tions of hell which the most vivid imagination has ever formed ; but that in proportion as men are converted from sin to holiness, these disorders are diminished, and that if men were universally holy, society at large would become umveisally amiable, tranquil, and happy. He perceives that the very essence of sin is opposition to God—that, if allowed to do its utmost, it would annihilate his beiim—for where the law is disliked, there must needs be a correspond¬ ing enmity against the lawgiver; and it is natural to the carnal mind, to wish the annihilation or removal of the being it abhors. This is the secret spring of atheism—and to atheism, as its ultimate result, all sin has a necessary tendency. Hence arises one class of motives with which those views of divine truth, termed Evangelical, furnish reprobates to turn from their evil ways. The question is not at present, whether these views of the exceedino- sinful¬ ness of sin are correct, but whether they are more adapted to convert such characters from their sinful courses, than VOL. VI.—NO. 12. Y 318 Evangelical and Rational Christianity compared : those which are given by the opposite system, commonly called rational Christianity, or any other system, by what¬ ever name it may be known. Go tell the drunkard just recovered from last night’s debauch—tell the sensualist, as he revels in impurity and vice—tell the sabbath-breaker, as he tramples on the ordinances of the sanctuary, and gives himself to dissipation and to pleasure on that holy day that sin is by no means such an evil thing as some have represented it to be—that it is nothing more than mere human f railty —that it arises from the constitution of oui nature—and that, as we did not make ourselves, we cannot be accountable for those inclinations and passions we have brought with us into the world. Tell him that there is no other evil in sin, than the harm it does the sinner; and that God never punishes sin in the way of vindictive justice, but only to do the sinner good, and make him ultimately happy. Tell the profligate this—preach these doctrines to the gay and thoughtless libertine—and let any man of com¬ mon sense judge, whether they will furnish motives suffi¬ ciently powerful to induce him to reform—nay, whether these are not considerations more adapted to confirm him in his vicious practices, and silence any remonstrances with which his conscience may occasionally trouble him. And yet these are the views of sin entertained and expressed by those who reject the doctrines commonly called Evangeli¬ cal, as false and absurd, and monopolize the epithet rational, in connection with Christianity, to themselves. Again, the views which are given of the Divine Law, by the system denominated Evangelical, are everyway adapted to produce the effect in question. It represents the Divine Law as infinitely just and good, supremely right and excel¬ lent, so that every violation of it, every failure in obedi¬ ence to it, justly exposes the sinner to the cux’se of God, and the infliction of the penalty with which he has armed it, namely, eternal death. Now, there is every thing in such representations as these, calculated to fill the awakened sinner with apprehension and dismay in the view of his own character as a transgressor of that law, and urge him to fly from the ruin to which he is exposed. On the other hand, take those representations of the Divine Law which the opposite system gives—tell him that the law is too severe— or that God will not, cannot punish every instance of dis¬ obedience and of failure—that he would be cruel and mer¬ ciless, and tyrannical, if he did—that you could not love him if it were the case, but that if he were so severe, it Dr. Miller’s Letters on Unitarianism. 319 "would be better if the reins of government were in more lenient hands; and what are you doing—but instilling principles into the mind which utterly preclude the possibi¬ lity of repentance, so far as they may be supposed to operate. For let an individual suppose these principles, for a moment, to operate in his own mind, under their influ¬ ence he would naturally reason thus: If it would be cruel and unduly severe in God to punish me for violating his law, it must be because the law is too strict, and requires more than it ought to do; and if so, it is unjust, and there¬ fore the sin does not lie with me for failing in obedience, but with the lawgiver in fixing the standard of morality higher than he should have done, and requiring of men more than he had a right to expect at their hands. How then can I repent of having violated such a law as this ? as the idea of repentance implies, in the very first instance, a conviction and a confession of the rectitude of the law which the sinner has disobeyed. There are, it is well known, about 160 crimes to'which the laws of this land annex the penalty of death, but of those unhappy beings who receive the sentence of death from the lips of the judge, not one-tenth actually undergoes it. Andwhy? Because the penalty is in many of these cases so unduly severe, that in the judgment of all men, it would be cruel to inflict it; and if it were inflicted,—if, for instance, for one of those minor offences, against which the law denounces the penalty of death, which is never executed, some indivi¬ dual were made to pay the forfeit of his life, his mind would naturally rise against the undue severity of the law by which he suffered, and he would regard himself as the hapless vic¬ tim to a code, so sanguinary, that it is the disgrace of a coun¬ try enlightened and benevolent as ours! But are we to place the supreme Judge in the predicament in which an earthly magistrate is often placed, and compel him tacitly to acknow T - ledge the undue severity of the punishment annexed to dis¬ obedience, by its remission; or if he does not remit the punish¬ ment, are we to say, with Mr. Belsham, Dr. Priestley, and some others, that he is a merciless ty rant,—a gloomy and capri¬ cious tyrant,—a being idiom we neither can nor ought to love? We appeal thento reason;—irrational as we are, visionary and enthusiastic as our system is, for once we will listen to the admonitions of those who are sagacious enough to discover, and kind enough to pity our folly,—and will appeal to reason; and ask any rational being, which, in his estimation, is most adapted to reclaim the disobedient from the paths of sin._. 320 Evangelical and Rational Christianity compared: that system which represents the Divine Law as so just and right, that every transgression is worthy of' the punishment annexed; or that which represents it as so unduly strict, that it is impossible for God to enforce the penalty with which he has guarded it, without shewing himself a monster of cruelty! In close alliance with those views of the Divine Law, are the notions concerning the duration of future punishment which the two systems in question embrace; that which is called Evangelical represents it as eternal, and it does so, because the abettors of this system conceive that it is so represented in the Scripture. Whether in this concep¬ tion they are right or wrong, it does not fall within our present province to inquire. We have to do in this in¬ stance, not with the truth of the doctrine, but with its influence, whether true or false. Suffice it to say, however, that the strongest words which the original languages of the holy Scriptures could furnish, are employed to express the duration of future punishment, and that they are em¬ ployed in such a connection, as seems to render it impos¬ sible that any thing short of an endless duration could have been intended. For it is obvious, that this awful idea is pregnant with every thing that can be supposed capable of operating on a mind awakened to feel its tremendous im¬ port, and of urging the sinner to an immediate application to the mercy so fully provided, and so freely offered in the Gospel. Under the impression, that his character will be unalterably fixed, and his doom eternally sealed at death, and aware that death may be nigh, even at the door, he per¬ ceives that there is no time for delay—and while, on the one hand, the voice of invitation cries. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, noiv is the day of salvation —on the other, he is impelled by the solemn admonition. There is no work, nor device, nor wisdom in the grave: He that is unholy, let him be un¬ holy still; he that is filthy, let him befilthy still —and the decla¬ ration of Abraham to the unhappy Dives rings in his ears. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would pass from thence to you, cannot; neither can they pass to us, who would come from thence. This is the representation of the Evangelical system; but what say rational and enlightened Divines upon the subject? “ No Necessarian,” says Dr. Priestley, “ supposes that any of the human race will suffer eternally, but only for a time, and that for their good. And since God has created us for happiness, what misery can we fear? If we be really Dr. Miller’s Letters on Vnitarianism. 321 intended for ultimate unlimited happiness, it is no matter to a truly resigned person when, or where, or how /” Amen! says the profligate, that is the doctrine that I love ! What misery can I fear?—why, none at all. God will be too kind and compassionate to punish. He knows the frailty and weakness of my nature, if I repent at last, no doubt he will forgive. And if I should go rather too far, so that for decency’s sake he cannot take me to heaven all at once, why, a little wholesome chastisement will do me no harm. And thus extremes meet, and the hell of the enlightened Dr. Priestley, and the purgatory of the deluded Papist, come to much the same thing; with this advantage, indeed, on the side of Dr. Priestley’s scheme, that those who endure the pains of hell in his case, obtain deliverance gratis; while the Catholics, or their surviving friends, are obliged to pay for them. But in plain sober sense,—are such views of the nature and duration of future punishment calculated to convert profligates to a holy life? Is it not rather natural that they should use them for quite a different purpose— that they should, when strongly urged by their lusts and appetites to continue in sin, argue thus: Well, if the worst should happen, the punishment will only be temporary:— God is merciful—we shall have an eternity of happiness after all—and however long may be the duration of punishment, though it were ages, it will be but a point in comparison of eternity ? -Then would the debauchee Untrembling mouth the heav’ns; then might the drunkard Reel o’er his full bowl, and when ’tis drain’d, Fill up another to the brim, and laugh At the poor bug-bear death;- The conviction, that future punishment would not be eter¬ nal, appears to have been the chief source of consolation to. Dr. Priestley in the hour of death, as appears by the follow¬ ing passage from his Life, quoted by Dr. Miller in his seventh Letter:— “ He desired me,” says his Son, (this was a* few hours before he expired) “ to reach him a pamphlet which was at his bed’s head, ‘Simpson on the Duration of Future Punishment.’ It will be a source of satisfaction to you to read that pamphlet, said he, giving it to me. It contains my sentiments; and a belief in them will be a support to you, in the most trying circumstances, AS IT HAS BEEN TO ME. We shall ALL MEET FINALLY. We only require different degrees of discipline, suited to our tempers, to prepare us for final happiness.” [pp. 263 - 264 .] 322 Evangelical and Rational Christianity compared: But faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ is another essential article in true conversion; hence, it holds a prominent place in apostolic preaching, and in the system termed Evangelical, to the present day. But what is faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ? It cannot surely mean nothing more than credit given to his testimony. On this interpretation, we may be said to have faith towards Paul and Peter, and the rest of the New Testament writers, because we give credit to their testimony, as truly as to that of Christ; perhaps, however, we should say this with some qualification, as there are persons calling themselves Chris¬ tians, who do not give the same credit to the testimony of the Apostles as they profess to do to that of Christ, not regarding their testimony as of equal authenticity. But Christ is represented in the gospel as a foundation. Now, in order to avail ourselves of a foundation, we must build upon it; as a door, but in order to avail ourselves of a door, we must enter in by it; as a way, but in order to avail ourselves of a way, we must walk in it. And in order to derive the advantages accruing from Christ, as a foundation , a door, and a way, it is evident that we must build on him, enter in by him, and walk in him, with that specific end in view, for which he is thus represented. This, therefore, implies belief in his testimony, confidence in his ability, and an actual dependence upon him, as the result of that confidence. Hence the Apostle declares, I know whom I have believed, and a?n persuaded he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day. Here was something- more than credit, or declaration of confidence; there was the actual resignation of something to his trust, to his cus¬ tody, and something which he esteemed inestimably pre¬ cious ; and what was that something? the connection clearly indicates, that it was the interest of his immortal soul. Now if this description of faith be correct, and such a faith as this is an essential part of every genuine conversion, it is easy to see that the system from which such views of faith are excluded, is little adapted to produce it. And if love to Christ is the most powerful motive to holiness, and so it is represented to be in the Evangelical system, which view of the obligations under which we are laid to him, is most calculated to excite and cherish that love in the human breast—that which represents us as indebted to him entirely for deliverance from eternal death, and restoration to the image and friendship of God; or that which merely regards him as a prophet sent to instruct us in the doctrine Dr. Miller’s Letters on Unitarianism. 323 of the resurrection of the dead and a future state, and to enlighten the world by the purity of his morals, and the rectitude of his conduct? Thus far we have contented ourselves with merely tracing the natural tendencies of the two systems. We may now proceed to an appeal to fact, for the subject is happily capable of this; it is one to which we may apply the crite¬ rion, by their fruits ye shall know them—do men gather grapes of thorns, or fgs of thistles? Have the same fruits, which have been produced in such abundance by the plain and ' faithful preaching of those doctrines called Evangelical, appeared in the labours of those who have been careful to conceal them ? Let the impartial history of eighteen hundred years declare! When these doctrines were first preached, the most aston¬ ishing effects ensued. The impressions produced were deep and overwhelming : the convictions of sin were pun¬ gent and agonizing; the grief they awakened in men’s minds was intense and profound. They were pricked to the heart —they could not in silence endure the anguish—they gave vent to their feelings in expressions such as these : Men and brethren, what must we do? What must we do to be saved? Is there any thing like this under that kind of preaching from which these great doctrines are excluded ? Alas! such a stir as this amongst the bare benches and the empty pews of the temples devoted to rational Chris¬ tianity in the present day, would “ Sound like voices from the dead,” and excite as much astonishment as the hum and bustle of active life, suddenly rising up amid the coldness and the silence of a sepulchre. It is a fact, that people for the most part forsake the place from which these doctrines, the glory of the gospel, are excluded; and there can belittle prospect of quickening dry bones to spiritual life, where there are scarcely any bones at all, on which to prophesy. Some¬ thing captivating in the oratory of the preacher, or daring in the doctrines which he preaches, may occasion a certain kind of popularity; and he who professes to have a talisman by which to annihilate the devil, and a key by which to let the wicked out of hell, will be sure to gather a multitude of a certain description round him: but it cannot be denied, that in ordinary cases, the preaching which has consisted of nothing more than meagre morality and dry criticism has excited little interest, and produced no impression; while 324 Evangelical and Rational Christianity compared: that preaching which has imbodied the great doctrines of human depravity, the atonement, the influences of the holy Spirit, the necessity of regeneration, though conducted with inferior talent, has gathered and retained large congrega¬ tions, and proved the power of God to the conversion of multitudes. What is the cause of this difference, it becomes those who are most concerned deeply to consider. We are far from wishing to force our conviction on this, or any sub¬ ject, upon others ; but we may be allowed frankly to own it on this occasion; it is this, that God has determined to bless his own truth, whenever faithfully delivered, while he with¬ holds his influence from every thing beside. The opponents of the Evangelical system account for the wonderful success of the gospel in the first age of Chris¬ tianity, by its novelty. But this is not true; for the first preachers of the gospel preached no other doctrines than what Christ had preached before them, except indeed the fact, that he was risen from the dead, an event which he himself foretold; and the apostle Paul, in his most eloquent and powerful appeal before Agrippa, declared, that he said, none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say shovdd come; that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the Jirst to rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people and to the Gentiles. But admit, for the sake of argument, that the effects produced by the first preaching of the gospel were the result of nothing in the doctrines themselves, but their novelty—how is it, that similar effects have been produced in every age; have been produced by the preaching of the same doctrine in modern times, cen¬ turies after they ceased to be novel, and in this country w here they have been known so long, and preached in all their purity, in the most undisguised and unequivocal manner, since the era of the Reformation at least? What doctrines have the Methodists preached, for the last fifty or sixty years in this country? It cannot be denied, that the great principles on which they have insisted, are human depravity, the atonement of Christ, regeneration, and the influences of the holy Spirit. On these fundamental doctrines they constantly insist, and that too with a fervour which rational Christians regard as rank enthusiasm. But what effects have been produced by their preaching, Dr. Priestley shall himself declare: “They have (he says) civilized and chris¬ tianized a great part of the uncivilized and unchristianized part of this country.” This was the acknowledgment of Dr. Priestley in favour of the Methodists; but has that styleof Dr. Miller’s Letters on Unitarianism. 325 preaching which the Doctor adopted, that kind of preaching' which is the frigid zone of Christianity, if it be Christianity at all; that kind of preaching, from which almost every thing which distinguishes the preaching of the Methodists is excluded, accomplished any thing like this? Would a great part of the once uncivilized and unchristianized part of the land have been civilized and christianized, if none but preachers of his cast had been sent to do the work ! Most assuredly, if the Evangelical system be false, and the opposite system be true, the preaching of the truth ought to accomplish more good than the preaching of error. The friends of the anti-evangelical scheme are very fond of the adage. Great is truth, and it will prevail ; but here the principle is reversed, for according to the frank admission of one of their own leaders, error has prevailed most aston¬ ishingly, yea, even to the civilization and christianizing of a great part of the uncivilized and unchristianized part of this country. Is not this a most extraordinary phenomenon in the moral world? Is there then a God that ruleth in the earth? Are truth and error alike indifferent to him; and does he rather prefer to patronize the latter than the former? Irrational, enthusiastic, and silly as we are, our reason, such as it is, revolts at insinuations against the Deity like these! Yet if the doctrines termed Evangelical be false, such is the case; and all the reasonings of rational Christians can¬ not help them out of the dilemma. But it was the novelty of the preaching in the case of the Methodists, as well in that of the Apostles, that accom¬ plished such wonders, the ignorance of the people giving what the preachers said to them the force of novelty. “ Now, if novelty does produce such wonders, one should think,” says Mr. Fuller, in his admirable book entitled, ‘The Calvinistic and Socinian systems compared,’ “ it were desirable every century or two to have a new dispensation of religion.” But the fact is, that in many, we may almost say in most places, the doctrines opposed to Evangelical religion, if they were fully preached, if they were distinctly and unequi¬ vocally stated, would have as much the force of novelty, as the preaching of the Methodists could possibly have had, when they first began their labours. Only let a man give out, that he will prove that the devil is nothing but an Eastern metaphor, that hell is only a Chaldean fable, the holy Spirit an attribute of Deity, and that the Christian world are idolaters for honouring Jesus Christ even as they honour the Father, and he is sure to gather a crowd around v 326 Evangelical and Rational Christianity compared: him, and this proves so far the power of novelty; but whe¬ ther this kind of preaching will make them holy, humble, and devout, is another question; and whether it would civilize and christianize the rude and abandoned part of the population, amid collieries, factories, and mines, is a point on which we will leave our readers to form their own opinion. With regard to the adaptation of the two systems to convert infidels to Christianity, we have also the advantage of fact. Perhaps there never was a place throughout the whole of Christendom in which the doctrines termed Evan¬ gelical have been more completely exploded than in Geneva. That also was the great seat of deism, and the residence of that monster of perverted genius, Voltaire. Now, what was the result? Rational Christianity, as it is termed, had possession of the churches, and the pastors lived on friendly terms with the infidels around them. Did the rational Christians succeed in converting the infidels by Christianity? Could they have had a fairer opportunity? Could they have desired a fairer field ? If it is only neces¬ sary to strip Christianity of those absurd and ridiculous dogmas with which the Evangelical party have deformed it, to win the enlightened deist to its faith, here it was so stripped, and here were deists enough to be converted by it. But what was the fact? “ It is impossible,” says, Voltaire, “ that in Calvin’s own town, with a population of 24,000 thinking people, there should not be still a few Calvinists; but they are extremely few, and well abused. All honest folks are deists.” In the article Geneva, in the French Encyclopee- dia, written by D’Alembert, the author says, “It is not sur¬ prising, that the progress of infidelity should be less depre¬ cated at Geneva than elsewhere, since their religion is reduced almost to the adoration of one only God; respect for Jesus Christ and the Scriptures being the only things which dis¬ tinguish the Christianity of Geneva from pure deism.” Thus we see things were proceeding, not from deism to rational Christianity, but from rational Christianity to deism. But, “ the pretty business of the Socinians at Geneva,” as Voltaire called it, “advances;” and at length he writes, “Genevahas made great progress, and there are more philosophers or deists than Socinians.” Lo, here is the result of a fair competi¬ tion, between what is called rational Christianity and deism; the pastors are confounded, and the infidels triumph. The fact is, that if you take away from Christianity the divinity and atonement of Christ, the personality, deity, and influences. Dr. Miller’s Letters on Umtarianism. 327 of the holy Spirit, the depravity of human nature, regenera¬ tion and sanctification, the eternity of future rewards and punishments, there is so little left to distinguish it from deism, that the infidel does not think it worth his while to give himself much trouble about such a trifle. For in order to get rid of these offensive doctrines, so much of the New Testament is blotted out, and a language, indicating so much doubt and indifference is employed with regard to what remains, that a suspicion is at once created in his mirid as to the. confidence of these rational Christians in the inspiration of the books they invite him to receive; and therefore, seeing the points of difference are so few, and comparatively trifling, it is better to shake hands as bre¬ thren, and say nothing about them; for, as Dr. Priestley observed concerning Mr. Jefferson, if he is an unbeliever, he cannot be far from us; and according to Mr. Belsham, “ the Theophilanthropists, a species of deists in France, comprehend in their principles the essence of the Christian religion.” We have seen the failure of what is called rational Chris¬ tianity, in its conflict with pure deism. Let us now observe how it fares in its attempts to convert the Jews. The abet¬ tors of this system tell us, that the doctrine of the Divinity of Jesus Christ is the great stumbling-block in the way of the Jew's embracing Christianity; but if this were removed, there would be no difficulty in winning them to the Christian cause. Dr. Priestley tried the experiment, and addressed a series of letters to the Jews, inviting them to an amicable discussion of the evidences of Christianity; with whatsuccess may be gathered from the following passage in the reply published by Mr. David Levi, a learned Jew: “Your doc¬ trine is so opposite to w : hat I always understood to be the principles of Christianity, that I must ingenuously con¬ fess I am greatly puzzled to reconcile your principles with the attempt. What! a writer that asserts that the miracu¬ lous conception of Jesus does not appear to him to be sufficiently authenticated, and that the original Gospel of St. Matthew did not contain it, set up for a defender of Christianity against the Jews! this is such an inconsistency as I did not expect to meet with in a philosopher, whose sole pursuit hath been in search of truth. You are pleased to declare in plain terms, that you do not believe in the mira¬ culous conception of Jesus, and that you are of opinion that he was the legitimate son of Joseph. Alter such assertions as these, how you can be entitled to the appellation of a 328 Evangelical and Rational Christianity compared: Christian in the strict sense of the word, is to me really incomprehensible. If I am not greatly mistaken, I ve¬ rily believe that the honour of Jesus, or the propagation of Christianity, are things of little moment in your serious thoughts, notwithstanding all your boasted sincerity.” If such are the opinions of the Jews in general, and we have no reason to believe they are not, there is certainly no ground for very sanguine expectations of their conversion by the anti-evangelical, or rational, system of Christianity. With regard to the conversion of pagans to Christianity, it is impossible to say what might be effected by the anti¬ evangelical scheme, for we are not aware that it has ever been tried. The different denominations of those who main¬ tain the doctrines commonly called Evangelical, have gone forth, by their zealous and devoted missionaries, to Pagan lands, and by the blessing of God upon the preaching of these very doctrines, so false, ridiculous, and absurd, in the esteem of rational Christians, tens of thousands have been won to the Christian cause. But what have they accom¬ plished, who have the pure unadulterated gospel, who have & rational and philosophical Christianity in their hand; w-hose views of truth are so free from every thing objectionable and offensive? Why, they have staid at home, and sneered at the labours they had not zeal to imitate. The Monthly Reviewers, in their notice of Mr. (now Dr.) Carey’s Discourse on the Obligations of Christians to use means for the Con¬ version of the Heathen, avow it as their opinion, “that we have enough to do to attend to the salvation of our own countrymen, and that if God intends the salvation of the heathen, he will some way or other bring them to the gospel, or the gospel to them.” And at the conclusion of the review they say, “ This is a specimen of the plans formed by recluse and well-meaning men, in rural retreats, and they are well employed; they amuse themselves ; and if one good hint can be picked out of a thousand such schemes, society will be so far benefited by their lucubra¬ tions.” God, however, has set his seal to the lucubrations of that great and good man, which the anonymous writer in the Monthly Review affected to despise, and this well- meaning recluse has become the brightest ornament to litera¬ ture in the eastern world, and, together with his noble-minded coadjutors, the means of conveying the oracles of God in their different dialects to millions of the human race. Oh ! how must that writer blush at the review of his own para- giaphs, if he be alive to hear of the triumphs which that Dr. Miller’s Letters on Unitarianism. 329 holy man has been honoured to achieve! Such, however, was the opinion, and such the supineness of that party in the religious world, of which the Monthly Review has long been considered as the organ, thirty years ago; and such we presume is their opinion still, for no mission to the heathen set on foot by them has yet been heard of, to give us the assurance that a change of sentiment has taken place upon this subject; and till the experiment is tried, they would probably regard us as prejudging the case, if we were to express an idea as to the probable result of such an enterprise. The objection to the Unitarian system, from its being- unfriendly to the spirit of missions, is put with consi¬ derable force by our author in his seventh letter: “I object to the Unitarian system, as being, in my opinion, DECISIVELY AND NECESSARILY UNFRIENDLY TO THE SPIRIT of Missions. “ Bv the spirit of Missions, I mean an enlightened, ardent, and persevering zeal for the spread of the gospel among those who have it not. I think I am not deceived when I say, that such a spirit has remarkably characterized the Orthodox in all ages, and just in proportion as their system was pure and predominant. Their expenditures and labours to promote this great object; their holy courage, self-denial, sufferings, perseverance, and occasional sacrifices of life, in the precious cause, are on record. We have seen them devoting their time, and talents, and strength, and property, to the preaching of the gospel among the poor and desti¬ tute. We have seen them going with the light of life, to dreary frontier settlements, to benighted pagans, and to the ignorant and depressed children of Africa. We have seen them contriving and exerting themselves to send Christian instruction, in almost every variety of form, to the labourers in mines and manufactories; to the hut of the beggar; to the wigwam of the savage; to the cells of hospitals; and to the prisoner’s dungeon. Nor is this to be won¬ dered at. It is precisely what might be expected of those who love the Lord Jesus Christ supremely; who have experienced in their own souls the sweetness of his gracious consolations; who firmly believe that there is salvation in no other; and who are deeply convinced that the situation of those who are strangers to the grace of Christ must be deplorable in time and eternity. “I do not assert, indeed, that the Orthodox have been always equally awake to the importance of this object, or equally zealous in pursuing it; far less that they have ever done all that became them, in this or any other department of Christian duty. But I do conscientiously believe that the whole of the substantial, faithful missionary work that has ever been done in our world, has been done by the Orthodox, as distinguished from Unitarians; and 330 Evangelical and Rational Christianity compared: * that the latter have manifested a most marked and characteristic deficiency in the Missionary Spirit. Have Unitarians ever fitted out a Mission to the heathen ? I have never heard of it. They have often had, at different periods in the course of their history, great wealth, talents, and enterprise, at their command. But have any of these ever been, in good earnest, employed in impart¬ ing a knowledge of Christianity to the poor, the ignorant, the depressed, and" the friendless? They have, indeed, it must be confessed, in former times, made great exertions, and incurred large expenditures, for propagating their opinions; and they are still doing the same. But in what manner? By going out, as other denominations have done, into the highways and hedges, and endeavouring to bring into the gospel feast, the maimed, the lame, the halt, and the blind? Have they directed their exertions to the children of want and sorrow, and made the chosen objects of their evangelical labours those who had none to help them ? No; they have always been remarkable for sending their missionaries and their books to the most polished and populous places; to the upper classes of society; to the rich and literary; to those who already enjoyed the gospel, and stood in no need of their instruc¬ tion. So it has ever been, with so little exception, as not to impair, in the least degree, the force of the general assertion; and so it continues to be to the present hour. “And, indeed, with the prevalent Unitarian belief, could it be expected to be otherwise? Surely those who believe that all men will finally be saved; and of course, that no particular faith or religious system is necessary to salvation; those who deny the original corruption of human nature, and do not, consequently, consider the heathen, or any other class of men, as in such deplo¬ rable circumstances as the Orthodox believe them to be; and those who, systematically, discard the constraining influence of that supreme love, and deep sense of obligation, to Christ, which prompt the Orthodox to exert themselves in extending the kingdom of an atoning and redeeming Deliverer;—those who embrace these opinions, cannot reasonably be expected to feel that desire for the spread of the gospel, and the conversion of souls, which the Ortho¬ dox feel themselves bound every hour to cherish. “This representation is confirmed by Mr. Robinson, an English Unitarian, of great talents, and of extensive information. ‘ It is remarkable,’ says he, ‘that Socinianism has never been in fashion with the illiterate; for in regard to the Polish churches, the minis¬ ters, and the far greater part of the members, were either noble¬ men, or eminent scholars, or both.’ Again: ‘ It is remarkable that Socinians seldom address their peculiar sentiments to the populace, but generally to gentlemen of eminent learning and abilities. Though this is inconsistent with that profession of the simplicity of revelation, which they so commonly treat of in all their accounts of the Gospel, as it was written by the Evangelists; yet it is per- Dr. Miller’s Letters on Unitarianism. 331 fectly agreeable to that philosophical, scientific mode of expound¬ ing it, which they have thought proper to adopt, and which will probably always put it out of the power of man to render Soci- nianism popular.’* “Are these facts? Then there is assuredly something false and rotten in the system to which they belong. That mode of interpreting and exhibiting the religion of Jesus Christ which can¬ not be adapted to the capacities of the poor, the ignorant, and, in general, to the lowest classes of society; that system, calling itself Christianity, which is ever found to flourish most among the rich, the splendid, and the luxurious; and to languish when attempted to be propagated in the humbler walks of life; that system which, indeed, none but the ranks in some degree literary can understand or relish; that system, in fine, which takes away almost the whole of the motives which the Orthodox feel for endeavouring to send the glad tidings of salvation to the ends of the earth—cannot, I will venture to say, be the system which is found in the gospel of the grace of God. It cannot be the system which our blessed Lord described, when, in the synagogue at Nazareth, He applied these words of the prophet to himself— The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the cap¬ tives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised: or, when, in answer to the inquiry of Johns disciples who He was, He said— Go, and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them." [pp. 265—271.] Dr. Miller’s publication is one of several, which we have recently received from our American correspondents, on the subject of the Socinian controversy, which is now agita¬ ted to a considerable extent and with much warmth, through¬ out a large portion of the United States. The vigorous efforts of Unitarians in that quarter of the world, to propa¬ gate their opinions, have given rise to these discussions; and so long as they are conducted with that meekness and candour which the gospel inculcates, we see little reason to regret the controversy; nor have the friends of what is called Evangelical religion any cause to tremble for the issue. For it is better that the propagators of the opposite doctrines should come forth boldly, and make an ingenuous avowal of their principles in thefaceof all the world, than that they should endeavour artfully to conceal them from the pub¬ lic view, whilst they embrace every opportunity, irithe private intercourse of life, to sneer at the sentiments of their oppo¬ nents, and secretly insinuate their own. Great (we also say)w * Ecclesiastical Researches, pp. 604, 605, 623. 332 Evangelical and Rational Christianity compared: truth,and it will prevail. The more it is attacked by error, the more imposing will be the aspect it assumes, the more steadily will men be induced to contemplate it; the deeper will be the attention given to its powerful and reiterated appeals. It may, indeed be forgotten in the silence of indifference, but its voice can never be lost amid the sense¬ less clamour that pride, and prejudice, and passion may raise up against it. Dr. Miller, it seems, gave great, but unintentional and unanticipated offence to the Unitarian party in America, and especially in the neighbourhood of Baltimore, by a ser¬ mon which he preached at the ordination of a young man as pastor over the church in that city, to whose members these letters are addressed. In this sermon, he distinctly avowed and enforced those sentiments which are usually denominated Orthodox, little expecting that by such an avowal he should give offence; but so he did, for it seems that in that land of freedom, as well as in our own, some of the loudest advocates for religious liberty are not a little hurt when any body dares to use that liberty for the purpose of promulgating sentiments contrary to their own. Pens were drawn, and pamphlets published against him, insomuch that the Doctor expresses his surprise at the “waste of ink and paper,” which had been occasioned; and can only account for the fact, by supposing that the Socinians of America are determined to try the experiment/whether they can write themselves into notice; and with this determina¬ tion, resolve to let nothing, however trivial, escape their observation. In addition to this, a consideration of the mighty efforts which the friends of Unitarianism are making in every direction to propagate “ a system of error,” which in his opinion, and we have no hesitation to add, in ours also, “is the most delusive and dangerous of all that have assumed the Christian name,” induced him to gird himself for this conflict, and to take the field. “This system,” he observes, “its advocates in your neighbour¬ hood are endeavouring to recommend and establish with a zeal worthy of a better cause. From the pulpit and the press, by the formal volume, the humble pamphlet, and every variety of exhibition that ingenuity can devise, they are endeavouring to make an impres¬ sion on the public mind. In every direction, and with a profusion of the most lavish kind, they are daily scattering abroad their instruments of seduction. Probably in no part of our country, out of Massachusetts, do these poisoned agents so completely fill the Dr. Miller’s Letters on Unitarianism. 333 air, or, like one of the plagues of Egypt, so noisomely ‘ come up into your houses, your chambers, and your kneading troughs/ as in Baltimore. In fact, the Unitarians in that neighbourhood seem to be emulating the zeal of some of their brethren in England , who have been known to go into an orthodox church; to withdraw during the prayer, that they might not join in ‘ idolatrous devo¬ tions and on their return, to strew on a |communion table , which happened to be spread on that day, a parcel of Socinian tracts and pamphlets. I have heard of nothing quite equal to this in the United States; but, from present appearances, am by no means confident that something of the same kind will not soon be exhi¬ bited. Now, though I have no fear of the influence of all this on the minds of those w r ho read and think, and inquire and pray; yet there may be others, to whom an antidote is not wholly unnecessary. The sagacious and eloquent Mr. Burke has somewhere said, ‘ Let us only suffer any person, however manifestly he may be in the wrong, to tell us his story, morning and evening, but for one twelve- month, and he will be our master/ In almost every congregation there is a considerable number to whom this maxim applies tvith peculiar force. The young and inexperienced, who are not aware of the insidious arts of error; the busy, who have but little taste for reading, and little time or disposition for profound reflection; the amiable, who are ready to look with a partial eye on every serious and plausible claim; and the gay and worldly, who are predisposed in favour of an indulgent system;—all these, when frequently assailed by the zealous, the confident, and the talka¬ tive patrons of heresy, will be peculiarly liable to be unduly impressed in their favour. When they every day hear indivi¬ duals, and every day meet with pamphlets, which, on the one hand, in the most triumphant tone, praise the Unitarian system, as the only enlightened, liberal, benevolent, and rational system, and its adherents as decisively the most learned, amiable, and pious friends of truth, and candid inquiry: and, on the other hand, stigmatize its opponents, as narrow-minded, prejudiced, austere, righteous overmuch, and enemies of liberal thinking;— when they find these representations made every day, and repeated without contradiction, they will be apt at length to believe them. When they find so many confident assertions, so many plausible professions, and so many high authorities, vaunted on one side, and little or nothing of a counter kind produced on the other; they may begin to think that there is really more to be said in favour of what they hear called heresy, and less in support of what they have been accustomed to think truth, than they once imagined.” [pp. 11-14.] The volume consists of eight Letters. The first contains introductory remarks; the second and third are occupied by a statement and exposure of the prejudices cherished by many against orthodoxy. VOL. vi.— no. 12. z 334 Dr. Miller’s Letters on Unitarianism. The fourth and fifth, after asserting that the Scriptures are the only rule of faith and practice, and shewing that their testimony is decided in favour of orthodoxy, appeal to the early fathers as equally clear in support of the same theo¬ logical sentiments. The sixth letter is on the proper office of reason, in examining revelation. The seventh contains an examination of the system of Unitarianism, as to its practical influence; and the eighth is chiefly devoted to concluding remarks and counsels. Having given this outline of the volume, it would be injustice to the excellent author not to allow him to state in his own words, his reasons for confining himself to this comparatively limited scheme. “You will not expect me, in these letters, to enter at large into the controversy between the Orthodox and the Unitarians. A number of distinguished individuals, both in our own country and in Europe, within a few years past, as well as in former times, have written so largely and so well, on this branch of polemic theology, that l forbear to undertake the discussion of the general subject. The limits to which I confine myself, do not admit of this. Nor is it necessary. My purpose is, to treat, in a very cursory manner, a few points in the controversy, chiefly practical, which, though not wholly neglected by other writers, have not been so frequently or fully exhibited as I could have wished to see them. Those who have an opportunity and a taste for more extensive and critical reading on the subject, will, of course, seek for other and larger works. In the mean time, if, by taking a view of the subject more adapted to those who have little leisure, and no convenient access to the volumes of the learned, I shall be the means of satisfying a single doubting inquirer, or of putting on his guard one whose foot was about to slide, I shall consider myself as most richly rewarded.” [pp. 17, 18.] We rejoice to be able to say, that in Dr. Miller the system of Evangelical truth has an able, and we think, from the manner of his writing, an amiable and candid advocate. A man who will contend earnestly, but judiciously and affec¬ tionately, for the faith once delivered to the saints: from him the party he opposes have nothiug to fear in the way of unfair or ungenerous treatment; neither have his own friends cause to apprehend that the truth will suffer in his hands from unguarded concessions, or a false candour. Though the conflict is recent on the other side the Atlantic, yet our author selects and employs his weapons with the skill and power of a veteran, and we wish him success in the name of the Lord, with all that elevation of spirits, which his full assurance of ultimate triumph cannot but inspire. 335 Notes on Rio de Janeiro, and the Southern Parts of Brazil; taken during a Residence of Ten Years in that Country, from 1808 to 1818. By John Luccock. London. 1820. 