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ever my sphere of duty may hereafter be, my congregation of Hodnet shall (believe it!) never be forgotten." pp.102-105.

We copy one passage more, from one of his letters written from India to Mr. Wilmot Horton. It deserves to be seriously weighed, both by the friends and the opponents of Christian missions in India.

"The most important part is to give them a better religion. Knowing how strongly I feel on this subject, you will not be surprised at my placing it foremost. But even if Christianity were out of the question, and if, when I had wheeled away the rubbish of the old pagodas, I had nothing better than simple Deism to erect in their stead, I should still feel some of the anxiety which now urges me. It is necessary to see idolatry, to be fully sen

sible of its mischievous effects on the human nind. But of all idolatries, which I

degree of sorrow is holy. I cannot, without some anxiety for the future, forsake, for an untried and arduous field of duty, the quiet scenes where, during so much of my past life, I have enjoyed a more than usual share of earthly comfort and prosperity; I cannot bid adieu to those, with whose idea almost every recollection of past happiness is connected, without many earnest wishes for their welfare, and (I will confess it) without some severe self-reproach that, while it was in my power, I have done so much less than 1 ought to have done, to render that welfare eternal. There are, indeed, those here who know, and there is One, above all, who knows better than any of you, how earnestly I have desired the peace and the holiness of His church; how truly I have loved the people of this place; and how warmly I have hoped to be the means, in His hand, of bringing many among you to glory. But I am at this moment but too painfully sensible that in many things, yea in all, my performance has fallen short of my principles; that neither privately nor publicly have I taught you with so much diligence as now seems necessary in my eyes nor has my example set forth the doctrines in which I have, however imperfectly, instructed you; yet, if my zeal has failed in steadiness, it never has been wanting instructing or interesting its votaries; in the sincerity. I have expressed no conviction which I have not deeply felt; have preached no doctrine which I have not stedfastly believed: however inconsistent my life, its leading object has been your welfare; and I have hoped, and sorrowed, and studied and prayed for your instruction, and that you might be saved. For my labours, such as they were, I have been indeed most richly rewarded, in the uniform affection and respect which I have received from my parishioners; in their regular and increasing attendance in this holy place, and at the table of the Lord; in the welcome which I have never failed

to meet in the houses both of rich and

poor; in the regret (beyond my deserts,
and beyond my fullest expectations) with
which my announced departure has been
received by you; in your expressed and
repeated wishes for my welfare and my
return; in the munificent token of your
regard, with which I have been this morn-
ing honoured; in your numerous attend-
ance on the present occasion, and in those
marks of emotion which I witness around

me, and in which I am myself well nigh
constrained to join. For all these, accept
such thanks as I can pay-accept my best
wishes-accept my affectionate regrets
accept the continuance of the prayers
which I have hitherto offered up
daily, and in which, whatever and wher-

for you

"A piece of plate had been given to Mr. Heber by his parishioners."

have ever read or heard of, the religion of the Hindoos, in which I have taken some pains to inform myself, really appears to me the worst, both in the degrading notions which it gives of the Deity; in the endless round of its burdensome cere

monies, which occupy the time and distract the thoughts, without either in

filthy acts of uncleanness and cruelty not only permitted but enjoined, and inseparably interwoven with those ceremonies ; in the system of castes, a system which tends, more than any thing else the devil has yet invented, to destroy the feelings of general benevolence, and to make ninetenths of mankind the hopeless slaves of the remainder; and in the total absence of any popular system of morals, or any single lesson, which the people at large ever hear, to live virtuously and do good to each other. I do not say, indeed, that there are not some scattered lessons of

this kind to be found in their ancient books;

but those books are neither accessible to

the people at large, nor are these last permitted to read them; and, in general, all the sins which a Sudra is taught to fear, are, killing a cow, offending a Brahmin, or neglecting one of the many frivolous rites by which their deities are supposed to be conciliated. Accordingly, though the general sobriety of the Hindoos (a virtue which they possess in common with most inhabitants of warm climates) affords public order and decorum, I really never a very great facility to the maintenance of have met with a race of men whose stanlittle apparent shame in being detected dard of morality is so low, who feel so in a falsehood, or so little interest in the sufferings of a neighbour not being of their own caste or family; whose ordinary and familiar conversation is so licentious; or, in the wilder and more lawless districts, who shed blood with so little repugnance.

