nual course, and in which all the planets move. When the sun appears to our view to be between us and the groupe of stars forming such or such a constellation, he is said to be in that constellation. Consequently the constellations he appears to be in, in the summer, are directly opposite to those he appeared in in the winter, and the same with respect to spring and autumn.

The Zodiac, besides being divided into twelve constellations, is also, like every other circle, great or small, divided into 360 equal parts, called degrees; consequently each constellation contains 30 degrees. The constellations of the Zodiae are generally called signs, to distinguish them from the constellations that are placed out of the Zodiac, and this is the name I shall now use.

The precession of the Equinoxes is the part most difficult to explain, and it is on this that the explanation chiefly depends.

The Equinoxes correspond to the two seasons of the year, when the sun makes equal day and night.

* The above is all that we have been able to obtain of Mr. PAINE's Answer to Bishop Watson. We are sorry to say, that it is somewhat doubtful whether the entire work will ever meet the public eye.

"Whose hair in greasy locks hung down,
As straight as candles from his crown,
To shade the borders of his face,
Whose outward signs of inward grace
Were only visible in spiteful

Grimaces, very stern and frightful.”

"He proves all such as do accord
With him, the chosen of the Lord 3

But that all others are accurst,

'Tis plain in Canticle the first."-BUTLER.

"When Superstition, (bane of manly virtues!)
Strikes root within the soul, it over runs

And kills the power of Reason."-PHILIPS.

THE description given by George Alexander Stevens, of the manner of Methodist Preachers of England, in his time, is so just a representation of that of our Methodists in this country, that we are induced to give it a place for the edifi

cation of those who never attend their meetings, as well as for the benefit of the preachers themselves, some of whom may possibly be shocked into reason" by this glaring like. ness of their own folly. No man of sensibility who should visit a Methodist meeting in the height of its frenzy but must commisserate from his soul the unfortunate victims, that are there doomed to be tortured by ignorance and superstition. It is in these assemblies that horror and despair have taken up their abode, and reign triumphant. The groans, the shricks, the faintings of those, who, in the cast phrase, are under concern for their precious souls, are sufficient to extort a curse from piety itself against the inventors of such nonsense. These meetings are not often dissolved till 12 o'clock at night.

"No sleep, no peace, no rest,

Their wandering and afflicted minds possess'd;
Upon their souls and eyes

Hell and eternal horror lies."

Here all decency is outraged, and the most frantic bedlamites are considered as under the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit, and in a fair way of obtaining the prize of the high calling. The following expressions are not unfrequently made use of by the Preachers: "Now is the time O Lord! make bare thy arm, exert thy power. "Let us rush upon the thick bosses of God, determined that we will have mercy. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly!*" It is scarcely possible for language to express more disrespect, and wan of submission to the divine will, than is conveyed in the above sentences; and yet these Preachers would be thought the most humble and meek of all men living. And

*Many of their hymns are extremely ludicrous, and set to light and trifling airs, The latter part of one of the stanzas often sang, is as follows :

Satan's kingdom must come down,

Glory we are gaining ground.

Hal! Halle-Hallelujah !

we candidly confess, that we believe the most of them, as well as their hearers, are in reality what they appear to be, sincerely devout. Ignorance and weakness, though unworthy of respect, are at least entitled to charity; but science and talents have not the same claims to forbearance. When men of learning give encouragement to superstition and bigotry what can be expected from the illiterate, but enthusiasm, and rant? If what we are told, even by doctors of divinity, be true, we cannot exercise too much zeal in our endeavours to make our calling and election sure. But as we believe that the summum bonum of religion consists in moral virtue, and that superstition and hypocrisy are deserving of the lash of ridicule, we insert the following extract from a discourse, supposed to have been delivered by the famous Whitfield, at his house of worship in London, called the Tabernacle.

"BRETHREN,

The floor of the world is filthy, and we are all become sad souls. Now let me ask you a question seriously. Did you ever see any body eat hasty-pudding? What faces they make when it scalds their mouths! phoo, phoo, phoo,! What faces will you make when old Nick nicks you? But you don't mind me, if you did, the sweet words which I utter, would be like a treacle posset to your palates. I say unto you, my beloved, that when the spirit agitateth the flesh, it is a spiritual act; but when the flesh motioneth the spirit, it is a carnal one. And this is the difference, between grace and disgrace. For worldly things, unless sanctification see th them, are no more than kitchen stuff; which the scum of

One of these gentlemen lately made the following obserration, in one of our Presbyterian Churches in this city: "Were a person to become as pure and void of sin as the angels in heaven, and to remain so till the hour of his death, without supernatural grace, he would stand no better chance for salvation than the greatest reprobate, because it is by grace, we are saved,"

our sins maketh, in boiling over, and that is put into the offal pot of repentance. Therefore, the saints of the tabernacle, being clarified by the justification of the new birth, are pure christian suet; which when mixed with the plumbs of the righteous, make up the pudding of glorification. (One of the Congregation.)

[0 sweet Abraham, what heavenly language is this.] The pudding of glorification, therefore, I say, that we may mingle the spirit with the flesh, for that is the type of carnalities and spiritualities.

So I say it is not sinful to consider the uprightness of the flesh, as directed by the spirit; because we may receive the spirit at home, or in the field, or in an alley, or in a centrybox; and I'll stand centry among you; and if you have faith, you shall raise the dead to life. You go to plays! and what do you see there? Why if you will not tell me, I will tell you what you see there! When you see the players on the stage, you see the devil's children grinning at you, and when you go to the play-house, I suppose you go in ruffles! I wonder whether St. Paul wore ruffles? No ; there were no ruffles in those days. I am told that people say I bawlwell I allow it, I do bawl, and will bawl-I will not be a velvet mouthed preacher, I will not speak the word of God in a sleepy manner, like your church doctors, and book-learned block heads-No-No.-Can a boy fly a kite without thinking of the clouds? Can a woman spread her fan, without thinking of an angel's wing? Therefore, I say, that the natural man is not the spiritual man. Yet the spiritual man may think of natural things. So those things are to be put forward, which are to satisfy the longings of the soul. Oh what heavenly comfort it is, to consider, that a sinner, after running through a life of all wickedness, shall, only by attending on our Tabernacle, be purified. Is it not a rich balsom for a sore soul? Therefore come unto us all ye who are afflicted, with the remembrances of the method, by which ye have got your wealth; and ye shall but give a tythe to us