4to. pp. 639. Leigh. Few circumstances direct the mind with more intensity to the future than painful recollections of the past. This sentiment is peculiarly applicable to South America. The very man who disclosed the New World to astonished Europeans, was persecuted, calumniated, and imprisoned; and this, too, by the country for whose benefit the energ'ies of his life had been spent, in enterprises of unrivalled bold¬ ness, and unexampled success. . Nor was this all; his well- earned laurels were snatched from his brow by his co- temporaries, and the very name of America stands as a perpetual monument of their ingratitude. Reverting from these first effects to subsequent transactions, the mind is still accompanied by a train of painful recollections. Soon after the discovery, the ablest lawyers and divines of Spain were consulted as to the best mode of taking possession of these immense regions, and the Pope, wuth his wonted liberality in bestowing what was not his own, confirmed their decree; respecting which, the eloquent historian of these transatlantic regions observes, “ there is not, in the history of mankind, any thing more singular and extravagant than the form they devised for this purpose.” It proceeded solely upon the principle, that the Pope had a right to bestow, and the Spanish monarch to receive, these vast countries, and his officers to extirpate all who refused to obey his mandates. This w T as the model of their proceed¬ ing in subsequent conquests, which are too familiar to our readers to render any repetition necessary. It is, however, a conclusion exacted by humanity, to suppose that the boasting of the conquerors w as prolific in multiplying the victims of their cupidity in the New World. Nor were these conquests merely an outrage to human nature, they were a disgrace to Christianity; and it will not require any powerful exercise of the imagination, for the future messen¬ ger of the Gospel, as he traverses these regions, to conceive the shades of Montezuma and the Incas of Peru pointing to the first conquerors of the New World, and exclaiming, “ These too were Christians!” Without dwelling upon the painful associations arising from the abuse of European power, which has fixed the “ galling yoke” upon the neck of South America for three 336 Review. centuries, we would revert to the importance of recent events, and the hopes excited by future prospects; for while the series of revolutions that have either taken place, or are yet in progress, may give freedom and happiness to millions of human beings, they open to the philosopher and the politi¬ cian an immense field for intellectual research: a field, too, where the harvest is abundant, and the reapers few. This can scarcely fail to render the result of experience, though not distinguished by philosophical depth or critical acumen, acceptable to the public. Such we consider the work before us, which relates to a part of this great Southern continent, to which the attention of Britons has for some time been strongly directed. The author resided in differ¬ ent parts of Brazil, with few interruptions, for about ten years, and enjoyed numerous advantages for varied obser¬ vations on the country, the people, and their institutions. These opportunities he appears to have employed with laudable industry, and the result of his observations is now given, with few exceptions, in a clear, perspicuous, and pleasing manner. His immediate pursuits were those of a merchant. These, of course, afforded him many opportuni¬ ties of collecting a variety of information respecting both the country and its inhabitants—its political as well as its commercial affairs. The different parts which he visited also increased these opportunities, and none of them seem to have been lost. In these situations, too, Mr. Luccock is never insensible to all that is interesting around him, either in the productions of nature, or the labours of art, yet he always seems to be deeply impressed with the superior importance of delineating the manners and developing the characters of those with whom he had intercourse, at least as far as circumstances warranted any general conclusion. This is by far the most interesting subject that can occupy a traveller’s attention; but as the remarks upon it here are usually given in the detached form in which they occurred, we cannot present any general view of them, but must refer our readers to the work itself. Mr. Luccock has also in¬ serted a copious account of Rio de Janeiro, both before and after the removal of the Portuguese Court to these trans¬ atlantic possessions. The improvement of this western metropolis, in many of the comforts, the luxuries, and gaie¬ ties of life, was extremely rapid, and strikingly demonstrates the power of authority, when carefully applied to the cor¬ rection of abuses, or assiduously employed in ameliorating the condition of a semi-barbarous society. When Rio 337 Luccock’s Notes on Rio de Janeiro, 4'C. Janeiro had received the royal family of the parent state, the city was soon greatly increased and improved, and a rapid augmentation of inhabitants took place, which, with the conduct of the Prince Regent, and the part he took in effecting the improvements which were then realized, is thus described by our author:— “The unsettled state of Portugal occasioned a large influx of inhabitants; many came thither from other disturbed parts of Europe; some also from the different provinces of Brazil, and other foreign possessions of the crown. Some were attracted by the prospect of commercial advantages; more, perhaps, by the desire of witnessing the growing splendour of their country, of forming new connections, learning new modes, and sharing the admiration with which wealth and influence are usually attended. Not a few came to seek for favour at the hands of the new rulers, to appeal to them for redress in cases of injustice and oppression, or, by the tender of their services, to obtain a share in the good things which were distributed. “ At court, there began to appear some resemblance of European magnificence. The great and wealthy met there a welcome recep¬ tion, not only on account of the degree in which they could render themselves intrinsically useful, but for the additional lustre which they communicated to royalty and its satellites. The old court dress was required; the private gentry became more attentive to propriety and taste in their modes of dress; and state liveries were introduced similar to those of Lisbon. Houses and their furniture made a proportionate advance in convenience and show; carriages were becoming numerous, some of them splendid, and, when pro¬ ceeding to court, were drawn by horses instead of mules, and attended by white servants instead of slaves. The levees of the Prince were frequent and respectable; and, on high days, the cere¬ mony of kissing hands was exhibited almost in public, for he inva¬ riably placed himself, in order to enjoy fresh air, at a balcony, where he could be seen by the crowd of people assembled in front of the palace. This not only gratified their curiosity, but, in many cases, seemed to awaken an anxiety for distinction, and to give strength to political principle. Few are disposed to be disloyal who are allowed to witness the ceremonies of a court, who know that they also may present themselves to the sovereign, complying only with established formsj on appointed evenings of the week, and find the road to honours equally open to merit wherever it appears. “ On different occasions, the Regent had presented himself with confidence in the midst of his people. He had opened, with his own hand, a new public fountain, which brought, from a distance of four or five miles, the first of blessings in a climate like that of Rio. He had attended carefully to the management of the police, 338 Review. appointed some excellent officers, and promoted many Brazilians to places of honour and of trust. He had gratified the troops by ' treating them with freedom, and by attending reviews. To the people he had given consideration, and brought them to feel their importance as a state. In consequence, he was hailed as the bene¬ factor of the country, the founder of a new empire, and distinguished by the title, as he was in fact, the only civilized “ Monarch of the South.” “Theatrical amusements kept pace in improvement with matters of more immediate importance. Not only did the Regent indulge what seemed a strong personal taste, by his frequent attendance upon them, but he appeared in the theatre accompanied by his family. Hence it became fashionable for all, who wished to be thought persons of consequence, to show themselves there; and the spell which bound the Brazilian ladies to home and seclusion was broken. The multitude followed; some to wonder at the play, some to gaze at the fair. In the pieces represented, the manners, vices, dialect, and other peculiarities of the colony, were ridiculed; and the public taste, in consequence, amended. The people had even advanced so far as diffidently venturing to applaud, when they were pleased; but had not sufficient confidence to express their disapprobation.” [pp. 245, 246.] Many alterations were made in the ecclesiastic affairs, and many abuses corrected. The ceremonies of religion were rendered more solemn and impressive. Much of this is ascribed to the appointment of a bishop to “ the widely extended see of St. Sebastian, who, without being a bigot, dared to do his duty, and managed with dexterity the mul¬ titude of the ignorant and superstitious. He travelled into some parts of his diocese, and looked carefully into their religious state. He encouraged marriages, and solem¬ nized them in person, dispensed frequently with the edicts of Rome, and set aside the authority of his Lisbonian supe¬ riors, when it interfered with the welfare of his charge.” Among the effects which resulted from this increased attention to the external forms of religion, there is one which can scarcely fail to have a permanent influence upon Bra¬ zilian society, the description of which we shall present in Mr. Luccock’s own words : “Females, except those of the superior class, were excluded from the palace; and at the theatre no woman is admitted into the pit. The Church is open to all, and its appointments were allowed to be equally interesting to both sexes; husbands and fathers there¬ fore were compelled, under the new order of things, to relax their domestic discipline, and open the doors of their harems. Some degree of liberty being allowed to the prisoners, it became impos- Luccock’s Notes on Rio de Janeiro, Sjc. 339 sible any longer to confine them. Certain shrines must be visited, the boons which ladies desired must be sought at the altar, and vows must be paid to their patron saints, on days and at places more especially devoted to such a purpose. Mixtures of religion and pleasure, not unlike our village wakes at their earlier periods, were revived and multiplied. The fine climate of Brazil, and the brilliant full-moon, lent their aid to enliven such meetings, and pro¬ long their enjoyments. Here was gratified the desire of being seen and admired; here were cultivated the love of dress and show, and that attention to neatness which is of infinitely higher value. Here the female character was prepared to assume its proper station in society, its natural and right influence over the hearts of men, those lords of the creation. From so fertile a source of moral culture arose various new modes of thinking, and of course a new set of manners.” [pp. 248, 249.] Nor was the amelioration then realized confined to the metropolis, or to the immediate vicinity of the court; it extended into the heart of the monarch’s dominions, and even affected the relations of this new kingdom with foreign powers. After describing the improvement of the police, the post-office, the press, and other changes, our author thus proceeds in his statements with reference to the internal and external relations of "Brazil. “ Many of these changes, though more immediately affecting the capital, had a considerable influence over the whole country. Other improvements belonged more to the provinces than to the city, yet contributed largely to its welfare. Officers had been sent into the interior by different routes; forts built on the frontiers, and detachments stationed wherever it was thought they would be serviceable; telegraphs had also been erected along the coast. The finances of the country were rendered more productive; several of the duties were farmed to advantage. Skilful men were sent into the provinces as governors, and a strict charge given them to proceed upon the principles adopted in the capital for the improve¬ ment of the country. Hamlets had been transformed into villages, and villages raised to the rank of towns, and furnished with suit¬ able functionaries. Many old roads were cleared of encumbrances from the city, even to the extent of a thousand or fifteen hundred miles. One of the most important joined the mouth of the Rio Doce with the interior of Minas Geraes; and another connected Para and Maranham with Rio de Janeiro, St. Paul’s, Rio Grande, and Monte Video. Attempts were made to civilize the Indians; a sort of conservator was placed over them, who seemed to gain their confidence, and a few of their young people were brought to Rio for instruction, particularly in the art of husbandry. Regulations were published relative to the slave trade, which contributed much 340 Review. to the health and comfort of the unfortunate subjects of this com¬ merce, while on their passage. “The opponents of these measures were not wrong in attributing them chiefly to the truly patriotic and indefatigable minister, Don Rodrigues Conde de Linhaires; nor were they altogether mistaken, as to the prosecution of their own views, when they laid him in the grave. His successors in office possessed neither the head nor the heart, to resume and carry forward his plans. The best among them was undoubtedly the Conde de Barcos, a sickly and short¬ lived man. The worst was Don Joan d’Almeida, whose moral and political character sunk below the range of any common scale of humanity. Fortunately, he had it not long in his power to inter¬ dict improvement, though in his short ministry and life he did the country indescribable mischief. “ The foreign political relations of Brazil had become more set¬ tled and firm. The court of St. Sebastian’s had received am¬ bassadors from Great Britain, from Spain, and the United States of America. Consuls too were sent by each of these powers, and Brazil had established in their countries officers of the same class, to facilitate her commerce. She had also entered into a friendly communication with the Independents of Buenos Ayres; and though the treaty concluded by her envoy had not been ratified, she was set at ease with regard to the safety of her most important province, that of Rio Grande do Sul. The government had so far recovered its proper tone as to send a few ships of war to sea, to cruise with the British fleet; and had laid down the keels of several new ones. Its arsenals were enlarged and furnished; an admiralty and war-office were established,and aNautical Almanack published. The British packets, in which Brazil has a share, maintained for us a regular correspondence with the European States, and kept up our knowledge of general politics. The packets of Bahia commu¬ nicated with all the northern parts of Brazil, and gave us some commercial facilities. It was a great object with the government to connect the disjointed members of the kingdom, to strengthen its power at home, and to render it respectable abroad.” [pp. 251, 252.] The accounts of the journeys which our traveller made into the different parts of these transatlantic 'dominions, afford many interesting sketches of the modes of travelling, the natural scenery of the country, and the state of society of the interior. They contain also some good observations relative to the gold and diamond districts in the vicinities of St. John d’ el liey and Villa Rica, which he visited. Such is the variety and majesty of nature in these climes, that many of their scenes, when seen for the first time, were found to be sufficient to rouse the most insensible of human beings, and to force expressions of admiration from those whose 341 Essays. By Father Fitz-Eustace. distinguishing characteristic seemed to be a perfection of apathy. The work closes with a summary account of the domestic affairs, commerce, and foreign relations of Brazil, in 1818. But to be duly appreciated, this chapter ought be attentively read, and such as feel interested in the subject will be amply repaid for the trouble of perusal. Essays. By Father Fitz-Eustace, a Mendicant Friar. Post 8vo. pp. 248. London. 1822. Underwoods. We do not intend, according to the newest fashion in reviewing, to convert this article into an essay upon essay¬ writing ; for though our quarterly brethren of the southern as well as the northern metropolis of British literature, but too often make a book the mere starting-post of their own pro¬ found lucubrations, turning their backs upon it the moment they have fairly entered on their race—such (bear witness, gentle reader, to the truth of our self-gratulation) has seldom been our wont. We, on the contrary, think that the great end of reviewing a book is so to discuss its merits, as to - tempt the reader to buy it, if it is a good one; or to prevent his cumbering his shelves with it, if it be a bad one. A good review, in fact, (to borrow a simile from that science of which the titivating treatise of our erudite friend. Dr. Kitch¬ ener, and the pleasure we have derived from the society of this unparalleled tutorer of cooks, has rendered us great admirers,) should be a copious bill of fare, directing the literary taste of the public in catering for itself to the best advantage, according as time or money may regulate the profusion or economy of their feast. In the present case, we enter upon our duty with pleasure, and as our author has had the prudence to propitiate the wrath of the potent and irascible tribe, of which we are unworthy members, by very earnest and vehement misericordias ,—to assume, for the moment, the language of the fraternity in whose guise he has thought proper to make his first appearance before the public, we will shrive the holy father with a right good will, expecting (for what can be looked for from a mendicant?) no other offering as our dues, than a particular acknowledgment of our kindness and condescen¬ sion, when he goes to press with his next lucubrations,—or be they prose, or be they rhyme. The first essay in this little volume is upon writers, of 342 Review. which the author seems to think that we have too many, yet, like all other victims of that most incurable of incurable diseases, the cacoethes scribendi, emulous of fame, and of the inexpressible delight of seeing ones-self in print, “ He gives the race one bold pretender move.” The second, “ On the Formation of Political Society,” is more to our taste than that we have just mentioned, because it gives evidence of the writer having dared to think for himself, in opposition to the dictums and dogmatical asser¬ tions of some of the most popular writers on the origin of society, who have talked as learnedly and as confidently as if they themselves had been present at its formation, of that wildest of all wild theories, an original compact or contract between the governors and the governed, most accurately defining the power of the one, and the submission of the other. History, experience, reason, and common sense, however, combine to shew that the first empire must have been that of might, physical or intellectual, not of right; of assumption tacitly acquiesed in, not of agreement deliberately entered into; and those who argue about a social compact, solemnly framed by a large assembly of men previously living in a savage state, when congregated toge¬ ther to elect a chief and form a constitution, are not only arguing without data, but against analogy, probability, and the very nature of things. We have often thought, when poring over their wild speculations, too generally delivered with all the positiveness that belongs but to facts, that these learned doctors, civilians, and philosophers, should be sent back to school, where society is presented in miniature, and learn there, from the manner in which a daring spirit ac¬ quires an ascendancy, that power and influence are not elective, save where they have been rendered so in a con¬ stitution formed and settled long after society and govern¬ ments have existed in other shapes. He has also given a further proof of the same independence of mind, in arguing for such an alteration of our penal code as shall render it at once more humane and more effective ; but as we hope, ere long, to resume this important subject in a distinct shape, we shall say no more upon it here, than that his enlightened sentiments have our most cordial ap¬ probation. The Essay “ On the Political Character of James the First of Scotland,” displays much ingenuity, and a very considerable acquaintance with a period of Scottish his- /' 343 Essays. By Father Fitz-Eustace. tory, to which but too little attention has hitherto been paid by our principal writers. That on patriotism is marked by the sound sense which pervades the greater part, if not the whole, of this volume. We give our readers the following short extract, as a pretty fair specimen of its author’s gene¬ ral style of composition:— “ If I were asked why different men were devoted to different soils, in preference to others, my answer should be drawn from those fine feelings which spring up in the bosom from the associa¬ tion of certain agreeable ideas with a consideration of the circum¬ stances which gave them birth, and of the situations in which the first impressions were received. I would trace the fair blossom of patriotism from the tender bud of infancy until the increasing years of manhood had nurtured it into a full-blown flower. If, on consulting my own feelings, I found that in my childhood I felt a respect, almost approaching to adoration, for that home where a parent’s tender arms were stretched out to receive me, and imprint on my cheek the kiss of affection;—if, on reverting to the period when reason first dawned upon my soul, I delighted in viewing those scenes where I had imbibed the first principles of instruction; —if, as the fervour of youth began to glow upon my cheek, and the warmer passions to struggle in my bossom, I had formed acquaintances and gained friends worthy of my greatest esteem; I should certainly venerate that land which had afforded me so many blessings. And it is to all these circumstances to which I should refer, as the cause why the patriot passion was engraven on my heart. However inclement our native clime, we deem it the best, and prefer it to every other.” [pp. 99, 100.] In his lucubrations “ On the Downfall of the Roman Em¬ pire,” we do not meet with any thing very novel; nor can we altogether approve either of the historical accuracy, or religious sentiment, of the following passage:— “ The Christian religion having gained so great an ascendancy over the Roman empire, the Pagans, in their turn, were persecuted with all the animosity, cruelty, and hatred, which bigotry and blind enthu¬ siasm are capable of exciting in the human mind. The gods of Rome were publicly insulted, and their statues overturned and broken: prohibitory statutes were passed against their votaries, and the ancient religion was proscribed ; the altar of Victory was demolished, and the proud eagle of Rome submissively gave way to the triumphant cross.” [p. 127.] Now, far be it from us, because we profess the Christian religion, and have even rendered its defence a fundamental feature of our work, to contend for a moment that its esta¬ blishment was unmarked by some of those excesses of a zeal without knowledge, which havu unhappily character- 344 Review. ized the progress of every religious system under heaven; but then this was the case in a degree so remarkably less, and even insignificant, in comparison with that of other faiths, that the triumphs Of the cross should never be men¬ tioned by any candid writer, in treating them as matters of history, without noticing this distinctive feature,—that with reference to those of the systems which they overthrew, and are overthrowing, they were, and still continue to be, bloodless. Without this caution, a contrary inference might be drawn from our author’s pages, though he has adduced no evidence in support of his untenable position. A very considerable degree of learning and research, combined with no small share of originality, gives great in¬ terest to the Essay “ On the Grecian Sophistry and Roman Rhetoric,” the evil effects of which, upon sound learning and true philosophy, are pointed out with a force and pre¬ cision worthy of the commendation which we are inclined to bestow upon it. Our readers shall, however, by an ex¬ tract, have the opportunity afforded them of forming a judgment for themselves. “ The doctrine inculcated by these sophists into the mind of the youth intrusted to their charge, was of the most deadly nature. They promised, for a proper pecuniary compensation, to impart that knowledge which could easily confound virtue and vice, and make the worse appear the better cause. They taught, that nothing possessed an actual substance, but that every thing in nature had an existence only in the opinion of persons: “ That heat was no more heat than cold; white not more white than its opposite; knowledge, nothing more than sensation; man, the mea¬ sure of all things, of things existing as they are, and of things non¬ existing as they are not, and all things are true. For every one entertains thought according to the impression made upon him; impressions were made by what was in motion; motion was created by agency; agency could proceed only from the things which are, and the things which are must be true.”* They moreover affirmed, that of all acquisitions, eloquence was the most noble in its nature, — that eloquence which could rob the soul of its faculties, charm the senses, and sway the most rugged feelings. They maintained, that might constituted right,—that virtue and true happiness were alone centered in intemperance and excess,—that the greatest blessing was the power of committing an injury with impunity,—and the greatest misery, lack of opportunity to revenge an affront. Such were some of the many leading doctrines of the sophists, which, scattered profusely among the young and thoughtless Athenians, who were * Mitchell’s Aristophanes. 345 Essays. By Father Fitz-Eustace. destitute of steadiness of principles in consequence of their bad education, were calculated for their ruin and destruction. Physi¬ cal and metaphysical knowledge was also a particular object of inquiry among the sophists: the most strange speculations inter¬ ested their imaginations, and the wildest and most fanciful theories were quickly framed by them. The veriest trifles in their eyes were possessed of sufficient importance to occasion long and violent disputations; and, notwithstanding the absurdity of the subject in question, the verbal combat was carried on with pertinacious loqua¬ city. To them may be applied, without the slightest exaggeration or the least deviation from truth, the following observations of the philosophic Plato. ‘ It is as easy to talk with madmen, as it is with them. Their writings have nothing steady in them: all are in a state of perpetual motion. As for a pause in disputation, and interrogation, or a quiet question or answer, it is a chance infinitely less than nothing, that you get such a thing from them. For their minds are in a perpetual state of restlessness; and woe to him that puts a question to them! Instantly comes a flight of enigma¬ tical little words, like arrows from a quiver; and, if you ask a reason of this assault, the result is another discharge, with merely a change of names. There is no doing any thing with a single one of them: and they are just as untraetable among one another; their only concern being, as it should seem, that nothing fixed or stable should appear either in their language or in their minds.’* Every occur¬ rence,—every appearance in nature,—every phenomenon,—every passion,—every appetite,—every wish engendered in the mind, created dispute, and ended in controversy. ‘What is God?’ asked the philosophers. ‘ He is the most ancient of all things, for he is without beginning, said Thales;—he is air, said Anaximenes;—he is a pure mind, said Anaxagoras;—he is air and mind, said Arche- laus;—he is mind in a spherical form, said Democritus;—he is a monad, and the principle of good, said Pythagoras;—he is an eternal circular fire, said Heraclitus;—he is the finite and un¬ measurable principle in a spherical form, said Parmenides;— he is one and every thing, said Melissus and Zenon.’f Thus did these men argue on every subject, and thus did they pro¬ pound every question, and so satisfactory was the conclusion drawn from their arguments. The universe,"—the sun,—the moon, —the stars,—air, earth, water, fire, every object which met their views, or attracted their attention, was a fit subject for speculation. ‘Our passion for disputation,’ says the philosopher already so largely quoted, ‘upon subjects of this kind, has something in it * Platonis Theatetus.—Mitchell. Having examined all the quota¬ tions in Mr. Mitchell’s introductory discourse with the orginals, I have found them altogether correct, independently of the free and fluent translations in which Mr. M. has clothed the language of his authorities, t Mitchell. 346 Review. which is beyond the reach of decay or mortality. No sooner does one of our young men get a taste of it, than he feels delighted, as if he had discovered a treasure of wisdom. Carried away by a pleasure that amounts to madness, he finds a subject for dispute in every thing that occurs. At one time, both sides of the subject are considered and reduced to one. At another, the subject is analyzed and split into parts: himself becomes the first and princi¬ pal victim of his own doubts and difficulties, his neighbour, whether junior, senior, or equal, no matter which, is the next sufferer; he spares not father, nor mother, nor any one, who will give him the loan of his ears; scarcely animals escape him, and much less his fellow creatures; even a foreigner has no security, but the want of an interpreter at hand to go before them.*’ Every one accordingly appears to be incited by disputatious propensities; which, like the plague, had communicated its deadly infection in all quarters. The case of the Athenians may be exactly assimilated to that of Gil Bias. ‘ I was so much in love with dispute,’ (quoth the renowned hero of Santillane, while a student at Oviedo), ‘that I stopt passen¬ gers, known or unknown, and proposed arguments to them; and sometimes meeting with Hibernian geniuses, who were very glad of the occasion, it was a good jest to see us dispute: by our extra¬ vagant gestures, grimace, contortions, our eyes full of fury, and our mouths full of foam, one would have taken us for bedlamites rather than philosophers.’ The sophists may be likened to so many Quixotes, who, armed at all points, traversed the field of conten¬ tion, ready to combat the first opponent, who was sufficiently presumptuous to cross their path; and, sometimes their senses so far evaporated, that they were led astray, like the doughty knight of La Mancha, when he attacked the windmills. “Athens was soon filled with philosophers, and sophistry became the fashion of the day. The noblest youths in the city were proud of swelling the train and retinue of these teachers, who professed an intimate acquaintance with every species of knowledge. The philosophical mania became universal. Immense sums of money were squandered away among these retailers of wisdom, who under¬ took, in the short space of two or three months, to make their pupils as clever, and as well informed, as their right worshipful masters. The example of Pericles has also rendered political eloquence fashionable. The sophists were, therefore, required to teach the Athenians the art of discussion and debate, and consequently of quibbling; and when engaged in the examination of any question, they heeded little the real situation of the subject, but only endea¬ voured to make their own positions appear plausible and true. Their pupils, who considered themselves embryo statesmen, and who acted the parts of political coxcombs, early endeavoured to distinguish themselves in the general assembly and in the courts of justice, [pp. 161—167.] * Platonis Phileleus.— Mitchell. 347 Essays. By Father Fitz-Eustace. The following appears to us a more just estimate of the services rendered to society by the great philosopher of the heathens, than we often meet with in works not professing to bring the characters and conduct of men to the great test by which, as moral agents, they should be tried,—the real benefits conferred upon society by a proper exercise of the talents bestowed upon them by their Creator. “ The progress of sophistry, although it was impossible to have altogether stopped it, still might have been greatly impeded and re¬ tarded, had Socrates, Aristotle, and others of standard abilities, lent their kindly assistance. But they, alas! made no resistance! and tamely suffered themselves to be carried along the swiftly rolling stream, unconscious indeed where it might bear them. Although the former declared himself an enemy To the sophists, yet he nevertheless regularly attended their schools; and though he professed to do so for the express purpose of combating their doctrines, and exploding their philosophy, still it was for evincing his own knowledge, and for the establishment of his own opinions. He had, moreover, given himself to physical researches, and was devoted to philosophical discussion. He was, in short, the great logomachist of the age. To propose questions, and produce explications,—to convince, or be convinced,—were, in his opinion the grand purposes of human life. He was fond of argument’ and delighted in confounding the senses of his auditors. He would, after reasoning upon one side of a question, relinquish it; and, taking up the opposite, would himself endeavour to confute his former arguments, and destroy his former propo¬ sitions. W e may be enabled to form a just estimate of the character of Socrates, by considering Cicero’s opinion respectino- that philosopher, when from him the orator deduces the Academi* cal sect, always arguing, and never deciding: ‘ Profecta a Socrate, repetita ab Arcesila, confirmata a Carneade.’ And it is well known, that an universal suspension of assent was a leading feature in the doctrines of that school. I say school, because, although there was a difference, inasmuch as Those philosophers founded three several academies, the ancient, the middle, and the new; still, the difference was merely nominal; and the prevailing tenets, through- out the whole, were without any material variance. Socrateses, therefore, to be distinguished for intellectual ingenuity. Subtlety of discussion was, in his eyes, as. important as soundness of judg¬ ment, or even clearness of comprehension.” [pp. 168_170.] & Well would it have been for mankind if this system of sophistry had been one of the long lost arts of the ancients ; for Bolingbroke, Voltaire, Hume, Gibbon, Rousseau, and the whole host of infidels, -would not then have effected the incalculable mischief which their sophisticated writings have introduced into the world. 348 Review. The triumph of rhetoric in Rome over good taste and sound reasoning, is exposed with as much correctness, though we have room for but a very short extract, from the description of the mischiefs it introduced, especially when united with the imported sophistry of the Greeks, with which this essay closes. “When the Roman mind was perverted, when it became ener¬ vated with luxury and profligacy, it was then totally incapable of evincing that power of intellect, that strength of judgment, that solidity of thought, which are absolutely requisite for the acquisi¬ tion of oratory in its noble and more elevated condition. Accord¬ ingly, the orator soon dwindled into the mere rhetorician. Words instead of matter, euphony instead of sense, beautiful cadences instead of plain forcible expressions, became the great desiderata among the effeminate Romans. Truth gave place to delusion, knowledge to sound, solid reasoning to declamation and bombas- tical expressions. The substance was gone, but the shadow still remained. This was not, however, the last stage of corruption at which the mind was destined to arrive: but when the Grecian sophistry became combined with the Roman rhetoric, the chalice of mental degradation was replete, even to overflowing. It was as the Upas, which spreads its branches far and wide, casting around a sombre gloom, and the juice whereof is deadly poison; or as the torpedo, which, when touched, sends an instantaneous numbness through every limb, depriving the body of all power of motion. Literary polemics and intellectual disputations constituted the pleasure of the philosophers. They used high-sounding phrases, and empty declamations, without once considering of language, whereby they might clearly and forcibly convey to the minds of their adversaries the nature of their arguments.. The times of Socrates and Protagoras, of Polus and Prodicus, of Gorgias and the Sophists, again revived with all the bitterness and acrimony of contention. The followers of Aristippus maintained the benefits arising from sensual indulgence; and those of Epicurus, atheism and materialism; the followers of Pyrrho inculcated universal doubt; and those of Plato equally argued upon either side of a question: the Peripatetics on every occasion flourished aloft their logical syllogisms; the Stoics endeavoured to prove that perfect indifference to all the concerns of life was the true indication of real wisdom; and the Eclectics strove to unite the discordant opinions of the various sectaries. “The logical and metaphysical works of Ammonius, Plotinus, Iamblichus and Porphyry, and the public edicts penned by Cas- siodorus, the prime minister of Theodoric, sufficiently evince the great influence which the love of sophistry and rhetoric had acquired over the public mind. The names which I have just mentioned ranked foremost among the philosophers during 349 Essays. By Father Fitz-Eustace. the age in which they lived; and it they would be guilty of usino* sue 1 high-flown expressions, such high-sounding phrases, such egotism, such verbosity, and bombastical declamation, as are to be found m their works, we cannot entertain a very high opinion of the intellectual attainments of that age, nor of that people, who could tamely suffer themselves to be deluded by such flimsy ingenuity. J Thus, sophistical rhetoric (if I may be allowed that phrase) became the fashion of the day. Instead of attending to the sense, and endeavouring to find the beauty of expression of the several authors, the Romans only tried to discover the tropes and figures, the investigation of which they made an elaborate study, and°gave them, when discovered, the most fantastical denominations. °The ollowing are some of the names:—Diozeugmenon, homaeoptoton, isocolon, synathoesmus, paradiastole, prosapodasis, anaclasis, po- } ptoton, epanalepsis, polysyndeton, anancaeon, brachyepia, chleu- asmus, charientismus, asteismus, diasyrmus, exetheuismus, and many others, too tedious to particularize. The works written upon this subject are nearly as multitudinous. To mention only a few: besides the treatise of Rutilius Rufus concerning the figures of eloquence, there is ‘ Aquila Romanus de Figuris,’and the ‘Artis Rhetoiicae Scholicae of Curius Fortunatianus; the ‘ Institutiones Oratoriae’of Sulpitius Victor; and the ‘Treatise de Ethopoeia ac loco Communi,’ written by Emporius; and, among many others, the Principia Rhetorica of Aurelius Augustinus; the ‘Syntomata Rhetorica, by Julius Severianus; and the ‘ De Prasexcitamentis Rhetoricae,’ by Priscian. The influence of rhetoric by such means became universal, and a desire of its acquisition was very great and unceasing. & “But rhetoric was not confined within the precincts of the empire; it spread its baleful influence even further, and attacked the Gothic nations in Spain, and the Saxons in England. Isidore, in the former country; and in the latter Bede, Alcuin, and more especially Aldhelm, besides the Anglo-Norman monks, are to be distinguished for their sophistry and rhetorical spirit. “Such is a brief sketch of the progress and influence of the Gre¬ cian sophistry and Roman rhetoric. We cannot, therefore, be astonished that under their deteriorating influence, the Grecian’and Roman literature should have become weakened, and dwindled into a state of listlessness, dotage, and inanity; that they should have sunk under their own weight; that they should have been rendered incapable of affording improvement or instruction; that they should have been totally disregarded by the barbarian powers that invaded and overturned the fabric of the Roman emoire ” [pp. 173—177.] F * The four last essays, “ On the Female Character,” “ Mar¬ riage and Constancy,” “ Laughing and Crying Philoso¬ phers,” and “ Modern Mourning,” are written as their titles VOL. vi.— no. 12. 2 a 350 Review. would almost necessarily import, in a lighter strain than those which we have just noticed. The first is, perhaps, the best; and we fear that there is but too much ground for the strong reprobation which the following passage contains, of the admiration of French manners, so prevalent amongst our travelled, or rather half-travelled masters and misses, together with some misters and mistresses of graver years, whom a trip to Paris has diverted for ever from the rational enjoyments of an English home. “Addison has written an admirable paper respecting Salaman¬ ders. ‘They are,’ says he, ‘heroines in chastity, that tread upon fire, and live in the midst of flames, without being hurt. They know no distinction of sex in those with whom they converse,— grow familiar with a stranger at first sight,—and are not so narrow- spirited, as to observe, whether the persons they talk to, be in breeches or petticoats.’ Such is his description of Salamanders, and I am sorry to see a numerous class of the above-mentioned persons holding a situation in English society. “There has of late appeared a prevalent desire of introducing French breeding and French manners into this island. The loose¬ ness, the profligacy, and, I may say, the immorality of the French, are ill suited to the English nation; but an attempt has been made, and a partial success has been the consequence. “ Young men have been sent over to France for the purpose of finishing their education; that, by mixing in French society, they may be enabled to soften and ameliorate the native asperity of the English character. Young women, to the shame of their parents be it spoken, have been delivered over to the tuition of French teachers, and sent to the Continent w r ith the like intention. There, even before they have begun to judge for themselves, and form just estimates of men and things, they have beheld, practised, and admired, the manners and breeding of the French nation; and . they have returned to England, Frenchified in their notions, habits, and mode of life. I do not here mean to insinuate, that sending them to France is improper; but only, that they should remain in England until they have arrived at a proper state of maturity, both in body and mind; and then real improvement would be the conse¬ quence of foreign travel.* “The looseness of manners among the French is occasioned by a delusive mode of thinking and reasoning.! Thus, only to confine myself to the economy of their own habitations; the lady will admit visitors into her bed-room, and go through the whole routine * “ My Italian master told me, that throughout all Italy, (and it may be added, throughout all France) people of good society (bon ton) are totally without religion.”— Scott’s Sketches of Manners,8,-c. in France, Italy, and Switzerland. f Vide Scott’s Visit to Paris. 361 Bssai/s. By Father Fitz-Eustace. •and ceremony of receiving morning calls, before she is out of her bed. She will dress herself behind the curtain, while the gentle- man is sitting in the room, and can plainly distinguish her every movement. The women are so far dead to every sense of decency and decortim,—dead to shame,—dead to modesty. The fashion among the French is, that the ladies and gentlemen should not separate after dinner, as among the English: the females remain to take a free and unrestrained share in the conversation. Licentious* ness and grossness have no effect in the separation of the sexes. This custom of itself naturally indicates, that the morals are loose and lax, and require some certain modifications; at least, they are not suited for the English, especially boarding-school misses'and boys in their teens.” [pp. 179—181.] We have, in the course of our last number, been com* pelled to use so much more uncourteousness than we could desire, towards a lady of great talents and reputation, that vve dare not trust ourselves to transcribe into our pages the violent philippic which our author pronounces, °cun amove, against the “ confident ease—unabashed counte¬ nances—pertness of speech—obtrusive familiarity—coque¬ try and flirtation,” which he unceremoniously describes as the “order of the day,” before whose destructive march, he gravely assures us, that the “ striking modesty which once characterized the women of England is quickly evapora¬ ting.” Staid old married men ourselves, we profess not to know so much what is going on in the way of coquetting, flirting, 8cc. &c. as we perhaps may have done in our younger years, but vve do know that this gloomy picture applied not in all its frightful colourings to them; and for the sake of our children—for the sake too of a sex, of which we are the ardent admirers, we do hope that it is but a sketch of its author’s imagination, distorted and horrified by the refusal of his favourite fair one to take a walk with him on a summer’s evening, or by unexpectedly meeting her in the Temple gardens, with a smile upon her countenance, though she had done some every-day acquaintance, of the other sex, the honour of accepting his arm. We are not, however, without our fears, that the foundation of this spleen may lay somewhat deeper, and that our author views the female character through the jaundiced eye of a seriously disappointed lover. He may have been jilted by a flirt; but is that a reason for condemning the wdiole sex ? Surely not. We advise him, should our suspicions prove correct, to try his luck again; and he may perhaps find some honourable exception to his sweeping condemna- 352 Review. tion of the motives of the sex for entering into a matri¬ monial alliance, contained in the following unlover-like remarks:— “ It must be apparent and evident to every individual, who has given the matter one moment’s reflection, that most English mar¬ riages are founded on folly and avarice. Whenever a person hears that his friend is to be married, the first question which he proposes is, whether the girl be possessed of money? The same with the female sex. Thus interest bears the general sway, and love sub¬ missively retires to a secondary situation. Is there then the least probability, that real attachment can, in this situation of cir¬ cumstances, have an existence? It is an utter impossibility.’ [pp. 201, 202.] The Essay on Marriage, from which this extract is taken, amidst much old-bachelor-like railing at the present state of wedded life, contains some remarks on a subject of peculiar delicacy, but on which we have long thought that much wrong feeling has been frequently indulged. We allude to actions for breaches of promise of marriage; a practice with respect to which, with few exceptions, we cannot but admit the justice of the following remarks :— “ I hesitate not to say, that in my humble opinion this is at once derogatory and disgraceful; and instead of raising sympathy at the treatment experienced by the injured party, it should only excite the contempt of every liberally thinking man. I am not here speaking of special cases; but only treating the matter in a general view. Supposing, then, that a young man has for a considerable period of time paid his addresses to a female; that his proffered suit has been accepted; that the affections of the lady have been unequivocally engaged; and that the parties have mutually con¬ sidered each other as the fond objects of connubial engagements; that after matters have thus far proceeded, when vows of fidelity have been repeatedly made, the man changes his resolution, and announces his determination of breaking off all intentions of ma¬ trimony:—it has been said, that under such circumstances the female should appeal to a jury of her countrymen for a compensa¬ tion/or damages. By this measure, though her injuries be of ever so aggravated a nature, she immediately announces to the world the selfishness of her motives. Instead of treating her false lover with just indignation and proud contempt; instead of being thank¬ ful to Providence for having escaped the machinations of a worth¬ less scoundrel and deep-designing villain, she immediately flies for protection to the laws of her country, demands a ■pecuniary compensation, and meanly imagines that money will be the best specific for her wounded spirits. By this measure she openly pro¬ claims that her affections are marketable, are to be bought and 353 Essays. By Father Fitz-Eustace. sold; and after she has received the price of her affections, her sorrow is quickly converted into joy, her melancholy into laughter; and with high satisfaction she loudly exclaims, -•“ Again I stand The jolliest spinster in the land.’ “I have proceeded thus far on this topic, because I am sensible there exist many designing females, whose only object is to entrap unsuspecting youth, and thereby obtain an opportunity of procuring these damages. Every advantage has by such persons been taken ot the epistolary effusions and rhapsodical nonsense of the lovelorn boy, who, perhaps just released from scholastic discipline, and unacquainted with life, has mistaken the admiration which he may have experienced at a beautiful face, into a manifest indication of the tender passion.” [pp. 211—213.] The conviction expressed in the close of this extract is, we are painfully satisfied, more ungallant—a defect, by the way, which our author seems not to take very much to heart than it is unjust. We recollect most enormous damages to have been given in one instance, where the lady was proved to have been so well aware of the slippery character of her swain, (a young man with a rental of some thousands,) as to have regularly kept copies of the love- letters she addressed to him, in answer to the tender epistles which were produced in court. We say not that the defendant, in the case to which we allude, did not richly deserve to pay the sum in which the jury mulcted him; but as we heard the evidence given, we could not help wishing that it could find its way into the pockets of some other ladies whom he had deserted under circumstances still more disgraceful but whose corrector feelings left his punishment to one who had accepted his addresses, after his habitual treachery had become matter of public notoriety One other scene of attempted legal redress* for love’s hopeless and cureless wrongs, is fresh in our recollection • and its ludicrous effect upon a crowded court would, we are satisfied, induce those whose irritated feelings might prompt them to resort to such a measure, to pause, ere, in exposing another, they run a serious risk of no very pleasant pub¬ lic exposure of themselves. r On a very fine summer’s afternoon, a few—we will not say how many—years ago, the beautiful Nisi Prius court at - --, was suddenly crowded by a large assemblage of females, most of them genteelly, many fashionably and elegantly diessed. The curiosity and impatience visible upon their countenances—whisperings, nods, and smiles— 354 Review. eager glances towards the counsel, to see which of them was about to rise—and an unusual silence, as the crier of the court called on the cause—all these symptons denoted that a breach of promise of marriage was at hand. At length a^ learned friend of our*s, not more remarkable for the extent of his legal knowledge, than for the fitting correspondence in the gravity of his face and wig, with all due solemnity opened the pleadings, by informing his lordship and the jury, that this action, in which A. B. was plaintiff, and C. D. widow, the defendant, was brought, to recover the sum of £50, for money lent, advanced, laid out, and expended, and for work and labour performed by the said A.B. for the said C. D. at her special instance and request. “ To this. Gentlemen,” continued the learned counsel, “the Defendant has pleaded a set-off, the particulars of which have been delivered under a judge’s order,”—but here his features, unused as they were to the laughing mood, at least in court, suddenly relaxed intoasmile,as he read, “ To 200 dinners,at three shil¬ lings and sixpence each; to 200 teas, at one shilling each; to 200 suppers, at two shillings and threepence each, amounting in the whole to sixty-seven pounds ten shillings.” The tittering of the audience, the smiles of the jury, the bar, and even of the bench, here gave indications of some rising- surmises of the real nature of the case, which was now stated by the leading counsel for the plaintiff, with that Demosthenian vigour and expression for which he is re¬ markable, but which, to any body but himself, it would have been difficult in this instance to have brought in play. From his statement, divested of its figurative ornaments, and unravelled from its parentheses and digressions, it appeared that his client, a gallant, though not a gay Lotha¬ rio, verging upon fifty, had visited the defendant, as an admirer of her daughter, or herself, it was somewhat uncer¬ tain which, and that during his visits he had occasionally taken them in his gig, or on grand occasions, in the more expensive and more stylish conveyance of a chaise and pair, to the neighbouring balls and races; and when his further attendance w r as dispensed with, before he could make up his mind whether the mother or daughter was the more eligible speculation, he brought the present action, to get back the cost of these unprofitable treats. But, alas ! he had been, if not a cupboard lover, at least one who found the widow’s house and table a very pleasant addition to the charms of her own and her daughter’s company, and he ate and drank of her good cheer, without dreaming that a day 355 Essays. By Falher Fitz-Eustace. of reckoning would come, until,—amidst the convulsive laughter of a crowded court, the cross-examination of his younger belle, a very spirited girl, whom he had subpcened to support his case against her mother, clearly proved the furnishing of eatables and drinkables enough to cover his demand for the use of his horse and gig, chaise hire, post- boys, hostlers, turnpikes, and every item of his demand,—a verdict for the defendant soon rubbed it off. This, however, was not the worst, for the foolish fellow was so besotted as to bring a very respectable woman, whom he had lately married, into court, to hear a trial which she understood to be on a mere matter of business; but the issue of which w T as her husband’s merited disgrace. I he greatest men, it is said, are fools in love; and in¬ stances have not been w r anting in our courts, of very sensible ones proving the truth of the proverb, by bringing actions against ladies who had jilted them, little less ridiculous than this. But many, too many, alas! are more rogues than fools ; yet we cannot but think, that where they shew themselves such, the injured female would better consult the dignity of her own character and that of her sex, by treating them with the contempt they merit, than by risking the expo¬ sure of feelings which ought to be sacred to her, and with W'hich others should intermeddle not, in order to avenge her wrongs. We have perhaps, however, already extended this article to a disproportionate length, and at any rate must draw it to a close, by stating our general commendation of the design, sen¬ timents, and executions of these Essays; although in the latter respect they are very far from being free from errors, less indi¬ cative of a want of thinking rightly, than of experience in giv¬ ing expression to those thoughts/ That the author is a limb of the law r , we infer from many of his expressions, as w r ell as from the choice of some of his subjects; yet we should guess him to be but a tyro, for by “ leges non script# ” lawyers do not mean laws whose authority has not been explained in books, but those which are not now to be found there, save as a part of the common law of the land, consisting, for the most part, of laws once written, but which are no longer upon record. This is the case with some of our Anglo-Saxon and Norman-Anglo law r s. Several of his phrases are un- cooth and inelegant, some indeed almost vulgar, and a few ungrammatical, savouring much more of the special pleader’s or conveyancer’s office, than of the careful student and practised imitator of elegant composition. Such for in- 35 6 Review, stance are, “self-same mark of maturity of reason,” “ em¬ brace a wider space,” “ in all those countries not a syllable was said respecting the promise and contract,” “ object in congregating carried into effect,” “ that immense body of suitors which are,” “ some practical result will at length take effect ,” “ of princes themselves, who arrogated to them¬ selves” “ a minute and circumstantial detail of the above- mentioned bearings ,” “ his theretofore customary denomina¬ tion,” “ sweet love around his theretofore languishing soul,” phrases (these latter) copied, we presume, from some mar¬ riage settlement of ancient date, but of far too frequent occurrence in our author’s pages, in which we had marked some other objectionable expressions that we have not room to enumerate. He is also not a little pedantic, as is proved by “ romantic amour,” “ received the eulogia,” &c.; but above all, by his rounding his philippics against the coquetry, flirtations, &c. of the ladies, by untranslated quotations from the classics, both in Latin and in Greek, a precaution more desirable perhaps for his ears, than it is creditable to his taste. Jerusalem Delivered. Book the Fourth. From the Italian of Tasso. Being a Specimen of an intended new Translation, in English Spenserian Verse; with a Prefatory Disserta¬ tion on existing Translations. By J. H. Wiffen. 