The good qualities which there are among them (and, thank God! there is a great deal of good among them still) are, in no instance that I am aware of, connected with, or arising out of, their religion, since it is in no instance to good deeds or virtuous habits of life that the future rewards in which they believe are promised. Their bravery, their fidelity to their employers, their temperance, and (wherever these are found) their humanity and gentleness of disposition, appear to arise exclusively from a natural happy temperament; from an honourable pride in their own renown, and the renown of their ancestors; and from the goodness of God, who seems unwilling that his image should be entirely defaced even in the midst of the grossest error. The Mussulmans have a far better creed; and though they seldom either like the English or are liked by them, I am inclined to think are, on the whole, a better people. Yet, even with them, the forms of their worship have a natural tendency to make men hypocrites, and the overweening contempt with which they are inspired for all the world beside, the degradation of their women by the system of polygamy, and the detestable crimes, which, owing to this degradation, are almost universal, are such as, even if I had no ulterior hope, would make me anxious to attract them to a better or more harmless system. In this work, thank God! in those parts of India which I have visited, a beginning has been made, and a degree of success obtained, at least commensurate to the few years during which our missionaries have laboured; and it is still going on, in the best and safest way, as

the work of private persons alone, and although not forbidden, in no degree encouraged by government.

"In the mean time, and as an useful auxiliary to missionaries, the establishment of elementary schools, for the lower classes and for females, is going on to a very great extent, and might be carried to any conceivable extent to which our pecuniary means would carry us. Nor is there any measure from which I anticipate more speedy benefit than the elevation of the rising generation of females to the natural rank in society, and giving them (which is all that, in any of our schools, we as yet venture to give) the lessons of general morality extracted from the Gospel, without any direct religious instruction. These schools, such of them at least as I have any concern with, are carried on without any help from government. Government has, however, been very liberal in its grants both to a Society for National Education, and in the institution and support of two colleges of Hindoo students of riper age; the one at Benares, the other at Calcutta. But I do not think any of these institutions in the way after which they are at present conducted, likely to do much good. In the elementary schools supported by the former, through a very causeless and ridiculous fear of giving offence to the natives, they have forbidden the use of the Scriptures, or any extracts from them, though the moral lessons of the Gospel are read by all Hindoos who can get hold of them, without scruple and with much attention; and though their exclusion is tantamount to excluding all moral instruction from their schools." pp. 202-207.

LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL INTELLIGENCE,

&c. &c.

GREAT BRITAIN. PREPARING for publication, and in the press:- Lectures preliminary to the Study of German Literature; by L. Von Muhlenfels, LL.D.;-The Arguments for Predestination and Necessity contrasted with the established Principles of Philosophical Inquiry; by the Rev. R. H. Graves, D.D.; -The Canadian Visitor; by the Rev. T. Osgood.

A steam-boat, composed entirely of iron, has been built in Liverpool, for canal navigation. It has two hulls; and the paddles, instead of being at the sides, are placed between them, so as not to injure the banks of a canal, which has been the principal obstacle to steam-boats

being employed in canal navigation. Several successful trials have been made of boats or barges, fitted with high pressure engines, with tubes for boilers; by which danger from explosion is obviated.

Dr. Hawkins has published a work on Medical Statistics, in which he says, that "it is incontestible, that Great Britain is at present the most healthy country with which we are acquainted, and that it has been gradually tending to that point for the last fifty years." He states, that this superior value of life in Great Britain is not confined to any particular districts or classes of individuals. The country which approaches the nearest to England in salubrity, is the Pays de Vaud, where the mortality is one in 49; whereas the an

nual deaths in England and Wales are only one in 60. At the Depôt de Mendicité of St. Denis, at Paris, the annual deaths are one in three; while in the heart of our metropolis, of 300 prisoners received in the Fleet Prison during the year 1829, only four died; which is a mortality of one in 75. So great was the care taken of prisoners of war in this country, that in the year 1813 the mortality amongst them was only one in 55-not one half of what occurs to the whole population of Rome.

Our respected correspondents have often pointed out the impropriety of public balls and theatricals for charitable societies, national schools, and similar objects; but we lament to say, that the practice continues, and we fear becomes more prevalent. We insert the following notice, as we have inserted former ones from other quarters, hoping the exposure alone may assist to cure the evil.-" Nuneaton. On Thursday, 17th Sept. 1829, the organ (lately erected in the mother church) will be opened, when a sermon will be preached, and a selection of sacred music will be performed, accompanied by a full instrumental band. Admission to the service 1s. Books of the words 6d., to be had of Mr. Baraclough, Printer; the principal Inns; and of Mr. James Wheway, Parish Clerk. In the evening there will be a ball at the Town-hall; dancing to commence at eight o'clock. Tickets (which will also admit to the church),-Ladies 5s., Gentlemen 6s. In order to prevent mistakes, no money will be taken at the ball. An early application for tickets is particularly requested. Ordinaries will be provided at the Bull, and Fleur-de-lis, and Newdigate Arms Inns, precisely at Five o'clock." Was there ever such a medley? Fiddling and sermonizing, divine service and dancing; an ordinary at the Bull, and admittance, with a ball-room ticket, at the Mother Church!

