The Christian Examiner and General Review: 1824

The radiant clouds float slow above
The lake's transparent breast;
In splendid foliage all the grove
Is fancifully drest.

On many a tree the Autumn throws
Its brilliant robes of red;

As sickness lights the cheeks of those
It hastens to the dead.

That tinge is flattering and bright,
But tells of death like this;
And they that see its gath'ring light
Their ling'ring hopes dismiss.

Oh! thus serene and free from fear

Shall be our last repose;

Thus like the sabbath of the

Our latest evening close.'

year

There is here indeed one defect. The train of thought and sentiment does not naturally lead to the last verse. It is not in perfect harmony with the two preceding. But there is no such fault to be pointed out in what follows.

The Autumn Evening.

'Behold the western evening light!

It melts in deep'ning gloom:
So calmly Christians sink away
Descending to the tomb.

The winds breathe low; the withering leaf
Scarce whispers from the tree!

So gently flows the parting breath,
When good men cease to be.

How beautiful on all the hills
The crimson light is shed!

'Tis like the peace the Christian gives
To mourners round his bed.

How mildly on the wand'ring cloud
The sunset beam is cast!

"Tis like the mem'ry left behind,
When lov'd ones breathe their last.

And now above the dews of night
The yellow star appears!

So faith springs in the hearts of those,
Whose eyes are bath'd in tears.

But soon the morning's happier light
Its glories shall restore;

And eyelids that are seal'd in death
Shall wake to close no more.'

These are beautiful lines, such as a true poet only can write. They are simple, imaginative, and moral. From the whole mass of extant poetry, not many volumes could be selected of verses equally grateful to the best feelings and the purest taste.

ART. VI.-Sketches of the Earth and its Inhabitants; with one hundred Engravings. By J. E.WORCESTER, A. A. S. Author of the Universal Gazetteer, &c. 2 vols. Boston, 1823. pp. 722.

IN effecting the rapid improvement that has been made, within a few years, in elementary books on geography, no one has been more active or more successful than the author of these Sketches. Repeated editions of his Gazetteer and Elements, and the adoption of the latter in very many of the most respectable schools and colleges, are at once an evidence of the excellence of these works, and a reward of the diligence and accuracy with which they have been prepared.

The object in preparing these Sketches,' says the author in his preface, has been to supply a want which arises from the present mode of teaching geography. The Elements of Geography, ancient and modern, is a work intended to be carefully studied and recited. It is formed on a plan so concise and comprehensive as not to admit of any lengthened descriptions. In the present work, a new survey has been made of the globe, in a similar geographical order; those matters only being noticed, of which it is desirable to have a more extended account than is contained in the Elements.' p. 5.

In it is presented whatever is most interesting and curious in the natural features of each country, or in the character and manners of its inhabitants. Mr. Worcester has been very judicious in the choice of his materials. Mountains are described in the language of the traveller who has climbed to their summits, and has given, in the strong feeling of pre

sent enjoyment or suffering, his impressions of the grandeur of the prospect, the cold and barrenness of the top, and the dangers and toils encountered in the ascent. The depth of a mine is associated with the story of the tottering bucket, which conveys the visiter down through the shaft, the explosion of the powder employed to separate the masses of ore, and the paleness and miserable fare of the miners. To learn the peculiar customs of a people, we are introduced to a marriage or a funeral, and for the religion, or the want of it, have an account of the effects of superstition, the influence of the priests, or the rogueries of the common people. In addition to a general description of the manners of our predecessors on these shores, for instance, we have some long extracts from Heckewelder, several of the best Indian speeches to be found, and that touching story of the 'generosity and tenderness of an Indian chief.'

Much interest is given to every part of these volumes by numerous well chosen quotations from the best modern travellers. We have the character of the people of New England from the eloquent pen of Dr. Dwight, and remarks on the people of the United States, in some points, perhaps, a little too favourable, from an English gentleman by the name of Hodgson. We traverse the mountains and explore the caverns of Colombia, in company with the Baron de Humboldt; visit the guysers of Iceland with Dr. Henderson; cross Sweden and enter Russia with Mr. Coxe; wonder at the extent and varieties of imperial Moscow with Dr. Clarke; and hear Napoleon's magnificent description of its destruction. Dr. Neale makes us shudder at the misery of the Polish serfs; and Dr. Bright offers a no less striking picture of the peasants and gypsies of Hungary. The Chronicle of Hollinshed gives us English society as it was in the 16th century, and our countrymen Irving and Silliman show it to us as it exists at the present day. In Nubia, we are presented by Mr. Burckhardt with the blackest and most perfidious characters of the iron age, in the degradation of the Berbers; in Switzerland, Mr. Simond makes us admire cultivated society in its most refined state; and we have a glimpse of the simplicity and innocence of the golden age, in the amiable inhabitants of the Loo-choo Islands as described by Hall and M'Leod.

This is much better than if all were written in a uniform style by the same person. It gives greater variety, and leaves

a distinct impression of the peculiarities of each country. It serves also to make the student acquainted with the best writers, and tends to awaken a desire of reading more extensively.

The engravings, by which the work is illustrated, are well chosen and tolerably well executed. They represent many of the most remarkable natural curiosities; the costumes of different nations, and some of the buildings and cities most worthy of notice; and, to readers of every age, will often convey clearly at a glance, what it would require a long and minute description to communicate even imperfectly.

It is to be regretted that the author has not always given his authorities, at least in those cases where he has only abridged former accounts, or where he has made little alteration in an engraving or description, taken from another author. This would add to the value of his work, as it would point out more particularly what good books are to be found on each country; and it is moreover due to the authors from whom he has borrowed or abridged. We see no reason why he should not profess, that many of the engravings are copied from Goldsmith's Manners and Customs, and Clarke's Wonders of the World; both excellent works, though not so good for school books as Mr. Worcester's. It would be a great kindness to instructers, if Mr. Worcester should, in a future edition, insert at the end of his chapters a list of the most approved writers upon each country; a kindness too, to a class of persons, who, we apprehend, stand often greatly in need of instruction, and of whom the younger part at least would receive it most thankfully. It is a great oversight in most school books, that this important class of readers is so little regarded. A few words of advice, like the kind observations in the preface to Cummings' geography, or the introduction to Mr. Colburn's two treatises on Arithmetick, would often save them the trouble of making fruitless experiments, by showing them at once some good way of teaching.

As these volumes have no necessary connexion with The Elements, by the same author, they may be introduced with advantage into schools, where Cummings', or Morse's, or any other geography, is made use of; and, as they are extremely entertaining, they may be recommended to the perusal of those even, who conceive themselves to be past the necessity of elementary instruction altogether.

Entelligence.

Religious Charities.-The following table is taken chiefly from the London Missionary Register for Dec. 1823. We have added to the list the American Baptist General Convention, and the American Tract Society, reduced the sterling currency to dollars, and in some instances substituted a more recent date for the one given in the Register.-Missionary Herald.