8vo. pp. 93. London, 1821. Warren. There is something peculiarly delightful to our minds about every thing connected with Italy; a country not less distinguished for the charms of its scenery, and the sweet¬ ness of its climate in modern times, than for the grandeur of its military achievements in the ages that are past. The early periods of her history display that manly courage, that undaunted and enduring energy, which overcame every obstacle, and finally placed her upon the throne of the world. And though a succession of disasters at length reduced her to primitive political unimportance,her reviving genius for the arts and sciences, and more especially for poetry, restored to her the proud pre-eminence of her Augus¬ tan age. Among modern European languages, that of Italy is unrivalled for its sweetness and delicacy. Abounding in vowels and liquid letters, it presents a plastic material, easily susceptible of every variety of form and expression. Wiffen’s Jerusalem Delivered. 357 while its harmony furnishes a kind of musical accompani¬ ment to the ideas of which it forms the vehicle. It was early brought to its present degree of perfection 1 ; and we find the poets, Dante and Petrarch, delighting the age in which they lived, almost before the other nations of Europe at all emerged from barbarism, had made the feeblest advances to¬ wards literature and poetry. To this beautiful country, at a subsequent period, the author of the “ Immortal Poem,” Gerusalemme Liberata, was indebted for the first element of existence. Tasso was born on the 11th of March, 1544, at Sorrento, a small city, romantically situated upon the Bay of Naples. His mortal remains repose in the church of St. Onofrio, at Home, beneath a tablet, upon which the follow¬ ing lines, copied from the stone, and differing a little from those which have already appeared, are inscribed to his memory by the brethren of the Convent. d. o. M. TORQUATI TASSI OSSA HIC JACENT. HOC, NE NESCIUS ESSES HOSPES, FRATRES HUJUS ECCLESIJE P. P. M.D.C. I. OBIIT AN. MDXCV. The perishable wreath prepared for him by the Roman people, was exchanged for a crown, similar to that he him¬ self so finely describes in the second stanza of the poem : O Musa, tu, che di caduchi allori Non circondi la fronte in Elicona, Ma su nel cielo, infra i beati cori, Hai di stelle immortali aurea corona. The “ Jerusalem Delivered,” finished and published in the year 1575, was circulated with astonishing rapi¬ dity throughout Europe. The malevolence, however, of certain critics of the day, or their bad taste, contributed in some measure to damp the enthusiasm with which it was every where received, and is said to have wrought unfavour¬ ably upon the morbid and irritable feelings of the author; those strictures, indeed, have long since been forgotten, and the magnificent production has taken its rank with the great epic poems of antiquity. It will be altogether unnecessary for us, upon the present occasion, to enter into a minute criticism of the entire poem, not only because the merits of the illustrious bard have been so amply discussed by preceding writers, but that we are limited by the specimen before us to a very small part of 358 Review. it. We may be permitted, however, before we more parti¬ cularly advert to that portion, to make a few general remarks applicable to the style and sentiments of its author. Tasso appears to us to excel most especially in his por¬ traitures of female beauty and loveliness ; in those passages which are addressed to the heart, and touch the spring of feeling. He abounds also in sublime and beautiful descrip¬ tions both of natural and supernatural scenery. The in¬ fluence produced by the Heroines of the poem, upon the events of the campaign, is not a little remarkable, and in it we may discover the ardent passion and profound respect of the poet for the softer sex. To point out a few of their exploits:—In the 2d canto, Sofronia is introduced to save the lives of the Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem—Clo- rinda arrives in time to revive the failing hopes of the Pagan cause, of which, in the sequel, she turns out to be the prin¬ cipal support. The beautiful Armida seduces the flower of the Christian army, and finally detains Rinaldo, by her enchantments, in the Fortunate Island. Even the amiable Erminia, unused to deeds of enterprise, and incapable of military fatigue, preserves the life of Godfrey by a discovery of the horrid confederation. Nor does the tenderness of Tasso confine itself to their interests in this world—the Pagan Clorinda, after having withstood the force of truth to her dying hour, is suddenly converted, and ascends up into glory;—the pride of the beautiful Witch is at length subdued, and we have great hopes of her ultimate salvation. Of Erminia, so devoted to a knight of the cross, there is not less ground for cheerful confidence and Christian hope. After all, the poem appears to us to end rather too ab¬ ruptly. We fancy there would have been ample materials in the celebration of religious services, the pomp of triumph, and the installation of the chief, to have filled another canto, instead of leaving the Christian army without the walls of the Holy City, and scarcely assured of the certainty of their victory. But it is time that we should direct our reader’s attention to the specimen of the intended new translation. Mr. WiflPen has already appeared before the public as the author of “The Aonian Hours,” and a poem, called “Julia Alpi- nula,” and we have introduced ourselves to him in a review of those publications. Appended to the present specimen is an introductory pre¬ face, in which the author thus endeavours to shew the necessity of a new translation of Tasso. Wiffen’s Jerusalem Delivered. 359 u The many names which may be instanced of writers that have essayed a version ot the Jerusalem Delivered , since the elder ones of Carew and Fairfax, are sufficient to shew that a new translation has generally been thought necessary, an opinion indeed which has been expressed by many modern writers; amongst whom may be mentioned the ingenious author of the Curiosities of Literature] the recent translator of Tasso’s Amynta , Stewart Rose in his Travels in Italy, and, yet more recently, since the publication of the Rev. J. H. Hunt’s translation, the author of an able article in the Retrospective Review , for the current month, on Carew’s ‘ Godfrey of Bulloigne .’ But little, I fancy, is known of the whole or fragmentary versions of Hooke or Brooke, Layng, Doyne, or of Miss Susan Watts. Hoole and Fairfax alone have prescriptively divided the public estimation. Of Mr. Hoole’s version, popular as it is, (or has been,) and commanding a circulation to which that of the livelier one of Fairfax is very insignificant, I cannot but enter¬ tain, after all the attention I have devoted to it, a very indifferent opinion. The reason of his popularity, says a living critic, and I agree in the sentiment— 4 the sole reason is, not that Mr. Hoole translated the work, but that his original was Tasso. It is the name of Tasso solely, that has carried him on from generation to generation, like a corpse attached to the immortal spirit of the Italian, and making it dull with the burden.’ “ Regarded solely as a poetical composition, it will be found fraught with all that commonplace of expression which character¬ izes a mind conversant indeed with the mechanism of verse, but not with its beauty-breathing nature, and regarding its structure more as a manufacture than a creation. In his pages there are no ‘ thoughts that breathe,’ no ‘ words that burn,’ but rather a pulse¬ less inanity, and an apathy that chills. His was not the apprehen¬ sive eye which catches, as with the lightning’s vivacity, the hap¬ piest attitude of things, the ear which seizes upon the finer im¬ pulses of sound, and the play of modulated harmonies,—or the sensitive heart, that echoes naturally back the impressions it receives from what is beautiful and sublime in nature—pathetic and exalted in feeling. He had only the general faculties which comprehend objects and situations as they are palpable to the grosser sense of the undistinguishing many. Epithet, which as it deals with the essences and qualities of things, most reveals the grand distinction which subsists between poetry and verse, between the poet and the versifier, the gift and the acquisition, may very suitably be adopted as a criterion of the merits of his composition. It will require but a slight poetical sagacity to perceive his poverty in this respect. His pages will be found full of vague, undiscri¬ minating phrases, which have been pressed from time immemorial into the service of rhyme—terms void of the character that should mark the species and the individual, descriptive only of the order and. the man. Of this kind are his ‘ gloomy shades—shady 1 360 Review. g roves —hateful discord — warlike hero — streaming blood — fell fury—insensate hate—direful discord,’ and a multitude of others; in consequence of which, the impression he makes is feeble and dim; and alike ignorant of that secret, and destitute of that spring of picturesque description, he ever fails of electrifying the fancy, and of striking on the sensibility of his readers. His versification, modelled, or rather combined, solely from the writers who con¬ structed their verse after the balanced periods of Pope, it is not asserting too much to say, is as methodical and monotonous as can well be conceived of the imitator of a host of imitators : he had but two situations for his cesura, and he rings his changes upon the combinations and alterations of these as well as he may through twenty books. In this nakedness of variation, the pretensions to which in his Preface he lays claim, are singularly unfortunate. ‘ I do not,’ he says, ‘flatter myself that I have excelled Fairfax, except in my measure and versification .’ \Y ithout pausing to ques¬ tion how far his abandonment of the ottova rima may be an im¬ provement on the measure of Fairfax, we may cite the authority of Dryden to prove that it must be no common hand that could excel his versification. In the Preface to his Fables, he observes of Fairfax, ‘ that he was a great master in our language, and saw much farther into the beauties of our numbers than those who im¬ mediately followed him. Many besides myself have heard our famous Waller own, that he derived the harmony of his numbers from the * Godfrey of Bidloigne.’ Decisive as the judgment pro¬ nounced by this venerable patriarch of our versification must be, I cannot resist adding the opinion of Collins, so often quoted in favour of the great excellence of Fairfax,—of Collins—than whom none could have a finer sense of what was beautiful in diction, and melodious in versification;—he says, of that which Mr. Hoole flatters himself to have surpassed: 1 Hence his warm lay with softest sweetness flows ; Melting it flows, pure, murmuring, strong, and clear, And fills the impassion’d heart, and wins the harmonious ear. Ode on the Highland Superstitionsd The greatest admirer of Mr. Hoole’s numbers will not venture to say the same of them. But what are his merits as a translator? He has melted down Tasso into a compact mass. Yet in doing this, he has been guilty of great and unpardonable omissions, to an extent of which they alone can conceive who should compare him book by book with his original. Dryden, whose power of concentration, and energy of thought, rendered him more capable perhaps than any other poet of circumscribing an author within the smallest compass that could be considered consistent with his fidelity as a translator, and grace as a writer, has in his Eneis exceeded the lines of Virgil in the first nine books by 2500 lines: in the like number of books, Hoole has fallen short of Tasso by upwards of 500: his deficiency would 3(51 iften's Jerusalem Delivered. perhaps be yet more apparent, if the total number of books were compared, but in the absence of his second volume, the present exposition will doubtless be thought sufficiently conclusive. But great as these omissions are, it is a yet farther aggravation that they so often occur where Tasso has the most beautiful figures and picturesque images; as may be instanced throughout the latter part ot the fourth book, where our poet paints the loveliness and the arts of Armida with the most flushing colours of description in strains of the most insinuating music, in expressions full of life* reshness, and fire. But in Hoole, the gorgeousness of this show vanishes, and the reader finds himself in the situation of a hero of Arabian romance, who, long wandering amid palaces, gardens, and refieshing fountains, suddenly finds the charm which flattered his senses reversed, and sees around him little less than a bare and soundless desert. Whatever may be the stir of incident or emotion m the original, the translator’s imagination seems never to kindle with the subject, but pursues the same dull and unquickened march, [pp. 5—11.] ’ ‘‘I should not have thought it worth while to indulge in these strictures upon Mr. Hoole’s version, but that the public endurance ot it, and the patronage of a personal friend extended towards it by Dr. Johnson, give it an importance alien to its absolute deserts. I he farther exposition of his faults is left to the generous hostility of the Rev. J. H. Hunt, who has drawn to the light of observation “y °i, hl ? ^sunned defects, and whose courtesy resembles that of the Black Prince to the king he had conquered; for assuredly he has tar excelled Hoole in fidelity and vigour. As the former made this transcendence his aim and point of honour, I as an individual, grant him all the merit of such a victory. I do not deem it decorous to criticize the version of this amiable coadjutor in the same cause, nor am I desirous to regard him as a rival, who if he had only looked abroad among the grand masters of soncr and exhibited the parallel passages and imitations of thought subsisting between them and his author, would have deserved well of men of letters: but to higher praise the braverv of his attempt en¬ titles him.—I would neither wish to interrupt, nor to be interrupted by him; the circus is sufficiently ample for both, without either of us acting the invidious part of Antilochus in the chariot-race of Homer. “I come lastly to Fairfax, and I approach him with reverence. There was something very noble in his attempt to naturalize this glorious poem in England, at a time, not certainly ‘when our verse was in its rudiments,’* but before it had arisen in full purity and order from its primeval chaos, in the aurora of that morning ’which gave so rosy a promise of the splendour which has pursued it. ‘ says the critic already alluded to, who by the way is himself * Hoole’s Preface. 362 Review » a poet of great capabilities, ‘if he roughened the music of Tasso a little he still kept it music, and beautiful music; some of his stanzas indeed give the sweetness of the original with the still softer sweetness of an echo; and he blew into the rest some noble organ¬ like notes, which perhaps the original is too deficient in. He can be also quite as stately and solemn in feeling;—he is as fervid in his devotion, as earnest and full of ghastly apprehension m his supernatural agency, as wrapt up in leafiness in his sylvan haunts, as luxuriant and alive to tangible shapes in his voluptuousness. He feels the elements and the varieties of his nature like a true poet, and his translation has consequently this special mark of all true poetry, translated or original,—that when the circumstances in the story or description alter, it gives us a proper and pervading sense ot the alteration.’ This, and more than this, is the just piaise ot Fairfax.” [pp. 13—15.] . , , “But with all his frequent graces of expression, and his charm of versification, there are, I think, few leaves undisfigured, not merely with blemishes, but with faults of much greater magnitude. Many of these are undoubtedly to be attributed to the age in which he lived, many to his mismanagement of the stanza to which he bound himself, but more than either to bad taste, and a fancy spending itself in perpetual conceits, the grand fault of the writers of the Elizabethan age,—the love of which frequently betrays him into the most ridiculous absurdities; and as he seems never so happy as when he can conclude his stanza with them the fine fieures with which he often commences render them doubly unfor¬ tunate. Throughout his whole version, in fact, there is by far too little keeping; the whole performance is very unequal, and from his neglect of the manners and costume of the time in which the inci- dents celebrated in the poem take place, and fiorn his frequent introduction of Scripture allusions, his Warriors often act, speak, and look, more like the leaders of the Parliamentary army during the civil wars of England, than as chivalrous Crusaders from all parts of Europe during the middle ages. His crampness, his obscurity, his license of inversion, and use of quaint words, accen¬ tuation, and orthography, tortured to suit his rhyme, have been commented on by others: but yet, when the difficulties of transla¬ tion are considered in combination with the comparative youth ot the language, it is less surprising that he should have fallen into these errors, than that he has given us so much noble poetry, [pp. 16, 17.] For proofs of the correctness of this criticism, we refer our readers to the Introduction itself. We fully coincide with its author in opinion, that no fair representation of the original work exists at present in the English language, foi whatever may be the merits of Hunt and ot Hoole, we have a decided objection to the hexameter metre in which they have writ- W iffen’s Jerusalem Delivered. 363 ten being convinced that the Spenserian stanza is much better calculated for the purposes of this translation. To the merits of Fairfax, no one who possesses an ear and a taste for poetry, can be unconscious. The green simplicity of soul—the melody of numbers—the sprightliness and richness of fancy, of which his poem is full, cannot be sur¬ passed by any translator; but, with our author, we are satis- hed that it is too often disfigured by quaint conceits, and obscured by antique phraseology: the gold is the gold of lasso—but the impression and the enamel are his own. ihe field, then, is left open for Mr. Wiffen, who, like a prudent artificer, sits down and counts the cost, and mea- sures the difficulty of the work with his means of conquering them, before he commences his undertaking. That those difficulties w^ere neither few nor trivial, must be obvious to every one acquainted with the task of’trans- lation in general, and with the peculiar nature of this poem in particular. Mere translations can never pretend to the fire and freedom of their prototype—the stiffness of the imitation will necessarily appear—the imbuino- crea¬ tive spaik is extinct and wanting. However rich the colouis employed, and how'ever correct the copv, they ap¬ peal , at best, but as splendid mosaics, magnificent monu¬ ments of art, but, oh how unlike the divine originals ! The translator, therefore, who would do justice to his* work will not confine himself to the strict literal meanino- 0 f his author, where the image or the sentiment refuses to be elegantly rendered; he will, in that case, have recourse to the principle of compensation, and endeavour, by similar imagery and parallel sentiment, to awaken a similar im¬ pression. But there w^as another, and, if possible, a greater difficulty to be vanquished, in the present translation. To render it at all worthy of its original, a vocabulary of the most spirited and harmonious words w'as essentially requisite. The fine undulating flow of Tasso’s verse, yielding to every the minutest sway of passion and feeling, was to be imi¬ tated in a language comparatively obdurate and unrelenting We think that Mr. Wiffen has acquitted himself with infi¬ nite credit, notwithstanding the difficulties he had to en¬ counter. The specimen, in point of correct translation, ensures its every purpose. The few deviations which are’ observable, are most probably the result of deliberation, and are reconcileable with the license permitted to such a design, nor are they by any means so numerous as in the preceding 364 Review. translations. We consider its author to be, for the most part, peculiarly happy in the selection of words pleasing to the ear, and augmenting the sentiment of the passage; rarely sacrificing the thought to the language, he has contrived to reconcile the jarring differences of sound and sense, and to produce a translation very far superior to any that have preceded it. . . , Mr. Wiffen possesses a genuine vein of his own, ana has givento the present work a life and intrinsic interest very seldom met with in productions of this class. He displays a fervency, an enthusiasm, an instinct of beauty, a serious¬ ness of tone and manner, which accord admirably with the spirit of the original. We have no hesitation in affirming, that very many of his stanzas equal the originals in every thing but the language; and we think we could point out more than one or two that are absolutely superior. The fourteen first stanzas are composed in a style of uncommon nobility and beauty. We insert the 17th stanza, as a specimen of his more animated manner. « “Let what I will be fate! give some to rove “ In exile, some in battle to be slain; Let some, abandoned to a lawless love, an d as feeling the moment of his introduction to herfas the most important of his life.” The scene, as our readers 1 will perceive, is laid much amongst lawyers, and there is sufficient accuracy in the technicalities'of the attorney’s office, to induce us to suspect that the work is the produc¬ tion of some one who has spent, or is spending, a portion of his time under articles at the desk. But when he ascends to the higher branch of the profession, the old adage of “ Ne su t°>' ultra erepidem” applies with all its force.” No one, for example, who had the slightest practical acquaint¬ ance with the habits, tone, and proceedings of the bar, could give such a caricature of a consultation as that, at which the leader so grossly violates the known punctuality of the profession, as to make his appearance an hour after the appointed time, half drunk, from the judge’s dinner, and too nearly asleep to attend to the explanation of the business given by the junior counsel, he himself never having read a syllable of his brief. But this is accuracy itself, compared with the gross absurdity of giving a dia¬ logue between the two counsel, in the presence of the soli¬ citor and his client, on the referring of a cause, not at all affecting their auditors,—which, says the junior, must not be done yet, “ because I have not got my brief.” Now, what¬ ever may be the attachment of counsel to their fees, no one can suppose them such arrant blockheads as thus publicly and gratuitously to evince it before strangers. This, and some other inaccuracies as glaring, though the necessary results of a person writing about what he does not under¬ stand, were alone sufficient to satisfy us of the absurdity of the report which has attributed the tale in which they occur, to a certain barrister, to whose literary reputation we do not, upon other accounts, consider such an ascription as particularly flattering. Some of those absurdities arise not from ignorance of the manners of any particular profes¬ sion or walk of life, and are therefore less excusable. Such we doubt not but that our readers will term, with us, the finding of a copy of the Olney hymns, doubled down at several places, and opened at that one of Cowper’s, which commences, “ God moves,in a mysterious way,” under aheap of papers, on the table at which old Sturdv ex- vol. vi.— no. 12. 2 c 382 Religious Novels and Tales. pired of an apoplectic stroke, surrounded by deeds and drafts, his candles burnt into their sockets—seeing, that whilst living, he went regularly drunk to bed, and had such an aversion to religion as to have quarrelled with Falkland for his profession of it. Nor is the suggestion of an expe¬ rienced politician, a leading man in the House of Commons, less ridiculous,—that Falkland might have some chance of getting into Parliament for Tewkesbury, on the interest of a lady, who was herself a friendless orphan, almost without a home. These are the every-day absurdities of novelists, it is true, but they become not works like these. In another respect, “No Enthusiasm” has the advantage over “ Happinessit is devoid of those personalities which we have been compelled unequivocally to condemn. Even here, however, we do complain of the illiberality of making the unjust steward (the rascal of the piece) join the New Secession, for no other purpose, that we can discover, than as a vehicle for introducing a philippic against this sect, which is not, we apprehend, to be put down by being lugged by the head and shoulders into religious novels, as appears to be the fashion of the day. “ A house divided against itself cannot standif therefore they are let alone, we doubt not that these well-meaning, but misguided, people will soon dwindle into insignificance. Enough, however, of general remark, save that in strength and spirit, “ Happi¬ ness” is far the superior tale; an advantage counterbalanced, perhaps, by the superior utility of “ No Enthusiasm.” The tale opens by introducing, as a pedestrian guest, at the Red Lion at Tewkesbury, a young man of very pre¬ possessing appearance, who, under the name of Falkland, is, of course, the hero of the piece. His fellow-figurantes are mine host,—the Boniface of novels and of the stage, from time immemorial,—the curate, a man of bigoted orthodoxy,— and the lawyer, a great rogue, as was to be expected. Their conversation ushers in the heroine. Miss Eltham, an orphan protegee of the squire of the parish; but who, at his death, was left with a very slender provision, owing, it is insinuated, to some tricks of the widow and the attorney, by which an “ 0” was abstracted from her legacy. The excel¬ lence of her disposition, her piety and charity, powerfully interest the young stranger in her behalf, and, prepared to fall in love with her at first sight—he stumbles upon her, as might be expected by those who are acquainted with the machinery of novels, at the corner of the first street, which, by chance, he turns. She is, equally of course of “ be^ No Enthusiasm. 383 “ witching symmetry,” but, when “accident supplied what his endeavours had been unable to accomplish, and he met “ his fair one at a sharp angle of the church-yard,” alas! she was leaning on the arm of a genteel-looking young “ man, who seemed to be fully conscious of the value of his charge,” and green-eyed jealousy and romantic love take almost simultaneous possession of his heart. In a pensive mood, he accordingly strays alone by the light of the moon, (for lovers love the pale moonlight,) to “ take a last farewell of the house,” of whose fair inhabitant “ he had made up his mind to think no more;” and uncon¬ sciously wandering in the right direction, on his lifting the latch of the gate, and as he has just reached the boundary of the lawn, he is alarmed by the shriek of a female, who hastily flies toward the house, and he as hastily retreats, under the very unheroical imputation of having^been mis¬ taken by his mistress for a thief, though a glance was sufficient to satisfy him that the fugitive was - “ the most beautiful being he had yet seen.” After so many untoward obstacles, the meeting of the hero and heroine is brought about at an exhibition of fireworks, to which Falkland accompanies the family of the evangelical vicar of St. Mary’s, to whom he is introduced at a Bible Society. But the author shall describe it for himself. “The night was remarkably fine, and the fire-works were really pretty. The whole group were pleased; and little William, to whom the scene was entirely new, expressed his astonishment and delight by various significant gestures. He was a little disturbed, however, as the rockets successively shot up, lest they should put out the stars; and was expressing with great anxiety his apprehen- sions.of this, when the solemnity of his manner, and the ludicrous simplicity of his question, attracted the notice of a gentleman and lady who were standing beside our hero, but whom it was too dark for him distinctly to see, and they turned round to caress the child. Just at this moment, Falkland observed a squib, which had escaped from the crowd, taking the exact direction of the lady’s neck. There was no time to apprise her of her danger, and he instinctively encountered it himself, by springing in front of her. The squib struck him on the wrist; but it was not till a shriek from the lady attracted his attention, that he found it had penetrated a con¬ siderable way up his sleeve, where it was still burning. She tore away his coat with her own hands, with an expression of terror and concern, which would have more than compensated him for the accident, even if he had not perceived, which he now for the first time did, that it was Miss Eltham. The young man, her attendant, appeared much shocked that our hero had received a fire from 384 Religious Novels and Tales. which he ought to have protected her; and Falkland, who already suspected the relation in which they stood to each other, easily conceived he must have envied him the accident. Finding, how¬ ever, that his arm was really much burnt, he yielded to the en¬ treaties of the party to return to his hotel. Miss Eltham indeed had now lost all relish for the fire-works: and her chaperon led the wounded hero into the town, leaving his fair charge to be conducted home under the care of the vicar’s party, and receiving from her the strictest injunctions to see that Mr. Falkland had something- applied to his arm immediately, This was the first personal intro¬ duction Miss Eltham had met with to the vicar’s family; though she had always been an attendant on his preaching, whenever the capriciousness of Mrs. Hornbuckle would allow her. “ Common humanity forbade him to leave Tewkesbury, till he had assured the young lady, in whose service he had received his wound, it was not likely to be serious. He called at the house the next morning, and felt a sensible pleasure in being at liberty to enter without hesitation. But the surgeon he had applied to, having recommended him to keep his arm in a sling for a day or two, he had some difficulty in calming the agitation which the appearance of this produced in Miss Eltham: she turned pale as she saw him, and his utmost efforts were scarcely sufficient to convince her he was not hurt. He tried to remove her apprehen¬ sions by conversation; and was so far successful, that he spent a couple of hours in the house—not entirely, as he flattered himself, to the lady’s dissatisfaction. He was anxious to ascertain one point, and was not a little relieved to find she had no suspicion whatever, it was he who had frightened her so much, a few nights ago, in the garden. But he was very near betraying himself, when the circumstance was casually talked of, and he heard that Mrs. Hornbuckle had ever since taken the precaution to have the gate locked eacly in the evening. “Falkland was as much charmed with Miss Eltham’s artless and sensible manners, as he had at first been struck by the symmetry of her person; but he was unable decidedly to make out whether the young gentleman who was staying in the house, stood in any nearer relation to her than that of cousin. Unfortunately, he had no hopes of ascertaining the point at present; for he had al¬ ready exceeded at Tewkesbury the time allowed him, and was under the necessity of immediately leaving the town; but this delightful accident confirmed him in his resolution of paying it another visit, when his business at Shrewsbury was over. He was obliged, therefore, for some time to put up with a state of suspense; but left the lady with very favourable impressions of his general character, and with a deep sense of obligation for his gallantry.” [vol. i. pp. 54—58.] The fourth chapter of the work gives us the character of the hero, whose distinguishing feature is, that “ his sound No Enthusiasm . 385 “ sense and correct principle were liable to be diverted by ** sallies of a romantic imagination/’ The only son of a man of large property, who, by inattention to his affairs, and too much confidence in a knavish steward, is involved in ruinous embarrassments, his father’s death calls him from the lettered ease of a college life to the arduous task of investigating the state of the family property, and of recover- ing by law a portion of the peculations of the steward, under whose management his paternal estate had dwindled from eight thousand to about four hundred pounds per annum. He accordingly repairs to London, and under the direction of Mr. Sturdy, an eminent solicitor of great talents, but of equal and overcharged eccentricities, he applies himself to the study of the law, with a view at once to follow the honourable profession of the bar, and the better to qualify himself for the recovery of his estates. By the advice of a very clever barrister, to whom he is introduced, he passes some time in the office of his relative, the attorney, and then becomes his adviser’s pupil. An introduction to the family of Mr. Ratcliffe, (for that is the name of the barrister*) gives him an opportunity of falling in love with his young¬ est daughter, a beautiful, accomplished, and amiable girl, wanting but in the one thing needful—of which, durino- his stay in London, Falkland is brought to see the import tance. The progress of his conversion is very w r ell de¬ scribed, as there is nothing extravagant or fanatical in it, and we are inclined to bestow very high commendation upon our author’s management of the difficult and delicate task of displaying the triumph of principle over inclination, in the breaking off a connection, w r hich, from the different views of the parties on the subject of religion, could only be productive of misery. It is no fault of ours, that we have been obliged to intro¬ duce the hero of this tale to our readers, at the beginning of the first volume, a guest at the Red Lion at Tewkesbury, nobody knowing who or what he was, and then to post to London to answer these queries by a history of his former life. Such, how r ever, was the pleasure of our author, who has the undoubted right to manage his story as he pleases, and therefore at the opening of the second volume, w e take up him and his history at the said inn at Tewkesbury, which, though he had entered it on foot, he leaves “ all in a chaise and pair”—a style of travelling more accordant with his situation and prospects, as, by a decree in chancery obtained in the process of novel writing, in as many months as by a 386 Religious Novels and Tales. real process in a court of equity, a suitor may think him¬ self fortunate if it is pronounced in years—he is now in possession of ^ISjOOO, and on his way to the assizes at Shrewsbury, where an issue is to be tried, the result of which may restore to him the greater part of his paternal inheritance. That issue is decided in his favour, after a trial in which his counsel, though half a-sleep and half drunk at the consultation over-night, performs some of those marvellous feats of intuitive knowledge with which we sometimes meet in novels and jest-books, but nowhere else, —least of all in courts of law. From Shrewsbury he repairs to Tewkesbury, where, learning that the cousin of his fair one, upon whose arm he had seen her lean, is attached to a lady to whom he cannot be united from the narrowness of their income, his conviction of her engagement is confirmed ; but determined nobly to sacrifice his own happiness to her’s, he heroically confers upon his successful rival a living in his gift, sufficient to enable him to marry—and having done this, hurries up to town. Thither he brings his mother and sisters, the younger of whom had for some time embraced his religious sentiments, to which, however, her mother and elder sister are violently opposed, as Metho- distical. That opposition gives occasion for the display of much firmness to principle, mingled with exemplary filial obedience, and kindness to his family, upon which we are disposed to bestow very considerable praise. There is, however, one part of the description of the ineffectual at¬ tempts of Mrs. Falkland to drive his unfashionable notions out of her son’s head, of which we cannot approve. We al¬ lude to the Reverend Doctor Plaintree, a popular orthodox clergyman, introduced as the unsuccessful and not very able opponent of Evangelical religion, being sneeringly described as peculiarly eloquent at dinner, on the mysteries pf the culinary art, more especially as after dinner he shewed himself lamentably deficient in the mysteries of the faith he professed to teach. Nothing is gained by such side-wind attacks upon a body of men, many of whom are unques¬ tionably as eminent for their learning, as respectable for their characters, and, we will add, as honest in their zeal, as pure in their motives as their opponents, whose doctrines we cordially adopt—the increase of whose numbers we earnestly desire. The practice we condemn is, however, but too common in most books of fictitious controversy, where the author is not satisfied with having the best of the argument, but must also have the best men upon his own side. Like No Enthusiasm. 387 the renowned hero of La Mancha, he often sets up windmill after windmill, in order that, as he levels them with the ground, he may exultingly exclaim, “ There goes another giant!” The conquest of half a dozen Plaintrees is not, however, worth half a rush, for better arguments on the side of the question which he adopts, might be found in the worst book that the opponents of Evangelical religion have ever published. But we hasten to the catastrophe. In the midst of these vain efforts to reclaim him from the error of his ways, a letter arrives from his friend the vicar, informing him, that as soon as he had recovered from the stroke occasioned by the death of his wife, he had united the recipient of Falk¬ land’s noble bounty, to the object of his early and unaltered attachment. At this intelligence, for which he ought to have been prepared, he well-nigh swoons away; but a moment after, on looking again at the letter, “ the blood “ rushes into his hitherto death-like countenance, he starts “ from his chair with a quivering hysterical laugh on his ,s lips. His eyes, his whole’faculties, seem riveted on “ the paper, which he held in both his hands, with a pres- “ sure which made them tremble.” At this, his sister seems to think him mad, as mad indeed he appears to be, whilst he makes known to her a circumstance, for which we cannot but think, from the vague information which drove him to despair, that our readers must be prepared,—namely, that the new-made bride and the object of his love are two different persons, as the deserving young man, whom his jealousy had converted into a rival, was only the cousin of his inamorata. The way of course is now open for him; but we blush for his gallantry, and we fear our female readers will be indignant at his success, when we close our account of the adventures of the hero, by stating, that he employed his supposed rival to communicate his wishes to his mistress, instead of doing it himself; a mode of court¬ ship from which we never knew any good to result, but have heard of much evil. But the lady, whom that mode more particularly concerned, seems not, however, to have thought with us, as to this courtship by deputy, she lends a very encouraging ear; and, at the close of the tale, is on the high road to matrimony. It would be injustice, however, to our author to conclude our remarks upon his work, without noticing the episodical history of a young barrister named Clementson, which, like many episodes, constitutes the best part of the book. We 388 Religious Novels ami Tales. give his character at length, as a very favourable specimen of this writer’s style. “ Clementson inherited from nature a temper the most aspiring and ambitious, perhaps, which ever flamed in the heart of man. Had he been born in the ancient republics, uninstructed in the humbling doctrines of the cross, the whole world would have been too nar¬ row a theatre for his ambition. Nor were his talents inadequate either to the conception, or the execution, of great designs. He was at once cool, daring, and persevering; and a large share of common sense, with a very quick discernment, acting on much study both of books and men, had ripened a judgment naturally sound into an extraordinary degree of accuracy. To these qualities of the head, his mother, who had some years been dead, and whose memory he celebrated in the lines our hero transcribed, had en¬ deavoured, by religious precept, and consistent example, to super¬ add a correspondent feeling in the heart; and her ceaseless prayers and efforts had so far been blessed, that Clementson, imbibed, in their widest range, the pure unsophisticated doctrines of Chris¬ tianity, and at times felt most vividly susceptible of their influence. Unable, however, to wean himself from his pursuit of worldly honour, his mind for many years maintained a painful struggle between natural inclination and renewed convictions; and, as never fails to be the case where no decided choice is made, the former was insensibly gaining the ascendant. He was, however, too deeply grounded in the principles of religion to be shaken in his belief of them by the intercourse of the world, and too trem¬ blingly alive to their paramount importance, to lower his standard to the maxims of a philosophising age. He early therefore formed the bold resolution of stemming the torrent of ridicule which the profession of evangelical views of Christianity never fails to provoke, and his talents and course of study eminently qualified him for bearing down all opposition, and planting the standard of the cross in the midst of even its inveterate enemies. His principles were well known to his friends, none of whom ventured to attack them in the open field of argument. “ But while Clementson stood forth the intrepid, champion of the Gospel, in his language, his conduct, exhibited little less than a practical denial of all its humbling truths. Carried away by the torrent of ambition, it was but occasionally, and then for a short time only, that he felt the influence of religion as a practical prin¬ ciple on his heart and conduct. There were times, indeed, in which his whole soul was wrapt in consciousness of devotional feeling; but these seasons were quickly interrupted by the returning visions of ambition; and feelings which one day absorbed his every power in their intensity, left perhaps the next scarcely a trace to mark their existence. W ith a standard far too high to be content¬ ed with any sophistical compromise, he was perpetually either most strongly under the influence of restraint, or the abject ‘slave of No Enthusiasm . 389 inordinate passion. These struggles and vicissitudes kept his mind in perpetual agitation, but even in his wildest flights of fancy he retained the most thorough conviction of the truth of the doc¬ trines he neglected, and of the awful responsibility he incurred by his practical denial of them. He ever preserved a sincere admira¬ tion and esteem of all that was excellent in books and men; but while his thoughts never wandered from an ideal standard of perfection, his conduct exhibited daily marks of inconsistency, which principles infinitely less pure, if aided by genuine sincerity, would have enabled him to avoid. To one ignorant of the Gospel! he appeared little more than a specious hypocrite: to the few (and they were very few) of a contrary character, who were acquainted with the workings of his mind, he was an awful instance of the stubbornness of the human heart, triumphing over knowledge, over conviction, over conscience. “ W hat contributed to fix this miserable young man in his fatal de¬ lusion, was the estimation in which he was held by all who knew him. Clementson was not ignorant that they w ho embrace the doctrines of the gospel must prepare themselves to submit to the stigma of the world, and in any case but his own, he would have doubted the reality of that profession which exposed its disciple to no reproaches from those he mixed with. He felt conscious, however, that his character had been maintained without the slightest dereliction, in language, of the principles he had embraced: and he soothed him¬ self with the delusion that his own superior abilities had triumphed over the odium generally attached to the pure doctrines of Chris¬ tianity—without considering that those doctrines seldom give much offence when confined to speculation, aud that it is only when drawn out into all their practical train of consequences—when the conduct shews the impression of the heart, as well as the convic¬ tion of the understanding—that they become the objects of re¬ proach and contumely. Thus constantly kept in check by the cravings of ambitious projects, his religion made little progress on his heart; and whenever a ray of divine light did break in upon him, he had to lay again the foundations which had been raised by previous indulgence, and which had scarcely time to reappear before they were again overthrown by succeeding temptation.” [vol. i. pp. 229—234.] A field for the display of his talents and ambition is opened before him, in his return for one of the boroughs of a noble duke, in support of whose claim to a dormant peer¬ age he distinguished himself as a counsel; and on his en¬ trance into the House of Commons, the effects of his elo¬ quence are represented as so extraordinary, as to have defeated the ministry in their attempt to carry the long- contested question of Catholic emancipation, and thereby to have driven them from their posts, and seated his patron 390 Religious Novels and Tales. in the premiership. Yet, for services greater than the eloquence of a Burke, or any modem orator at least, achieved, probability and common sense are outraged by his deser¬ tion, the moment that a cold caught immediately after his splendid display incapacitated him for a while from taking the post which the new minister intended for him ; and the patron, who must have otherwise estimated the im¬ portance of his services, if it were on selfish principles alone, insults him by a draft on his banker for £50, in reply to a letter powerfully reminding him of his claims. But some mode of teaching the vanity of ambition such as his, must be devised, and one of the clumsiest that could be hit upon is adopted, apparently but because it is the most marvellous. The death-bed scene of the highly gifted man, “ who knew his Master’s will, but did it not,” is, how¬ ever, drawn in a very powerful and affecting manner, suffi¬ ciently so, indeed, to atone for many errors in a work, which, upon the whole, we are inclined to recommend, with no other qualifications than those already made in the discharge of an irksome duty. As some atonement to the author for these, another specimen of his style shall be allowed to make its own appeal to our readers on his behalf, in his very correct remarks upon the senseless and indiscriminate use of the words Methodism and Methodist. “ It has frequently been matter of very deep speculation with me, and I have often endeavoured, but in vain, to discover what is that mysterious boundary in religious opinions, which constitutes a man, in the opinion of the world, a Methodist; and for this purpose I have examined very narrowly into the sentiments of the people properly so called: but this has been of very little use, as I have found the term, in its popular acceptation, embraces doctrines the very reverse of those held by Methodists themselves, and that the only point common to all parties branded by the name, is, that they all strive to maintain a superior degree of strictness in their moral and religious conduct. There is, indeed, something particularly baffling in the inquiry. A man may maintain, and openly profess, a thorough belief in most of the revealed truths of Christianity, and, if be a clergyman, or advanced in years, he may sometimes in conversation—but only on important occasions, and then very briefly—draw out those truths into their practical consequences, and still remain within the pale of rational and gentlemanly Chris¬ tianity. But if he make the doctrines of the gospel not only the object of speculative belief, but the principle of his life and conduct; if he advert in the pulpit, or in conversation, to those grand dis¬ tinguishing features of Christianity which the apostles were so vehement in maintaining, and so cautious in guarding from miscon- No Enthusiasm. 391 conception; above all, if he feel or even profess any undue warmth of expression in treating of a scheme of doctrine which the angels contemplate with astonishment—whatever may be his sentiments on those doctrines which form the essence of Methodism, properly so called, he has most decidedly past the limits which divide the two territories, and is a Saint at least, perhaps even a grovelling Methodist , nay, in the estimation of some, an infatuated Calvinist “I have sometimes thought that Methodism is a disorder propa¬ gated by a peculiar state of the atmosphere in certain quarters of the metropolis, and confined to particular streets, like the mallaria of Italy; and I have been confirmed in this opinion by observing one very remarkable test of the malady.—A man may go into Bartlett’s Buildings, and subscribe whatever sum he pleases, for the distribution of the Bible, without incurring the imputation of Methodism. But let him only go down Holborn, across Fleet Market, just enter Bridge Street, and turn down a certain street on the left hand, and the very same act of benevolence will characterizes him at once a Methodist, and a Sectary. Now this singular phenomenon appears to furnish data from which the disorder might, without difficulty, be traced to its source; and I really think it a duty of some of our theological chymists to analyze the air of these two situations, with a view to correct the pesti¬ lential elements contained in the one, which are productive of such deplorable effects. “Another peculiarity of this extraordinary disorder is, that it varies rvith the different perceptions by which it is contemplated. It is like the North, here or there, this way or that way, according to the situation in which its observer may happen to stand. Thus^ a man with only half a grain of the sense of religious obligation* who may seem, to one who is himself within the pale of orthodoxy, to be but few removes from ‘ the seat of the scorner,’ will be set down as a Methodist by the openly careless and profane; the man of orthodoxy is thought to carry matters too far, by him who is himself a Methodist in the estimation of those below him ; and he in his turn extends this censure to the poor evangelical professor, who stands one degree higher in the mysterious scale. It would appear, therefore, that Methodism is a disorder not possessing within itself any specific principles, but constituted by the exu” berance of symptoms in themselves innocuous, and in some cases praiseworthy; just as in the body corporate, a man may be in an extremely dangerous state, whose only disorder is too high a flow of health. And perhaps from this analysis, we may arrive at the true nature of the malady; for as there seems to be a regular ascend¬ ing gradation in this world, we may fairly conjecture that scale is continued in the next, and that the glorified spirits and angels would be regarded as Methodists, by those infected by the dis¬ order in its most virulent form here, if the veil which separates the two worlds were once removed. This points out at once the 392 Religious Novels and Tales. danger and the seat of the disease, but its remedy still remains a secret; fori much fear, if men were more deeply convinced that Methodism is the religion of heaven, they would be increasingly desirous to avail themselves of it, as a passport there—a circum¬ stance which, as in all events Methodism is to be subdued, it is only an act of prudence, on the part of every orthodox divine, to keep as much as possible out of the vulgar eye.” [vol. i. pp. 289—294.] The following short dialogue between old Sturdy and our hero so fully accords with the sentiments which we have elsewhere expressed, upon the subject of educating young men for the bar, that we cannot forbear transcribing them, though hopeless, of course, of their effect, where our own more elaborate dissertation fails; as with ambitious parents and aspiring youths, even we are not self-complacent enough to expect but that it may do. “ ‘You’ve some thoughts of the law, have you, Cousin Falkland? What—you’d like to wear a gown and wig?’ “ Falkland answered, it was one of the things he had been con¬ sidering. “ ‘ It’s an uncertain profession,’ returned the other. ‘ And for one man that makes a figure in it, at least one hundred hardly get salt to their porridge.’ “ ‘But surely, Sir,’said Falkland, ‘industry and perseverance, with a tolerable capacity, will overcome any difficulties.’ “ ‘Yes, but a man may have all the industry and perseverance, ay, and all the capacity in the world, and yet if nobody knows of it, he may sit all day with his hands in his pockets, listening to the harangues of those who have not one tenth of his brains.’ “‘But suppose, Sir,’ said Falkland, somewhat cooled in his legal ardour, ‘ suppose we put out of the case the higher honours of the profession. Do you imagine a man with the qualifications I have mentioned, would be utterly without some chance of at least securing an honourable independence? “ ‘No, no; not so bad as that neither, replied the other, ‘ I think if you were now to enter yourself for the bar, and to spend the five years which must elapse before you can be called, in hard reading, and were then to attend regularly in the courts for another five years, it is very probable you might make in a few more years— let me see—ay—I shouldn’t wonder if you made—three or four hundred a year.’ “ This was a most appalling calculation for poor Falkland, and it almost extinguished every ray of hope from the pursuit of legal eminence. He could scarcely believe indeed that it was not an exaggerated picture; but this his cousin’s better information forbad his hoping. At all events, he thought such a phantom not worth the pursuit; after the first emotions of surprise were over, he could not but wonder, if this representation were correct, how it was that 393 The Vicar of Iver. so many men had risen from small beginnings to the first emolu¬ ments and dignities in the profession. He knew the fact to be so, but he had yet to learn that a barrister without fortune, if he be eventually successful, must starve the first half of his life, in order to have more money than he can dispose of ever after.” Tvol i pp. 94—96.] L * ’ And now, saying to the author of “ No Enthusiasm,” “ Valete,” and regretting that we have not been able to add, a more unqualified “ plaudite,” we turn us to the little tales by the author of the “Italian Convert,” a work which, as it was published before the commencement of our critical labours, we do not recollect to have seen. The object of both is highly commendable. That of the Vicar of Iver" is to “exhibit religion in its own attrac- “ tions, undistorted by grimace; by illustrating the bene- “ ficial influence of the clerical character upon society, ‘ when that character, equally removed from bigotry, pride, “ and worldly mindedness, exerts its legitimate influence upon “ the world and the church.” In prosecution of this laud¬ able purpose, there is incidentally introduced a most happy exhibition of the influence of the maternal character in the vicar’s family, and a short but very satisfactory exposition of the evil tendency of theatrical amusements. In that family, active piety is exhibited in its loveliest features, for, ever occupied in doing good: “ when the ear heard them, “ then it blessed them ; and when the eye saw them, it gave “ witness to them; because they delivered the poor that cried, “ and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him! “ The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon “ them, and they caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.” From the pleasing detail of their labours for the glory of God, and the good of their fellow creatures, our younger readers especially may derive much practical wisdom/ in tempering their zeal with prudence and discretion. In a work like this, a discussion of the merits of the Bible Society is quite in place, and from it we extract one of the vicar’s arguments in refutation of the groundless clamours that have been raised against it. “ If the prosperity of the whole can be supposed to endanger the parts , then I will admit, that the church may have something to fear from the diffusion of Christianity: (replied the vicar.) I am glad, however, that I have now an opportunity of entering my protest against that unmeaning combination of terms, ‘the church is in danger.’ The futility of this plea must be apparent to you. from one question: What church? Surely, not that of which it is 394 Religious Novels and Tules. affirmed ‘ the gates of hell shall not prevail against her.' This cry of danger, from clergymen of our church, betrays at once the most groundless fear, and the extreme of impolicy. They are evidently unaware of the libel which they thus utter upon their own church, by removing her from that rock, of which it is declared, that the gates of heil shall cope with it in vain. In no part of the writings of Travers, of Towgood, of Graham, or of Booth, who have ex¬ pressly written against the Church of England, is any thing to be found, half so severe as this unnatural charge of her sons, who, by such language, strike her out of the list of reformed churches; and, having given her the mortal stab, publish the danger which they have themselves created. If I should once, by any means, arrive at the conclusion, that the church of England could not stand the test of the most extended circulation of the holy scriptures, old as I am, I would immediately resign my gown to my diocesan, and relinquish a community, that owed its support to the suppression of the Magna Charta of Christianity.’ ” [pp. Ill—113.] The conversion and death of an unprincipled worshipper of the mammon of unrighteousness, introduces a very cor¬ rect delineation of a minister of the gospel in the discharge of one of the most important, but difficult of his duties, in his attendance on the death-bed of a sinner; whilst the removal of a favourite pupil, “ the only son of his mother, and she a widow,” gives occasion for as appropriate a dis¬ play of the more pleasing functions of his most holy calling, in administering the abundant consolations of the gospel whereof he is a minister. We should be doing wrong to the liberality of the author, were we not to add, that though this work is exclusively devoted to the delineating of the character of a faithful and laborious parish priest, he is himself a dissenter from the Established Church. “ Oh, “ how good and pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell “ together in unity!” The “ French Protestant ” is, in its object, a complete contrast to the tale which we have thus commended, pur¬ porting, as it does, “ to illustrate the force, and expose the malignity of bigotry,” by giving the history of a French ecclesiastic, who, convinced of the errors of Popery by searching the scriptures, and thinking for himself, publicly renounces them, and embraces the Protestant faith, to the certain ruin of all his prospects in life, being thereby alie¬ nated from his family and friends, thrown a despised and per¬ secuted outcast upon the wide world, and, what to him was infinitely worse, separated for ever from the object of his early and fondest attachment, who, on her lover’s abjuring the faith of his fathers, and of her’s, retires with a broken The French Protestant. 395 heart to the gloomy seclusion of a convent. It will not be expected that the incidents of such a tale should be nume¬ rous. The letters of the lovers are given, and not without interest; whilst the ceremonies of the abjuration of the one, and the taking of the veil by the other, are described in detail, perhaps too minutely; for in the former instance we have a sermon at length by Drelincourt, and in the latter the close of one attributed to Bourdaloue, both of which, though very well for a layman, (as the author is,) are un¬ worthy of the distinguished preachers whose names they bear. Under the influence of that bigotry which bursts asunder the ties of kindred and of blood, and sets the child against his parent, and the mother against her son, the sister of the new convert joins the priests in an attempt to get him into the power of a church, whose tender mercies are cruelty itself; but he is delivered out of their hands by the assistance of M. Drelincourt, his pastor, who furnishes him with the means of secretly making his escape to Eng¬ land, where the tale leaves him. Its closing sentences are thus devoted to the object of his earthly love. “The poor recluse, carried with her into the solitude of a con¬ vent, a heart torn with anxiety: and, when the novelty of the scene had subsided, she sunk into the apathy of a monotonous repetition of uninteresting duties. The image of the cross was suspended at her breast; but that of De La Pierre was stamped upon her heart, and she soon expired, calling upon his beloved name!” [p. 144.] The narrative derives considerable interest from its being- interspersed with some authentic particulars of the suffer¬ ings of several of the French Protestants, a few years anterior to the aera of this tale. It abounds also with senti¬ ments highly creditable to the author’s head and heart, though our limits permit the extraction of but one or two. “ The immorality of persecution appears to be scarcely recog¬ nized by societies calling themselves Christian churches; who, if they can satisfy themselves of its expediency, leave the discussion of the moral question to their victims, and substitute brute force for intelligent conviction.” [p. 8.] “There is no opinion, however absurd or unscriptural, but may acquire consequence from injudicious and excessive opposition; no sect that may not be benefited by persecution.” [p. 11.] The following short sentence describes pretty accurately, we are inclined to believe, the religion of one half the world, and a considerable portion of the other also. 396 Review , “It had been the religion of theit ancestors; and, if Christianity had never been introduced, they would have received paganism with the same complacency.” [p. 14.] We know not how to account for it, but such is unques¬ tionably the fact, that the tale last published is the worst written of the two; and did not its titlepage, and even our own private information, inform us to the contrary, we should take the French Protestant to be the work of a promising, but inexperienced writer. It abounds, indeed, with such repetitions, as “ influenced by an ardent attach- “ ment to her family, who united their influence to retain “ her in the family circle —“ he could scarcely justify the “perusal of it; although, in this instance, his curiosity sur- “ mounted his prejudice, and led him on from page to page, “ until he completed the perusal of the whole —“ he avowed “ to his sister the change which had taken place in his views;— “ the impression made by his avowal upon the mind of “ his sister” —“ the moral system is strangely and lamentably “ deranged: whence arises this strange unwillingness,” &c. &c. &c. “ The gospel is not to be tested by the “ ministry” is a phrase borrowed from the attorney and the bailiff, but not becoming the pulpit, whilst the following attempt at fine writing is in a very bad taste. “They were mutually engaged, and anticipating years of domes¬ tic happiness, basked in the sunshine of prosperity, unconscious of the clouds of adversity which were collecting in the horizon of their destiny.” [p. 15.] We should not have taken the trouble to point out these defects, were we not of opinion, that the tales in which they occur possess considerable merit. We recommend them, indeed, with great confidence, to our readers, especially to young persons of both sexes, and to heads of families and others, who may wish to make suitable presents to those who are less advanced in years. The Privileges and Obligations of Christian Parents and their Children, adduced from a View of the Abrahamic Covenant . By John Bruce. Lond. 1821. 18mo. pp. 124. Westley. We owe an apology to the worthy author of this little treatise, for so long delaying to notice it. But we can assure him, that it has not arisen, as in some cases, from a reluctance to censure, for we have read the book with very Bruce’s Obligations of Christian Parents and Children. 397 gieat satisfaction, and can most cordially recommend it to t e seiious perusal of those for whom it is more especially designed. The substance of it was originally delivered from the pulpit, before the Hampshire Association of Inde¬ pendent Churches, and having met with the approbation of the ministers and representatives of those churches, present on the occasion, the author was induced to extend his orio-i- nal discourse to its present limits, and publish it in the form or a treatise. In this form we have no doubt that it will “5?®* v ' lth g enera l acceptance, and we hope, by the blessino- rW pr0ve em, nently useful. The topics it embraces ar? the following:—1. The nature of the Abrahamic Covenant. H-^ent ol the Covenant made with Abraham. 3. The conditions of the Abrahamic Covenant. 4. The manner in '' 'mi ^ 16 C^enan^ made with Abraham was confirmed. 5. Ihe means of bringing children into the bond of the Covenant. 6. The duty of youth in relation to the Cove¬ rt' 7. The perpetuity of the Covenant. The whole is followed by some important practical reflections. The observations of Mr. Bruce on these several points are, we think, in general judicious and importantthe com¬ position is correct and easy, while the spirit that breathes through the whole, is truly pastoral and affectionate. W e have room for only one extract, as a specimen of the author s manner. In the sentiments it expresses we fully concur, and we earnestly recommend it to the serious con- sideration of those whom it more especially concerns. ‘“We have only to observe the general conduct of Jehovah in the operations of his grace, to perceive the connection, in many cases at least, between early religious advantages and the conver¬ sion of the immortal soul. How many families, like that of the holy and amiable Phillip Henry, have presented the lovely scene ot ‘a church in a house.’ Religion, taught with unwearied diligence, and recommended by a commanding consistent example like the little leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, has fermented and diffused, until the whole has been leavened. It is an undeniable fact, that for several centuries, vital ChnsUanity in this country principally existed among the children of believing parents. The churches of the faithful were chiefly i ^ . . n i t , been biou^ht up ‘in the nurture and admonition of the Lord;’while their pulpits were occupied by the sons of godly and able ministers. The astonishing revivals of religion in Scotland, America, and elsewhere, have usually com¬ menced with the youth of pious ancestors. Education, if I may be allowed the expression, lavs materials at the door of the heart so that when the Spirit enters, he has only to apply them in the work vol. vi.— no, 12. 2 n 398 Review. of conversion and sanctification. Nor are any so useful, or so ornamental, to the great cause of Christianity, as the descendants of religious parents. Their accurate and extensive knowledge of divine truth secures the deference and respect ot their brethren, while their amiable temper and consistent practice give a prepon¬ derating influence. “I am aware that it has been objected to this view of the subject, that the promise has been contradicted by plain and indisputable facts. It has been said that many children of pious parents, and even of Christian ministers, exhibit no proof of a virtuous and holy character. The history of many professing families certainly furnishes ground for this objection; but I am disposed to think that, with some few exceptions, the failure of parents in the reli¬ gious education of their children, is to be attributed either to their own inconsistency of conduct, or to a criminal negligence in the employment of the means which the sacred oracles prescribe. They are either so much engaged in business, or of so easy and careless a disposition, as to perform their family duties very imperfectly: or, they are injudicious in the plans they pursue, and produce disgust where they ought to inspire delight: or, they are unhappy in the government of their children, either unduly lenient, or easily transported with rage, or unnecessarily austere and gloomy: or it may be that one of the parents is irreligious, and counteracts the good effects which might otherwise result from the labours of the other; or, both the parents throw discredit on their own acknow¬ ledged principles, by an inconsistent life and character. O let Christian parents seriously reflect on the manner in which they are discharging their relative duties, and anticipate the tremendous consequences which may result to their offspring, by their negli¬ gence or mistake. Especially let Christian ministers, of social habits and popular talents, dread the day when they may have to lament, ‘ They made me keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept.’ ” [pp. 41—44.] The Seaman's Prayer Book: being a Form of Prayer, selected chiefly from the Book of Common Prayer, ayd adapted to the Worship of Almighty God at Sea: and also, a Collection of Psalms and Hymns, for the Use of Seamen. Printed for the benefit of Benevolent Societies connected with Seamen. 18mo. pp. 216. London 1822. Baldwin and Co. It is truly delightful to see a mind like that of Capt. Scoresby, (for he is the compiler of the little manual now before us,) directing its attention to the moral and religious improvement of seamen. That they have hitherto been. 399 Scoresby’s Seaman's Prayer Book. though a most useful and important, yet a much neglected part of the community, cannot be denied ; and if they have, as has frequently been alleged against them, surpassed’ other classes of their countrymen in ignorance, thoughtless¬ ness, and vice, one reason at least may be furnished in the fact which we have stated, which will throw no inconsider- able portion of the responsibility on those by whom they have been thus abandoned. Till within these few years, the language of admonition and instruction was never addressed to them. The hand of Christian philanthropy, which offered its gifts so freely to all beside, was seldom outstretched to them;—but they were left to roam the deep, and visit foreign climes, ignorant alike of their condition and’ their destiny, and at the mercy of every temptation that waited to entangle and destroy them. We rejoice, however, that the best and highest interests, as well as the temporal comfort, of this valuable and peculiar class of people, are exciting the attention not merely of Christians in general, but of many, who by their bravery, their enterprise, and their character, are an ornament to the maritime profession, and an honour to their country. Amongst these, we rank the compiler of this little volume, and rejoice that he has been induced, by the publication of it, to throw in his contribution to so laudable an under¬ taking. Those masters of vessels who wish to observe divine worship with their crews when at sea, after the form of the Church of England, will find all they can desire, or at least^ as much as within so small a compass they can rea¬ sonably expect, in “ The Seaman’s Prayer Book.” An extract from the Preface will sufficiently acquaint our readers with the design and contents of the volume. “ Since the alteration of a work of such avowed excellence as the ‘ Book of Common Prayer,’ may expose me to a charge of presump¬ tion, 1 think it necessary to mention my reasons for undertaking this work, and submitting it to the public.' Having been long accus- , , and hav.rij,, foi many years, been intrusted with the command of a vessel Avith a larger than ordinary crew, I found it my duty to call their attention to devotional exercises, on various occasions, and especially on Sabbath-days. The ‘ Prayer Book’ was naturally adopted for assisting me in conducting our devotions; but, as the service was much too long, and not in all respects suitable, I was induced to abridge and alter the form, so as to adapt it more particularly to the peculiar situation and circum¬ stances of seamen. “ Conceiving that a work which had occupied a good deal of thought 400 Review. with myself, and had been found useful among my crew, might not be unacceptable to those conscientious commanders of vessels, or heads of families remote from places of worship, who find it their duty to officiate as pastors to those under their charge, I have been induced to print it, and now offer it for the use of such as may think proper to adopt it. “ While it was a principal object with me to preserve all the highly devotional prayers with which the Liturgy so much abounds, I was desirous of abridging it as far as consistent with this object. I have thus been enabled to reduce the prayers into a small com¬ pass, and to append a considerable collection of Psalms and Hymns. “The principal prayers, it will be observed, remain unaltered; some are abridged, and some extended. In the Litany I have ventured to introduce a petition for our friends and relations, and another for those necessarily detained from public worship, to which there is nothing analogous in the whole of the Liturgy. The first eight sentences are, for the sake of abridgment, included in two, and two or three others are also condensed; but in the main, this incomparable specimen of devotional writing remains the same as in the Book of Common Prayer. As the Bible translation of the Psalms is of acknowledged superiority to that used in the Church service, I have merely given a table of the Psalms for each day, that they may be read, like the lessons, out of the Bible. “ In the communion service, as far as usually read, some abridg¬ ments and alterations are made, and some additions are introduced. The principal addition is a prayer of special reference to the cases of seamen: this is taken, in a modified form, from another part of the Prayer Book. The whole of the service is more intimately com¬ bined than usual, and the arrangement, it is presumed, is more natural and easy. Such of the prayers as are altered, or addi¬ tional, are distinguished by a reference after the Italic title. Thus (c) signifies altered from the Liturgy; (s) selected from some pub¬ lished work; and (o) original. “ In the Evening Service there are some additional prayers, and several alterations. Some of the prayers that are not essential, are, for the purpose of shortening the service, placed among the ‘Occasional Prayers.’ They can, however, when required, be introduced with much propriety, in a place where a reference for the purpose is given. “ In the third and fourth sections there are several new, and some original prayers; the whole of which are particularly adapted to the circumstances of sailors. “ The Collects occupy the fifth section. With the exception of such as are intended for what are called saints’ days, the whole of these beautiful and comprehensive prayers are retained. “ The Psalms and Hymns are collected from various sources. Elegance of Poetry, though an object with me, was, in all cases, secondary to the devotional character of the different compositions. American Literature and Intelligence . 401 It appears to me, that in general, when we sing doctrines and narratives, we mistake the true intent of this pleasing branch of worship; in this selection, therefore, the greatest proportion con- sists of hymns of petition or praise; and of the same class, princi¬ pally, is the selection from the psalms of Dr. Watts. The first section, consisting of psalms, and the second, of hymns on miscel¬ laneous subjects, have no particular reference to seamen, but are applicable to the spiritual cases of all mankind in general; but the hymns in the third section have all some reference to the sea, or to seamen; and many of them have been written expressly for their use. In filling up my plan, I found this department extremely detective, being unable, on some subjects, to meet with a single hymn. The deficiencies, however, assisted bv my friends, I have attempted to supply.” [Preface, pp. 1—3.] AMERICAN LITERATURE AND INTELLIGENCE. Amongst the many species of doing good, now in active operation in America, there is one which to us appears not only novel, but extraordinary. It is that of preach¬ ing to Lunatics; for we have now lying before us “An Introductory Discourse delivered to the Lunatics in the " Asylum, city of New-York, August 31, 1819. By John Stanford, INI. A.” It was not printed, however, until two years after, when the reverend author gave it to the public, at the request of the Governor of the New-York City Hospital. It is short, and we therefore present it to our readers as a curiosity. “ 1 Thess. v. 14. Comfort the feeble-minded ” “ Human nature, in its present fallen state, exhibits little else than one vast hospital; sin has produced such a variety of dis- eases, both in the body and mind, which none but the God of mercy and compassion can possibly cure. The diseases of the rnind are certainly the most calamitous; for the connection between the body and the mind is so strong, that the disability of the mind may truly be said to unman the man. From the direction con¬ tained in my text, it becomes the friendly duty of every Christian and especially of every minister of the Gospel, to employ every possible method to comfort the feeble-minded. This duty, with much tenderness and affection, I shall now attempt to discharge to you who are residents in this Asylum; sincerely wishing that it 402 American Literature and Intelligence. may be the means which the God of compassion may bless, for your consolation; and that, eventually, he may restore you to your health, your family, and friends. “I will endeavour first to describe the Causes by which a feeble mind is produced.—Some persons are naturally feeble-minded; they have little understanding to judge and determine their duty, or things around them, with the propriety of acting; and therefore, are obliged to depend upon the opinion and advice of others, for direction.—There are not a few, who once possessed a strong mind, which they have made feeble by pursuing the baneful prac¬ tice of relaxing the nervous system, by the excessive use of ardent spirits.—Other persons, having enjoyed a good degree of affluence or a competency of life, and, afterwards, by a reverse of circum¬ stances, being reduced to poverty; the severity of such a change, has enfeebled their minds to such a degree, as to cast them into a state of despondency.—Nor is it uncommon, when a person has fixed his superlative affections upon an object, whom, by marriage, he intended to make his own; and the blast of disappointment intervening, this has produced such severity on the mind, as to cast it into the shades of distraction!*—The loss of valuable and dear relations, by the sudden stroke of death, has sometimes made impressions on the mind, so powerful, as not only to render it feeble, but incapable of enjoying the remaining comforts of life, with the least degree of pleasure.—And it is still more certain, that a consciousness of sins against God; a doubt of the ability and willingness of Jesus Christ to save; these, aided by the violence of temptations from Satan, have so absorbed the powers of the mind, as to conduct it near the borders of despair. These causes, which I have now stated, as well as many others, have frequently reduced the powers of the human mind to extreme debility and distress. It is for you, therefore, my afflicted friends, to determine, which, or if any of them, have created your present despondency. Cer¬ tain it is, that your God of compassion, knows the cause. I shall, therefore, as a dictate of humanity, sanctioned by the Gospel, endeavour to offer you some advices, which I hope the Lord may bless, to the relief and comfort of your feeble minds. “ 1. Indulge the least reflection, and you will be convinced, that the God who made you, and formed your minds, is certainly able to restore them from their present debilitated state, to composure and activity. It is impossible to doubt of his pow r er, if for a moment you listen to the voice of his word: Behold , I am the Lord , the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? Jer. xxxii. 27. Impossible! And, as the Maker of your minds, however they may at the present moment be covered with a cloud, the Almighty can convey to you that light and peace which shall effectually pro- * It w as observed by several present, that when this sentence was pronounced, one of the patients shed a profusion of tears, as though the case was Ills own. American Literature and Intelligence. 403 duce a happy restoration.—Besides, I can assure you that it is a part of the glory of God, which he hath displayed in all ages, to comfort them that are cast down; 2 Cor. vii. 6. And, while thou¬ sands, more debilitated than yourselves, have received the aid of his restoring hand, w r e fervently pray, that you also may share in the plenitude of his goodness! “2. To produce your recovery, be persuaded, that God can bless the medical attention which you constantly receive from the physicians in this Institution. In the book of Ecclesiasticus, chapter the 38th, you are informed that the Lord createth the 'physician. He giveth him talents to discover the nature, causes, and progress of diseases, whether of body or mind. And the Lord, who is equally said to create medicines out of the earth, giveth knowledge to the physician to explore their qualities and virtues which are adapted to relieve our complaints; for with such, doth God heal men, and take away their pain . In the same chapter, it is required, that the patient should honour the physician with the honour due unto him, for the uses you may have of him. This therefore forms a necessary direction, that you should submit to the prescriptions and the orders of your physicians. And, at the same time, the chapter to which I have referred, will dictate the more important duty of prayer to your God, for a blessing upon their efforts for your happy recovery; knowing that it is the Lord alone, who for giveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; and who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies. Psalm ciii. “ 3. For your consolation, I will inform you from the New Testament, that the blessed Saviour, while on earth, healed a man, whose case was far more deplorable than any of yours. A man, whose mind had been a long time distracted; he would not dwell in a house, but made his dwelling among the tombs of the dead; no chains could hold him; he wore no clothes; night and day he was crying, and cutting himself with stones. In this wretched situation, the compassionate Saviour met him, and granted him that healing mercy, which produced so great a change, that, when the people came to see him, they w'ere astonished to find him clothed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, and in his right mind, Mark v. Luke viii. Be you persuaded, that this same Jesus, though now in glory, is still possessed of compassion and power to restore you, and make your future days prosperous and happy. “4. As the spirits of many have been extremely reduced to despon¬ dency, on an apprehension of the impossibility of their salvation from the guilt and consequences of sin, accompanied with doubts of the ability and willingness of Jesus Christ to save them; and, as possibly this may be the painful impression of some of you, it is a pleasing part of my duty to inform you, from the testimony of Scripture, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Of course, if you feel yourselves as such, you may lay claim to his 404 American Literature and Intelligence. mercy, and rest assured, that such a gracious errand into the world never can be frustrated. Besides, it is declared, that he is able to save them to the uttermost , that come unto God by him. Therefore, if it be the great concern of your mind, to come to your offended God for mercy and acceptance, you may rest assured, that Christ is both able and willing to save you, notwithstanding all your transgressions, the strength of your temptations, or those dreadful fears which now fill you with distress. “5. It is not uncommon to find persons, whose minds are made feeble and distracted, from the apprehension that they have com¬ mitted the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost. Should any of you indulge such an apprehension, and are distressed for Its consequences, I will attempt to relieve your anxiety by assuring you, that I do most firmly and solemnly believe, that a person who is penitent, labouring under such a fear, may safely rest assured he has not committed that sin. For, certainly, those who have done so, are regardless of its consequences; and are left to the blindness, hardness, and desperate wickedness of their own hearts. I therefore repeat it again for your relief, that if you are in sorrow, under an ap¬ prehension that you have committed this great sin, it is a plain proof that you have not done it. Let these reflections aid in promoting your relief; and may the Lord grant you the Spirit of truth; the Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever! “6. I will offer you one more reflection for your consolation. The journey of life, however painful, is but very short. Let us, therefore, cast our eyes towards an everlasting home. Christ, by his grace, can bear you through all your sorrows, and grant you a hope, full of immortality and glory. The days of your mourning will soon be ended; and every tear shall be wiped away. Bv arguments of this description, the compassionate Saviour consoled his disconsolate disciples: Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father s house are many man¬ sions; if it xvere not so, I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you. John xiv. 1. In that heavenly habitation, no cloud shall exist. The mind, which had been feeble, shall bend no more; but grasp, in full vision, the realities of eternity, where there is fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. “With these charming prospects, I will conclude this discourse, by recommending to you the consoling words of David, which he wrote when he was under a very severe depression of mind; sincerelv wishing that the Lord may enable you to adopt them as your own": Why art thou cast doicn, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. - Amen.’ ’ [pp. 1-11.] We confess ourselves too little acquainted with the history and nature of mental derangement, to be enabled to offer any opinion upon the probable effect of such a dis- American Literature and Intelligence. 405 course as this; but the following short appendix evinces that the medical men of New-Y ork are verv far from hopeless of the attempt,—certainly promising less than any other that Christian benevolence has engaged in,—of communi¬ cating religious instruction to the insane, by the instrumen¬ tality of a preached gospel. “ Religious service was commenced in the Lunatic Asylum, by request of the Governors of the City Hospital, the superintending Committee, and the attending Physicians, in hope, through the smiles of the Lord, it might prove beneficial to the patients. There were about forty unfortunates assembled, and behaved with great propriety; several of them, of their own accord, kneeling in time of prayer. One female said to Mrs. Wetmore, ‘If I live to get home, I will crawl on my hands and knees, but what I will go to church.’ Another said to me, ‘ How good it is to hear of a Saviour we once loved ! On my going out of the yard door, one of the men hastily came and took me by the hand, saying, ‘Mr. Stanford, I thank you for coming here to comfort us.’ I asked him if he had attended service in the hall? He replied, ‘O yes, but then, Mr. Stanford, none can comfort us but Jesus Christ.’’ In future services in this Asylum, I shall think it most prudent to avoid particular reference to the mental derangement of the patients; as, like unfortunates of other classes, they shrink at being told of their unhappy situation. Still, I considered myself justified in describing their case, and offering them consolation, in this very plain introductory discourse ” [pp. 13, 14.] We shall make it our business to ascertain the effect of these extraordinary and most interesting services, with a view, should they have been in any measure successful on the other side of the Atlantic, to encourage the trial of them upon this. With New-York, however, our communications have lately been considerably interrupted by the ravages of the pestilence, which some months since depopulated the streets of that city, and forced most of our correspondents to fly from its march of death, to the adjoining villages, or other uninfected places. From the moment that ft was safe for them to return, they have shewn that they have not forgotten us, and the first parcel that we received' contained a sermon upon the late calamitous event, by the Rev. Mr. Strong, one of the collegiate ministers of the Reformed Dutch Church of that city. Its title is, “ The Pestilence, “ a Punishment for Sins. A Sermon, preached in the “ Middle Dutch Church, Nov. 17, 1822, after the Cessation “of the Yellow Fever, which prevailed in New-York in “ 1822,” and as its boldness has excited considerable atten- 406 American Literature and Intelligence. tion, and some animadversion, in the city in which it was delivered, we doubt not but that our readers will be gratified by very copious extracts from its pages. Its text is, “ Levi- “ ticus xxvi. 33, 24. If ye will not be reformed by me; “ then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish “ you yet seven times for your sins.” From this text, the preacher proposes to illustrate th e peculiar form, the probable causes, and the Divine purpose of the recent calamity, toge¬ ther with the awful danger to which the inhabitants of the city will be subject, if they are “ not reformed by these things.” We give the two first heads entire. “The first thing to which we proposed to advert is the peculiar form of the late judgment of God, or, if you please, the especial circumstances accompanying it. We mention this first, because it is of no ordinary importance to be distinctly reviewed, and cor¬ rectly understood, inasmuch as the form of his judgments is, gene¬ rally speaking, the k£y, the clew to open and unravel the sins for which the judgment has been sent. God generally punishes men in kind. He repays them in their own coin. There is always some analogy or correspondence between the sin and the judg¬ ment. Sometimes ‘ God’s way is in the sea, and his path in the great waters, and his footsteps are not known/ We cannot some¬ times discover why he afflicts us; and perhaps in most of his dis¬ pensations he has some reasons known only to himself. But there are visitations in which his hand is clearly marked, and cannot be mistaken; where ‘the man of wisdom’ can trace his footsteps, and hear his voice, and understand the meaniny of the rod. Now, the judgment which God sent upon us was not the sword, nor famine, —but the pestilence; precisely that kind of judgment in which the immediate hand of God in sending it, in spreading it, in mitigating it, and removing it, is more conspicuously displayed than in any other of his judgments: and hence David, when the three judg¬ ments, the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, were proposed for his mournful selection, chose the pestilence, and thus expressed his reason for it: ‘ Let me fall now into the hand of the Lord.' He selected this judgment, because therein the hand of man was not visible; men were not the immediate authors of his calamity; but here he knew that God himself directly afflicted him; here he could see nothing but God—even the God whose judgments are always righteous, but who, ‘like as a father pitieth his children, pitieth them that fear him; for he knoweth our frame, and remembereth that we are dust.’ God then was pleased to send upon our city the pestilence—a pestilence highly contagious, voracious in its thirst for prey, rapid in its work of death, dreadfully malignant- spreading from person to person, from house to house, from street to street—scattering dismay and horror as it approached, causing American Literature and Intelligence. 407 all to flee before it, excepting such as were compelled to remain, and those who would foolishly tempt the providence of God, and many of whom have paid for their temerity by the forfeiture of their lives. It commenced its ravages at a season of the year uncommonly early, and upon a spot heretofore deemed peculiarly healthy, and where none could anticipate its appearance. It tra¬ velled along the very healthiest and fairest sections of our city, defying all the expedients of health-officers, and the skill of our ablest physicians. It stripped our wharfs of their shipping, and left the mart of business of this proud and splendid port naked, empty, desolate. It silenced the busy hum of commerce. It turned the key upon your counting-houses, and closed up your stores. It drove the merchants from their exchange. It deprived of employment thousands of industrious workmen. It subjected all to many inconveniences and privations. It emptied the most elegant dwellings of their rich proprietors. Along our gay walks of fashionable life, nothing was to be heard, save the solitary and reverberating tread of some anxious watchman upon his lonely and dreary round. It completely depopulated one-third of this ^reat and mighty city; so that in this infected region, where our popula¬ tion is the most dense, and in which the sinews of our commercial strength most abound, the city was literally ‘ desolate, without inhabitant, and the houses without man.’ Where before all was life, and gaiety, and business, was nothing but a solemn stillness, a wide-spread and spreading desolation, resembling the awful stillness and desolation of the grave! It closed up the sanctuaries of the living God, and made our sabbaths silent; and in a large proportion of our churches, (some of them the oldest in the city,) the voice of the preacher was not to be heard, nor the congregation of the righteous to be seen. And in those parts of the city which were spared, all was a continued scene of confusion, anxiety, and alarm. “Now, brethren, wherefore was all this? why has this evil come upon us? How is it, that such wrath has gone out against this city from the Lord? Surely ‘He doth not willingly afflict nor grieve the children of men.’ Surely it is not without cause that he hath sent the pestilence; for, if we had not deserved it, and deserved it most richly, it had never been here. Let the infidels of New-York prate as they please about their second causes, or rather about chance; let the thoughtless thousands in our streets, that have already forgotten the judgment of God, and the God of judgment, go on in their career of folly and of blasphemy; let men dispute as they will, whether this pestilence is of foreign or of domestic origin—we envy not their wisdom nor their mirth. And although unquestionably God is pleased to work by second causes; and although we would by no means deem these unworthy of consi¬ deration and discussion in the proper place—yet here, in the sanc¬ tuary of the God of righteousness and of grace, we would look 408 American Literature and Intelligence. directly to Him, who ‘ numbers the hairs of our heads,’ and without whom * a sparrow cannot fall to the ground.’ “ II. In endeavouring to enumerate some of the probable causes of this judgment, we make no pretensions to any infallibility of opinion. We think, however, that it is by no means difficult to discover sins enough which have had their share in contributing to this evil. Although every individual has his own personal sins, for which he is responsible, and for which he individually may suffer, (and the sins of individuals combined, form the great mass of iniquity for which God is angry with us,) yet, let it be remem¬ bered, that in our remarks on this head, we are speaking of our sins as a city, as a community, as a people; and upon this part of our discourse, you will excuse our plainness, if we shall endeavour to speak so that we may not be misunderstood. It is, compara¬ tively, of very little consequence to dwell in general remarks about our sinfulness, if we sincerely wish for reformation, unless we realize the particular sins of which we are guilty before God. To specify these, is an odious and unpopular, but still a necessary and salutary task. “ 1. The first particular that we name, is one on which, no doubt, we shall be anticipated by many—perhaps by some in this very congregation : I mean, the public contempt which this city , as such, has affixed to God’s Sabbath, to God’s ministry, to God's ordi¬ nances. I pretend not to offer one single remark as to the nature of the measures pursued to obtain that highly desirable end, the better observance of the Lord’s day; but this broad fact you know, that those well-intended measures were defeated;—that in a public meeting, the sanctification of the sabbath of God was voted down; his authority and his ministers were insulted; and thousands of our citizens did publicly declare, ‘ we will act as we please,’ on the day which God hath said, ‘remember it, to keep it holy.’ Now, brethren, we have not the least hesitation in pronouncing this to be one of the sins of New-York, for which she has this season been scourged; and for her conduct on that occasion, she has had a glorious commentary in her closed sanctuaries and her silent sab¬ baths!—and, instead of celebrating the sabbath of the God of grace, she has had, week after week, and month after month, to keep the sabbath of the God of judgment! So far as concerns the desolated portion of our city, it has been something like the sabbath that sinners will have in hell. The first day of the week will return, and return, and return; but no sabbath comes—no sanctuary is open—no messenger of peace is seen, no voice of mercy is heard— no ordinances of grace welcome their approach; everything around is desolation and death! But, brethren, we have something far¬ ther to add upon this point. We know that there are many, very wise in their own conceit, though very foolish and impious in the sight of God, who are ready to sneer whenever this is named as a cause of our recent calamity; but we affirm, that the conduct of American Literature and Intelligence. 409 too many of our citizens, during this very season , shews how little they regard the authority of God in relation to his positive institu¬ tions. To say nothing respecting the continued violation of the Lord s day during the past season, previous to the commencement ot our distress, what are we to think, what must any reflecting man think, of the wanton profanation of the sabbath by many of our merchants, when leaving their city habitations, and retiring to a neighbouring village! I wish not to be censorious, nor uncharitable, nor personal, in my remarks; but their conduct on the occasion to which I refer, proves most clearly how very little regard too many among them habitually cherish for the authority and the sabbath of God. God’s hand was stretched out upon the city, among other reasons, for its violation of the sabbath, and in a most visible manner upon its mercantile interests: and that at such a time when, smarting under his rod, in the very teeth of his judgments, some of our merchants should have under their employ two hun¬ dred hammers in erecting temporary buildings, in the broad day¬ light of God’s sabbath, is a public wanton profanation of his name, that nothing can justify, and because of which the city deserves to suffer. Is it to be wondered at, that our sabbaths, in the district they have left, were silent, when, instead of trusting his providence even one single day, and that his own most holy day, they thus sinned in the very face of heaven, and chose rather to profane his sabbath than lose the profits of the succeeding day! ‘ Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary, ° is the statute of the living God; and if we do not obey it, God will take from us our sabbaths and our sanctuaries. Brethren, you may lose your fortunes acquired after patient toil; you may be reduced from affluence, and honour, and peace, to poverty and contempt; our city may have all the channels of its wealth* and commercial glory stopped or diverted; sickness and death may prevail among us; the famine, and the sword, and the pestilence may come upon us; but all this is nothing, when compared with that judgment of God which would remove from us his candlestick, would deprive us of the means of grace, and shut out from us the light of heavenly hope and peace. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God as to temporal judgments; but wo, wo to that com¬ munity that makes light of his solemn ordinances, that tramples under feet his sabbaths, and becomes hardened by his mercies and his judgments! ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.’ “ 2. The second particular that I name, but on which I shall dwell only a moment, is, the inordinate appetite for gain which has pervaded almost all classes of the community. The God of heaven has shewn this season how he can blast the god whom so 410 American Literature and Intelligence. many thousands in our city worhip—1 mean, Mammon. Mer¬ chants, mechanics, and tradesmen, have too generally been striv¬ ing with each other who can most rapidly acquire fortunes, with¬ out much regard to the manner in which they obtained them. Very few have honoured God as they ought with their substance. Look at the form of God’s late judgment. The pestilence was sent upon the theatre of our commercial life: it covered the business-part of our city: it touched the very heart’s core of our commercial wealth. Now, rny hearers, if I had no other evidence, this alone would be to my mind conclusive proof, that something is radically wrong in the system of business pervading this city. And remember too, that this visitation came at a season when the expectations of great profits in trade were peculiarly flattering; when unusual calculations of gain were about to be realized; when unprecedented quantities of merchandise were ready to be disposed of. And just as the market was about to open, down from heaven comes the dreadful pestilence upon this very scene of business, shuts up your stores, and scatters you all abroad. Now, brethren, if ever the finger of God’s providence pointed to any one thing, it did and does most clearly to this. There has been, beyond all doubt, a deep-rooted, wide-spread system of iniquity, of deception and fraud, pervading the mercantile operations of this community. When I say mercantile, I mean not simply our merchants, strictly so called, but most operations in which buying and selling are concerned. Our city is notorious for its money¬ making spirit; every thing must bb sacrificed to this. For it, men will lie, and cheat, and swear falsely, without any remorse. Oh! could the walls of our custom-house speak, what, w hat would be the mass of perjury, and blasphemy, and infamy, that would be disclosed! Our merchants know something of it; God knows it altogether. His eye is there; and he hath seen the perjurers day after day profaning his bible and his authority; and you have seen this season, that he knows how to avenge the profanation of his name. “3. Our third item, on which we cannot dilate, is, that love of pleasure , that spirit of dissipation , that general profligacy of morals, to which our city has been addicted. In adverting to the form of the judgment, we cannot but observe, that our walks of fashionable life have been deserted; and for many weeks the attendants of the ball-room, the billiard-table, the gambling-house, and the theatre, were compelled to leave their respective places of resort. I am no enemy to lawful indulgences. I have no objection that persons of wealth and rank in the community should distinguish themseives from others by their equipage, their table, and their dress. But, assuredly, any one must have perceived, that a spirit of rivalry in gay dissipation, in splendour of style, in the luxury of the table, in extravagance of dress, has pervaded most thoroughly our fashion¬ able world. Now, God has shewn how easily he can dispossess American Literature and Intelligence. 