Sir Humphry Davy's last communication to the Royal Society, consists of a series of experiments on the torpedo. He was enabled to prove, contrary to general opinion, that there exists a stronger analogy between common and animal electricity, than between voltaic and animal electricity. He adds, "It is scarcely possible to avoid being struck by another relation of this subject. The torpedinal organ depends for its power upon the will of the animal. Mr. Hunter has shewn how copiously it was furnished with nerves. In examining the columnar structure of the organ of the torpedo, I have

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The Geographical Society of Paris has offered prizes for the best accounts of the Soudan, in Central Africa-Marawi-Ancient Babylonia and Chaldea-Australasia

the southern part of Caramania, the countries to the south of the chain of Mount Taurus-the interior of French Guiana; and a medal for the best account of American Antiquities.

M. de Chateauneuf has submitted two memoirs to the Academy of Sciences, on the rate of Mortality. Between 1820 and 1828, he noticed the lives of 600 persons possessing, in an eminent degree, the advantages of birth, power, and opulence; and of whom only one lived to be upwards of ninety, and 141 died within the eight years, or rather more than a fourth of the whole, the rate being seventeen deaths per year.

He calculates that twenty-six out of 100 now reach the age of sixty; and that it requires nearly a quarter of a century before the half of any one generation becomes extinct

M. Dobereiner took two glass vessels, put earth into them, and sowed equal portions of barley in them, moistening them to the same degree. The air was then exhausted from one vessel, and condensed in the other. Germination took place in equal times; but at the end of fifteen days the shoots in the rarified air were only six inches long, but in the condensed air, from nine to ten inches. The former were wet on their surface, the latter nearly dry. M. Dobereiner thinks, that the diminution of plants in size, as they rise on mountains into high regions, depends more on the diminution of pressure than of heat. In Spanish America, on the highest mountains of the country, the trees, it is said, continually transpire water, even in the driest weather.

GERMANY.

Professor Buckland has notified the destruction of the most interesting and curious deposit of organic remains in Germany; namely, that in the cave of Kuhlock in Franconia, and of another cave of less importance adjacent to it. In his Reliquiæ Diluvianæ, the learned professor had given a

description and drawing of the cave of Kuhlock, some of the principal features of which have now been obliterated. The King of Bavaria having announced his

intention to visit Rabenstein, the owner of that castle thought fit to prepare these two caves for his reception; to do which he broke up the whole of the floors, pounding the larger stones and bones to the bottom for a foundation, and spreading the earth and finer particles to form a smooth surface over them.

ITALY.

At St. Lazarus near Venice, there is a college of Armenians, founded by Mechitar of Sebasta, in 1721, on the plan of that of the Jesuits. The Mechitarists have published grammars and vocabularies of various languages; and the valuable remains of Greek literature preserved in ancient Armenian translations have been rendered accessible to the literati of Europe by these brethren. For a long time past they have been engaged in preparing a complete collection of the Armenian writers, on the plan of the great collections of the Greek fathers and Byzantine historians. The complete collection will fill six or eight volumes in folio.

RUSSIA.

The Russian empire comprehends one half of Europe and a third of Asia; and forms a ninth part of the habitable globe. Its European division is peopled by fiftyeight millions of inhabitants, its Asiatic by two millions, and its American by 50,000. The total number is 60,000,000 of souls, which, however, gives no more than about 161 persons to each square mile.

A Kalmuck Academy has been founded at St. Petersburgh, to supply the government with able interpreters, and with officers acquainted with the language.

EGYPT.

M. Champollion found in an excavated temple, named Bet-Oually, in Nubia, a series of tablets relating principally to the campaigns of Sesostris against the Arabs; with other sculptures, all religious, and connected with that remarkable feature in the Egyptian mythology, a Triad ; Ammon the father, Mouth the mother, and Khous the child; or Osiris, Isis, and Horus.

ARABIA, &c. Mohammedanism, like all other false religions, sacrifices numerous victims to its superstitions. A traveller, after describing the pilgrimage to Mecca and the ceremonies of the Ramadhan, adds, "The termination of the Hadj gives a very different appearance to the temple. Disease and mortality, which succeed to the fatigues endured on the journey, or are caused by the light covering of the ibram, the unhealthy lodgings at Mekka, the bad fare,

and sometimes absolute want, fill the mosque with dead bodies, or with sick persons; many of whom, when their dissolution approaches, are brought to the colonnades, that they may either be cured by a sight of the Kaaba, or at least have the satisfaction of expiring within the sacred enclosure. Poor hadjys, worn out with disease and hunger, are seen dragging their emaciated bodies along the columns; and when no longer able to stretch forth their hand to ask the passenger for charity, they place a bowl to receive alms near the mat on which they lay themselves. When they feel their last moments approaching they cover themselves with their tattered garments; and often a whole day passes before it is discovered that they are dead. For a month subsequent to the conclusion of the hadj, I found, almost every morning, corpses of pilgrims lying in the mosque. There are several persons in the service of the mosque employed to wash carefully the spot on which those who expire in the mosque have lain, and to bury all the poor and friendless strangers who die at Mekka."