411 such of their elegant mansions; how he can deprive the sons and daughters of frivolity and gaiety ot their usual sources of amuse¬ ment, and make them satisfied (if satisfied they ever can be) with any accommodations, provided they are safe from the pestilence. It is not long since God gave these'devotees of pleasure a serious rebuke in the destruction of our theatre. But it would seem that this spirit ot folly grows among us, in spite of any and every cor¬ rection, and that men will indulge themselves, no matter how sorely they may be afflicted. What, I pray you, are we to think of the state of society among us, when, at the very moment that God s pestilence was the heaviest upon us, we are credibly told m one of our public gazettes, that the non-appearance of a cele- biated comedian upon our stage, in consequence of our calamity, had cast as much gloom over the city as the fever itself? What are we to think of the state of morals among us, when,on the evening of the very day set apart by our constituted authorities as ‘a day of humiliation and prayer’ for all classes of the community, the doors of tn6 theatre are thrown open, to invite our citizens to drown their gloom in dissipation and revelry ? For our part, roe never expected any thing better from the theatre; but as we so often hear it lauded as ‘a school of morality, and that a well-regulated stage is a benefit to society, one might have supposed, that, after our civil magistrates had requested all to abstain from improper gratifica¬ tions on that day, they might, at least in complaisance to them, have furnished us for once a lesson of common decency, and not have shewn their disregard of every thing moral as well as serious. But farther, must we not conclude that the spirit of dissipation is deeply rooted among us, when we find at this very time, when our inhabitants are called more solemnly than ever they were before, to consider their ways, and humble themselves before God—when his awful judgment is scarcely lifted up from us—the theatre, that school of Satan, that misery for hell, is overflowing, ni^ht after night, with our citizens, to witness the mimicries of an actor,* whom God Almighty has sent here, at this very time, in his wrath, as a man better qualified, by all accounts, than any other in the world, to dissipate every serious reflection, and harden men in folly and sin -, If such be our spirit as a community, have we not deserved Gods chastisements? Can we not find, in this thirst ufiter dissipa¬ tion, a fruitful cause of our late calamity? Shall not God be avenged on such a city? “ 4. There has been, and there is, in this city, a spirit of politi¬ cal feeling, at war with the authority of God;’' and this we name, as another of our public sins that has provoked the judgments of God. In his word, he hath laid down certain characteristics which ought to belong to public magistrates, and certain principles which ought always to govern men in their choice of public rulers. * Matthews. Edit. 412 American Literature and Intelligence. These characteristics have not been sought for, nor have these principles been complied with as they ought in this city. And in this respect, men of all parties , no matter what are their names, are guilty. It is needless to go far back for proof of the assertion. If the candidate is of their party, if he has been regularly nominated , if he chimes with their political sentiments, it is enough: he must be supported at eyery hazard. Brethren, I care not a rush under what particular banner a man may be arrayed, so long as he acts under the fear of God—so long as he subjects his political relations and movements to the authority of God—so long as he seeks to promote the election of men who honour and fear God,—so long I honour him as a patriot indeed. But, when we find in our city men, and Christian men too, men of high consideration and in¬ fluence, maintaining and publicly abetting the election of an infidel in preference to a Christian; when we find elevated to some of the highest offices in the state, men who fear not God, but blaspheme his religion, and disregard even common morality,— what, I ask, has become of the authority of God on the consciences of men, in the discharge of their political duties ? Does it not shew, that there is among us, as a community, a mass of political guilt, that deserves the chastisement of heaven? “ But, brethren, it is time to hasten to another branch of this head of our discourse. We have been adverting to some classes of sins with which our city, as such, is chargeable, and because of which we believe God has recently scourged us. In the sins we have specified, we have reason to affirm that all are concerned, professing Christians as well as mere ‘ men of the world,’among us. Yes, how many are there of those who name the name of Christ, who have not kept their garments unspotted from the flesh, but have been found more or less chargeable with one or other, or all of the sins that we have specified—the disregard of God’s ordinances, the inordinate thirst after gain, the excessive love of pleasure, or the spirit of political depravity! How few, indeed, are they who have kept their * consciences void of offence towards God and towards man!’ “ The point, however, to which we more particularly refer, is the sinfulness of the church of God among us. It is evident, from the form of the judgment, that the church has been concerned, has had her share in bringing on this visitation, and that as it respects both ministers and people. We who statedly attend upon the sanctuary, and who profess to love and honour the Lord Jesus, may be apt to flatter ourselves that we have had very little, if any, concern in causing the late pestilence. But herein we greatly deceive ourselves; and if we cherish any such presumption, we give a miserable evidence of our Christianity. God’s people ought to be the first to humble themselves in his presence, and to examine diligently why He hath dealt thus with our city. It is his church and her welfare that he especially regards, even in those judgments American Literature and Intelligence. 413 t iat effect only * the world.’ But here the church has suffered also. \\ e regret that our time is so far elapsed that we cannot c\iell, as we had intended, upon the leading sins with which the church of Christ in this city is chargeable. We must, therefore, confine the few remarks that we have to make, more especially to that section of the church in this city to which we immediately belong. J And, if we are not greatly mistaken, it is among the transgres¬ sions of which we are guilty, that we have not valued nor improved the ordinances of grace as we ought; that there is in our churches too much of the*spirit of form, and too little of the power of godli¬ ness. rsotwithstanding all the serious attention that may have been generally manilestedin the house of God, we have not placed that high esteem which became us upon his word and ordinances. Our spiritual mercies have been abundant indeed; but God was pleased to deprive us for a while of our usual privileges; and he has shewn you, that if you do not diligently improve his sabbaths and lus sanctuaries, he can easily remove his candlestick from you or at least for a season withdraw its light. If many in our congre- gation will at times prefer to remain at home, or to roam abroad upon the sabbath, as too many of them do, God can give such then full desires, by closing up his sanctuaries altogether. “ We remark again, that the churches of God in this city, and our own among the number, have not at the present day that zeal for Christ s pure truth, that love for his old-fashioned gospel, they once had. Many of those whom I address this evening are the descen¬ dants of men who were valiant for the truth, and who would hold no fellowship with error of any description, however specious in name. To tamper*with the word of God—to abandon, by way of compromise, any of the doctrines of the gospel—was, in their opinion, to promote the cause of heresy, and destroy the interests of the church. The synod of Dort forms an honourable memorial of their tenacious adherence to the truth, and furnishes a pattern worthy of your imitation, in ‘ contending for the faith once delivered to the saints.’* They contended not merely for the doctrines which are called essential , but for those which are called non - essential; that is, for those which tend to glorify God, and beautify his church here on the earth. They wished not only that men should be saved, but that the God who saved them should be honoured in this world in their salvation. They prayed and * Arminius, whose doctrines were condemned in this synod, de¬ clared, a little before his death, (as he stated in his last will,) that the great object he had in view, in all his theological and ministerial labours, was to unite in one community, cemented by the bonds of fraternal charity, Christians of all sects and of all denominations, (.rapists excepted,) whatever their religious sentiments might be. How near many of those who call themselves orthodox, in some churches in this city, are approximating to this spirit, is left for the reader to determine. VOL. VI.—NO. 12. 2e 414 American Literature and Intelligence. laboured, not merely that a church of ransomed sinners should be gathered unto Jesus Christ, but that ‘the kings daughter should be all-glorious within; that her clothing should be of wrought gold ; that she should be brought unto the king in raiment of needle-work; and that all her garments should smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces,’ But how is it now ? Have you at this day that zeal for God, and for the purity of his church, that inextinguishable hatred of error, and that devoted attachment to the whole truth of the gospel, which you ought to have? Have we not in this city synagogues of every description, Socinian, Universalist, Arminian, &c. ? and if in these a popular preacher is to be heard, who may deny the creed of your fathers, and sneer at whatever enters into the life and glory of the gospel, are there not too many to be found, who will abandon their seats at home, and run to gratify their curiosity, at the risk of imbibing fatal poison? , How many are there who ‘will not endure sound doctrine, but, after their own lusts, heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and thus turn away their ears from the truth, and are turned unto fables?’ Has there not flowed in upon this city, from the eastern section of our country, a flood of error, which, under the semblance of great benevolence in endeavouring to unite the various classes of Christians, has been gradually undermining the bulwarks of the truth—a new divinity, that would supplant the old gospel—anew system of making Christians, that would super¬ sede the plan of God’s regenerating grace —a system of feeling , which places very little, if any, value upon the peculiar doctrines of Christ, and has very little, if any, connection with sound , substan¬ tial, and ivell informed piety? Have not the advocates of this system established themselves in many parts of the land? Have they not made inroads upon our own church; and is it not to be feared, that too many of our people have not guarded as they ought against the poison of their creed, and the seeming liberality of their conduct? Is it not true, that, in some missionary transactions during the past year in this city, there has been manifested by many members of our own ‘reformed’ church, a spirit of unwarrantable compromise with this ‘disinterested’ system of‘benevolence’ and ‘union,’ which, if allowed to gain the ascendancy among us, we may bid farewell to our reformed Zion ? Is it not too true, that neither our ministers nor our people have co-operated, as became them, in endeavours to advance the prosperity of the church? Is there not., in conse¬ quence of listening to the cant of the day, a disposition in too many, altogether to abandon our independent interests as a sepa¬ rate ^ section of the church of Christ, and join with any deno¬ mination that might better subserve their individual views? Have we acted, or do"we now act, with that unity, that wisdom, that zeal, that efficiency, which are necessary to our increase and pros¬ perity? Are things, brethren, as they should be with our churches ? Let us search diligently into these things. Let us look at‘the American Literature and Intelligence. 415 signs of the times.’ For‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the w a\s, an see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good wav, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.’ ” [pp. 8—24.] e have here many strong things, unquestionably; those on the spot can best judge, if any of them are too"strong, or our own parts, we have been very powerfully struck by e faithfulness and fearlessness with which the preacher as isciaigea the most difficult part of his important duty, an earnestly hope that the inhabitants of our own metropolis, and of our larger commercial towns, will benefit by the a monitions which it contains. Some of these crying sins, ue are sorry to say, prevail to a most alarming extent in on on, ^. 1 »eipool, Manchester, and many other places in England that we easily could name. M e nave it, however, in our power to present a pleasing contrast to t.iis scene, in several proofs now lyincr before us, of the attention of men holding high stations in the American Government, to the interests of Evangelical Reli¬ gion. 1 hev occur in some recommendations of the Evano-e- hcal and Literary Magazine, a valuable periodical work, published at Richmond, in Virginia, under the superinten¬ dence of our esteemed correspondent, the Rev. Dr. John Spring Rice, of that city. We select those of the Chief Justice and Attorney-General of the United-States, ad- diessed to the Publisher of the Magazine. “ From the Chief Justice of the United States. “ Richmond, Jan. 2 9 th, 1822 . ‘ i have read the numbers of the Evangelical and Literary Mao-a- zme Munch were left with me, and am so well pleased with them as to request you to place my name on your subscription list. T e great object of the work, as its title imports, is to incul¬ cate evangelical truths on its readers. This, its primary purpose, appears to me to be pursued with an intelligent zeal, tempered with that mild and benevolent spirit, which is so often and so strongly recommended by the divine Author of our holy religion. “With my best wishes for the success, of ‘this publication, and with great respect, I am, \our obedient servant, “ John Marshal." “From the Attorney General of the United States. “ Washington, Feb. lsf, 1822. I am very happy to have it in my power to add my testimony to that of the gentleman above-named, in favour of the Evan°-elical and Literary Magazine, and to express my concurrence in their wish for its increased support, and more extensive circulation. “William Wirt." 416 American Literature and Intelligence . When, we cannot but ask, will either a Chief Justice oi Attorney-General of England be found to countenance those vews of the gospel, which, because they are opposed to the pride of reason and of philosophy, falsely so called, aie branded as Methodistical and fanatical? We close this portion of our present number with a very flattering testimony borne to the benevolence of our coun¬ try, and to the merits of one of the most celebrated writers, delivered at a public meeting in New-York, by our excel¬ lent friend, the Rev. Mr. Bruen, of that city, printing it precisely as we have received it, in manuscript, from one of our correspondents there. “ The tenth anniversary meeting of the New-York Religious Tract Society was held at the City Hotel, on the 11th of April. This Society has annually increased its exertions, and within the last year has received an important addition to its means, from a Female Auxiliary Society, just formed under the most happy auspices. After the report was read,—before offering the resolution, that it be accepted and published,—the Rev. Mr. Bruen made the following remarks: “ ‘ It is so obvious a fact, that it is now almost a proverb, that ours is a century of wonders. The face of society is undergoing a change most rapid, most important: the improvements in all the arts of life, in all the sciences which reason cultivates, are so many and so great, that the world seems all alive in the surprising fer¬ mentation of this nineteenth century. Many brilliant discoveries in philosophy, legislation, and political economy, have been made, and many powerful stimulants are added to human enterprise. But it may be doubted, whether they are all of as much practical utility, as one little discovery which has been published—which is, the power of united action; and whether any disposition of the people of the present age, so strikingly and felicitously marks its character, as the readiness to seize upon the least occasion of doing good. Thus it may seem to be a small matter to become a mem¬ ber of a Tract Society, and add our mite to its yearly reckoning. And yet let us ask, What are Tract Societies doing? They are extending knowledge in a numerical and salutary proportion beyond what is within the range of the professors of the noblest Universities, the members of the most learned communities ; they are reading lectures to tens of thousands of attentive students, upon the practical philosophy of life—upon the divine doctrine of everlasting salvation. It might seem invidious, if I were to choose examples in our own country to illustrate this idea; let us then go abroad, and observe the practical results from the operation of the minds of two popular authors, whom Providence has raised up to adorn our age.—No one who is not quite destitute of intellectual perception, can feel any thing else than admiration for so great a American Literature and Intelligence. 417 man as Dugald Stewart, who has rolled back what seemed to be the immoveable barriers of human inquiry, and given a new field for the exercise of our immortal faculties. This celebrity is not confined to one country; he now instructs multitudes ‘in both emispheres. \ et I ask, whether there be not one who has had more scholars to instruct, and who has produced more visible r e , CtS on ! hat P art ° f each human being, into the state of which God especially searches ? There is ;-and the person I now speak of, is a woman. To Mrs. Hannah More belongs the honour of producing tracts which, translated into many languages, are edifying the world,-giving lessons not only to the few, wise, and cultivated, but also to the many depressed and ignorant It is among the wonders of our age ‘that a woman’s heart and head invented, and her hand executed, what may set up her monument beside that of \\ llberforce, as one of the glories of this beneficent century. It is to the honour of our age, that multitudes of her sex emulate her example;—to the honour of human nature, that one bait ot our race has risen from a long depression, and entered and supports a claim to labour with equal and often more effect in the cause of humanity, than they who consider themselves of sturdier growth, and capable of more successful enterprise. We leave degraded females to degraded India; while we count amon°- our female Auxiliary Societies the most powerful of our aids! W ould that none of that sex, who consider themselves of sturdier growth, stood as lofty but barren forest trees, overshadowing humble but wholesome plants—or that these did not forget, that when the clouds gather and the rains descend, the lightnings* shall shiver them first, when all the while, they who are as roses making the wilderness to blossom, shall continue to send upward a fragrant perfume before the throne of the Lord of Sabaoth. “ A have said that it is among the characteristics of this century that now Christians are anxious to seize upon the least occasions of doing good; and how important is it to cherish this disposition ' Great occasions of doing good are rare. It is the little amount of every day’s annoyance that makes up the ills of life; and espe¬ cially should we remember that they are sins of each hour and each moment, which ascend as a thick cloud before the throne of God, our Judge;—a cloud so thick, that it can only be dispersed by the Sun of righteousness! How desirable then is it to redeem some of these moments, and fill up some little space of our brief span of life in doing our duty to our God! And in circulating religious tracts we not only obey divine injunction, but we imitate divine example. When we select the humblest occasion, and make it the vehicle of salutary admonition, what do we less than the inspiration of the Holy One, which once, by the hand of the Apostle Paul, wrote a letter to Philemon upon the return of his runaway servant. Ah! that we could imitate that great apostle in prizing, as he did. the knowledge of Christ Jesus—in feeling as ng HP^j i II if Mil * Iwm he did, that there is no salvation in any other—and would per¬ petually put to ourselves the question, ‘Whatshall a man do, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’ When it is consi¬ dered, that it is the object of this Society to copy the example of our Divine Lord, who'followed sinners into the highways and hedges to save them, it deserves the commendation of every Christian;—when it is remembered that the mass of every commu¬ nity are comparatively ignorant, and necessarily confined to manual employment, and it is understood that we are sending our little letters of admonition into the workshops and the field, and en¬ lightening the understanding, and touching the conscience, of the apprentice and the ploughboy, and thus seeking to make the next generation holier and wiser than the present, it deserves the com¬ mendation of every friend of man:—when we all reflect that the knowledge of Jesus Christ that we send, not only removes him who receives it from associations merely physical, and makes him an intellectual being, but that it saves from eternal death, and gives everlasting blessedness,—then, if there be one man more capable than another of looking a long way off upon the circles of immorta¬ lity, he is most competent to decide in what language our eulogy is to be pronounced. But then we should remember, that he who sends letters of admonition and reproof, should himself first prac¬ tise what he preaches. Far indeed from us be the charge of sending out tracts upon our own authority—or imagining that they need so feeble a support. No! the doctrines avouch themselves to the consciences of all, as bearing upon them the seal of God’s authority. But every such anniversary, as we now celebrate, should recall to our minds the idea, that each of us is bound to be a living epistle, read of all men, to the honour of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. “ ‘ The report which has been presented should rejoice our hearts, and excite us to new efforts. It is not long since most of the little publications of the day, which fell into the hands of servants and children, were licentious jest and song books. Now, pages of truth and prophecy, more precious and true than the sibyl’s leaves, are scattered with all the winds that move upon this mighty con¬ tinent. Before the admirable lady began to rvrite, of whom I have already spoken, such base publications were carried by almost every hawker into the most solitary cottages in Great Britain. Now, by the mere force of general benevolence, that land is becom¬ ing free from pollution; such base tracts are rare. This effect has been brought about by the simplest of all processes; benevolent persons have given these hawkers and pedlars religious tracts to sell for their own benefit, or allowed them so to undersell the retailers of profligacy, that he made the greatest gain and wore the best coat, who sold the best tracts. And this is all within thirty Poetry. 419 teristic of our age, that the world is all a-moulding, and each part is borrowing heat and form from the other. Not long since, na¬ tions were like the little hamlets in the deep valleys of the Alps, separated by mountains of prejudices or ignorance; now the trans¬ mission of knowledge is easy, the sympathy universal. And I should withhold from you what has rejoiced myself, if I did not communicate a fact in reference to the publication of religious tracts in the south of France, which I have received within a few days from the pastor of the Protestant Church at Montpellier—that he has printed, the year before the last, twenty thousand, and the year preceding one hundred and twenty thousand, which have been circulated from the Pyrenees along the whole shore of the Mediterranean. We have noble fellow-workers. Let us imitate this unwearied servant of Jesus Chast. Let us imitate the libera¬ lity of England, which is the magazine from whose bounty he derives the means for these exertions,—which is indeed the religious treasure-house for Europe. “‘Let us not be easily fatigued with our exertions;—for the con¬ duct of this diligent pastor is a practical commentary upon what was once said by his illustrious countryman, (the member of the devoted society of Port Royal, and friend of Pascal,) when, entreated to spare himself, and take a little rest, he replied—‘Rest! shall I not have a whole eternity to rest in?’ “ ‘ May we be prepared for the rest that remaineth for the people of God!’” v v POETRY. A FUNERAL ANTHEM, Written for a Selection of Hymns, preparing for publication by the Rev. Dr. Raffles. Holy —holy—holy Lord God ! Look on us from thine high abode, As we consign this body now, To mix with kindred clay below. Ashes to ashes—dust to dust, We here commit, a sacred trust. Which the cold grave shall hold secure, Whilst Earth—and Sense—and Time endure. 420 Poetry. But when the things of earth are past; When man has lived and looked his last Of mortal life—when, mid the fires, Of worlds and systems, Time expires. Through thee, the Resurection, Lord, The dead at one almighty word, Shall burst the grave’s drear prison then, And breathe, and move, and live again. Blest are the dead who die in thee! For they from sin, from sorrow free, Whilst shining in their heavenly sphere. Are followed by their labours here. Yes, blest indeed! for when the ground Yields up its millions, at the sound Of the last trumpet, they shall rise, To claim their kindred in the skies : Shall rise, in humble faith to claim An interest in their Saviour’s name; Changed by his grace, and through his blood Become the sons—the heirs of God. Then God, our God, oh may we stand. In the dread day, at thy right hand. And mingle with the songs above, Of—Glory to redeeming love! “ Worthy, with Thee,” be thus our strain, “ The Spirit, Comforter, to reign, “ And the bright stem of Jesse’s rod, “ One holy—holy-holy God! ” £ DRACHENFELS; OR, ROLAND AND HILDEGARDE. A Legend of the Rhine.* I sing the fate of Drachenfels, Renown’d in ancient story, Tho’ midst its towers the eagle dwells; ’TwaS once the scene of glory. * “ Before reaching Bon, we passed the seven mountains, and par¬ ticularly marked the ruins of the Castle of Drachenfels, that crown the nearest and most abrupt of the seven, which rises almost perpen¬ dicularly from the water’s edge to the height of about 1500 feet. This Poetry. 421 Above the Rhine's impetuous stream, Upon a hoary steep, It catches first the morning beam, And casts it on the deep. There lived, so ancient legends tell, A baron rich and bold, No mightier lord than Drachenfel, And his the strongest hold. One only child, a blooming maid, Possess’d his chief regard: And many a gallant youth essayed To woo fair Hildegarde. It was, so chronicles relate, One summer evening fair, That Roland stood before the gate, And sought admittance there. Now Roland was of royal blood—• A knight of high degree; No fairer name has ever stood In ancient chivalry. With manners mild, and courteous mien, The baron bade him rest, Assured, his halls had never seen A more illustrious guest. For from the plains of Palestine, The stofy of his fame Had reach’d the valleys of the Rhine, And taught their rocks his name. And many a bard and lady fair, The hoary cliffs among, Would pour the strain—and echo there The dying notes prolong! Now at the table well prepared— The table nobly graced— Before the lovely Hildegarde, Was youthful Roland placed. rock is almost entirely bare, and very rugged—the rest are beautifully adorned with wood, and some of them are considerably higher. There are many curious and interesting traditions amongst the people in the neighbourhood, respecting these ruined castles of the Rhine. Some of them are related in the guide which we have with us, and none are more interesting than that of Drachenfels.”— Raffles's Let¬ ters from the Continent, p. 308. 422 Poetry. And many a baron rich and great, And many a knight was there, And many a chevalier of state, And many a lady fair:— And many a dish of massive gold, With brilliant lustres shine— And goblets glorious to behold, Filled with the choicest wine! But who, amid the pageantry, Has fixed the knight’s regard? The maiden with the downcast eye, The lovely Hildegarde! Nor she, unmoved, the knight beheld, But deemed she ne’er had seen A youth of such a graceful form, And such a noble mien. Instant their mutual bosoms caught The high and holy flame, The flame with deepest feeling fraught, And love that mocks a name. They looked, and in the tender gaze They felt a bliss unknown; Their spirits caught affection’s rays, And melted into one. In wakeful dreams—and love’s alarms, The night the hero past; Each vision of the maiden’s charms Seemed lovelier than the last. The morning dawns on Drachenfel, And Roland must depart; But can he leave the maid, nor tell The secret of his heart? Ah, no, but in a lonely bower His heaving bosom poured Its sighs and vows—and owned the powe Of her his heart adored. With grief, fair Hildegarde beheld The youthful knight depart: Sad doubts her anxious bosom held, And pressed her throbbing heart. Poetry. Alas! she cried, I'll seek the gloom Of convent’s holy shade, Till my devoted Roland come And claim his faithful maid. There day and night I’ll pour to heaven For him the fervent prayer, Till to his arms I shall be given, And find the answer there! Now they were times of strife and blood, The times of which I tell, And many a castle, o’er the flood, Confirms the statement well. ’Twould fail me, ladies, to rehearse, And ’tis for-you I sing, How chieftain strove with chieftain fierce. And king made war with king. Enough the foes of Drachenfel Its stately towers assailed; And many a mighty warrior fell, And many a maiden wailed. And every hour fresh legions came To swell the ranks of war, With knights renowned of noble name, And leaders from afar. Then lovely Ilildegarde, unseen, In secret bower apart, Her Roland’s absence mourned I ween, And poured the flowing heart. Yet not in useless tears the maid Employed the anxious hours, But tidings secretly conveyed To faithful Roland’s towres. And well the knight the summons knew, And instantly obeyed, With fifty followers, bold and true In goodly arms arrayed. Yet, ere to loftv Drachenfel The valiant chief had come; The shadows of the evening fell, And wrap’d its towers in gloom. 424 Poetry. Just then in wrath, the baron bold His prowess fair would show, And sallied from his castle hold, With vengeance on the foe. Then death and darkness scattered round Confusion and dismay; And lifeless, on the bloody ground, Full many a warrior lay. Ah’, luckless hour! ah mournful tale, The weeping muse must tell! Beneath some mighty warrior’s stroke The lordly baron fell:— Fell—and ’twas Roland’s hand unseen That dealt the deadly blow! Ah! little thought the youth, I ween, To lay the baron low! But shrieks of woe that rend the air, And many a bitter groan, Too well the dreadful deed declare His hapless hand had done. Transfixed, the astonished Roland stood. With horror and dismay— As cold and weltering in his blood The lordly baron lay. Then pale and trembling, mid the crowd, The lovely maid was seen, In anguish o’er the corpse she bowed, Yet placid and serene. One hand upon that breast so cold, With tenderness she placed; The other, with affection bold, Her lover’s hand embraced:— “ It is not murder foul—the deed Your hapless hand hath done,” She calmly said,—“Yet ’tis decreed We never can be one. “ 1 mu ft not join my hand to thine. Stained with my father’s blood: Tis Heaven ordains—^-nor dare repine For all he wills is good. Poetry . “ These towers retain me till the rites Of sepulture are paid; Then, for my destiny invites, I’ll seek the convent’s shade. ** And if beyond life’s changing scene, Thy love for me remain, There is a happier land, I ween, Where we shall meet a°:ain. “ Thy luckless deed shall be forgiven, My father’s shade forgives;— There’s grace for erring man in heaven, And our Redeemer lives!” Now on an island, ’mid the Rhine, In cloister’s hallowed gloom, The maiden takes the vows divine, And veils her early bloom. While Roland reared a lofty tower, Beside the rapid flood, And ever from his lonely bower, He gazed on her abode. There oft he’d rise at early dawn, The matin chaunt to hail, And list the solemn vespers borne Upon the evening gale. Thus, two long years in sorrow rolled, And autumn’s breezes blew, When, lo! one eve the death-bell tolled It’s tidings well he knew! He saw the lovely grave prepared, The dismal yew beneath, And felt that now his Hildegarde, Was pale and cold in death. He saw the sad procession move, He heard the requiem rise, And long’d to join his earthly love— An angel in the skies! The spring returns, and o’er her grave Its sweetest flow’rets bloom; The next that lovely season gave, Were scattered on his tomb. 426 PHILOSOPHICAL ANI) LITERARY INTELLIGENCE. Captain Parry's Expedition .—An account, though circuitously . received, we are rejoiced to learn, affords some hopes of the safety and success of the expedition under the command of Captain Parry. It is derived from Russia, and communicated to our Board of Admiralty. The particulars are, that several fishing vessels, belong¬ ing to Kamstchatka and the Aleutian islands, saw our illustrious navigators oft’ Icy Cape. The Russian commandant states, that on receiving this intelligence he examined the masters of the vessels separately, and that their relation of the fact agreed in every circum¬ stance; and he expresses himself to be entirely satisfied of the truth ot their report. This is great and gratifying news; for if it be correct, which there is good reason to believe it is, then is the great geographical problem solved, which has excited so intense an in¬ terest; and to British intrepidity and perseverance is owing another of those grand discoveries which form epochas in the history of the world. As Icy Cape has been reached from Behring's Straits,—as it is indeed yearly visited by small Russian ships,—all apprehension about our bold navigators will be at an end so soon as the tidings are confirmed, and we shall only have to curb our impaiience for letters from our noble countrymen, now happily, we trust, ploughing the Pacific Ocean on their homeward way.—Some doubt has since been thrown upon this information, but we hope it will prove correct. french Voyage of Discovery .—The Coquille corvette, commanded by M. Duperrey, Lieutenant de Vaisseau, the fitting out of which has occupied some months at Toulon, lately sailed from that port. She is about to undertake a voyage, from which results Interesting to the progress ol geography and physical science may be expected. The Coquille will first sail for the Cape of Good Hope. She will afterwards proceed to the Great Archipelago of Asia, several parts of which she will explore. She will also visit the points of the western coast of New Holland, which were observed towards the end of the last cen¬ tury and the commencement of the present, by Rear-Admiral Entre- casteux and Captain Baudin ; and after putting into some of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, discovered by Cook and Bougainville, she will return to France by doublingCape Horn. M. Duperrey is to* avail himself of all the favourable circumstances which this long voyage may present, to make different observations relative to the configuration ot the globe, the inclination of the needle, &c. Several Members of the Academy of Sciences and the Office of Longitude have manifested their zeal in communicating to him instructions for that purpose. No means which could prepare the success of this ex¬ pedition have been neglected. The corvette has been fitted out with picked seamen. Letters of recommendation are furnished to the commanders of such foreign establishments as the Coquille may visit. Finally, the zeal of all the superior officers affords reason to hope that the mission entrusted them will be executed in the most satisfac¬ tory manner. Russian Voyage of Discovery .—Lieutenant Chramtschenko, of the Russian Imperial Navy, who is in the service of the Russian Ameri¬ can Company, discovered, on his voyage in 1821, a small uninhabited Philosophical and Literary Intelligence. 427 island in 59. 28. 28. N. lat. and 164. 56. 3. long. from Greenwich. He met at sea a sloop, the Discovery, under the command of Captain Wassiliew, who informed him that on the 11th of July 1821, he lmd discovered, in 50. 59. 57. N. lat. and 193. 17. 2. long, from Greenwich (it is not stated whether east or west longitude) an uninhabited and hitherto unknown island, forty Italian miles in length. It may be presumed that the inhabitants are of the same race as the Aleutians, for Captain Wassiliew was able to converse with them through the Aleutian interpreter on board. They call the island in their language Nuniwak, but Captain Wassiliew gave it the name of his sloop, the Discovery, Lieutenant Chramtschenko learnt further, that Captain Wassiliew had sailed on the 1st of February in the preceding year from the harbour of San Francisco, and had reached 71. 7. N. Iat. (that is, 19 min. farther than Cook.) He kept constantly along the north-west coast of America, and discovered two capes, to which he gave the names of the celebrated navigators Golownin and Ricord. The sloop, the Good Intent, belonging to the same expedition, had kept along the east coast of Siberia, but was obliged to put back at 69. by impenetrable ice.—Those two ships are expected at Cronstadt this summer. Pitcairn's Island. —It is well known that an independent colony has been formed in Pitcairn’s Island, in the Pacific Ocean, by the muti¬ neers of the Bounty, commanded by Captain Bligh, and that the only population of the island consists of the mutineers, and their descend¬ ants by some Oiaheilean females whom they had married. The following particulars respecting this interesting colony are from the private journal of the American whale-ship Russell, Capt. Arthur, of New Bedford:— March 8, 1822.—Lat. 24. 30. S. long. 129. 25. W., light airs fromS.E. steering S. W. by S. S. W. at midnight hove to; at day-light saw Pitcairn’s Island, bearing S. by E. seven or eight leagues off; stood for it, and w hen we w ere within about three or four miles of the shore, were boarded by the most interesting crew r of young men that we had ever seen; at noon vre lay aback near the land. From all I had other¬ wise read and learned respecting the inhabitants of Pitcairn’s Island, I was induced to have the following notice posted up in the forepart of our ship, before we had any communication with the islanders:— [This notice was to do them no injury, and to refrain from all indecent and profane language.] March 9.—Pleasant weather; at 2 p.m. went on shore accompanied, by Capt. Arey, in his boat: as the islanders’ boat wanted repairing, w e took her on deck, and before the next morning had her done, to the grateful satisfaction of our new friends. The islanders w-ent on shore in one of our boats; Capt. Arey taking five, and w r e the other five, our landing was effected much easier under the skilful direction of our new pilots than it could otherwise have done. Previous to leaving the ship, bread and butter was put on the table, and they were invited to eat; but they refused, alleging that it was their fast- day: however, after some importunity, and inquiry wdietlier I thought it would be any harm to them, and being assured in the negative, they partook, though slightly, and not till after they had implored a blessing; and after their repast was finished, a hymn and prayer was preferred with great devotional propriety. On our landing, the Hill of Difficulty was to be ascended—a job I could not myself have performed in less than two or three hours: it was done in much less 428 Philosophical and Literan/ Intelligence. time with the assistance of a steady young man named Itohert Young, who helped me almost every step. When we arrived at the top, we appeared to he at least 300 feet above the surface of the water; hav¬ ing gone up a zig-zag path, the boat appeared almost directly under us. We were then met by the venerable Governor, John Adams, who was attended by most of the women and children of the island, and were welcomed to their shores in the most artless yet dignified manner. After resting awhile, we were then invited to the village, about half a mile distant, through groves of cocoa-nuts, and other trees of a large growth, which made an excellent shade. Although we came to the village, which was situated on a gentle declivity, with a sufficient distance between the houses for the drying and the bleaching of their cloth, the beautiful prospect, regularity, and neatness of the houses, with the joyous and double welcome of its truly hospitable inhabit¬ ants, made the spot enchanting. Soon after our arrival, a dinner was served up, consisting of two roasted pigs, fowls, yams, and plantains; but as they declined partaking with us, on account of its being their fast-day, we concluded to w ait till near sun-set, at which time they w r ould be at liberty to join us ; and when they thought it seasonable, we all sat down together, but not till the chief of offr kind entertainers had asked a blessing in a very impressive manner. The return of thanks appeared not less impressive on the minds of the little community, who were like olive-branches around the family table. After spending the evening, in which, if not the feast of reason, w^e had the flow of soul, beds were prepared for Captain Arey and myself; and J. Adams, having taken a bed in the same chamber, though it was not in his own house, we conversed till midnight. Early in the morning, our kind female friends were actively employed getting breakfast for us, which was ready by seven o’clock, consisting of fowls boiled with yams, which made an excellent soup; it was good, and we ate heartily. For our dinner, we were treated with baked pigs and roasted goats, with a large quantity of yams, plantains, &c. Our people were equally well provided for. At three o’clock I returned to the shore to go on board, receiving the same kind attention in de¬ scending the mountain which was paid when going up it. We got into our boats with feelings of gratitude, which I was unable to ex¬ press, towards these good people ; but not till they made me promise to come on shore again before we left the island. 10th, 11th, and 12th.—Still lying off and on, a part of the crew on shore, relieving each other by turns. On the 12th I again went on shore, and was received and treated with every attention. Before noon I returned on board, after taking a more affectionate leave than I ever did any where except my home. I was accompanied on board by John Adams, Dolly Young, and Mary Ann Christian. Having received from them a supply of young cocoa-nuts and fowls, and made such presents as they wished for and we could spare from the ship’s stores, we gave them part of a bolt of light duck, one axe, two hatchets, four boat-knives, a bag of bread, a few bottles of wine, a roll of old canvass, a little grindstone, and a watch. Having now accom¬ plished the business for which we came, our friends, after w ishing us a good voyage and safe return home, went on shore. Capt. Arey not having finished watering, concluded to stay another day or two, and was anxious for us to stay till he was ready, but I was unwilling to lose more time. Before we leave Pitcairn’s Island, it will not be im¬ proper to make a few observations.—The time and manner of its Philosophical and Literary Intelligence. 429 colonization are to most general readers well known. John Adams and six Otaheitean women are all that is left of the Bounty. Forty- nine have been born on the island, two of whom are dead, which leaves 53 persons on the island,now all in good health, without asingle e ^. < t?P^ 10n ’ There are about eleven young men, who are ready and willing at all times to assist a ship’s crew in procuring wood and watei, or anj thing else the island affords. John Adams assures us and from what we saw we have no reason to disbelieve him, that the’ island was inhabited before themselves ; but at what period it is diffi¬ cult to conjecture. They found, after their arrival, many places w lere houses had stood, burying places, and images representing a human figure, with other indubitable marks that they were not the iirst possessors of Pitcairn’s island. It is, however, certain, that the aborigines left it at no recent period, as the trees growing on the liouse-tops could not have arrived to their present size in less than 100 years, perhaps 500. The land is high, and may be seen 12 or 15 leagues—its coast free of dangers—winds variable, which makes it easy to lie off and on; the town is situate on the north side of the island, rather nearest the west end—the houses may be seen three or four leagues off by a ship coming from the north. Voyage of Captain Wassiliew —Captain Wassiliew, who commanded the tw r o vessels that have jnst returned from their voyage of dis¬ covery, has performed great services to geography. He discovered m the great ocean a group of inhabited islands ; passed through Belmng s Straits, and reached a higher latitude than Cook; deter¬ mined the true position of North America, from Icy Cape to the peninsula of Alaska, and found to the north of it another inhabited island. New Botanical Discoveries.—M. Bompland, the friend and compa¬ nion of Humboldt in his peregrinations in South America, after the late changes in France, passed over to Buenos Ayres, wffiere he settled himself. He devoted himself entirely to his usual scientific pui suits, established a garden of plants, and for several months has been engaged in a botanical excursion in Paraguay, a country abound¬ ing in vegetable and mineral curiosities. The following is the extract of a letter written by this intelligent traveller, from Corricutes •— “ The whole of the country, called here The Missions, exceeds de¬ scription, and in it, at every step, one meets with things both new and useful to natural history. I have already collected two thousand plants, a large quantity of seeds, a number of stones, besides havin°- made most useful observations, such as will greatly promote a °-eolo°-i- cal knowledge of this part of America. I have also collectedlnsects birds, &c. Among the number of interesting plants to which my at¬ tention has been called, I am of opinion that the country may here¬ after derive great advantages from the three new kinds of indigo"I have found in these fertile regions. They are very different from the plant from which indigo is obtained in Caraccas, Brazil, Mexico, and India. I flatter myself that the South Americans will avail themselves of this discovery, and cultivate and improve a plant that has hitherto been disregarded, under the common name of yuyo. It is w'ell known that the indigo of Venezuela, which formerly w r as superior to that of Guatimala, in consequence of the improvements in extracting it, and competes with that of India in price, in England is worth from 15 to 20 rials per lb. In Venezuela, as much as 3 or 400,000 dollars’ worth of indigo were annually obtained, and there the pound has frequently' vol. vi.— no. 12. 2f 430 Philosophical and Literary Intelligence. been bought at seven rials. The superior quality that may be ob¬ tained from this newly discovered plant, and the facilities of convey¬ ance down to a shipping port, render it an object of great importance to a country that has only few exports; and its cultivation, if en¬ couraged by the government, and undertaken by capitalists, will in a few years furnish an interesting and staple commodity to trade." From the known zeal and researches of this experienced botanist, the scientific world has much to expect; and the new government, by whom he is now employed, will derive considerable advantages from his turning his attention, not only to objects of mere curiosity, but also to such as will eventually improve the trade and resources of the country. There are many other articles to which the attention of the Buenos Ayres Government ought to be called. The seda silvestre, or a species of wild silk, left in the woods by a certain caterpillar, is found on the banks of the Parana, and would constitute a valuable export. Very good cochineal may also be gathered inTucuman, be¬ sides a great quantity of bees-wax. The rubia tinctoria is found in many of the extended forests, but the best is in Tarija, Chaco, and the Sierra of Cordova, and it yields a brilliant colour. It was not till within very few years that notice was taken of a new mode of dying green, from a production called by the Spaniards clavillo, or little nail, from its resembling one. Some persons assert it to be the excrementitious deposit of a certain insect smaller than the cochineal, and others that it is the insect itself. Hitherto it has only been gathered in Carquejia, and the point is found introduced into the bark of a shrub. It was first used by the poor of the country, and it has since been proved, by repeated experiments, that the Yicunia and Alpaca wools, as well as cotton, after being prepared by astringents, such as alum, and previously boiled in a yellow dye, when thrown into a solution of clavillo, acquire a beautiful green colour. The shade of this simple is in itself greenish, and by being kept, it darkens considerably. Abundance of it is found in the valley of Catamarca and province of Tucuman, but no scientific experiments have been made with it. Natural verdigris, of a metallic substance, is found in the copper-mines of the districts of Carangas, Pacages, Lipes, and Atacama, as well as Oruro, and is used instead of artificial verdigris for paint, and colouring pottery. It easily dissolves in mineral acids, and all the earthy or heterogeneous particles precipitate to the bottom. A species of metallic combination, of arsenic mineralized by sulphur, called oro pimente, is also collected in various parts of the Cor¬ dillera of the coast, particularly at a place called Perinacota,25 leagues from the town of Carangas. It is found to be an excellent article to fix colours. In short, numerous plants, gums, resins, minerals, &c. will, in the course of time, be brought over from every part of South America, of which at present we have no knowledge, and tend greatly to improve the arts and sciences." Accommodation to Travellers in Russia .—In the course of last winter the Russian Government established, for the benefit of travellers, along the Gulf of Finland, and from St. Petersburgh to Cronstadt, guard-houses, placed about two miles from each other. They are well supplied with fuel, and afford a secure asylum to strangers who may wish for a safe and commodious refuge from the storm of a winter’s night. On the top of them is placed a light, with reflectors, by which they are distinguished at a great distance; and in times of heavy mists or fogs, a bell is rung, in order to guide passengers, w ho Philosophical and Literary Intelligence. 431 otherwise might wander away and lose themselves. To serve as direction-posts in snowy weather, great beams are raised, with signals on them, at proper distances, on each side of the road ; and at the lialf-w ay is established an inn, well supplied with provisions, and with whatever is necessary for refreshing and re-invigorating the traveller, exposed to the inclemencies of a climate so rude, and, with¬ out such assistance, to wilds so inhospitable. War and Commerce.—It is estimated that more than a million of bushels of human and inhuman bones were imported last year from the continent of Europe, into the port of Hull. The neighbourhood of Leipsic, Austerlitz, W aterloo, aud of all the places, where, during the late bloody w ar, the principal battles were fought, have been swept alike of the bones of the hero, and of the horse which he rode Thus collected from every quarter, they have been shipped to Hull* and thence forwarded to the Yorkshire bone-grinders, who have erected steam-engines and powerful machinery, for the purpose of reducing them to a granulary state. In this condition they are sent chiefly to Doncaster, one of the largest agricultural markets in that part of the country, and are there sold to the farmers to manure their lands. The oily part gradually evolving as the bone calcines, makes a more substantial manure than almost any other substance] and this is particularly the case with human bones. It is now r ascer¬ tained beyond a doubt, by actual experiment upon an extensive scale, that a dead soldier is a most valuable article of commerce; and, for ought know n to the contrary, the good farmers of Yorkshire are, in a great measure, indebted to the bones of their children for their daily bread. It is certainly a singular fact, that Great Britain should have sent out such multitudes of soldiers to fight the battles of this country upon the continent of Europe, and should then import their bones as an article of commerce to fatten her soil! Important Agricultural Experiment , by Dr. A. Clarke.— The follow¬ ing letter has been addressed by this celebrated scholar and philan¬ thropist to the editor of a periodical journal, from which we copv it into oui pages. Dear bir i An account of the following agricultural experiment, though not so perfect as I could have wished it, may in¬ duce some of your readers to pursue the same method on a larger, and, I hope, a more successful scale. On June 10, 1816, I planted three grains of common red wheat, in what might be called good, but not rich ground, at Millbrook, in Eccleston, Lancashire. They sprouted well, and produced several side-shoots, which I had intend¬ ed to divide and transplant early in August; but being from home, the transplanting was delayed till the 28th of the month. I then took up the three grains, and divided the shoots, which amounted to 150, but in transplanting, found I had room for only 126 plants, without going to a different soil. These 126 plants might be considered the produce of two and a half grains of wheat. A few of the slips died; the rest were healthy, and each put forth several side-shoots. Owing to the excessive w etness and backwardness of the season, I did no't transplant these as soon as I could have wished ; but, on October 18th, I tookup all the survivors of the 126 plants, subdivided and replanted* them in a more open place, and found that the produce was 658 per¬ fect plants. 1 threw' aside what might be called the produce of half a grain, and ascertained that at this second subdivision and trans¬ planting, two grains of wheat had yielded 574 distinct plants, or 287 plants from one grain! I then committed the w hole to the care of 432 Philosophical and Literary Intelligence. Divine Prividence till the next spring, intending to subdivide and transplant the produce of those 574 plants twice in that season, should it be propitious. On Monday and Tuesday, March 24th and 25th, 1817, I took up the above plants, which had, in general, stood the winter very well; a few plants only having died, and a few having been killed with the frost, which had been pretty keen for several mornings in the preceding week. As they had, in the course of the preceding Octo¬ ber, (the time of the last transplanting,) and in the beginning of this spring, put forth several side-shoots, 1 again divided them, and found that one of the grains, that is, 287 plants, had multiplied itself into 900 plants, and the second grain into 916! These I planted in rows in a field, alongside of other wheat sown in the common way; setting the plants four inches asunder, and about ten inches between the rows. I once more committed these two grains, in their produce, to the care of that astonishing Providence which had multiplied one into nine hundred; and intended to subdivide once more, should the spring be forward and favourable. The first week in April, there came a severe frost for four or five nights ; and not having taken any precau¬ tion to defend these tender plants, one third, at least, of the whole was killed! Finding that my experiment was thus necessarily ren¬ dered incomplete, I did not attempt any further subdivision and trans¬ planting. The remaining plants throve, and were very healthy, and, in general, greatly surpassed the other wheat in length and strength of stalk, and in length, bulk, and in weight of ear, many of the ears being five and six inches long, and the grains large and well fed. As some of the more slender stalks did not ripen as soon as the rest, I left them growing after the field of wheat had been cut down; and, to complete the catastrophe of this experiment, fowls and birds de¬ stroyed one half of the crop! What remained, which amounted to several quarts, was of the finest quality; and had it not been for the preceding accidents, the result of this single experiment would, I am satisfied, have astonished the most scientific agriculturists in Europe. From this experiment, it is evident, that a single grain of wheat has an almost unlimited capacity of multiplying itself by slips or off-sets,—that every slip possesses, in potentia, the full virtue of the original plant;—and that so abundant is its germinating power, that if all the wheat in Europe were destroyed to a single grain, that grain, by proper management in the above way, would, in a short time, produce a sufficiency to sow all the cultivated surface of the continent and islands of this fourth part of the globe.—He who can¬ not see the hand, the wisdom, and the beneficent providence of God in this thing, must be blind indeedand he whose soul docs not ex¬ pand with gratitude to his heavenly Father, for the profusion of love and tender care manifested even in this one case, must have a stupid head or a callous heart. Perhaps I may, at some future time, give you the result of some similar experiments; and am, dear Sir, your affectionate friend, Adam Clarke. -Millbrook, July 12, 1822.” Value of the Nettle .—The Nettle, urtica urens, in Shropshire, is dressed and manufactured, like flax, into cloth. This is the case also in France, where it is made into paper. This plant, when dried, is eaten by sheep and oxen. In Russia, a green dye is obtained from its leaves, and a yellow one from its roots. In the spring, a salutary pottage is made from the tops. In Scotland, they make a runnet from a decoction of it with salt, for coagulating their milk in the mak¬ ing of cheese. 433 List of Neiv Publications. Ripening of Wall Fruit .—It is a law of chemistry, that “ the deeper the colour of any opaque body, the greater is the rise of temperature >\hich it experiences ; or, in other words, the more heat does it absorb by exposure to the sun’s rays, or other source of heat.” Thus black becomes the hottest in a given space of time, then blue, green, red, yellow, and white, in their given order. This has been demonstrated by the experiments of Franklin and Davy. Taking the hint from this page of philosophy, Mr. H. Davies, of Slough, has published the re¬ sult of an experiment, for facilitating the ripening of wall-fruit, by covering the wall with black paint. The experiment w as tried on a \ine, and it is stated that the weight of grapes gathered from the blackened part of the wall w 7 as 201b. loz.; while the plain part yielded only 71b. loz., being little more than one third of the other. The fruit on the blackened part w as also much finer, and the w ood of the vine more vigorous. IS ails for Wall Fruit. —Specimens of Nails for Wall Fruit have been presented to the Horticultural Society. They are made of cast-iron, with round heads having a hole in the centre, and are intended to be permanently fixed in the w all when building, between the courses of brick work; by leading the branches of the trees close to them, and tying them by pieces of matting or string run through the eye, they can be trained in any direction without damaging the wall, as is done by the usual practice of nailing, w hich in process of time creates in¬ numerable holes, which become hiding-places for various sorts of insects. AVe consider this a very desirable improvement in the method of fixing fruit-trees to walls. LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY. The Rural Improver; or a Practical Treatise on the Nature and Management of such Rural Scenes as are necessary to promote the comfort, convenience, and embellishment of the residencies of the higher ranks of Society. By W. Pontey. 4to. £2. 2s. ANTIQUITIES AND TOPOGRAPHY. State of the Cape of Good Hope in 1822: being an authentic Description of the Public Establishments, Government, civil and municipal, Manners of the Inhabitants, and actual Condition of the Settlers. Edited by H. T. Colebrooke, Esq. 8vo. 12s. An Historical and Topographical Essay upon the Islands of Corfu, Leucadia Cephalonia, Ithaca, and Zante, with Remarks upon the Character, Manners, and Customs of the Ionian Greeks, &c. By William Goodison, A.B., Assistant-Surgeon to the 75th Regt. 8vo. 12s. A Statistical and Commercial History of the Kingdom of Gua- timala, in Spanish America. From original records in the Archives actual Observations, and other authentic sources. By Don Domingo Juaras, a native of the city of Guatimala. Translated by Lieut. J. Baily. 8vo. 16s. 434 List of Neu' Publications. The Architectural Antiquities of Rome. By G. L. Taylor and Edward Cresy, architects. 2VoIs. Imperial Folio. £18. 18s. An Accurate Table of the Population of the British Empire in 1821. 5s. L. P. 7s. ARCHITECTURE. Specimens of Gothic Architecture. By Pugin. Vol. 2. BIOGRAPHY. Anecdotes, Biographical Sketches, and Memoirs. Collected by Letitia Matilda Hawkins. 2 Yols. 8vo. Life of Alexander Reid, a Scottish Covenanter. Written by him¬ self, and edited by Archibald Prentice, his Great Grandson. Memoir of the Private Life of Marie Antoinette. By Madam Campan, her first Lady of the Bedchamber. 2 Yols. 8vo. £1. 8s. The same in French, £1.4s. Memoirs of the Life and Writings of John Gordon, M.D. By D. Ellis, M.D. 12mo.' 6s. Memoirs of George Heriot, Jeweller to King James VI.; with an Account of the Hospital founded by him at Edinburgh. 8vo. 7s. 6d. Journal of the Private Life and Conversation of the Emperor Napoleon. By the Count de Las Cases. Parts 3 and 4, £1. Is. A Mother’s Portrait, sketched soon after her decease, for the study of her children, by their surviving Parent. 12mo. 4s. 6d. The Life of John Goodwin, M.A. By T. Jackson. 8vo. 10s. 6d. CLASSICS. The Odysey of Homer translated into English Prose. By a Member of the University of Oxford. 2 Vols. £1. Is. FINE ARTS. Coloured Plates, illustrative of Belzoni’s Travels in Egypt, &c. Folio. 25s. Illustrations of the Loves of the Angels. Engraved by C. Hall, from the Designs of R. Westall. 8vo. 5s. HISTORY. Rivington’s Annual Register for 1798. 8vo. £1. Epitome of Chronology, from the earliest period to the present time. By E. Maydwell. 12mo. 7s. Pignetti’s History of Tuscany, translated by John Bowring, Esq. 4 Vols. 8vo. £2. 8s. Memoirs of the History of France during the Reign of Napoleon, dictated by the Emperor at St. Helena, to his Aids-du-Camp, Counts Montholon, Berthon, Gourgaud, &c. Corrected by himself. Vols. 1 and 2. 8vo. £1. 8s. The same Work in French. 8vo. £1. 4s. LAW. A Supplement to the twenty-third Edition of Burn’s Justice of the Peace, 8cc. By G. Chetwynd, M.P. 8vo. 16s. A Practical Treatise on the Law of Patents, Inventions, and of Copyright, with an Introductory Book on Monopolies. By Richard Godson, of Lincoln’s-Inn, Esq., Barrister-at-Law\ 8vo. 15s. A Practical Treatise on the Law of Partnership. By Neil Gow, Esq. of Lincoln’s-Inn, Barrister-at-Law. Royal 8vo. £1. Is. MATHEMATICS. An Elementary Treatise on the Mathematical Principles of Arith- matic. Translated from the 15th Edition of the French of F. S. Lacroix. Svo. 5s. List of New Publications. 435 MEDICINE. A Practical Treatise on the Bath Waters. By J. H. Sprey. 8vo. 13s. The History and Method of Cure of the various species of Epilepsy, being the Second Part of the Second Volume of a Treatise on Ner¬ vous Diseases. By John Cook, M.D., F.R.S., &c. 8vo. 6s. Thoughts on the present Character and Constitution of the Medical Profession. By F. C. Speer, M.D., M.R.I.A. 8vo. 5s. 6d. Practical Observations on the Treatment and Cure of several varieties of Pulmonary Consumption; and on the effects of the vapour of boiling Tar in that Disease. By Sir Alexander Crichton, M.D., F.R.S., &c. &c. &c. 8vo. 8s. A New View of the Infection of Scarlet Fever, illustrated by Remarks on other contagious Disorders. By William Macmichael, M.D., F.R.S., &c. 8vo; 5s. Illustrations of the Inquiry respecting Tuberculous Diseases. By John Baron, M.D. 8vo. 12s. An Essay on the Medical Efficacy and Employment of the Bath Waters. By Edward Barlow, M.D., &c. 8vo. 8s. Observations on some of the general Principles, and on the parti¬ cular Nature and Treatment of the different Species of Inflamma¬ tion ; being the substance of an Essay to which the Jacksonian prize for the year 1818 was adjudged by the Royal College of Surgeons. By J. H. James, Surgeon to the Devon and Exeter Hospital, &c. 8vo. 10s. 6d. A Treatise on a Disease that attends Women in Childbed; and has hitherto been so fatal in this city, as well as in other parts of the country. By John Mackintosh, M.D. 8vo. 8s. 6d. A Sketch of the Epidemical Puerperal Fever, as it prevailed in Edinburgh in 1821 and 1822. By William Campbell, M.D. 8vo. 10s. 6d. MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS. A Memoir of the Operations of the Allied Army under Prince Schwartzenberg and Marshal Blucher, during the latter end of 1813 and the year 1814. By a General Officer. 8vo. £1. 1. MISCELLANEOUS. Bouterwek’s History of Spanish and Portuguese Literature, from the original German. By Thomasina Ross. 2 Vols. 8vo. £1. 4s. The History of Roman Literature. By John Dunlop, Esq. 2 Vols. 8vo. £1. 11s. 6d. Life in Paris. Embellished with Plates. By D. Care}'. 8vo. £1. Is. German Popular Stories, translated from the Kinder und Hans Marchen; collected by M. M. Grimm. Small 8vo. With Etchings by Cruickshanks. 7s. A History of Ancient Institutions, Customs, and Inventions ; selected and abridged from the Beytrage Zur Geschichte der Ened- uvgen, of Professor Bukinawn, of the University of Gottingen; with various important additions. 2 Vols. 12mo* 15s. Sequel to an unfinished Manuscript of Henry Kirke White; designed to illustrate the contrast afforded by Christians and Infidlels at the close of Life. By the Author of : The Wonders of the Vegetable Kingdom displayed.’ 12mo. 4s. Relics of Literature. By Stephen Collett. 8vo, 5s, 436 List of New Publications. Advice to young Mothers on the Physical Education of Children. By a Grandmother. 12mo. 7s. Gd. W. Barlow, or the Evils of Infidelity. By Mrs. Hewlett. 2s. Gd. Jackson’s Two Systems of Stenography, the first in nine Charac¬ ters only, and the second in nineteen. The characters resemble those ot the common hands, the prefixes and terminations being without arbitrary characters, and the orthography pure. 12mo. 5s. 6d. Letters to Sir Walter Scott, Bart., on the Moral and Political Character and Effects of the Visit to Scotland, 1822, of bis Majesty King George IV. 4s. Gd. Peveril of the Peak. By the Author of Waverley, &c. 4 Vols. Small 8vo. £2. 2s. The Innkeeper’s Album, arranged for Publication. By W. F. Deacon. 8vo. 12s. A Lecture on the Utility and History of Literary Institutions, delivered at the Surrey Institution. By James Jennings. 8vo. 6s. The Work Table; or. Evening Conversations. By Miss E. A. Soutter. 2 Vols. 12mo. 7s. The Hermit of Dumpton Cave ; or Devotedness to God and Use¬ fulness to Man, exemplified in the old age of Joseph Croome Petit, of Dumptort, near Ramsgate. 12mo. 5s. A Comment on the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. 8vo. 18s. The Entail; or the Lairds of Grippy. By the Author of ‘Annals of the Parish.’ 3Vols. 12mo. £1. Is. Tales of ray Father and my Friends. Small 8vo. 5s. Sketches of Field Sports, as followed by the Natives of India; with Observations on the Animals, &c. By Daniel Johnson, formerly Surgeon in the Hon. East India Company’s Service. 8vo. 8s. The Automatical Camera Obscura, exhibiting scenes from Nature, illustrated with seventeen neatly executed Engravings, and neatly half-bound. By the Rev. Thomas Towne, Author of ‘ The Village in an Uproar,’ &c. &c. 4 Vols. 10s. Gd. NATURAL HISTORY. A succinct Account of the Limeworks at Plymouth. By the Rev. Richard Hennale, chaplain to the garrison of Plymouth. Royal 8vo. 12s. The Journal of a Horticultural Tour through Flanders, Holland, and the North of France. By a Deputation of the Caledonian Horti¬ cultural Society. 8vo. 6s. Conchology. By S. Brooks, F.L.S. 4to. £2. 10s. PHILANTHROPY. Additional Observations on Penal Jurisprudence, on the Reforma¬ tion of Criminals, containing the Remarks on Prison Discipline, in reply to an article in the Edinburgh Review, and on the Punishment of Criminals by solitary confinement, as was proposed in some of the United-States of America. By W. Roscoe, Esq. 8vo. 6s. Fourth Report of the Committee of the Society for the Improve¬ ment of Prison Discipline. 8vo. 3s. Observations on the Importance of Educating the Infant Poor, from eighteen months to seven years. By S. Wilderspin. 12mo. 5s. PHILOLOGY. A Universal Technological Dictionary. By George Crabb, A.M. 2 vols. 4to> £5. 8s. List of New Publications. 437 Palaeoromaica: or Historical and Philological Disquisitions,inquir¬ ing whether the Hellenic style is not Latin-Greek. 8vo. 16s. POETRY. The Celts Paradise; In Six Duans. By John Baniin. The Temple of Truth, an Allegorical Poem. By the Author of Village Conversation. The Enchanted Flute, with other Poems. By Mrs. E. R. Wol- fustan. 8vo. 12s. The Loves of the Angels . By Thomas Moore, Esq. 8vo. 9s. Don Carlos, or Persecution; A Tragedy. By Lord John Russel. 8vo. 4s. 6d. The Druid’s Song. A Christmas Appeal to my Country. By the Hon. and Rev. E. Tumour, A.M. 4to. 2s. The Psalms in Metre. By W. Coldwell. 6s. The Press ; a Satire. 5s. Montezuma, a Tragedy ; and other Poems. By Sir John Dorset. Royal 8vo. 8s. 6d. Rogvald; an Epic Poem By J. E. Pennie. 8vo. 12s. POLITICS AND POLITICAL ECONOMY. Thoughts and Details on the high and low Prices of the last thirty years. By T. Tooke Esq. Part I. 8vo. A Letter to the Proprietors and Occupiers of Lands, on the causes of and remedies for the Declension of Agricultural Produce. By Thomas Lord Erskine. 8vo. 2s. A Letter to the Rev. J.Malthus, being an Answer to the Criticism on Mr. Godwin’s Work on Population, inserted in the seventh number of the Edinburgh Review. By David Booth. The Administration of the Affairs of Great Britain, Ireland, and their Dependencies, at the commencement of the year 1823. 8vo. 5s. 6d. Views of Ireland: Moral, Political, and Religious. By John O’Dris- col, Esq. 2 vols. 8vo. £1.4s. THEOLOGY. The Connection of Christianity with Human Happiness; the sub¬ stance of the Boyle Lecture in 1821. By the Rev. W. Harness, A.M. 2 vols. Post 8vo. 15s. The Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures proved by the evident completion of many important Prophecies. By the Rev. Thomas Wilkinson, B.D. 8vo. 6s. Twenty Discourses preached before the University of Cambridge in 1822, at the Lecture founded by the Rev. J. Hulse, M-A. By the Rev. C. Benson. 8vo. 12s. Sermons. By the Rev. J. Hayden. 8vo. 7s. 6d. The whole Works of the Rev. John Owen, D.D. now first collected. Vols. II. III. 12s. each. The Village Churchyard. By the Author of ‘The Retrospect.’ 2 vols. 18mo. Half-bound. 4s. A Treatise on the Genius and Object of the Patriarchal, the Levi- tical, and the Christian Dispensations. By the Rev. J. S. Faber, Rector of Long Newton. 2 Vols. 8vo. £1. Is. Lectures on the Pleasures of Religion. By the Rev. H. F. Binder, M.A. 8vo. 7s. 6d. The Sacred Period ; a poetically embellished description of events 438 List of New Publications. from our Saviour’s Nativity to his Ascension. With Notes. By T. Mott, Esq. 8vo. 4s. 6d. Palmer’s Nonconformists’ Catechism. New Edition. By Dr. Newman. Sacred Parodies and Original Hymns, written by Dr. Collyer, and adapted to popular Airs by J. Hart. Part I. 3s. To be completed in Six Parts. A General and Historical View of Christianity; comprehending its origin and progress, the leading doctrines and forms of polity found¬ ed upon it, and the effect which it has produced in the moral and political state of Europe. By George Cook, D.D., F.R.S., &c. &c. Aurae Sententiae, Select Sentences; transcribed from sundry emi¬ nent Divines, and other Writers. By Thomas Stretton. With a recommendatory Preface, by John Morrison. 8vo. A Charge delivered at his Primary Visitation at Dublin. By W. Magee, D.D., Archbishop of Dublin, 8vo. 2s. Sermons ; selected and abridged from the Works of Archbishop Tillotson. By the Rev. J. Dakins. 2 Vols. 8vo. £1. A Chart of the Episcopacy of England and Wales, on a roller. £1. Is. A Course of Lectures on the History of Joseph. Lately delivered at Portland Chapel, Bath. By the Rev. John Davies. Post 8vo. 5s. 6d. Select Sermons of the Right Rev. Thomas Wilson, D.D., Bishop of Soder and Man ; abridged and rendered in a familiar, but less col¬ loquial style. By the Rev. Edward Atkyn Bray, B.D., F.A.S., Vicar of Tavistock. 12mo. 4s. Resolution, a distinguishing Mark of Divine Grace; or, the Advan¬ tages of Observing the Fourth Commandment. Patronage of the Church of England, concisely considered in re¬ ference to National Reformation and Improvement, to the Perma¬ nence of our Ecclesiastical Establishment, and to its Influence on the Pastoral Charge and Clerical Character. By R. Yates, D.D., F.S.A. 8vo. 5s. Remonstrance, addressed to the Supporters of the British and Foreign Bible Society, on the system of Visitation, as introduced by their District Committees; and an earnest Appeal to those Members who are professedly attached to the Church of England. 8vo. Is. 6d. A Defence of the Established Church, from the Categories in the Tail of the New Comet, called the “ Council of Ten,” that has arisen upon the Land ; from the Ignis Fatuus of a “ Northern Incumbent;” from the Aurora Borealis of the Edinburgh Review ; and from a Pamphlet, entitled, “Episcopal Innovation,” &c., all against the Bishop of Peterborough; and also from the rays of Criticism darted upon the Bishop of London, by one of the same great lights, which reflect upon itself with perfect elasticity. By Alma Lux. 8vo. 3s. Thoughts on the Anglo and Anglo-American Churches. By John Bristed, Counsellor at Law. 8vo. 10s. 6d. The Faith once Delivered to the Saints, Defended: being the Substance of three Sermons on the Consistency, Truth, and Impor¬ tance of the generally received Opinion concerning the Person of Christ. By William France. Profession not Principle; or, the Name of Christian is not Chris¬ tianity. By the Author of Decision. 18mo. 3s. 6d. Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. 439 VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. A Diary of a Tour through Northern India, Egypt, and Palestine, in the years 1821 and 1822. By a Field Officer of Cavalry. 8vo. 10s. 6d. J Travels in Asia, from Modern Writers ; with Remarks and Views, By W. Bingley, Esq. 12mo. 7s. A Narrative of a Voyage Round the World, in the Uranie and Physicienne corvettes, commanded by Capt. Freycinet. By J. Ara°-o 4to. £3. 13s. 6d. ’ Travels in Ireland in 1822. By T. Reid, Member of the College of Surgeons. 8vo. 12s. An Impartial Account of the United States of America, from Mate¬ rials collected during a Four Years’ Residence. By Isaac Holmes, of Liverpool. 8vo. 12s. Travels to Chili over the Andes, in the years 1820 and 1821. 4to. Nos. I. II. III. £1. Is. A Sketch of Poyais. By T. Strangeways. 8vo. 12s. Journal of a Tour from Astrachan to Karass. By the Rev. W. Glen, Missionary, Astrachan. 12mo. 4s. An Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Moun¬ tains, performed in the years 1819 and 1820, by order of the Secretary at War, under the command of Major S. H. Long, of the United States Topographical Engineers. By E. James, Botanist and Geo¬ logist for the Expedition. 3 Vols. 8vo. £1. 16s. Travels in the Northern States of America, particularly those of New-England and New-York. By T. Dwight, S.T.D., LL.D., late President of Yale College. 4 Vols. 8vo. £2. 2s. Fifteen Years in India; or Sketches of a Soldier’s Life; being an attempt to describe things in various parts of Hindoston. From the Journal of an Officer in his Majesty’s Service. 8vo. 14s. Journal of a Tour in France, Switzerland, and Italy, in 1820 and 1821. By Marianne Colston. 2 Vols. 8vo. £1. Is. RELIGIOUS AND PHILANTHROPIC INTELLIGENCE. Society for the Assistance of Evangelical Dissenting Ministers, whose incomes are inadequate to their support. —We have great pleasure in mentioning the establishment of this Institution at a public meeting held at the King’s Head, Poultry, on Tuesday, Jan. 14th. The meeting was both numerous and respectable. In addition to several ministers of town and country, many of the principal members of Dissenting congregations in London and its neighbourhood were present; William Alers Hankey, Esq., in the chair. The following is a brief abstract of the regulations that were determined on.— “ Ministers assisted by this Society must be of unexceptionable character; maintaining the sentiments of the Assembly’s Catechism in faith and practice; and whose income from every source does not exceed the following limits, viz.;—l. Unmarried ministers £40. per annum. 2. Married ministers having no children, £60. per annum. 440 Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. 3. Married ministers not having less than two children dependent upon them for support, £70. per annum. 4. Married ministers not having less than four children, under similar circumstances, £80. per annum.—The widow or family of a minister are eligible to be assisted once after his decease: and, in extraordinary cases, ministers of somewhat higher incomes than the prescribed scale may be assisted. Subscribers of one guinea annually are members of the Society; and of ten guitfeas at one time, members for life. Subscribers of five guineas annually are governors; and of fifty pounds at one time, governors for life. The Committee consists of twelve ministers and twelve laymen. Ministers who collect not less than ten guineas, and secretaries of county and district associations, contributing twenty pounds, are members during the period of such contributions. The annual meeting of the Society is to be held in London on the third Wednesday in April.” Joseph Proctor, Esq. is appointed treasurer; Rev. H. Lacey, Rev. J. Leifchild, and Rev. J. Yockney, secretaries. A subscription has commenced in a liberal and promising manner. The religious public, however, will perceive that nothing short of a large and permanent fund will enable the Committee to carry the benevolent purposes of the Institution into effect. Communications may be addressed to the Treasurer, 125, Fleet-street; or the Secreta¬ ries, at 24, Paternoster-row.—We close our notice of this important Institution, by stating, particularly, at the request of the Committee, their desire to open a correspondence with Congregational and Cal- vinistic Methodist ministers, deacons, and elders, and to receive communications from them without delay. Canonization of a New Saint. —We copy the following narrative of a piece of mummery now going on at Rome, from an ultra French Journal; where it is inserted, we presume, to edify those enlightened personages who are delighted with the termination of the sermons of the Archbishop of Paris: ‘ Vive le Roi! vivent les Bourbons! et vive Jesus Christ!’—“ Rome, Feb. 1 . They are occupied at present at Rome, in the canonization of an old priest, who died ‘ in the odour of sanctity,’ the venerable servant of the Lord, John Baptiste Rossi, Canon of the Church of St. Mary, born at Voltaggio, in the diocese of Genes, on the 22d of February, 1698, and settled at Rome in 1711, where he emulated the virtues of St. Gaetan and St. Philip Neri. He appears to be a new apostle for the capital of the Christian world. He belonged to many brotherhoods, and served the pilgrims in the Hospital of the Trinity, where he died on the 29th of May, 1764. His body reposes in the church of the Hospital. On the 28th of January, a sitting of rites was held, to examine if John Baptiste had practised virtue in an heroic degree. This sitting took place in the presence of his eminence the Cardinal, dean of the sacred college, prefect of the rites, and reputer of the cause, for the success of which prayers have been offered in many of the churches of Rome.” British and Irish Ladies’ Society .— A Society under this title was tormed at a meeting, held Oct. 14th, for improving the condition and promoting the industry and welfare of theFemale Peasantry in Ireland. Their Royal Highnesses the Princess Augusta, and Duchess of Glou¬ cester, are patrons, with a very respectable list of ladies of rank, &c. as vice-patrons. The Duchess of Beaufort is president, and Miss Vansittart, vice-president. Two ladies are lion, secretaries, and Mr. G. Fownes, of 75, Old Broad-street, assistant-secretary and collector. Beside the immediate object of clothing the naked, it is contem- Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. 441 plated to find means of employment for the women and children, iti order to which, county and district associations in both countries are recommended, to correspond and co-operate with each other. Seamen s Hospital Society. —A meeting' of this Society was held on Thursday, Feb. 20 , at the London Tavern. The Bishop' of Chester in the chair. The following' is the statement of the number of men received into the Hospital in the last year, betweeirthe 23d February, 1822, and the 18th February', 1823:— Total number received.. Of which, cured and discharged at the request of parties!!......236 Ditto, ditto, having obtained ships.325 Ditto, ditto, ships found them by the Committee 70 Ditto, ditto, conveyed to their homes. 12 Absented themselves. g Expelled, after being cured, for misconduct. 7 Died . !!!!!!!!!! 30 Under cure, and convalescent 686 102 Total..788 Number received in the year 1821. 413 Ditto, do. in the last year. 733 Total number received since commencement. 1201 Completely clothed after being cured. 11 Supplied with shoes and stockings only. 93 Royal Universal Dispensary for Children. —On Thursday, Feb. 29, the seventh anniversary festival of this very useful Institution, was* held at the City of London Tavern ; the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor in the chair. During the last year alone, 12,331 patients have been admitted ; and, since the opening of the Institution, in June, 1816, to the 31st of December last, 34,662 sick indigent children have received medical and surgical advice, and been supplied gratuitously with medicines; of whom 31,680 have been cured or relieved ; 1307 vac¬ cinated; 711 only have died ; and 964 are still upon the books, and under cure. This charity is supported by voluntary contributions. Stations: No. 6 . Great Eastcheap; 14, St. Thomas-street, South¬ wark; 101 , Great Surrey-street; and at the Dispensary, St. Andrew’s Hill, Doctors’ Commons; where the Apothecary, Mr. H. Cox, resides. In cases of danger, applications are received in the first instance without recommendation. Mendicity Suppression Society. —Wednesday, Feb. 27, the Anniver¬ sary Meeting of this Society took place at the Egyptian Hall, Man¬ sion-house; the Lord Mayor in the chair. The Hall was crowded ; the company consisting chiefly of ladies. The report stated, that more relief had been given to the indigent within the last year, than within any period of similar duration, more objects having presented themselves to the Society; but that the funds required more active assistance from the opulent in consequence of .those claims. Many cases of gross imposition had been detected by the conductors of the Institution, who still regret the practice of giving casual relief to beggars in the streets. City of London Lying-in Hospital, City-Road. —Thursday evening. 442 Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. Feb. 28, the Anniversary Festival of this laudable Institution, for the reception and delivery of poor Pregnant Married Women, was cele¬ brated at the City of London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street; Anthony Highmore, Esq. in the chair, supported by several persons of dis¬ tinction, medical gentlemen, merchants, &c. The report of last year announced, that since the year 1750, the number of women delivered, and cliildren born, amounted to 27,980; 350 of the women had twins, and two of them three children at a birth; 835 lives have been preserved, apparently still-born (twenty-eight in the year 1822); and during the last three years, 800 individuals had been received into the Institution, none of whom had died. During the evening, a most interesting spectacle was introduced to the company. A mili¬ tary band was stationed in the room, and, after indulging in the most enlivening strains, they commenced solemn music, on which a pro¬ cession of the objects of the Institution proceeded round the room, attired in their accouchement apparel, with infants in their arms, curtsying to their benefactors. Prior to the separation of the com¬ pany, a handsome collection was made. African and Asiatic Society. —We are concerned to hear that “The Society for the Relief and Instruction of poor Africans and Asiatics/' have been obliged to suspend their benevolent labours for want of funds, especially during a season when their sufferings from the climate must have been extreme. Humanity to Animals. —The Act lately passed by the Legislature, entitled, “ An Act to prevent the cruel and improper treatment of cattle,” cannot be too generally known, or too rigorously enforced. The insertion, therefore, of the following abstract of it, cannot fail of promoting the humane object for which it was designed:—The Act recites, “ That, if any person or persons shall cruelly beat, abuse, or ill treat, any horse, mare, gelding, mule, ass, ox, cow, heifer, steer, sheep, or other cattle, and complaint on oath thereof be made to any justice of the peace or other magistrate, w ithin whose jurisdic¬ tion such offence shall be committed, it shall be lawful for such jus¬ tice ot peace, or other magistrate, to issue his summons, or warrant, at discretion, to bring the party or parties, so complained of, before him, who shall examine, upon oath, any witness or witnesses who shall appear to give evidence touching such offence; and if the party or parties accused shall be convicted of any such offence, either by his, her, or their own confession, or upon such information as afore¬ said, lie, she, or they, so convicted, shall forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding five pounds, nor less than ten shillings, to his Majesty, his heirs and successors ; and if the person or persons so convicted shall refuse, or not be able forthwith to pay the sum forfeited, every such offender shall, by w arrant, under the hand and seal of some justice or justices of the peace, or other magistrate, within whose jurisdiction the person offending shall be convicted, be committed to the House of Correction, or some other prison within the jurisdiction in which the offence shall have been committed, there to be kept without bail or mainprize, for any time not exceeding three months.” It afterwards provides, “That no person shall suffer any punishment for any offence committed against this Act, unless the prosecution for the same be commenced within ten days after the offence shall have been committed.” Encouragement of Industry in Holland. —“ A short time after peace was established on the Continent, M. Vander Bosch, of Amsterdam, 443 Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. and a few other gentlemen, formed an association, under the name of The Society of Benevolence. Their object was to collect a sum of money by subscription, to purchase land, and establish domestic colonies, for the purpose of giving work and subsistence to the unem¬ ployed industrious poor. Prince Frederick of Orange was nominated president. As soon as their funds were sufficient to commence car- rying their proposed objects into execution, an extensive waste, the greater part of which was very poor land, was purchased in the pro¬ vince of Overyssel. Immediately a spot was selected, and a small colony established, consisting of fifty cottages, besides a few other necessary buildings. To each of the cottages was allow ed a suffi¬ cient plot of ground for a garden. Nobody was admitted into this colony, but those who could produce satisfactory certificates of industry and good character. The beneficial effects of this under¬ taking were soon observed. In the following year a second colony was established on another part of the estate. This was called ‘ Frederick’s Town,’ after the president; the first colony bearing the original name of the estate. Here also fifty cottages were built, and inhabitants put in them. The increase of the funds allowed them to establish a third colony, which they did, and to which they gave the name of William’s Town, after the king, his Majesty having patro¬ nized the Society very ardently. Here 100 cottages were built, 700 acres of land allowed to their colony, and many improvements which experience suggested, and the new donations permitted, were made. At some distance from the estate, a small navigable river, called the Ar, has communication with more large towns and vil¬ lages. From the colonies to this river, a canal has been cut, and now they are digging one as far as the Zuyder Sea. While working the ground, a large tract of fine brick earth was discovered, and in another part of the estate, a large piece of moor, or peat, w'as found, which produces very good fuel for making bricks. Bricks, therefore, are now made in great quantities, and the mode of conveying them through the canal being cheap and easy, they are considerably exported, and thereby a profitable trade has been opened to the colonists. To those of the colonists that have no children, boys and girls from the orphan houses of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Dordrecht, and other places, have been given. The Directors applied for those of the best character, who liked agricultural labours ; which applica¬ tion was readily granted. The success of the three colonies being far above the most sanguine expectations of the original planners, two more colonies have been marked out already, so that this estate will soon have five separate colonies. The Directors have been enabled to purchase another estate, situated in the same province, with the same intention. These establishments being a novel thing, many people visit them, and nobody returns without being enter¬ tained and delighted at what may be done by good management and industry/’ Employment of the Poor .—(Extracts from the Minutes of the King’s Head Committee.)—About three years ago, the parish of Olney, Bucks, engaged about 14 acres of good land, for w’hich they pay rent and taxes, upon which they employ all the labouring poor who apply for relief, that are capable of work; and it is all prepared by the spade, under the direction of the overseers, and produces vegetables, potatoes, wheat, and beans. After paying the men employed, the surplus is applied in aid of the poor’s rates: by this management 444 Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. the parish is supposed to save several hundreds a year. At Ilminstcr, four acres are cultivated for the use of the poor: the produce, after supplying the workhouse, is disposed of to needy and deserving paupers, somewhat under the market price. This field gives em¬ ployment to those who apply for relief from want of work, and serves to detect the indolent. Here a workshop has been added ; and the whole of the excellent management has proved a saving of several hundreds per annum. Some years back, the farmers of Dauncey, Wilts, let to the poor labourers of their parish, who had large fami¬ lies, three acres of land, each at £2 per acre, and soon afterwards the late Lord Peterborough gratuitously built a barn for them. The consequence was, that those men had their names immediately struck oil the parish books, and brought up their families in industry and honesty, and all of them afterwards cheerfully paid to the aged and infirm of the said parish, their regular rates. The gentlemen and farmers of Great Comerford, in the same county, have since been pursuing a similar plan, by letting the same number of acres to the poor with large families, and paying their taxes. Each farmer allows according to the extent of his farm. The Committee of the House of Commons, upon these subjects, reports, that “ though the whole stock of subsistence be thereby increased, yet the cultivator of the soil would be more than compensated for any diminution in the value of his produce, by the corresponding diminution of the ex¬ penses of maintaining his family and labourers, and the more im¬ portant reduction of the poor’s rate.” Slave Trade. —A series of papers relative to the slave-trade on the coast of Africa, has been printed by order of the House of Commons. It consists of three letters from Sir Charles McCarthy, the governor of Sierra Leone, which prove the increased state of that horrible traffic. A memorandum, enclosed in one of these letters, dated Sierra Leone, the 22 d of January, 1822, describing the proceedings of the British cruisers for the last six months on the leeward coast, states, that the Myrmidon, Captain Leeke, on arriving at the Bonny, tound that river swarming with slave vessels, under different flags, eight of them French, of which four had their human cargoes on board. Captain Leeke had also ascertained, on good authority, that the number of slave cargoes taken out of Bonny, from July, 1820, to October, 1821, was actually 190, and a similar return from the Cala¬ bar, for a like period, made a total of 162. On the same coast, in October, the Snapper, Lieutenant Knight, in the course of ten days, fell in with nine slave ships, of which eight were French. The memo¬ randum then proceeds to describe the state of the slave-trade on the windward coast. The following is an extract:—“ The renewal of the traffic in human beings on the windward coast must be viewed by every friend to humanity with deep regret; accompanied, as that renewal has been, with cruel wars amongst the hitherto peaceful natives: the arrival of a slave ship in any of the adjacent rivers, is the signal for attack; the hamlets of the natives are burned, and the miserable survivors carried and sold to the slave-factors. The line of coast from the island of Goree to the mouth of the Gambia, and irom thence to the Portuguese establishments of Cacheo and Bissao, would seem to be the principal seat of this guilty traffic to windward. From this quarter, in addition to the extraordinary exportation in large vessels, a very extensive carrying trade is kept up with the Cape de Verd Islands, principally by the small-craft belonging to Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. 445 Goree and Senegal. The slave-traders at Cacheo have lately given their traffic in the Rio Grande a new feature of barbarous atrocity; they visit this river in armed sloops and boats, landing during the pi§>ht, and carrying ofl as many as possible of the truly wretched inhabitants. An appeal to this colony has been lately made on behalf ot three tillages lately ravaged in this manner. The fine rivers Nunez and Pongas are entirely under the control of renegado Europeans and American slave-traders; most of the slaves sent from the former river find their way to Cacheo and the Cape de Verds, from whence, it is said, they are shipped as domestics to the Brazils. A French schooner, M. Dees, master, took on board 95 slaves; and a Spaniard, commanded by one Morales, also shipped 160, some time since, in the Rio Pongas. This river not long ago was consi¬ dered too near this colony to be approached with impunity by slave vessels. A general idea of the traffic to windward may therefore be formed from the circumstance, that latterly a great number of slaves have been exported from the Pongas, and that slave vessels may always be found lying there. We have received from Sierra Leone the following statement of the number of vessels visited or detained by his Majesty's cruisers from the 1st of February to the 28th of April, 1822:—Twelve vessels un¬ der French colours were visited, three of which number were brought up to Sierra Leone with 779 slaves; the remainder were completely fit¬ ted for the trade, platforms laid, &c. Seventeen vessels under Portu¬ guese colours were visited, five of which number only were brought to Sierra Leone with 372 slaves; the remainder were fitted for the slave trade. Four vessels under Spanish colours, were detained; total number of slaves on board at detention, 715, 380 of which number were unhappily lost by the upsetting of the schooner in a tornado; 16 of the crew, and tw o officers, of his Majesty’s ship Iphige- nia, perished by that melancholy event. One vessel under American colours has been detained by Mr. Hunter, of the United States’ navy, and Lieut. Clarkson, of his Majesty’s ship Iphigenia, and sent to America. There are now three vessels at the Gallinas, one Spanish and two French. By intelligence, dated Havannah, July 12. we learn that the Hornet has sent in a French brig, with 200 negroes on board, recaptured from a pirate. One of the United States’ schooners sent in, a few days since, a canoe with eight men, found at a distance from the coast, but they had no war-stores on board.—The next intelli¬ gence is a letter dated “Isle of France, Jan. 28, 1822. I am happy in being able to inform you that Government is now using every exer¬ tion to suppress the slave-trade. We have a most active king’s-ship here now, which has taken several slave vessels; the last had 340 on board: another had less; but a considerable number. The com¬ mander of her had bid defiance a long time to our men-of-war; and it is well known, on a former occasion, when one of our frigates (the Topaze, Capt. Lumley, who is since dead,) gave chase to him, he threw 130 overboard; either to make the vessel sail, or, in case of being taken, to clear himself.” We extract the latest information from the African coast, which proves the continuance of this diabolical traffic, w ith little abatement in its horrors.—[From the Sierra Leone Gazette, October 12, 1822.]— British and Spanish Court of Mixed Commission , October 5 th.: Schooner Josefa, alias Maracayerca , Josef Mayona , Master. —“ This vessel, of ninety Spanish tons burden, with a crew of tw r enty-one men, arrived TOL. VI,— NO. 12. 2g 446 Religious and Philanthropic Intelligence. with one long eighteen-pounder, twenty-one muskets, nine cutlasses, twelve pikes, and six pistols, with ammunition in proportion, cleared out from the Havannah on the 6th of April last for the coast of Africa, ostensibly for a cargo of ivory, wax, dye woods, &c. The clearance was signed by the regular officer, ‘Nicolus de Foro,’ who signed a clearance for this same vessel, Don Juan Baptista Zavala being master, in August, 1821, for a similar voyage. In this last mentioned clearance it is staled that she was to land some ‘free negroes’ in Africa; but does not mention who or what they were, nor where to be landed. At the time of her sailing on her present voyage, it appears from the Role d’Equipage, that Josef Moyan, a native of Malaga, was master and first pilot, and apparently part owner; Joz£ Ferris, a native of the same place, second pilot; Jozd Zavala, a native of Biscay, third pilot; and 3ozh Saavacha, a native of Ferrol, ‘con- tremestre,’ or boatswain. After leaving the Havannah, the Josefa called at the Gallinas, on this coast, then at Grand Bassa, and finally entered the river Bonny, where her cargo was delivered, and a return cargo of slaves purchased. Whilst lying in that river, with water- casks full, platforms laid, and waiting for her slave cargo, she was boarded, in the latter end of July, by Lieut. Saumarez, in command of the boats of his Majesty’s ship, Driver; but there being no slaves actually on board, he was unwillingly obliged to leave her, after taking the precaution of indorsing her papers. She crossed the Bonny bar on the 18th of August, and was met the same day by the Driver, which had returned in search of her, and, after a long chase, was captured at eight next morning, having on board 216 slaves, all males, and, with a small exception, all men. Captain Woolrige immediately sent her to this place. The case being very clear, the Commissioners passed sentence of condemnation without anv re¬ marks.’’ From the Sierra Leone Gazette, October 19, 1822.—“ H. M. S. Driver, Captain Woolrige, returned to this harbour, from a success¬ ful cruise to Leeward, having captured, in addition to the Spanish schooner described in our last, a Portuguese brig in the river Come- roons, on the 7th ult., with 179 slaves. An English merchant ship communicated the information at sea: the Driver anchored off the mouth of the river, and the following morning, as the boats got in sight of the slave vessel, a great many canoes were seen about her: as the boats approached nearer, it was perceived that they were making every effort in landing the slaves; and when the last load left, the boats were actually within pistol-shot of the vessel. Lieut. King, who commanded the boats, explained to the chiefs (Bell and Aqua) the impropriety of assisting to land the slaves, adding, that as they were removed from the vessel in sight of his Majesty’s boats, they must be returned to her. This they complied with most readily; indeed, in half an hour, the same canoes which had been employed in landing them, put the whole on board. Thus 179 slaves, chiefly females, were, under divine Providence, rescued from the galling iron grasp of the unfeeling and merciless slave-dealer. This brig proved to be the ‘ Commerciante,’ Domingos R. Folha, master; Francisco Nasa del Nobie, owner; 249 tons, 30 men, 4 guns, from Bahia. The slaves were remarkably healthy, and, as soon as they understood the cause of their seizure and liberation, they fell on their faces, approached the feet of the officers of the Driver, making every demonstration of joy and satisfaction. The Driver examined Anecdotes. 447 m this cruise, 12 slave vessels: viz. eight Portuguese, one of which was captured; one Spanish, which was also captured; and three French, one from Havre de Grace and two from Nantz.” ANECDOTES. THE EMPEROR AUGUSTUS. The Emperor Augustus gave an admirable example how a person who sends a challenge ought to be treated. When Mark Antony, after the battle of Actium, sent him a challenge, his answer to the messenger who brought it, was, “Tell Mark Antony, if he be weary of life, there are other ways to dispatch it: I shall not therefore take the trouble to be his executioner.” TAMERLANE. When Bajazet, after his defeat, was carried into the presence of Timur Lencli, that is, Timur the Lame, vulgarly Timurlane, on per¬ ceiving that Bajazet had but one eye, Timur burst into a loud laugh¬ ter. The Turk, who could ill brook any in civility, said fiercely, “ You “ may deride my misfortunes, Timur, but remember they might have “ happened to yourself. The disposal of kingdoms is in the hands of “ God, and their states depend on his will.” Timur replied with equal haughtiness, “I agree with your observations:—I did not “ laugh at your misfortune, but at a reflection that just occurred to “ my mind ; how little value thrones and sceptres possess in the “ judgment of God: w ho has taken a kingdom from a man with one “ eye, to give it. to another with one leg” DR. DALE. When Queen Elizabeth first proposed to the famous civilian Dr» Dale, his being employed by her in Flanders, she, among other en¬ couragements, told him, that he should have twenty shillings a day for his expenses: “Then, Madam,” said he, “I will spend nineteen “ shillings a-day.” “ What will you do with the odd shilling?” asked the Queen. “ I will reserve that,” replied the Doctor, “ for my “ Kate, and for Tom and Dickmeaning his w ife and children. This induced her Majesty to enlarge his allowance. During the Doc¬ tor’s stay in Flanders, he once sent, in a packet to the secretary of state, tw r o letters, one to the Queen, and the other to his wife; but that which was meant for the Queen was superscribed, “ To his dear Wife;” and that to his wife, “ To her most excellent Majesty;” so that the Queen having opened his letter, found it beginning with “ Sweetheart,” and interspersed with “ my dear,” “ dear love,” and such like expressions, acquainting her with the state of his body, and that he began to want money. It may easily be guessed what motions of mirth this mistake raised; but the Doctor by his oversight got a supply of money.