So cheap is land carriage in several eastern countries, by means of that most serviceable animal, the camel, that it is stated that the carriage of a camel-load of goods, weighing from 600 to 700 pounds, from Bagdad to Aleppo, a distance of 600 miles, costs only 47.

UNITED STATES.

Joseph Bonaparte, who leads a calm life on the banks of the Delawar, was lately visited by Sir Robert Porter, on his way from South-America, by the United States, to Europe. His magnificent mansion was burnt down, but much valuable property was saved from the fire; especially some of the best paintings of the Flemish and Spanish masters. One of the saloons is dedicated to sculptures of the Bonaparte family. Sir R. K. Porter describes the bust of Charles Bonaparte, the father of the family, as most impressive. The exmonarch has a large domain, and spends vast sums of money in promoting cultivation, agriculture, erecting villages, and encouraging artificers. He devotes his leisure hours to writing a commentary on the life of his brother Napoleon.

The American journals state, that the late General Ridgely, of Maryland, has by his last will and testament emancipated all his slaves, amounting, it is reported, to more than 400! Those above twenty-eight years of age are to be free immediately; and of those under that age, the males are to be free at twenty-eight, and the females

at twenty-five. Provision is made for the support of those over forty-five. "General Ridgely," it is added, "has long been known as a very influential character in Maryland. For several years he acted as Governor of the State; and few men have taken upon themselves a greater share of the burthen of public business than he has done."

There has been lately put up in the Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, where Mr. Whitefield was buried, a cenotaph to his memory, with the following epitaph:"This cenotaph is erected with affectionate veneration to the memory of the Rev. George Whitefield, born at Gloucester, England, Dec. 16, 1714; educated at Oxford University; ordained 1736. In a ministry of thirty-four years, he crossed the Atlantic thirteen times, and preached more than 18,000 sermons: as a soldier of the Cross, humble, devout, ardent, he put on the whole armour of God, preferring the honour of Christ to his own interest, repose, reputation or life as a Christian orator, his deep piety, disinterested zeal, and vivid imagination gave unexampled energy to his look, action, and utterance; bold, fervent, pungent, and popular in his eloquence, no other uninspired man ever preached to so large assemblies, or enforced the simple truths of the Gospel by motives so persuasive and awful, and with an influence so powerful on the hearts of his hearers. He died of asthma, Sept. 30, 1770; suddenly exchanging his life of unparalleled labours for his eternal rest."

A Wesleyan University is about to be established in Middletown, Connecticut. In a work recently published on the Con

stitution of the Congregational Churches, by the Rev. T. C. Upham, Professor in Bowdoin College, occurs the following statement respecting the mode of preaching practised by the Puritan fathers of New England :-"The earliest preachers of the Congregationalists did not use notes; their sermons were unwritten, although they could not always be called extemporaneous. The first person in North-America of the Congregational sect who is known to have used notes, was the Rev. J. Warham, a worthy minister of Windsor in Connecticut. Cotton Mather, to whom we are indebted for this fact, gives us to understand, that Warhaın, by this practice, gave considerable offence to some judicious persons, who had never heard him. But he adds, 'when they once came to hear him, they could not but admire the notable energy of his ministry.' The preachers of the present day pursue, in some respects, a middle course. nerally speaking, the more formal sermons, preached on the Sabbath, are written; but on other occasions, as private lectures and conferences, they frequently preach without notes. And this course seems to give general satisfaction."

CHINA.

Ge

Japanese translators are rendering Dr. Morrison's Chinese Dictionary into the Japanese vernacular dialect. The arrangement of the alphabetical part of the Dictionary pleases the natives so much, that it has become common, it is stated, for persons at Nangaski to write a column of characters, with their definitions, on fans, and present them to friends.

LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

THEOLOGY.

Sermons. By the Rev. W. F. Vance. 10s. 6d.

A Discourse on the Rise, Progress, and Termination of Mohammedanism. By the Rev. H. F. Burder.

The True Nature of the Church of Rome, and the Duty of the Clergy towards her: a Sermon. By the Rev. H. F. Lyte. Sermons. By the Rev. R. Wardlaw, D.D. 10s. 6d.

Reflections doctrinal, practical, and devational. By the Rev. G. Bliss. 6s. The Sabbath Minstrel. 4d.

Christ's Speedy Return in Glory. 2s. The Commandment with Promise. By the Author of "The Last Day of the Week." 2s. 6d.

Scripture Questions on the Discourses

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