—When, on the overtures for a treaty, the other ambassadors came to propose in what language they should treat, the Spanish ambassador insisted, that the French was the most proper. “ because,” said he to Dr. Dale, “ your mistress entitles herself 448 Anecdotes. “ Queen of France.” “ Nay, then,” replied the Doctor, “ let us treat “ in Hebrew, for your master calls himself King of Jerusalem.” REV. LAWRENCE ECHARD. Echard, the historian, was a man of great amiableness of manners, and most unaffected simplicity, as the following anecdote will evince. During his residence at Louth, in Lincolnshire, he used to ride every Sunday to his cure in the neighbourhood^ and as he was proceeding on his journey one winter’s morning, he was overtaken by a shoe¬ maker’s lad, carrying a pair of shoes to the village to which Echard was bound; who very bluntly asked him to take the shoes to the farmer for whom they were made. The good-natured pastor readily accepted the commission, unceremoniously as it was given to him ; but suddenly recollecting himself, rode back after the boy in a few minutes, to ask what he was to do with the shoes, if they did not fit. “ Why, then,” said the lad, “ you mun bring them back again.” Thus fully instructed, the learned divine rode forward to discharge his double duty, of preaching the doctrine of St. Paul, and acting as the humble deputy to a raw apprentice to the ungentle craft of St. Crispin. DR. GOLDSMITH. It is pretty generally known, that Goldsmith was a perfect novice in the common affairs of life, and as unsuspicious as a child. Amongst many proofs of this, the following is not the least convincing. Calling one evening at the Globe Tavern in Fleet-street, for a mut¬ ton chop, it was no sooner placed on the table, than a gentleman with whom he was acquainted, and who was sitting near him, turn¬ ing up his nose, asked how the Doctor could suffer the waiter to place such a tainted chop before him. “ Tainted !” exclaimed the other in amazement; “ in good truth I cant smell it." “ Can’t'you,” said his friend, “ you surely must have a bad cold; for I never “ smelt any thing so disagreeable in my life; the rascal deserves a caning for being so inattentive as to bring you such carrion.” “ In “ good truth,” replied Goldsmith, “ I think so too; but I will be less “ severe in my punishment.” He accordingly called the waiter, and after persuading the poor fellow that the chop stunk worse than assafoetida, insisted that he should sit down and eat it up himself. To this requisition the waiter demurred, and remonstrated against it at great length, and most vehemently, but without effect; for the Doctor was not to be turned from his purpose, but threatened to knock him down, if he did not immediately submit to the punishment which he had so richly merited. When, however, he had swallowed half the chop, Goldsmith gave him a glass of wine, thinking, with his usual good nature, that it would make the remainder of his sentence less painful. When, with this timely aid, the task was completed, the poet’s friend burst into a loud laugh; on which he was asked, what in the name of fortune ailed him? “ Why, my dear friend,” he replied, as soon as he could command a sufficient degree of serious¬ ness, “ I could never have thought that any man, whose knowledge “ was so extensive as yours, could be so great a dupe; the chop “ was as fine a one as ever I saw in my life.” “ Was it,” exclaimed the Doctor, “ then I shall never give credit to what you say again; so at s< any rate I shall be even with you.” 449 Obituary , GENEROUS HEROISM OF AN ITALIAN PEASANT. The following generous instance of Heroism in a peasant, has some¬ what even of the sublime in it. A great inundation having taken place in the north of Italy, owing to an excessive fall of snow in the Alps, followed by a speedy thaw, the river Adige carried off a bridge near Verona, except the middle part, on which was the house of the toll-gatherer, who, with his whole family, thus remained im¬ prisoned by the waves, and in momentary expectation of certain destruction. They were discovered from the banks stretching forth their hands, screaming, and imploring succour, while fragments of this only remaining arch were continually dropping into the impetuous torrent. In this extreme danger, the Count of Pulverini, who was a spectator, held out a purse of one hundred sequins, as a reward to any adventurer, who would take boat and save this unhappy family. But the risk of being borne down by the rapidity of the stream, of being dashed against the fragment of the bridge, or of being crushed by the falling of the heavy stones, was so great, that not one of the vast number of lookers-on had courage enough to attempt such an exploit. A peasant passing along, was informed of the promised reward. Immediately jumping into a boat, he, by amazing strength of oars, gained the middle of the river, and brought his boat under the pile, when the whole terrified family safely descended into it by means of a rope. “ Courage, (cried he) now you are safe !” By a still more strenuous effort, and great strength of arm, he brought the boat and family to shore. “ Brave fellow !” (exclaimed the Count, hand¬ ing the purse to him,) “ here is your promised recompense.” “ I “ shall never expose my life for money, (answered the peasant,) “ my labour affords a sufficient livelihood for myself, my wife, and “ children;—give the purse to this poor family, which has lost its “ all!!!” OBITUARY. William Blair, Esq.— Dec. 5. In Great Russell-street, Blooms¬ bury, in the 57th year of his age, William Blair, Esq., A.M., an eminent surgeon, though originally intended for the church. He was distinguished by piety and active benevolence, and was one of the warmest friends of the Bible Society, to which, a short time before his death, he presented a numerous and costly selection of books, connected with the various versions of the Scripture, and with Bibli¬ cal criticism. He had for sixteen years been a most efficient and active member of the general committee of that invaluable institu¬ tion. His health, however, had long been in a declining state, and he was about to remove to a rural retirement near Colchester, but becoming gradually worse, was confined to his bed for five days previous to his death. During those days, he frequently desired his servant, and friends who called to see him, to read to him various passages from the Psalms, the prophecy of Isaiah, and the epistle to the Hebrews; and when just about to depart, said to his attendant, “ Charles, bring me the Bible, and let me lay my hand once more “ upon that blessed book.” The Bible xj as accordingly brought, and 450 Provincial arid Miscellaneous Intelligence. being assisted to place his hands upon it, he laid down with the exclamation of, “ I rest in Christ,” and immediately expired. He was the author of “ The Soldier’s Friend ; or the Means of Preserving “ the Health of Military Men,” 1798,12mo., 2d edition, 1803; “ Essays “on the Venereal Disease,” 1798, 8vo.; “Anthropology, or the “ Natural History of Man,” 1805, 8vo. ; “ The Vaccine Contest,” 1806, 8vo.; “ Hints for the Consideration of Parliament, in the sup- “ posed Failures of Vaccination,” 8vo. 1808; “ Prostitutes Reclaimed, “ and Penitents Protected : being an Answer to some Objections “ against the Female Penitentiary,” 8vo. 1809 ; “ Strictures on Mr. “ Hale’s Reply to the Pamphlets lately published in Defence of the “ London Penitentiary,” 8vo. 1809; “The Pastor and Deacon Ex- “ amined; or Remarks on the Rev. John Thomas’s Appeal in Vindi- “ cation of Mr. Hale’s Character, and in Opposition to Female Peni- “ tentiaries,” 1810, 8vo.; “The Correspondence on the Formation, “ Objects, and Plan of the Roman Catholic Bible Society,” 1814. This last pamphlet drew him into a controversy with Charles Butler, Esq., the celebrated Catholic Barrister. Mr. Blair once or twice attempted lecturing, but neither were his popular lectures on anatomy, or those to volunteers, more than very slenderly attended ; for, like many good men, he was more fond of speechifying, than able to speak with eloquence or effect. He was, at one period or other of his professional life, surgeon to the Lock Hospital, the Asylum, Finsbury Dispensary, Dispensary in Gerrard-street, Female Penitentiary, (of which he was the able, though somewhat intempe¬ rate defender,) and the New Rupture Society. PROVINCIAL AND MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Deaths.—April 22. At liis garden-house, near Madras, James Staveley, Esq., of Gray’s-Inn, Barrister-at-Law, and formerly a member of the Northern Circuit, 36.—June. At Washington, in the United States, Rev. Jacob Hutton, formerly pastor of the Baptist Church atTottlebank, Lancashire, and afterwards for 40 years of that at Broughton, Cumberland.—In the East Indies, William Cooke,Esq., surgeon in the East India Company’s service, and author of a “ Treatise “ on Tenea Capitis Contagiosa, and its Cure,” 8vo. 1810.—21. At Bombay, Ollyett Woodhouse, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, and Advo¬ cate-General in the Law Court of that presidency. His death was occasioned by an extraordinary exertion of his professional talents. —24. Of an apopletic fit, Rev. Nicholas Wade, M.A., senior chaplain at the Bombay Presidency, 56.— Auij. 2. At Madras, of a spasmodic cholera, Rev. T. Nicholson, one of the Missionaries of the London Society.—31. At Rome, Cardinal Reingate, 70.— Sept. At New- York, Abraham Moore, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, and late M.P. for Shaftesbury. Mr. Moore was a man of very great talents, and had for some years been in considerable business in London, and on the western circuit; but having applied to his own use, and lost in mining speculations, very large sums of money belonging to his friend, school-fellow, and patron, Earl Grosvenor, to whom he was auditor, he had some time since been compelled to abandon his 451 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. native country, and fly to America, where the yellow fever destroyed him and his widow, within a few r days of each other, leaving six sons helpless orphans, behind them; the elder of whom is an idiot, and the next a youth of about 17 years of age. To assist these unfortu¬ nate lads, and to prevent their ruin from the improper conduct of their father, a private subscription is set on foot amongst that father’s former friends, and to aid it, they have lately published “ The Odes of Pindar, translated from the Greek; with notes, criti- “ cal and explanatory. By Abraham Moore, Esq.a work said to possess great merit, as, from our own knowledge of the classical attainments of its learned but misguided author, we should expect that it would do. He published in his life-time, “ Reports of Cases “ in the Court of Common Pleas and Exchequer Chamber, and in “ the House of Lords, from Easter Term, 36 Geo. III. to Hilary “ Term, 37 Geo. III.,” folio, 1800.—12. At Dieppe, Jose Tiburcio Echaverria, LL.D., one of the commissioners from the republic of Columbia to the court of London. Feeling from an early age the wrongs of his country, when in 1810 the revolution burst forth in New Granada, he was remarkable for his ardent zeal in the pa¬ triotic cause; and, during the existence of the new government, was in succession president of several of the courts, and executed for it many important commissions, both public and confidential. The zeal and ability with which these were discharged,, procured him the honourable distinction of being one of the first victims sought after by the Spanish General Morillo, when he had made himself master of Venezuela and Santa Fe. So active indeed was the pursuit of him, that he w'as compelled to hide himself for three years in mountain glens, having little or no intercourse with human beings, and very often obliged to lie upon the damp ground, in consequence of which he was afflicted with a rheumatic affection of the head, which even¬ tually proved fatal. On the liberation of Santa Fe by General Bolivar, he was appointed Envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Madrid, in conjunction wdth Mr. Jose Ravenga, in the expectation of procuring the acknowledgment of the independence of Columbia, from the parent state ; and on the failure of those expec¬ tations, they were both accredited to the British Court.—22. At his seat, Haversdorff, Vienna, General and Field-Marshal Baron Lau- don, nephew to the celebrated Marshal Laudon, of the Austrian service. He distinguished himself in the various wars brought on by the French Revolution.— Oct. 2. At Funchal, Madeira, whither he went about twelvemonths before, in the hope of recovering his health, Rev. Robert Williams, A.M., Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, and late second master of the Grammar School at Bury St. Edmunds! —7. Dr. Richter, actual Counsellor of State, Physician to the Impe¬ rial Court, and Professor of Physic in the University of Moscow:_ 15; Mr. William Palmer, who, though blind from his infancy, had been for about 40 years a useful preacher in the workhouses, and amongst the poor in the Wesleyan connection, 76.— Nov. The Duke de Serent, governor to the sons of the Count d’Artois.— In France, Paul Patricio de Fava, Archbishop of Ferrara, 93.—In Warren-street, Fitzroy-square, Mr. James Mitan, a line engraver of considerable celebrity, 47.-26. At Paris, Count Fernan Nunez, late Spanish Ambassador at the Court of France.—On his way to the Congress of Verona, Prince de Hardenberg, Prime Minister of Prusia. He was unwell at Milan, and the journey, in bad weather, 452 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. through the mountainous country to Genoa, made him worse. On the 20th he was seized there with a violent cramp in the chest. Dr. Rust, his Physician, perceived the danger, and especially prescribed to the Prince, who was rather easier on the 22d and 23d, to refrain from exertion of every kind. He expected a courier on the 25th, and was impatient at his not coming, for he would by no means refrain from his usual employments. The courier arrived; and as, on the 26th, in the morning, the pains in his throat, with the rattling and difficulty of breathing, returned, the physician again forbade exertion. But the Prince answered, “Employment is my element; it is only when 1 work that I feel well/’ He read the despatches, caused him¬ self to be led up and down the room, and, at the sight of the line prospect of the sea, ordered the doors and windows to be opened, because a.draught of air did him good. At noon he gave audience to the Prussian Consul, and thanked him for the attention that was shewn him in Genoa. He spoke with great animation, and sat down exhausted. At two o’clock he had a apoplectic stroke, which de¬ prived him of speech and consciousness; and at eleven at night he expired. During the last few days, he had frequently fallen into a kind of dream or reverie; and several times observed, that the 26th of November was the day of his father’s death, as it proved likewise to be his own. This celebrated statesman was born at Hanover in 1750, educated at Gottenburg, and afterwards resident for a long period in England. He was for a time employed in the administra¬ tion of the allairs of hi§ native country, afterwards in those of Bruns¬ wick and Anspach, and finally of Prussia, where his firm attachment to the interest of his sovereign, procured him the honour of Buo¬ naparte’s implacable resentment, which, after the disastrous battle ofFriedlapd, obtained Iris dismissal from the helm of affairs, as it had previously done after that of Jena. In signing the treaty of Paris in the capital of his defeated foe, the Prussian minister had, however, ample revenge. Since that period, he directed all the measures of his court without disturbance or control; and perhaps at such a juncture as the present, his loss must be severely felt, as he must have known the English court and people better than any of the foreign ministers at the Congress of Verona.—Dec. In Russell- place, Fitzroy-square, Rev. Edward Balim, M.A., F.R.S. F S A formerly fellow of Magdalen College, Cambridge.—In Lincoln’s-Inn- Field, Rev. J. Temple, 27.—At Guernsey, R. B. Fisher, Esq. one of the brothers of the Bishop of Salisbury, paymaster of the first batal- li°n of the 60th regiment, and formerly steward of St. ! Mary Magdalen College, Oxford. He was author of “ A Practical Treatise on Copv- “ hold Tenure,” 8vo. 1794, 2d edition, 1804; “A Sketch of the City “ of Lisbon, with Observations on the Manners, &c. of the Portu¬ guese,” 12mo. 1811.—In Upper Grosvenor-street, at the advanced age of 99, Sir George Duckett, Bart., whose original name was Jackson, being the son of George Jackson, Esq. of Guisborough Yoikshire. He was lor many years one of the Secretaries of the Admiralty, and represented the boroughs of Weymouth, MeJcombe Regis, and Colchester, in Parliament. He was a zealous friend and early patron of Capt. Cook, and frequently stated that the illustrious na\ igator s father depended for his chief support upon the bounty of the family kitchen at Guisborough, and that he rememberedCapt. Cook himself a boy, m lns.sister’s stables at Ayton. That great man was so sensible of Sir George’s friendship, as not only to have maintained a P rovincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. 453 regular correspondence with him, but to have named after him Point Jackson in New Zealand, and Port Jaclison in New South Wales. Sir George retired from public affairs with the Earl of Sandwich, in consequence of the result of Admiral KeppeFs trial, and afterwards twice refused the office of the secretaryship to the Admiralty. He was, perhaps, the oldest housekeeper in London, having begun in 1745. He frequently mentioned his father’s personal knowledge of Henry Jenkins, and of his having seen that wonderful man, who was born in 1502, standing up to his breast in the Swale, fishing for trout. Hence, even in our degenerate days, we are furnished, in but three persons, with a chain of personal identity for upwards of 300 years. Sir George was twice married ; and on his second uuion, to Mrs. Neale, the heiress of the Ducketts, he took the name and arms of that ancient family. He is succeeded by his son George, formerly M.P. for Lymington, and Lieut.-Col. of the West Essex Militia.—28. In Nottingham St. Mary-le-Bone, Sarah, relict of the Rev. Charles Wesley, M.A., one of the fraternal founders of the Wesleyan Metho¬ dists’ connection. She was the daughter of the late Marmaduke Gwynne, Esq. of Garth, Breconshire, and sister to the late H. GWynne, Esq. M.P. for Radnorshire, and R. Gw}nne, Esq. Governor of Tobago, 96. — Feb. In John-street, Bedford-Row, R. Blake, Esq., M.P. for Arundel.—In Burton-Cresent, Rev. T. E. Partridge, R. of Uley, Gloucestershire.—In Portland-Place, G. W. Jordan, Esq., M. A., F.R.S., one of the benchers of the Inner Temple, 63. Ecclesiastical Preferment. —Rev. Reginal Heber, A.M., Bishopric of Calcutta. New Chapels, fyc. — Oct. 13. The foundation-stone was laid in Moor- fields, of a Chapel for the use of the Welsh Baptists.— Dec. 11. Cra¬ ven Chapel on the site of Carnaby Market, a new and elegant place of worship was opened for divine service. Preachers, Rev. Dr. Collyer, and Mr. Adkins of Southampton.— Feb. 13. A convenient place for divine worship was opened in Lower East-Smithfield, for the accommodation of Sailors, Watermen, Lightermen, &c. under the direction of the N. E. London Auxiliary Seamen’s Friend Society and Bethel Union. Preacher, Rev. Mr. Ivimey, of Eagle-street. Ordination. — Nov. 26. Rev. S. Nichols, from Wymondly Academy, and late of Chalford-Hall, Gloucestershire, over the Independent Church at Chamomile-street. BEDFORDSHIRE. Death. — Feb. At Dunstable, Rev. W. Mead. New Chapel. — Oct. 30. A new Baptist Meeting-house was opened at Amptliill. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Thorp of Bristol, Holloway of Cardington-Cottonend, and Middleton, of Biggleswade. Ordination. — Oct. 23. Rev. JohnBeetham, from Bradford Academy, over the Baptist Church at Blunham. CAMBRIDGESHIRE. New Chapel. — Oct. 22. A new Baptist Chapel was opened at Castle Camps. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Wilkinson of Saffron Walden, and Sibree of Weathersfield. University Intelligence. Elections. —Rev.T. S. Hughes, B.D., Fellow of Emmanuel College, Christian Advocate.—Rev. J. C. Franks, M.A., of Trinity College, Hulsean Lecturer for the year ensuing.— Nov. 22. A grace passed the Senate, “ to purchase the late Dr. E.D. Clarke’s “ collection of minerals, at the sum of £1500.” 454 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. CHESHIRE. Deaths.—Oct. 19. Rev. Cornelius Gregory, upwards of 50 years Baptist Minister at Brassey Green, 82.— Feb. At Ecclesfield, Rev. J. Dixon, 85. New Chapel.—Dec. 8. A new Independent Chapel was opened at Congleton. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Mather of Beverley, Jones of Birmingham, and Me. All of Macclesfield. CORNWALL. Death. — Feb. At Kelly, Rev. Mr. Darke, 84. EcclesiasicalPreferments.— Rev. Hender Molesworth, St. Ewnv Redruth, R.—Rev. J. P. Carpenter, Cleder, V. CUMBERLAND. Death.—Jan. At Barnfoot, Mr. G. Taylor, 103. DERBYSHIRE. Deaths. Dec. AX Duffield, R. Hampton, M.D.-At Derby, Rev. J. L. Goring.—At Eyam, Rev. C. Hargrove. * ^Eccksiasticat Preferment.— Rev. W. Barrow, LL.D., North Wing- DEVONSHIRE. »£n atK rr N Tl' S> harness, 27 years R. of Sydenham Dam- IQ At aIm’ !* A * Iv y Brlcl £ e > George Gilbert Currey, M.D.— 19. At Ashburton, Mrs. Furseman, 103 . Ecclesiastical Preferments.— Rev. T. Eastcott, Ringmore, R.—Rev. Edmund the Martyr, Exeter, R.—Rev. J. M. Col¬ ons, St. John s, Exeter, R.-Rev. H. B. Wray, Okeliampton, V. DORSETSHIRE. ,l.S£!f M/ »Pre/ermento.-Re^ T. Wise, of Blandford, Master- terah?[> ^Sherborne^chool*. * RCV * Ra ' Ph Ly °"’ MA ’ Head MaS ‘ ESSEX. Re^rwf*Ha?by A * Sutt ° n ’ ReV ‘ M * Moore --^- At Great Leiglis, Ordinations.—Oct. 24. Rev. S. Steer, from the Old College, Homer- ton, over the Independent Church at Castle Hedingliam.— Dec. 19 Kev.J. Watkmson over the Independent Church at Maplestead.— Sible Hedhighamf d ’ JUn ■ , OVCr th<5 Particular Ba P tist Church at GLOUCESTERSHIRE. Mr * John , Fry > books eller, of Bristol, well known r , p ls . ardent attachment to the early writers of his county, having published various pieces of ancient poetry, accompaniedby notes n^r!!i n ^ r A « n i °l hlS ? Wn ' Amongst them, at the P age of 18, ap- - with a T if, inS T/ r0 “? e P06tical W ° rks of Thomas Carew, « J?™* L * fe c and N °tes/ 8vo. 1810, and “ The Legend of Mary « ?6th cpn°tm v C ” 4f’ and ,°o ber ancient Poems, from MSS. of the „ Jf h century, 4to. and 8vo. 1810. His “ Bibliographical Memo- derai,t a n appeare - d m 2 vols> 4to * in 1814 > an d he had P made consi- 1he t dr P nf ^n-1? a ,T r f, ext T ensive w °rk, on a similar plan, under M D 75 “ Bibliophiha ^-iVor. lO. At Stroud, Samuel Snowden, Bristol Dec ’ 14 * At Clifton, Rev. James Olive, R. of St. Paul's, Provincial and iMiscellaneous Intelligence. 455 O Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. Mr. Latey, Doynton, R.—Rev. R. Davies, Stanton, R. HAMPSHIRE. Deaths. — Feb. At Andover, Rev. C. Marlew, V. of Sidlesham.—At Newton Valence, Rev. R. G. White. New Church .— Aug. 8. A new Baptist Church was formed in the city of W inchester, in a Meeting-house hired and opened by the Baptist Hampshire Itinerant Society. HEREFORDSHIRE. Death. — Dec. Rev. W. Thomas, curate of King’s Pyon. New Chapel. — Nov. 27. A new Baptist Meeting-house was opened at Orcop Hill. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Fry ofColeford, Penliall of Whitchurch, (Independent) aud Williams of Ryeford. HERTFORDSHIRE. Death.—Feb. Rev. W. Wade, R. of Lilly Hoo. KENT. Deaths. — July 31. At Fredrille,the seat of his brother-in-law, John Plumptre, Esq., Christopher Robert Pemberton, M.D. F.R.S., Phy¬ sician Extraordinary to the King. He was author of “A Practical “ Treatise on various Diseases of the Abdominal Viscera,”8vo. 1806, “ and of “Oratio in Theatro Coll. Reg. Med. Londinens. habita,” 4to. 1806.— Nov. At Hadlow, after a very short illness, Rev. Mr. Andrews, curate of that parish. In a sermon delivered but a few days before, he observed that it might be his last, and so it proved.— Dec. 19. At Seven Oaks, Rev. John King, for many years a preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist connection, 70. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. G. A. Greenall, Orford, P.C.— Rev. Patrick Keith, Ruckburge, R. Neio Churches, Sec. —A very handsome and commodious Chapel has been erected at Sandgate, at the sole expense of the Earl of Darnley. — Oct. 22. A new place of worship, belonging to the Baptist Church at Maidstone, was opened. Preachers, Rev. Messrs. Jenkins, Tho¬ mas, and F. A. Cox.— Dec. 2. A new Baptist Chapel was opened at Herne Bay, near Canterbury. Philanthropic Intelligence. —Henry Wright, Esq., of Feversham, has lately built six small but neat and convenient alms-houses, for the use of six aged dredgers and their wives, who have not received alms from the parish. The worthy founder of the charity personally called on the inmates, and, telling them that he intended to endow them with 10 pounds a year, presented them with a half year’s endow ment in advance. LANCASHIRE. Death. — Jan. Rev. Dr. Blackburne, Warden of the Collegiate Church of Manchester. Philanthropic Intelligence. —A piece of ground has lately been purchased in Roscoe-street. Liverpool, for the site of a refuge for that class of the destitute, who, on being discharged from the county penitentiaries, or houses of correction, are liable to relapse into vicious courses, merely from the want of immediate resources, or means to obtain a livelihood. They will here be taught some useful employment, and will be more effectually initiated, than the disci¬ pline and character of a prison will permit, into habits of order, 456 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. temperance, and industry, so as to be gradually fitted to resume their places in society. Miscellaneous Intelligence. —Rev. George Payne, A.M., of Edin¬ burgh, has accepted the Theological and Resident Tutorship of Blackburn Academy, vacant by the removal of Rev. Joseph Fletcher, A.M., to London. LINCOLNSHIRE. Death. — Dec. 14. T. Espin, F.S.A., for many years Master of the Mathematical and Commercial School at Louth, founded by Dr. Mapletoft, Dean of Ely, 64. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. G. Turner, V. of Wragby, a Prebendal Stall in Lincoln Cathedral.—Rev. G. Gunning, Deeping, K. Rev. R. G. Andrews, M.A., Master of Grantham Grammar School, Hough on the Hill, V. MIDDLESEX. Death.—Dec. 20. At Raneleigh-house, Chelsea, General Welford, Colonel of the 7th Regiment of Dragoon Guards. He had served with distinction on the Continent, in Ireland during the Rebellion, and at St. Domingo, where the effects of the climate disabled him from further active service. He was esteemed in his profession one of the best cavalry officers in Europe, 68. Ecclesiastical Preferment. —Rev. D. Cresswel, D.D., Enfield, V. MONMOUTHSHIRE. Death.—Jan : 9. Rev. William Morgan, upwards of 40 years R. of Llanwenarth. Ecclesiastical Preferment. —Rev. R. Davies, Dixton, V. -ZVew Chapel. Nov. 12 and 13. A new Baptist Meeting-house was opened at Castell-y-Owch. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. Ecclesiastical Preferment. —Rev. G. Osborne, to hold, by dispensa¬ tion, Haselbeach, R., with the R. of Stainby-oum-Granby, Lincoln¬ shire. NORFOLK. Ecclesiastical Preferments.—Rev. J. Barrow, Lopham, R.—Rev .1 W. Darley, Wicklewood, V.-Rev. J. Pratt, B.A., Fordham P C. —Rev. J. Boyle, Wareham and Wootton, P. P. C. C. NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. Death. — Dec. 31. Near Newark, Rev. John Needham, R. of Owm- by, Lincolnshire. Ordination.—Nov. 5. Rev. Mr. Pope, over the Particular Baptist Church Sutton-upon-Trent, recently formed by an amicable separa¬ tion from the Church at Collingham. 1 OXFORDSHIRE. Ecclesiastical Preferments.—Rev. H. R. Pechell, M.A., Fellow of All Souls College, Bix, R.—Rev. R. R. Smith, A dderbury, V.-Rev. W. B. Yeomans, Bucknell, R. J University Intelligence. Election.— William Thomas Philips, AM Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. * SOMERSETSHIRE. Deaths.—Dec. In Devonshire-Buildings, Bath, Rev. David Jones, Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. 457 81. — Jan. 4. At Bath, Rev. Samuel Smith, upwards of 45 years R. of Hardenbruish, aud 40 years R. of Stanton, St. Quintin, Wilts. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. J. S. Phillott, Farnborou<4, R._ Rev. J. Ralph, Exford, R.—Rev. G. Trevelyan, jun., M.A., Melver- ton, Prima, V., with the chapel of Longford Budville annexed._Rev. H. Palmer, Broadway and End, P. C. STAFFORDSHIRE. Death—Sept. 3. At Bilston, of the small-pox, Mr. Charles Welch for 38 years a local preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist connection/ Ecclesiastical Preferment. —Rev. T. Heathcote, Leeke, R. SUFFOLK. Deaths. — Nov. 18. Rev. J. Spring Casborne, of Pakenham, V. of Old Newton. — Dec. Rev. Henry Knevett, 40 years V. of Ladbrook 82. —1. At Bury, Rev. John Coleman, 47 years R. of Langham 80 — Feb. At Marlesford, Rev. H. Williams. SURREY. Death.—Dec. 10. At his villa, at Walton-upon-Thames, in the 70th year of his age, Charles Bennett, fourth Earl of Tankerville, who succeeded his father, Charles, the third Earl, in 1767. His Lordship was always an adherent of the Whigs in politics, and in their admi¬ nistration was twice one of the joint postmaster-generals, namely, in 1782 and 1784. He was, however, more celebrated as a cricketer than a statesman, having in 1774 formed, together with the late Duke of Dorset, Sir Francis Vincent, and Sir Horace Mann, a com¬ mittee, which sat at the Star and Garter Tavern, for the important purpose of revising the laws of that noble game. Betaking himself afterwards to natural history, he formed a collection of shells, inferior perhaps to none in the kingdom, except that of Mr. Jennings. His Lordship married in 1771 Emma, daughter and coheiress of Sir James Colbrooke, Bart., by whom he had issue, Charles Augustus Lord Ossulton, now Earl of Tankerville, the Hon. Grey Bennett M. P. for Shrewsbury, one other son, and five daughters. SUSSEX. Deaths. — Nov. 10. At Cocking, Rev. Melmoth Skynner, 24 years V. of that parish, 90.—15. Rev. John Eales Francis, V. of Banstead. Dec. 1. At Brighton, Francis Fearon, Esq., of the Middle Temple* Barrister-at-law, and Fellow'of New College, Oxford, 25.—28. At Brighton, Dr. Harness, F.L.S., late Medical Commissioner of the Transport Board, 67. WARWICKSHIRE. Deaths. — Dec. Rev. W. Bree, R. of Allesley, near Coventry.—28. At Birmingham, Mr. John Richards, for upwards of 30 years a local preacher in the Wesleyan connection.— Jan. 2. George Freer, Esq., senior surgeon of the General Hospital, Birmingham, and author of “ Observations on Aneurism, and some Diseases of the Arterial “ System/' 4to. 1807. WILTSHIRE. Deaths. — Dec. At Great Somerford, near Malmsbury, Wm. Pyke, labourer, aged 97, having continued his daily occupation, and re¬ tained his faculties, until within a short period of his decease. He excelled in athletic exercises, and, though short in stature, would, when nearly 70 years of age, amuse himself by leaping five-barred 458 Provincial and Miscellaneous Intelligence. ^ates, &c.—1. Rev. Samuel Roath, A.M., R. of Boyton, Wilts, and Wicklewood, Norfolk.—23. At Stourhead, Rev. John Offer, formerly a schoolmaster at Warminster, but who had long been engaged, under the liberal patronage of Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart., in collecting and arranging materials for a History of Wiltshire, the favourite pur¬ suit of his life.—29. Rev. Francis Rowden, B.D., Prebendary of Salisbury, and for 40 years R. of Cuxham and Ibetson, Oxfordshire, 98.— Feb. At Salisbury, Rev. J. Skinner. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. George Lewis Benson, Vicar- choral of Salisbury Cathedral.—Rev. C. H. Hodgson, Berwick, St. Leonard, R., with the chapel of Sedgeliill annexed.—Rev. J. Mayo, Avesbury, V., being the fourth incumbent of this benefice, in con¬ tinued succession from father to son since 1711. WORCESTERSHIRE. Death. — Feb. At Worcester, R. Woodford, 102. YORKSHIRE. Deaths. — Nov. At Sheffield, Rev. E. Adred, 77.—14. Rev. Godfrey Walley, of Scarborough, 66.— Dec. Rev. Thomas Whitehead, Minis¬ ter of Becconsell Chapel, and Head Master of the Grammar School at Hutton.—At Northallerton, Rev. J. Wilkinson.—28. Rev. Andrew Ewbank, R. of Londesborough and Burghwallis, 88.—31. At the Vicarage-House, Brentingham, where he had gone for the recovery of his health, Robert White, M.D., of Hull, 23.— Feb. At Beverley, Rev. R. Rigby. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Hon. and Rev. Mr. Howard, (son to the Earl of Carlisle) Succentor Canonicorum, and Prebendary of Holme in York Cathedral.—Rev. G. Bownes, Rokeby R.—Rev. John Sinclair, Hatton Bushel, V. WALES. Deaths.—Aug. 24. Paul Panton, Esq., Barrister-at-law. He was of the respectable and ancient family of the Pantons of Plasgwyn, Anglesay, and Bagellt-Hall, Flint.— Dec. 5. At Roath-Court, near Cardiff, Rev. Matthew Monkhouse, 70.— Feb. Rev. R. Pughe, R. of Llanfrotlien, Carnarvon—At Flint, Rev. G. Davies. Ecclesiastical Preferments. —Rev. C. Stracey, B.A., Roath, V. Gla¬ morganshire.—Rev. T. Davies, jun., Landough, Cogan, and Leck- well, consolidated livings, near Cardiff. New Chapel. — Oct. 23 and 24. A new Chapel for the Particular Baptists was opened at Aboravan, near Neath, Glamorganshire. SCOTLAND. Deaths .— Sept. 22. At Glenalbert, on the estate of Dalguise, Perth¬ shire, Mrs. Margaret Lowe, widow of the late James Stewart, Esq. of Tullock, near Blair, who was a captain in one of the Athol regi¬ ments under Lord George Murray, and carried the royal standard of Prince Charles Edward, at the battle of Culloden, in 1746. Of that unfortunate Prince, Mrs. Stewart had a most perfect recollec¬ tion ; and, until within a few days of her death, spoke with all the fondness of long-cherislied reminiscence, and with the accuracy of of a mind and memory perfectly entire, of his dress, manners, and appearance. It was at Dunkeld, in his way to Edinburgh, in Sept. 1745, that she had seen the Pretender, and presented him with a pair of brogues. After the forfeiture of Mr. Stewart’s estate, he retired Summary of Missionary Proceedings. 459 ™ h T he died in 1807 ’ at the advanced M fi 1 * H d T'’ c ? ntmued t0 occupy the same small cottage i ,l !i !L e [ es Pf cted ln he J retirement, on the small part of their for¬ tune w hich had been saved, until the day of her death. She was most ° ne °f thC Ia f remaining links of connection between the S e “ er ation an d th at which personally shared in the memo- G b lfr l !r n74i !' ft ~^; In Richmond-place, Edinburgh, Agnes G.M. McKenzie, 105.-air. Anderson, 105.-At Dundee, A. Ross, Sr:. 3 ?* ,4* R ud »v e n Manse, Rev. P. Me Claran.—At Aberdeen, P. Cop- Coneo-e-f«’ r:° eSS ° r + ° f D NatUral PMosophy in the Marischal ,e o e * 18. At his seat, Rawnock Barracks, Colonel Alexander Robertson, of ktowan, chief of the ancient and numerous clan of Robertson, 81.— Feb. At Aberdeen, Rev. D. Sim Ecclesiastical Preferments.— Rev. John WaUace, to the Church and Berwfok fAbbCy St ’ Batl,ons > iu the presbytery of Dunse, county of University Intelligence. Appointments.— Rev. Dr. Chalmers of Glasgow, Professor of Moral Philosophy, in the University of St Andrew_s.—George BalhughaH, M.D.. Professor of Military Surgery in the University of Edinburgh.-Dr. William Knight, one of°the Regents, or Professors of Philosophy; and Charles Skene, M.D. Piofessor of Medicine m the Marischal College, Aberdeen. * IRELAND. Deaths.—Sept. Rev. William Copeland, a preacher in the Wesleyan connection.—2. At Ashworth, near New rath Bridge, county of Wick¬ low, John Magee, Esq., the well-known proprietor of the Dublin Evening Post.-iW 28. At Dublin, the Hon. and Rev. Lorenzo Hely Hutchinson, sixth son of the late Provost Hutchinson.—Dec 21 At Ratlimenes, Mr. John Sharmau, of Dorset-street, London an eminent astronomer and geographer. As a musical composer, he evinced Ins skill in the sublime music of the 106th Psalm, 75._In fttephen-street, W aterford, of a fever caught in the discharge of his duty as Physician to the Fever Hospital, John King Bracken, M.D. SUMMARY OF MISSIONARY PROCEEDINGS. We commence our present summary with the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, the number of whose sub¬ scribing members is now 14,650, of whom 635 have been added during the last year, within which period an accession of twenty diocesan and district committees has also been made. The circula¬ tion of bibles, prayer-books, and religious tracts, has continued with¬ out abatement, whilst the general operations of the Society have been progressively enlarged. An edition of the scriptures in the Irish language is rapidly advancing, and a supply of books, not exceeding in value £1000, has been placed at the disposal of the Irish Association for discouraging Vice and promoting Christian Knowledge, to be by them applied to the use of gaols, hospitals, work- houses, and schools. The income of the Society for the last year was £27,523. Is. 8d. Of its foreign proceedings there is 110 very novel 460 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. intelligence to communicate, nor any indeed of any kind, save that the schools in India are flourishing, the children evincing an attach¬ ment to learning for its own sake, rather than for the pecuniary or other rewards, which had hitherto been their chief inducement to apply themselves to its acquisition. It is a pleasing circumstance, that they now frequently request to take books home with them to read to their families; and another is, the increasing desire of the natives for schools for the instruction of their children—a desire which the Society has not at present the means of gratifying, though very sanguine hopes are entertained that these will soon be af¬ forded. The new settlement of the Moravian Mission at Enon, in South Africa, is in a flourishing condition. In the short space of tw r o years the thicket has been extirpated, and in its place a fine vineyard has been planted, and the lurking places of tigers are converted into comfortable habitations for men. “ Imagine my heart-felt pleasure,” writes one of the Brethren, “ when, on the spot where we knelt “ down in the fresh track of an elephant, two years ago, and offered “ up the first prayer for the prosperity of this establishment, I now “ found a beautiful orange-tree, adorned at once with ripe fruit and “ fragrant blossoms; and, when shortly after my arrival, I was in- “ vited to tea under the huge yellow-tree, in the shade of which, but u lately, there were no assemblies, but those of wild buffaloes, u elephants, and other dreaded inhabitants of the desert.” The other settlements, however, exhibit a very powerful contrast to this delightful scene. In our last, we noticed the destruction of their church at Groenekloof, and are now sorry to add, that the rains and floods did such immense mischief to the gardens and cottages, that many thousand dollars will be requisite to repair the loss; and as provisions are hardly to be got for any price, the distress is greatly increased. At Gnadenthal, out of 48 houses materially injured by the floods and storms, twenty are in ruins; whilst of 400 head of cattle, half either perished, or were consumed in the course of three months, in consequence of the famine which followed. “ In “ brief,” writes one of the sufferers, “ we are ruined outright, and “ all the fond hopes of progressive improvement, which once cheered li the Missionaries, are entirely blighted, unless God disposes the “ hearts of benevolent friends to come to our assistance.” The case is urgent, and we hope that the call of the London Association in aid of this most important and interesting Society, for assistance in this their day of need, will be promptly and liberally answered by Christians of all denominations.—The first-fruits of the mission to the Calmuc Tartars, have just appeared in a small congregation, which, with their Missionary at their head, have quitted their horde, where they were exposed to constant obloquy and insult, for the settlement of their brethren at Sarepta, where their reception pow¬ erfully reminds one of the journeyings and meetings of patriarchal times, for, like the children of Israel going out of Egypt, they came “ with their young and their old; with their sons and their daughters ; “ with their flocks and their herds as didRebekah and her attendants, on their way to Isaac, their women rode upon the camels, which were loaded with their household stuff; and to finish the similitude, some of the brethren went out to meet them on their way. A part of the narrative of these interviews is so affecting, that we cannot avoid transcribing it in the very words of the Missionary, by whom-it Summary of Missionary Proceedings. 461 was transmitted. “ Aged brethren, and sisters, widows, and hoary- headed men, were seen grasping once more their pilgrim’s stalF, spending some of their last remaining strength, and creeoiug aloug the road towards the kibitjes, which stand about three English miles from hence, that, with their ow n eyes, they might behold" this work ot trod. \V e were particularly affected with what happened to a venerable old brother, Steinman, eighty-three years of age, one of the fiist settlers at Sarepta : he, like others of the aged fathers of this place, never forgot its pristine destination, to be" the means of bringing the gospel to the Calmucs, for which he offered up daily prayers, and now desired to see with his own eyes these firstlings of that heathen nation; he therefore, likewise, seized his stalF, which he had long ago laid aside; and, by the help of a friendly conductor, reached their camp : after beholding them, and hearing them in their own language sing verses, treating of the sufferings, death, and re¬ demption of Jesus their Saviour, he returned home, thanking and prais¬ ing God ; and, two days after, closed his eyes, and departed in peace.” Who can read this unadorned description without calling to mind the venerable Simeon in the temple, and his dyiug exclamation, of “ Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; for mine eyes “ have seen thy salvatiou.” That salvation is now visiting some" of the wildest and most uncivilized of the sons of Ishmael; for, as w-as the case with their forefather, when his infant cry arose from the desart, “ The Lord hath heard their affliction.” By the influences of the gospel, their rough and dark countenances have already been changed into mild and cheerful faces—the unpleasant and fierce tone of their voices has become gentle and modest, their unman¬ nerly and boisterous behaviour quiet and peaceable, whilst their disorderly and filthy habits have yielded to regularity and cleanli¬ ness. “ Then- conduct,” adds the Brethren, to whose patient labours they are, under God, indebted for this pleasing change, “ would put “ many a nominal Christian to shame; and might even be a lesson “ to many of those who profess to walk after the rule of Christ.” In India, the Baptist Missionaries are observing fruits of their labours, the natives evincing a general desire for instruction, which cannot but be Favourable to the diffusion of the gospel, although at present its operation may be indirect, and even apparently hostile. Several of them have established presses, and commenced printing on their own account, a variety of hawkers being employed to sell their publications, which have nothing to do with Christianity", but, on the contrary, are trash in every sense of the word. Hereafter, however, the hope of gain may induce them to become active agents in disposing of tracts and portions of the scriptures, with which at present they cannot be induced to interfere. The new chapel at Berampore, is finished, and the expense of its erection nearly defrayed. From Gurmookteshwur, we learn that an aged Brahmin, who, in consequence of a four years’ leprosy, had worms crawling upon him, was induced, by the persuasion of the agents of this Society, to abandon his sinful and superstitious purpose of putting an end to his sufferings, by throwing himself into the Ganges, and to wait patiently, until, in the providence of God, the hour of his departure shall arrive. In the neighbourhood of Digah, one of the civil officers of the Company has done his duty as a Christian and a Briton, by prohibiting a widow from burning herself. She had two children by her side, bewailing her expected fate; but their weeping was soon turned into joy, by her VOL. VI.— NO. 12. 2 H 462 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. return home, where, though affecting for a while to be dying of mor¬ tification from her disappointment, she soon became as cheerful and happy as she had ever been. The Brethren at Serampore, the most important Missionary station of the East, are going on most prosper¬ ously in their glorious work, and the most perfect harmony subsist¬ ing between them and their younger brethren, the Independents and Episcopalians. “A great number of excellent pamphlets,” writes that apostle of the East, Dr. Carey, “ are printed, by one or another, in the Bengalee and some other languages, which contribute not a little to the edification of believers, and to the stirring up> of a spirit of inquiry in a people whose most prominent feature is apathy. There has also been a great change in the circumstances of the natives themselves. There are now three newspapers printed in the Bengalee language, and one in Persian. In these, many things con¬ nected with heathenism, as well as Christianity, are discussed by the natives themselves, and facts brought to light respecting the black¬ ness of idolatry, which might otherwise have been sought for in vain. That spirit of establishing and maintaining schools, especially cha¬ rity-schools, which now prevails, and is mueh increasing among the natives, some of the chief men for wealth and respectability among them coming forth, and voluntarily taking an active part in these institutions, is to me a matter of great encouragement. They now unite with Europeans, and Europeans with them, in promoting bene¬ volent undertakings, without servility on their parts, or domination on ours. God is doing great things for India, and for all the world”. In Calcutta, an increasing spirit of inquiry is manifesting itself, from which much good will, we doubt not, ultimately result. The heathen inhabitants of this capital of British India are rapidly abandoning their idol worship, and beginning to doubt the power of their deities to save, and of their brahmins to forgive sins ; but from superstition are passing into the extreme of infidelity and atheism. Some of the native journalists are doubting, and even expressing their doubts, upon the propriety of the horrid custom of burning widows, whilst, to their shame be it added, but too many Britons are its advocates. At Colombo, the Missionaries are labouring most indefatigably and successfully at their great w ork of translation ; the First of Kings being now in baud, and the books of Psalms and Proverbs having alrea¬ dy been put in circulation, as have two editions of the new translation of the New Testament. The preaching in Portuguese seems to be the most successful; and the native schools have prospered more during the last year than in any preceding one. This is encourag¬ ing; but the labourers in this portion of the vineyard need some encouragement, as amongst the Mahomedan inhabitants of Colombo, one only convert seems to have been made, and he is an object of incessant ridicule and reproach, whilst the nominal Christians of Ceylon are, in general, in a state of the most deplorable ignorance. One professor of the Dutch reformed religion, at the age of 103, had never heard of Jesus Christ, w r hilst hosts of others were acting so contrary to their profession as to be occupied in repairing their habitations, or in revelling and dancing, the greater part of the Sabbath day. A precious example this for the poor Cingbalese, and an admirable comment upon the fourth commandment! The mission in Sumatra has not lately met with any decided success, though the state of things is still encouraging. The Easy Lessons, which have been put in circulation, excite considerable interest amongst natives Summary of Missionary Proceedings. 463 of aU descriptions, and from the success of these little moral works, mfnJ! 1 S n S f 0 + v. arieS ® ncoura S ed in printing others, to prepare the imnds of the people for more important subjects. A tract on the Creation, containing the first three chapters of Genesis, is also ^ Cln? in( l uired for b y the natives, under riie title of The History of the 1 rophet Adam." The apathy of the Malay s is well known, but a tract upon astronomy has greatly excited their curiosity, and awakened that spirit of inquiry which is so highly advantageous to the progress of the gospel. “Science," it is truly observed by the Missionaries now’labouring amongst them, “will not „ FL , e t ^ e . m Christians, but it w ill assist in dispelling the clouds of _ Mahomedamsm, and teach them to use their mental powers." A ) cr y great taste tor reading seems indeed to be every where increas- mg and great eflorts must be made to gratify it. Sir Stamford allies, as might be expected from him, has done every thing in his power to further the views of the mission for the general diffusion of knowledge, by sending out a stock of the missionary tracts to each district under his government, with directions to the resident native chiefs to have them distributed there. In a recent visit to the coast, one of the Missionaries took with him a large supply, and they were every where gladly received, many more applications for Gospels having been made to him than he had the means of satisfy- mg. A native female-school has also been commenced with good prospect of success, as the Malaga women are much more accessi¬ ble to Europeans of their own sex, than the females of the con¬ tinent of India. Monthly lectures are reading by the Mission¬ aries, on the elements ot the most useful and interesting sciences, which are well attended by the native chiefs, and other grown-up persons. Owing to the removal of the Rev. Mr. Winter, the chap¬ lain of the residency, who died the death of a Christian, Mr. Robin¬ son, one of the Missionaries, has, at the request of the governor taken upon himself the duties of that office, as far as his non-conl formist principles will permit—an example of liberality which we could wish to see imitated in our other colonies; though, we are sorry to add, that this will, in all probability, but too soon be deprived of the invaluable services of its present governor, whose health, we are grieved to know', added to the loss of one after another of his chil¬ dren in this unhealthy climate, will speedily compel him to return to England. Java seems still to present an obdurate and unproductive soil; nor does the mission to the Birman empire at present produce very prolific fruits, though the few converts which have been made at Rangam are most of them stedfast, humble, and devoted.— From the West Indies but little information is received, but the complexion of that little is satisfactory. One of the Missionaries is successfully labouring amongst the black population of Kingston, who have hitherto been left without a settled minister, and the magis¬ trates of the tow r n afford him every encouragement in his important work. One of the very active agents of the London Missionary Society at Bellary, has lately made a tour through the Mysore, &c., to Seringapatam, and before he had reached Bangalore, had halted a considerable time in upwards of twenty large towms, in most of which, no Missionary had before appeared, yet were he and a native teacher who accompanied him every where, heard attentively, in preaching the glad tidings of salvation, while the portions of the sacred scrip- 464 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. tures and tracts in the Teloogoo and Canara languages, with which they were plentifully supplied, were sought for with the utmost eagerness, the poor people sitting in groups to read them, or coming with their books in their hands, to ask for an explanation of passages which they could not understand, and not unfrequently requesting their benevolent teachers to stay longer to instruct them in the new and important things which they had first brought to their notice. Proceeding by Bangalore and Seringapatam to Mysore, he was most kindly received there by the British resident, and preached to the Europeans and others, attached to the court of the Rajah. At Tellicharry, where he was cordially received by the chaplain, who is very honourably engaged in translating the scriptures into Malay- hese, and in every other village in his subsequent progress, lie distributed his tracts, and addressed an attentive people, who, for the first time, heard with astonishment the Canara language from the lips of an European. In some places, his poor but grateful auditors loaded him with fruit in return for his books. At Canna- more he was gratified to learn, from the officers of the 69 th regiment, that the soldiers who had formerly attended on his ministry at Bel¬ lary were the best men in the regiment. Amongst the troops still remaining at that station, much good is effecting, and several of them are candidates for admission into the Christian church. The schools are prospering, and an attempt is about to be made to establish one for girls, though, as usual, the prejudices of the natives are much opposed to it. Some slight indications of a spirit of inquiry having been excited amongst the natives, have also appeared in their appli¬ cations for tracts and Bibles, some of which they readily have pur¬ chased, but no other encouragement has lately been exhibited here. Amongst the crowd of devotees at the great fair at Humpee, was the Rajah ot Harponelly, whom the Missionaries had seen five years before, at the seat of his government, and he now sent to invite them to visit him, as they accordingly did, and were most graciously received, being sent home on one of his highnesses own elephants: but what is of far more importance, he renewed his expressions of regard for the mission, to which he has always been friendly, and requested a visit from its agents to his territories again. At Bel- gaum, a Brahmin, who gives good evidence of a serious concern for his soul, is actively assisting the Missionaries in the preparation of Mahratta tracts, and some other natives are anxiously inquiring the way of salvation. The schools are well attended, and the prospects of the station are, on the whole, so encouraging, that another Mis¬ sionary is required. Chinsurah is a place, from which the Missionaries of the Society have not as yet gathered any Hindoo converts into the fold of Christ. Prejudice is there very strong in its operation, though it seems to be giving way; for numbers of the natives, both Mussulmen and Hindoos, come to ask for the Bible, which is read in all the schools, where the catechism is also learnt by heart. These things do not escape the observation of the Brahmins ; one of whom lately said to Mr. Townley,—and earnestly do we hope and pray that his fears may be prophetic,—“ Oh, sir, in our children's “ children's time, it will be all over with us.”—At Calcutta, however, the work of the Lord is evidently advancing, for prejudices are daily vanishing; large congregations assemble to hear the word of life, and a spirit ot inquiry generally prevails. Female education is also exciting an interest, though the disposition to avail themselves Summary of Missionary Proceedings. 465 of its advantages only partially prevail among the natives On W way to tins capital, the wife of one of the Missioiaries besides Suttee, was witness to the horrid sio-ht n f o- f” 68 ’ besiae ? brought lo the Ganges, by their relations, who, bavin"- firs^fiHed their mouths, ears, and nostrils with mud, left them on fts hVntt fl r floated down the tide, to a place, a?',hey beHeveS?o/perfect haDot ness. An Auxiliary Missionary Society has, we are gratified P to leant been formed at Amboyna, to affoid support and eucouia-e- dw!,. 10 ' C Mlss ' ,m!ll 'ie» already there, or who may hereafter arrive in their great work; to engage suitable schoolmasters and send them’ to distant parts of the settlement, for the instruction both of tlm native Christians and of the heathen; and to employ the mission pi ess in the printing of religious tracts. The deadi of Dr. Milne •will vve tear, occasion, at least a suspension of some of the useful undertakings which he had set on foot for the furtherance of the Prince^?w2!?' • T' e i a, C pleaSCd tG find ’ t,iat the governor of 1 . sland > expressing at the same time how happy e was to do any thing for so great and good a man, readily furnished Ins friends with a company’s cruiser, to take him to Malacca where in the midst ot his family, he finished, at the early a-e of ,nn' an Ti hl y ( - as h ° no , ura 1 ble a race as in modern times was ever n. The native schools there are going on prosperously, and the Chinese jouths attached to the school, are also on the increase. At Madagascar e very thing wears a most promising aspect. Mr. JefFrvs the third Missionary, accompanied by the four artisans sent out with him, has arrived at the capital, and was received with all the military honours that could have there been paid to an ambassador of the most potent prince. They were treated most graciously by the king, who gave the Missionary a house, and the artisans a piece ot land, on which, with the willing assistance of two thou- sand people of the town, three houses were erected for them in as many days. The King is so anxious for his people to receive instruction, that he himself sends for parents, to desire them to send their children to the Missionaries ; and he lately attended in state with two of his generals, at a public examination of their schools’ where the children shewed that they had made considerable progress’ in reading, spelling, writing, and the first rules of arithmetic, as have the girls also in needle-work. They were catechized by Mr. Jones m the Malagash language, in which he has composed a catechism for their use, after the method of Dr. Watts. The report of the deputa¬ tion sent out to the South Sea Islands continues to be most encour¬ aging, informing us, as they do, that all we have heard, in respect to the state of the missions, is far exceeded by the fact. In all the islands which they have yet seen,—and Huaheine, whence they last wrote, is the third,—a profession of the gospel is universal; the prayer meetings, and the schools are surprisingly attended, and the churches are flourishing, whilst the morality of the people is unparalleled, and civilization is making rapid progress among them. The idol temples recently destroyed in Huaheine are very numerous, but we rejoice to add, that almost every where, a temple has been erected to Jeho¬ vah on their ruins. Tupuai, Raivavai, Rurutu, and Rimatura, the seven native teachers, sent from Tahiti, have been most joyfully welcomed both by chiefs and people. At Eimeo, the foundation stone has been laid of a new chapel, to be built of hewn coral rock, lined with stone, taken chiefly from the neighbouring Morais, or os P 466 Summary of Missionary Proceedings. places of idolatrous worship. The chief and people take great in¬ terest in the edifice, which is the first attempt at this style of building of the island.—In South Africa, the civilization of the Hottentots, has very considerably advanced of late. At Bethelsdorp, houses of a better description than those formerly used, have been built, and are building, and the Hottentots of the settlement have become con¬ tractors with the colonial commissariat, to furnish thirty waggons for the conveyance of goods. At Lattakoo, Mr. Moiralt has made sufficient progress to translate some little pieces into the Bootchuana tongue, and hopes soon to be able to preach in it to the natives. At Berbice, several pleasing evidences have lately been given of the genuine Christian feelings of the negro converts. The Church Missionary Society has of late received but little information of great interest from its numerous stations, and what it has received is of a mixed, though, on the whole, an encouraging character. At Ceylon their agents seem to entertain more sanguine hopes than those of other societies, founded, in a great measure, upon the atheistical cast of the national creed. Budhu is not with them a god, but a very holy priest, who, after passing through vari¬ ous trials upon earth, is now in a state of glory, where they believe that any man, by becoming a Budhu, may follow him ; and that he may do, if he lives as holy as he did. Their chief object of worship is the Devil, whom in sickness they are accustomed to propitiate by horrid ceremonies, of which the dance, called the Devil’s dance, is the chief; although in the neighbourhood of Baddagammee, the station of the Missionaries, from the services rendered to the natives by their knowledge of physic and surgery, combined with their religious exhortations, this superstitious custom is fallen into all but univer¬ sal disuse. The Missionaries are active, zealous, and apostolically devoted men; their schools are flourishing, the scholars going through their lessons in English and Cinghalese, much to the satisfaction of two of the gentlemen on the civil service of the East India Company, who, on their way home, touched at Galle.—New Zealand presents, however, we are sorry to say, a very different and discouraging prospect. It appears but too clearly now, that the object of Shunghee, In visiting England, M as but to provide himself the more effectually with the means of carrying on that destructive warfare, which he has begun in the most savage manner, having fitted out an expedi¬ tion against his enemies on a larger scale than any which ever left that country before ; and as he is plentifully supplied with fire-arms, to be used against a people destitute of them, there is every reason to fear, that unless prevented by the special interference of Provi¬ dence, he will but too successfully execute his threat of destroying every man, woman, and child, with whom he meets;—whilst, from his return to all the barbarous customs of his country, it is to be appre¬ hended that he and his people will not only kill, but eat them too. Amidst such horrid scenes, the Missionaries are not only discouraged, but insulted in the grossest manner; and since the return of their chief, they have manifested a great disinclination to sending their children to the Mission schools, Shunghee having declared that he wanted his children to learn to fight, and not to read.—In Western Africa, the work is prospering. At Gloucester, the number of com¬ municants is considerably increasing, and they give good evidence of having made progress in divine things. The Methodist Mission to Ceylon, is, on the whole, making pro- Summary oj Missionary Proceedings. 467 s^ioss, although we could wish for a more rapid one. In some districts demands for the establishment of village schools are making far be- jond the ability of the Society to supply ; whilst in others, the dreadful rat ages ot the cholera morbus, that most destructive scourge of India have kept the children from a regular attendance, though they are now resuming it—In South Africa, the mission to the Boschuanas is about to begin active operations, under very encouraging circum¬ stances, for the missionary who has travelled very far into this country, gives a very decided opinion in their favour, as the very first (instead of being, as other tribes rank them, the low est and the last) ot the Hottentot and South African race. The Missionaries to Namacqualand, have lately visited a neighbouring horde of bastard Hottentots, who expressed a wish to be taught the way to heaven ; and their report affords, we think, an encouraging hope that a Mis¬ sionary might be advantageously settled amongst them. Other Missionaries have been on a journey of inquiry and observation into the country of the warlike Caffres, some of whose tribes, and even of their chiefs, appear to be anxious for the establishment of a Missionary amongst them, and we earnestly hope that ere long a door will be opened for his entrance, though the sceptical turn and predatory habits of the people will, humanly speaking, present very formid¬ able barriers to his success.—The West Indies are still, how ever, the most fruitful fields for the labour of this Society. At Dominica, the foundation stone of a new mission chapel has-been laid by the Earl of Huntingdon, the governor, in presence of the Chief Justice and many of the principal inhabitants of the island, from whom a sub¬ scription of £600 has been raised, his Excellency’s name being placed at its head. In every other respect, his lordship has shewn himself the constaut and zealous patron of every attempt to promote the moral and religious instruction of the negroes, regardless by w hat denomination of Christians those efforts may be made. In St. Vin¬ cent’s, the Missionaries are too much occupied in preaching, to at¬ tend, as they could wish to do, to the Sunday schools. Several open¬ ings present themselves for Missionary exertion, both in this island and the neighbouring one of Beckway, and assistance from home of fresh labourers is ardently looked for, and will not, we hope, long be looked for in vain. At Tortola, in the last quarter, one hundred mem¬ bers were added to the society. The congregations both in town and country continue large, and the schools, on the whole, are doing well, though additional teachers and larger supplies of books are much needed. Considerable accessions have also been lately made at Antigua, where the labours of Missionaries amongst the slaves'are prospering, except that one planter has forbidden their continuance upon his estates. A pleasing contrast to this worldly-minded and unchristian conduct is detailed, however, in a letter from Mr. White- house, of which the following is an extrat: “Yesterday evening, Sunday the 23d, I opened Sion Chapel, upon Sion Hill, the estate of the Hon. J. D. Taylor. It was a highly interesting season to all pre¬ sent. Mr. T., his excellent lady, and his daughter, were present. On their leaving the chapel, the negroes were in waiting, lining each side of the w ay leading to their house; and when they had passed the threshold of the chapel, they began to pour a thousand blessings on their heads. The chapel was erected at Mr. T.'s expense, for the benefit of his own negroes, and the negroes on the neighbouring estates. I spent a very agreeable evening with this excellent family. Political Retrospect. 46S Among their slaves they appear more as parents than as proprietors: the sick are fed from their table; and they are building a hospital for the lying-in women almost close to their own house, so that Mrs. Taylor may see them several times in the day." O si sic omnes! The foundation of another chapel has been laid at Willoughby-Bay, to¬ wards the erection of which, scarcely a negro came to the meeting, that did not bring a stone, many of them ready squared. In Jamaica, the work is.upon the whole prospering in the hands of the Mission¬ aries, who, as in most other of the colonies, are wanting further aid. On the north side of the island alone, it is computed that at least 250,000 souls are living without God, and without religious instruc¬ tion. In the House of Assembly; some very interestingdebates are now going on, upon the subject of christianizing the slaves, and one of its ablest members has given his matured opinion, that, “ the slaves never can be properly instructed in Christian doctrines, but through the zeal and activity of Missionaries.” From Tobago, the call for further help is also loud and urgent. To most places on the island, access could readily be obtained, and in every spot to which the gospel has been introduced, the negroes Hock with the greatest avidity to receive instruction. From Montserrat and St.Eustatia, the intelligence is on the whole very encouraging. On both islands new chapels are erecting, of w liich the governor, had he not been pre¬ vented by illness, was to have laid the first stone of that erecting on the latter island. A desire to give the Index to the volume, with the number that completes it, compels us reluctantly to defer, until our next, our usual summary of the proceedings of the minor societies at home, and of those abroad. POLITICAL RETROSPECT. Seldom ,if ever, did the character of England stand so high as it does at the present moment. At the congress of Verona, she acted the part which became her, by remonstrating, in a firm and dignified manner, against the interference of the Allies with the internal concerns of Spain, or any country with whose constitution its monarchs were not altogether satisfied. Failing in dissuading other pow ers from pursuing her own proper example, in leaving every state to chuse a form of government for itself, her ambassador unequivo¬ cally declared that England would take no part in these unjustifiable proceedings ; and the ministry have, in parliament, repeated an assur¬ ance, which every party in the country has hailed with delight. Never, indeed, was any thing more unpopular in England, from one extremity of it to the other, and without a solitary dissentient voice, than the shameless aggression of the Holy Alliance on the indepen¬ dence of Spain ; and if a war cannot be avoided, never could one be entered upon with greater popularity, than in support of the consti¬ tutional government, of which, when it was before assailed, by the insane ambition of the French, England was the first, and most suc¬ cessful ally. We hope, however, in the present state of our finances, that a strict neutrality will be a sufficient protection to the Spanish people, as. without English gold, the German and Russian allies of the Political Retrospect. 469 French, cannot be put into a fit condition for a very active Peninsular campaign. The line of policy which he has adopted at this critical juncture, has given great eclat to the entrance of Mr. Canning upon ms office ; and it is a singular, but most gratifying occurrence, that his friend Mr. Robinson was greeted in the most enthusiastic man¬ ner by all sides of the House, on commencing the duties of his chancellorship of the Exchequer, with the very gratifying measure of a reduction of nearly two millions and a half of taxes. Ireland is stiil a scene of outrage, disgraceful to a civilized state. In consequence of the prompt measures stated in our last to have been resorted to for the prevention of the Orange triumph, in deco- lating the statue ol King William, the Lord Lieutenant has rendered himself so unpopular with a faction which has long been the curse of Ireland, that on his appearance at the theatre on the 14 th of De¬ cember, he was received with hisses and the display of the most offensive placards, and at length a bottle, and a fragment of a watch¬ man’s rattle, were flung from one of the galleries towards the vice¬ regal box ; but happily they missed their aim. The persons immedi¬ ately engaged in this disgraceful proceeding were taken into custody, rather, we are sorry to say, through the prompt interference of the by-standers than of the police, whose scandalous inactivity has pro¬ cured the dismissal of several of its officers. A variety of addresses were presented to his Excellency from all parts of the country, con¬ gratulating him upon his escape, though in several, we are concerned to add, the influence of the Orange faction prevailed to prevent meetings for the purpose being called, although the requisitions were most numerously and respectably signed. A bill w as preferred against the rioters, but rendered unavailing by the grand jury (fourteen of whom were upon the Dublin corporation, which has but too long been the strong hold of this mischievous association,) ignoring it, against evidence, and the declared opinions of the court, as to all the defendants save two,—the law requiring, as they well knew, three to constitute a riot. The Attorney-General, however, with that vigour which we expected from him, determined that the ends of justice should not be defeated, proceeded against the same parties by ex-officio information; and after a trial, than which nothing seems to have excited so great an interest since the days of Sache- verel, the prosecution fell to the ground, because there were no hopes of the Jury agreeing in their verdict. To what a height must party feeling run in that devoted country, when it blinds men to the solemn obligation of oath; yet in such a country, and at such a crisis, we regret to find that Dr. Magee, the new archbishop of Dublin, of whom our announcement of his appointment evinces that we had expected better things, has rendered his first charge, instead of a specimen of Christian moderation and forbearance, a bitter, not to say unchristian invective, alike against Protestant and Roman Catho¬ lic dissenters from the established church. The former care not what he says :—at this period of irritation the latter evidently feel, and we fear will not soon forget it. In France, the elections have been carried in favour of the govern¬ ment candidates, by means which, in England, would vacate many of their seats. The faculty of medicine at Paris has been suppressed, and twenty-five physicians, and four thousand students, have been thus deprived, the first of their places, the others of the means of professional instruction, because, when the rector of the academy 470 Political Retrospect. was about to address them, a cry was raised of “ A has les Jesuites an instance of insubordination, not certainly to be passed over with¬ out notice, but which, in our Universities, the expulsion of the ring¬ leaders of the tumult, and rustication of their more prominent parti- zans, would sufficiently and more efficaciously have punished : Mes on faites ces c/ioses autrement en France. After considerable hesita¬ tion and vacillation in the members of the French ministry, the speech of the king, at the opening of the chambers, in as far as words can do it, puts an end to all hopes of avoiding a war between France and Spain; a hundred thousand Frenchmen, commanded by a prince of his family, (the Duke d’Angouleme) being therein declared to be “ ready to march, invoking the God of St. Louis, for the sake of “ preserving the throne of Spain to a descendant of Henry the “ Fourth,—of saving that fine kingdom from its ruin,—and of recon- “ ciling it with Europe." The sole object of these vast preparations, is there stated to be, to set Ferdinand VII. “ free, to give to his “ people institutions, which they cannot hold but from him, i. e. in plain English, for in common sense, the words admit not of any other construction, to establish, contrary to the declared wishes of the people, and the constitution to which that very Ferdinand the Beloved has sworn, an absolute and unlimited monarchy in Spain. Against this unjustifiable aggression, this uncalled for inteference with the internal affairs of another state, Talleyrand has delivered a remonstrance, in the chamber of Peers, to which, from one who has had such bitter experience of the hazards of a Peninsular war, the French ministry must be besotted indeed, if they will not attend. In the chamber of deputies, also, Geneasl Foy characterized the measure as “ a war against morality and probity—a war of impiety “ and sacrilege, disavowed and rejected by the whole nation, and “ therefore the greatest calamity which could befall the throne." For similar sentiments, though somewhat more boldly expressed, Manuel, a patriotic deputy of La Vendee, has been excluded from the present sessions, though armed force was obliged to be resorted to, to get him out, and the National Guard refused to act against him. A strong protest was also signed by several deputies, but the printers dare not insert it in their journals, or give it circulation. Such is the liberty of the press in Franc! Since our last reference to the affairs of Spain, the Cortes appear to have been manfully preparing themselves for the maintenance of the liberty of the nation at the point of the sword. Fresh corps have been incorporating with great activity, and every effort has been made to prepare them for the field as soon as possible. The public functionaries are every where rendered responsible for the strict and immediate execution of the orders respecting the new levies. Mina has been appointed general in chief of the three armies of Catalonia, Navarre, and Arragon; but we regret to find that his troops have wreaked the popular indignation on the monks and priests, by the assassination of at least fifty of them, in various parts of Cata¬ lonia. The bodies of two are said to have been found on the coast, who had been bound back to back, and thrown into the sea. This is a horrible, but we hope it may prove a useful lesson to ecclesiastics, to teach them not to interfere with matters in which, as ecclesiastics, they have nothing to do. The regency has been compelled to fly, often, indeed generally by night, from place to place, bearing upon the backs of mules, (no inappropriate carriers of such a burden,) Political Retrospect. 47] the archives of their self-constituted government: Their troops were encountered by those of the Constitutionalists before Puyurda, and after the combat, a great many of their superior officers retreated into the interior. Their army was pursued to the very extremity of the frontier. They appear, however, to have derived fresh spirits from the decided tone in which the high and mighty Allies assembled at the congress of Verona (England alone honourably excepted) have reprobated the proceedings of the Constitutionalists in Spain, though it is difficult, even from their own laboured manifesto, to discover what they had to do with the business. The ambassadors of France, Austria, Russia, and Prussia, were withdrawn from Madrid the moment that the Spanish ministry, cordially supported in their deci¬ sion by the Cortes, had refused to accede to the ultimatum of the Alliance, insisting, in effect, on their right to control the will and wishes of the Spanish nation. Their passports were readily granted the moment they were asked for, and we doubt not that our readers must with us have remarked the laconic dignity, truth, and simpli¬ city, characterizing the official notes by which they were accom¬ panied. Would that truth as generally superseded unmeaning com¬ pliments and falsehoods, too palpable to be concealed by art, in the correspondence of our modern diplomatists. Those notes are also the more valuable, as proving the true state of things in Spain, in that they were framed by a committee, in which Arguelles, the leader of the moderate party, after declaring himself ready to go all lengths in vindicating the independence of his country, was placed, upon the nomination of Galiano the democratic leader, and that they after¬ wards obtained the unanimous sanction of the Cortes. After this, it is really laughable to find some of the French journals complaining of the popular associations of Madrid, for “ indulging in insolent and scandalous declamations against the congress of the Holy Alliance, and ridiculing the sovereigns who compose it, in a caricature of the most outrageous description, publicly exhibited in all the shops of Madrid." It was said that Ferdinand had expressed a w ish to imitate, in the only way he can, the most distinguished of his predecessors, by exchanging his diadem for a cowl; a measure, which, if whilst on the throne, he resolves to persist in his present ruinous policy, may perhaps prove to be the only one that can save his head. Should he lose that, the madness of his brother Bourbons will be principally, if not alone, to blame. Himself, his family, and his court, have, how¬ ever, removed from Madrid to Seville; and though we put very little faith in his honesty, from his having changed his men and measures as often as he thought an opportunity presented itself of gaining an advantage over the constitution to which he had sworn, wc are not without hopes that his fears may force him to the adoption of a surer and a safer policy. The new constitutional government of Portugal appears to be gaining solidity and strength. In a sitting of the Cortes on the 31st of December, the reply of the British government to a demand made by the Portuguese ministry for an explanation of the view's which it entertained with respect to the present state of Europe, was read by the minister for foreign affairs. In it the British ministry, briefly but frankly profess, that, not assuming the right to interfere in the internal concerns of an independent nation, nor feeling that any change of constitution in a friendly state could affect the relations previously existing with it, Great Britain “ w ill feel herself obliged 472 Political Retrospect . “ to lend to Portugal all tlie succour of which she may stand in need, “ as often as her independence may he menaced by any other power, “ in any manner whatever." This declaration, so worthy of our free and happy constitution, was made and received with great exultation, and must have an effect upon other states. Would that it may be to the prevention of a war, in which we fear that, sooner or later, England must be plunged ! Whilst troops are likely to be wanted so much nearer home, we cannot, however, but be surprised at the folly of the Portuguese government, in sending out an expedition of 3000 men to Bahia, in the delusive hope of restoring the Brazils to her alle¬ giance to the mother country; for she has shaken it off for ever. The Queen has refused to swear obedience to the constitution, and, on being menaced with expulsion from the kingdom, replied, that she would consent to it, provided that the dower she brought the king was returned to her. Her banishment has, however, been decreed by the Cortes, without, as it would seem, a compliance with her demand; and the King her husband has confirmed the sentence, though its execution is delayed by the state of her health, until the recovery of which, sufficiently to enable her to travel, she has been ordered to seclude herself in the Quinta del Ramalhao, where ten physicians are in attendance upon her. Since that period, very recently indeed, a counter revolutionary movement has been attempted, having for its object a similar attack upon the constitution of Portugal, to that made by the regency in Spain, but it does not appear at all likely to succeed. With respect to Italy, it would seem that the influence of England at the congress of Verona has been beneficial to her, as well as to Spain. Sardinia is to be evacuated by the Austrian troops, by three equal portions, in January, May, and September; whilst haif of the same force, in Naples, is to be immediately withdrawn, and a more moderate contribution for the support of the remainder is at the same time to be accepted. The final evacuation of that king¬ dom is, however, we regret to add, deferred “until a more con- “ venient season;” yet if the attack upon Spain is madly persisted in by the Holy Alliance, these troops will, we doubt not, be w anted nearer home. In Germany, the Emperors of Austria and Russia have been act¬ ing the Two Gentlemen of Verona on a very imperial scale, for they have taken upon themselves, in their new characters (in conjunction with the Kings of France and Prussia) of dictators of Europe, to remonstrate with the Kings of Bavaria and of Wurtemburg, on their permitting the publication of the debates of their deliberative bodies, and request them to put a stop to so democratical a practice. This the monarchs have refused to do, as the former also has done with respect to their demands for restricting the sittings of the states-general, and submitting the press to a severe censorship; but, in their turn, have remonstrated against the holding of general con¬ gresses for settling the affairs of Europe, from which kings and states of their rank and dimensions are excluded. In the same proper spirit, the king of Saxony, on certain changes being proposed to him by the Holy Alliance, replied, “ For many years I have been very well “ satisfied with my people—and my people are satisfied with me— u what more is wanted? My subjects have never done me any u harm—I see nothing to change." Of the movements of Prussia, separate from those of Holy Alii- Political Retrospect. 473 a nc e °f which she forms a part, nothing very particular has tran hijhiy satisfactory ££? N ™ RLAN r DS has issued an ordonnance, £doesthatas Flemish if *S ^ aSS ° f the P°P u,ation ’ directing, as Brussels and I mivain ^11 Jr lan £ ua .S e of th e arrondissements of nf7*fl! f"? L o«vain, all public functionaries, who are not masters " ‘Ij ai ® t0 be displaced; whilst all public pleadings, proclamations Swn uD °in e th^t e f ’ contracts, and acts, are henceforth to be laritv nf P tw th * lan S ua fe. J n proportion, however, to the popu- lanty of the measure with the people, is its unpopularity with nnmher a nfT?r SS °f tle fanct “>? aries > for as it is fatal to P the immense umber of French employed in the courts, bureaus, and offices of Brussels it is very naturally opposed by them and their adherents vuth great clamour; but we do not fear any success to their views fiom the hot paper-war which they have commenced upon the sub- JcCIf h Jw the ultimate triumph of the Greeks over their ruthless and baibarous oppressors there is still much ground to hope notwith the official denunciation of their conduct by P the self-ap- N n i a nJr tf the world, “as rash, culpable, and rebellious/’ IS a P oliand eonnth fu e closely pressed by their patriotic troops, and the condition of the besieged is said to be so desperate, that they X h T b Vn P + ed S °u U t0 surrender * The latter place contained 5000 Turkish troops, the remains of 35,000 which entered the Pelo- f .° rava £_ e and re-enslave it, and forming the whole army of the Turks in the Korea, where their cause seems to be at the lowest ebb, their besieged troops being in the greatest distress for provi¬ sions, whilst the Greeks had an abundant supply. We reeret however, to add, that during the siege, the horrid acts of cruelty which have distinguished this protracted warfare from all others^ save those of cannibals and savages, are constantly practised. Not long since, four Greeks had each a stake driven through his body in which condition they lingered for four days, when their death “was avenged by a like cruel martyrdom of as many Turks. Amidst these horrible scenes of brutal outrage and equally brutal retaliation superadded to the ordinary horrors of a siege, (in themselves one would imagine, terrible and disgusting enough,) Corinth, one of the most polished cities of ancient Greece, the seat of one of the first apostolic churches, presents the appearance of a charnel-house of death surrounded as it is by bodies in every state of putre¬ faction, from the one that fell yesterday, to the first victim of this cruel and protracted siege. Nor is this a solitary spectacle: for the ruthless Turks, as yet unsatiated by the suflerings of the hapless Sciots, have destroyed, in cool blood, the few fugitives from their first massacre, who, trusting to the faithless promise of protection and impelled, no doubt, by their necessities, returned to their homes’ but to find a grave. The cause, however, in which they died is triumphing, and we hope will triumph ; for, on the lower part of the town of Napoli, the Greek flag was some months since flying tri¬ umphant, whilst of 5000 Turks of both sexes, shut up in the upper fortress, only 1500 were capable of bearing arms. The last attempt of the great Turkish fleet, commanded by the new Captain Paeha. to 474 Political Retrospect . relieve this fortress, having failed, it is confidently expected that want of provisions must soon force a surrender. Our government is said, and we hope the report is true, to have adopted a more friendly conduct towards this gallant people, who, in their slight merchant vessels, have proved themselves fully qualified to cope with the regular navy of the Porte. Recalling to mind the deeds of their ancestors, they have again set fire to a Turkish fleet in Tenedos, blowing up the ship of the Captain Pacha, (whose vessel had on board it the staff, money for paying the fleet, and a division of troops,) driving two frigates on shore, and capturing a brig. On land also they have recently been equally successful, in Western Greece, which has been freed from all hostile attack, at least until the ex¬ piration of the winter, by the defeat of Omar Yrioni, who, besieging and surrounding the Greek chiefs, was resisted for three days in the pass of Tygos by 3000 Greeks, who during that time were without food, and well nigh reduced to despair, when twelve Greek vessels arrived at the port, burnt the three Turkish vessels which were bom¬ barding the town, and landed the succours; by whom, and a sortie from the garrison, the Turkish army was completely routed, several of them being drowned in the Archelous in the pursuit, in which many were captured, none indeed but the cavalry escaping. These disasters in Greece have led to great disturbances in Constantinople, where for a considerable time the Janizaries and rabble contesteda; point with the Sultan, which he at length was obliged to yield, by dismissing his minister, and appointing as his successor the nominee of this mutinous people. This compliance with their demands, and the beheading of Chourscliid Pacha, the unsuccessful commander against the Greeks, has in some measure restored tranquillity to a capital, where there has too often been but a step between a bow¬ string and a throne. That throne seems now tottering to its fall, for the Persians having attacked and completely defeated the Turkish army, they pursued them to within two days’ march of Azzaroom, which would have fallen into their hands, but that the cholera morbus , and the fatigue of the pursuit overland, compelled the Prince Royal to lead back his troops to Tabris, with the spoils they had taken. The Porte, when the last accounts came away, was about to sue for peace. America seems likely to be engaged in another warfare with Algiers, from a failure in point of etiquette of her consul at the regency, who, in riding out of the city, suffered the aga, or chief minister, to pass him without alighting, as it is customary to do. For this neglect, the consequence, it is said, of ignorance of the established forms, he was immediately pulled from his horse, and very ill treated, and, on demanding satisfaction of the Dey, he was refused it. Upon this, after drawing up an account of the insult he had received, and causing it to be signed by several European con¬ suls, he immediately embarked for Mahon. In its interior concerns, it would appear from the message of the president, that the country is in a very flourishing condition, w ith a surplus revenue of three millions of dollars, the military and naval forces in an efficient state, and manufactories fast reviving from the depression of the peace. In South America, confusion is still but too prevalent amongst the various independent states, just starting into a new political exist¬ ence, which will, we doubt not, have a most important effect upon the future history of the world. Recent accounts from the Havannah Political Retrospect. 475 Zd of b t ravoei ly wlm l> ni n T* m j scrablc »*»*. infested with a kind: no family can "-o tn'rcit e Pf e dations oi the most atrocious ,heir “4 “ e ™«anr“ame‘d wi,h°d S eadi a /^weT- lawless course from whiT ^a’ against a11 lawful commerce; a althouo-h our own tranl h 1 the Amencans are the chief sufferers, since tal-.i e ■, lrat , e ^. oes no * escape, notwithstaluling the mea- ™ ! fo , lts protection, and which have led to the capture of S ii*“1 da ? nS . Buccaneers * It is expected, however?and we Peru Phili a ^ U H d R lt reas ? n ’ that the treaty between Columbia in PnrS?» a v ? Uenos Ayres, will have a most important effect mayt ei ?ni ; na?e the'wl? st°i 11 that -’ with proper ^^rgyfa few months and tlm Rntiiict •*L t * 11 carr ymg on between the Independents and Portal Thl n t hC V' ansatlantic Possessions of Spain to harp \ e * 100 P S °* the latter power are expected ere this to have come to an engagement with the Brazilian army, the distant BahiaLtoT “ ^ d , ireC,i °." havi “»' «“<""■ «><= inhabitants "f sld nni n^nffL n^ eateSt . & m" 3 ’ 1Q couse M> i ence of which they were f n P 2 oft a, ‘ th ® lr valuables on board the vessels in the harbour. An embargo, at all events, has for some time been laid in the Brazils upon all ships bound to the Eastern dominions of Portugal, and all Mexi>m Ue tL P10P rr y haS been se( i uestrated - In the new empire of exmo, the military emperor, Iturbide, the Napoleon of South Amenea, has already been annoyed by addresses from various public bodies and districts of Ins territories, loudly complaining of the oppression of his government, and upbraiding him, not very ceremo¬ niously, with the violation of the oath which he took in theVresence ot his congress: so that misgovernment and tyranny are proved not to reside in legitimacy alone, but in the evil propensity of man to ?v«S e S °T and ? pp . res i his fel,ow me n. In the true spirit of a - ant > therefore, whether he be elected or hereditary, he has paid no regard whatever to these remonstrances, but proceeded, in the most arbitrary manner, to place under his sole authority, the ountn M inch he delivered from a foreign yoke, but to subject it more absolutely to his own. He has accordingly deposed the Junta subverted the decrees of the Cortes, and seized on property of the merchants to the amount of two or three millions of dollars. For the latter offence the minister of Peru has been dismissed his office bv General San Martin, to whom a petition to that effect was presented by the people, though even he hesitated for some time in complying LONDON: PRINTED AT THE CAXTON PRESS, BY HENRY FISHER. ERRATUM IN No. XI. Pao e 202. At the close of the Anecdote relating to M. Foscue, the French Extortioner, “Waverley” was referred to by mistake, instead of the novel of “ Kenilworth/' by the same Author. I N D JJ X TO THE SIXTH VOLUME. A. Ac.ADUMH-s,proceedino;sof—Roy¬ al Academy of Music, 177; Eng ¬ lish Academy at Rome, 178; Idle, 196; Wymondley College’ ib.; Cheshuut College, 19S- Blackburue, 456. Agriculture—of the Israelites, Es¬ say ou the, 39; Improvements in, 431. American—Literature and Intel¬ ligence, 401; Penitentiary Sys¬ tem, Report on it, 135; Mis¬ sions, 230, 231; Methodists, Statement of their number, 198. Anecdotes of Mons. Foscue, an Extortioner, 201; John Wessel, 202; Khan Zegand, ib. ; the Emperor Augustus, 447; Tam¬ erlane, ib.; Dr. Dale, ib.; Rev. Lawrence Ecliard, 448; Dr. Goldsmith, ib.; generous Hero¬ ism of an Italian Peasant, 440. B. Baptism—a few reasons for ad¬ ministering it to children in general, 252. Berridge—Rev. John, Original Letter from him, 73. Bible Society—Annual Meeting of the Merchant Seamen’s, 195. Blair, William, Esq.—Obituary of him, 449. Books—List of new ones, 187,433. Bruce, Rev. John, Review of his work, on the Abrahamic Cove¬ nant, 396; recommendation of it, 397. Bruen, Rev. Mr. of New-York— Remarks made by him, at a meeting of the New- York Reli¬ gious Tract Society, 416. Byron, Lord, Review of his Vi¬ sion of Judgment, in the Li¬ beral, 76; Letter to the Edi¬ tor of my Grandmother’s Re¬ view, 89; his immorality and impiety severely reprobated, 78, 9, 80, 4. C. Ceylon—Translation of the Raja- VOL. VI. - NO. 12 . vali, a Cinghalese history of that kingdom, 51. Chapels opened, 211, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 220, 453, 4, 5, 6, 8. Churches consecrated, 211 7 - formed, 216, 455. Clark, Rev. Samuel, Original Letter from him. 312. Claike, Rev. Dr. Edward Daniel Obituary of him, 205. D. Deaths of remarkable persons 221, 4, 6, 8, 457, 8; sudden, 22L 7, 8. ’ ’ Discoveries — a new colourin 0 niatter, 17/; mode of prevent¬ ing damp in walls, 180; in the Arctic Regions, by Captain Scoresby, 183; of the Russians in various parts, 426, 429; of M. Bompland in South America ib. E. ‘ Eastburu, Rev. J. W. of New- Aork,—Hebrew Mourner, a Poem, 173. Ecclesiastical Preferments, 211 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 453, 4, 5, e! 7, 8, 9. ’ Electro - Magnetic Discoveries— some account of them, 269. Essays—on the Agriculture of the Israelites, 39; a few reasons for Baptizing Children iu general, 252; on the moral Influence of Peculations connected with the Collection of the Customs, and on the inexpediency of multi¬ plying oiliciai oaths, 257; on the exertions of females iu favour of Missionary Societies, 263; on the connection between Electri¬ city and Magnetism, and Elec¬ tro-Magnetic Discoveries, 269. Evangelical and Rational Chris¬ tianity compared, 316. F. Farmer, Rev. Hugh, Original Letters from him, 313. Fine Arts—Laura’s Portrait, 177, 2 I 478 INDEX. Fitz-Eustace, Father, Review of his Essays, 341, commended, 341, 2,4,7,8, 300, 2, their faults, 343, 355. French Protestant, a tale, re¬ viewed, 394, commended, 395, its defects, 396. G. Cell, Rev. Philip, Review of his observations on the Hebrew Idiom, 119, strongly recom¬ mended, 119, 124, his theory explained, 120. H. Happiness, a tale for the Grave and the Gay, reviewed, 366, its faults, 367, 8, 374, 6. 377, 8, 9, practically commended, 369, 370, 4. Henry, Rev. Matthew. Farewell Sermon to his Fellow Students at Gray’s-lnn, 278. Howard, John, Prayers by him, 60. Hunt, Henry Leigh—Review of his Papers in the Liberal, 92, 5, 7, 101, 5, 7; his character as a writer, 89; mannerism, 91, 3; puppyism, 92, 9; egotism, 90, 7, 100; affectation, 91,2,3,4, 5, 7, 8, 100, 6; infidelity and impiety, 98, 103; imitations of his poetry, 96, 102; recommen¬ dation of a work admirably suited to his talents, 104;—a great bore, 107. Improvements—in boring for wa- ter, 179; Needle-Pointing, ib.; Agriculture, 431; Ripening Wall Fruit, 433; Nails for Wall Fruit, ib. India,—Papers relating to, 51, 294, 301. Intelligence, American, 135, 401 ; Philosophical and Literary, 177, 426 ; Religious, 195, 439 ; Phi¬ lanthropic, 199,440: Provincial, 207, 450 ; Missionary, 221, 459 ; Political, 232, 468. Inventions—a Drawing Machine, 178; new mode of Joining Mir¬ rors, 179; Paper Roofs, 180; Machine for making bread, ib.; Plan for saving Shipwrecked Mariners, 180; Lightning Con¬ ductors at Sea, 181; Instru¬ ment for discovering the Lon¬ gitude, 182. Israelites, Essay on their Agricul¬ ture, 39; their pasturage, ib.; sheep-shearing, 44; goats, 45; py garg,49; chamois, ib.; deer,50. L. Letters,—original ones,—from the Rev. John Berridge, 73; Bishop Warburton, 310; Dr. Watts, 311; Rev. Samuel Clark, 312; Rev. Hugh Farmer, 313;—from Lord John Russell to the Edi¬ tors, 74. Liberal, The, Reviewed, 76; its stupidity, 78, 107. Literary Intelligence—State of the Press in New South Wales, 182; Highland Libraries, 201. Luccock, John, Review of his Notes on Rio de Janeiro, 335; commended, 336, 8, 341. Lunatics, Sermon to, 401. Lyman, Major General, Account of him and his family, 64. M. Magnetism—Some account of the connection or sympathy be¬ tween Electricity and Magne¬ tism, 249. Mason, A. J. M. Review of his Poetical Essays. 134. Memoirs of the Life of Hugh Williamson, M.D. LL.D. 1. Miller, Rev. Dr. Samuel, Review of his Letters on Unitarianism, 316; commended, 329, 331, 2. Missionary Intelligence—Society for Promoting Christian Know¬ ledge, 459; Moravian Mission, 221, 460; Baptist Mission, 221, 461; London Missionary So¬ ciety, 222, 463; Church Mis¬ sionary Society, 226, 466; Me¬ thodist Mission, 228,466; Edin¬ burgh Missionary Society, 230, Evangelical Society at Basle, ib.; American Board of Foreign Missions, ib.; Colonization So¬ ciety, ib. ;—Roman Catholic Mis¬ sionaries, ib.; Address to Chris¬ tian Females in favour of Mis¬ sionary Societies, 263. INDEX. 479 N. Necrological Retrospect for 1821 239. New-York—Sermon on the Ces¬ sation of the Fever there, 405; preached at its Lunatic Asy¬ lum, 441. No Enthusiasm, reviewed, 380; its faults, 381, 5, 6, 7, 390, 2, 3; its good qualities, 380, 5, 7, 390, O. Obituary of James Stewart, Esq. 203; Rev. Edwd. Daniel Clarke, LL.D. 205; Count Giulio Pete- cari, 208; M. Delambre, ib.; Gen. Delancey, ib.; Gen. Elio, ib.; Gen. Oakes, 409; William Dickinson, Esq. ib; Henry Nu¬ gent Bell, Esq. ib.; Madame Buonaparte, 210; Mrs. Garrick, ib.; James Sowerby, Esq. ib.; Lord Grantley, 211; Mr. John Debrett, ib.; Rev. Peter de Beauvoir, 213; Sir Evan Ne¬ pean, ib.; General Sir Thomas Bloomfield, 215; Lord Kinne- der, 220; Lady Norwood, 221; Viscount Frankfort de Mont¬ morency, 221; Earl of Mount- cashel, ib.; William Blair, Esq. 449; Abraham Moore, Esq. 450; Joseph Tiburcio Echaverria, 451; Field Marshal Baron Lau- don, ib.; Dr. Richter, ib.; Prince de Hardenburg, ib.; R. B. Fisher, Esq. 452; Sir George Duckett, Bart. ib.; Mr. John Fry, 454; Christopher Robert Pemberton, M.D. 455; General Welford, 456; Earl'of Tanker- ville, 457. O’Donnoghue’s, Rev. H. C., Fare¬ well Sermon Reviewed, 133. Ordinations, 211, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 220, 1. Original Letters from Rev. John Berridge, 75; Bishop Warbur- ton, 310; Dr. Watts, 311; Rev. Samuel Clark, 312; Rev. Hugh Farmer, 313. Penitentiary System of the United States, Report upon its condi¬ tion, 135. Philanthropic Intelligence, Pro- P. vincial, 217,455; Prison Schools in France, 201; State of the Slave Trade, 444,—Institutions, Proceedings of—City of London General Pension Society, 199 ; Society for educating the Poor in the Highlands, ib.; Scottish Hospital, 201; Seamen’s Hospi- tal, 201, 441; New Society for the Assistance of Evangelical Dis¬ senting Ministers, 439; Royal Universal Dispensary for Chil¬ dren, 441; Mendicity Suppres¬ sion Society, ib.; City of Lon¬ don Lying-in Hospital, ib.; Afri¬ can and Asiatic Society, 442; Society for the Encouragement of Industry in Holland, ib.; So¬ ciety for the Employment of the Poor, 443. Philosophical Intelligence, 177 448. * Poetry—Lines written on the Sea of Ice, 172; the Hebrew Mourn- er > by tlic Rev. J. W. Eastburn of New-York, 173; to Thomas Campbell, Esq., suggested by reading the Pleasures of Hope, ib.; Spring, 175; a Funeral An¬ them, 419; Drachenfels, 420. Political Retrospect, 232, 468. Publications, List of new ones 187, 433. R. Raffles, Sir Thomas Stamford, Communications from him, 294 301. Religious Novels censured, 366— Institutions, Proceedings of— Merchant Seamen’s Bible So¬ ciety, 195; Home Missionary Society, ib.; Society for propa¬ gating Christian Knowledge in the Highlands, 195; Society for River Men, 197; British and Foreign Seamen’s Friend Socie¬ ty? ib-? — Intelligence, Ladies' Benevolence to the Jews, 195; State of the Wesleyan Metho¬ dists, 198; Number of American Methodists, ib.; Important In¬ formation for Dissenters rela¬ ting to Turnpikes, ib.; Canoni¬ zation of a New Saint, 440. 480 INDEX. Retrospect, Necrological,for 1821, 231; of Politics, 232, 468. Review of The Liberal, 76; Mrs. Scliimmelpenninck’s Biblical Fragments, 108; Gell’s Idiom of the Hebrew Language, 119; Essay on the Evils of Scandal, Slander, and Misrepresentation, 124 ; Thomson’s Picture of An¬ cient Times, 132; Thomson’s Sketch of Modern Times, ib.; O’Donnoghue’s Christian Mi¬ nister’s Farewell, 133; Miller’s Letters on Unitarianism, 316; Luccock’s Notes on Rio de Ja¬ neiro, 335; Essays by Father Fitz-Eustace, 341 ; Wiffen’s Translation of Tasso, 356; Hap¬ piness, 366 ; No Enthusiasm, 380; Vicar of Iver, 393; French Protestant, 394; Bruce on the Abrahamic'Covenant, 396; Capt. Scoresby’s Seamen’s Prayer Book, 398. Russel, Lord John, Letter from him to the Editors, 74. S. Scandal, Slander, and Misrepre¬ sentation, Review of an Essay on their Evils, 124; commended, 124, 5, 6, 131 ; some of its sen¬ timents controverted, 134. Schimmelpenninck’s,Mrs. Review of her Biblical Fragments, 108 ; her mistakes, 111, 4, 7; obscu¬ rity,! 13,5; plagiarism, 116; com¬ mendation of her piety, 118. Scoresby, Captain, his Discove¬ ries, 183 ; his Seamen’s Prayer Book reviewed and commend¬ ed, 398. Shelley, Percy Bysshe, Notice of the account of his death in the Liberal, 103. Slave Trade, Account of its pre¬ sent state, 444. Stanford, Rev. John,—Sermon preached to the Lunatics in the New-York Asylum, 401. Stewart, James, Esq., commonly called Walking Stewart, Obi¬ tuary of him, 203. Strong, Rev. J.—Sermon preach¬ ed after the Cessation of the Yellow Fever at New-York, 405. i Sumatra—Report on the Condi¬ tion of the Population of the Districtof Lumba Salapan,294; in the District of Dua-Blas, 301. T. Thomson, S. E. Picture of An¬ cient Times, and Sketch of Modern History, reviewed, 132. Travels—of Capt. Franklin in North America, 184; M. Bom- pland in South America, 429; Institution for assisting travel¬ lers in Russia, 430. V. Vicar of Iver, a Tale, reviewed, 393. University Intelligence, Cam¬ bridge, 212, 453; Oxford, 217, 456; St. Andrews, 459; Aber¬ deen, ib. Voyages of Discovery—Captain Parry’s to the North Pole, 426; M. Duperrey to the Asian Archi¬ pelago, ib.; Lieut. Chramsclien- ko, and Capt. Wassiliew, 427. W. Warburton, Bishop, Original Let¬ ter from him, 310. Watts, Rev. Dr., Original Let¬ ter from him, 311. Widen, J. H. Review of his Fourth Book of Tasso’s Jerusalem Deli¬ vered, 356; highly commended, 363, 4. Williamson, Dr. Hugh, Memoir of his Life,l; education, 2; visit to Edinburgh, ib;; practice as a physician in Philadelphia, 6; observation of the transits of Venus and Mercury, 6, 8; theo¬ ry of Comets,ib.; remarks on the change of climate in America, 9, 29; first communicates to the British Ministry the riots at Boston, ib.; obtains the cele¬ brated Massachusett Papers, 13; his Experiments on Elec¬ tricity, 20; visit to Holland, 21; conduct in the Carolina army, 22; as a legislator, -25; mar¬ riage, 28; publication of the History of North Carolina, 30; his other writings, 31; his con¬ nection with various societies, 32 ; his death, 34; character, ib. Hi ZcrtS'3