CRITICISM AND POETRY.-A subscriber remarks:-"We have received the HARBINGER for April, and are sorry Mr. Lee made the mistake with respect to 1 Tim. v. 17. Surely a remark of Wetstine's was floating in Mr. Lee's mind when he wrote, and he did not go to the text for the right word; but it was the right word Wetstine remarked upon. If I dare give advice to some of our critics, I would say, beware of etymology! And if I dare recommend anything, I would recommend the earnest study of some works of true criticism; among which I would name two, especially for English readers, as the learned can have access to several others. The works I would name are, Dr. George Campbell's Translation of the Gospels, (already well known to biblical critics) and the last edition of Dr. Carson's Treatise on Baptism. These books not only teach the principles of criticism, but exhibit many successful applications of them. A further remark we will now venture. Some persons have the spirit of poetry that is, are inspired-without having the faculty of inspiring others. The possession of the former by no means implies the latter. Both these gifts are good to those to whom they are given, if not abused. But poetry is an art, as well as an inspiration. You ought, then, to insist that your poets be artists; and this you could do without at all questioning their inspiration. Neither of your April poets have studied art, and therefore neither of them can write poetry." *** ANTIQUITIES.—Nineveh was 15 miles by 9, and 40 round, with walls 100 feet high, and thick enough for three chariots abreast.-Babylon was 60 miles within the walls, which were 75 feet thick and 300 feet high, with 100 brazen gates.-The temple of Diana, at Ephesus, was 425 feet high, to support the roof. It was 200 years in building. The largest of the Pyramids is 481 feet high, and 663 feet on the side. Its base covers 11 acres. The stones are about 30 feet in length, and the layers are 208. Three hundred and sixty thousand men were employed in its erection.-The Labyrinth of Egypt contains three thousand chambers and twelve halls. -Thebes, in Egypt, presents ruins twenty-seven miles round. It had one hundred gates. Carthage was twenty-five miles round.-Athens was 25 miles round, and contained 250,000 citizens, and 40,000 slaves.-The Temple of Delphos was so rich in donations, that it was once plundered of £100,000 sterling; and Nero carried from it 200 statues.-The walls of Rome were thirteen miles. THE RUINS OF ANCIENT NINEVEH. These ruins are now being explored by an English antiquarian named Layard, whose interesting journal has just been published in London. The city, once three days' journey in extent, was located on the east bank of the Tigris, twenty miles below Mosul, and Mr. Layard finds that "the buildings were provided with a complete system of sewerage, each room having had a drain connected with a main sewer.' The buildings are found to have been made of sun-dried bricks, the rooms lined with slabs of marble, covered with bas-reliefs. The earliest buildings, constructed probably twelve hundred years before Christ, were buried, and the earth which had accumulated upon them was used as a cemetery 700 years before Christ. DR. FRANKLIN'S REPLY TO PAINE. It was a golden query of Dr. Franklin, in answer to one of the letters of Tom Paine, that "if men were so wicked with religion, what would they be without it ?" THE MOTHER'S TRUST. MOTHER, with thy warm lips pressing Thy fair infant's dimpled cheek, Winning smiles by soft caressing From lips yet untaught to speak; Lone may be thy home, and lowlySmall of earthly wealth thy share; But a precious trust, and holy, Is committed to thy care. Guard it well, oh, gentle mother, Looking still with steadfast eye, Gentle mother, guard it well. MANIFESTATION OF CHRIST. At the dead moment of repose, Started with broad and upward gaze- And all, with reverent homage bring, Followed, when darkness round them spread, The kindling glories of that star, And worshipped where its radiance ledShall we, for whom that star was hung In the dark vault of frowning heavenShall we, for whom that strain was sung, That of song and sin forgiven— peace Shall we, for whom the Saviour bled, Careless his banquet's blessings see, Nor heed the parting word that said, "Do this in memory of me?" MEXICO & HER POPULATION. the "ancient rivers," and "palmy plains" of Asia, where he is fanned by "spicy breezes," and furnished with the choicest gifts of nature, he is no less wretched and abject upon that portion of our own continent which stretches itself into some burning latitude where the productions of nature flourish in luxuriant beauty, and assume the most gigantic proportions. The FROM these fertile districts-where You can, indeed, form no adequate a perpetual Spring clothes the plains conception of either the moral debasewith undying verdure, and blends, ment of this population, or the fertility, with her own unfading flowers, the richness, and singularly grand and pleasant fruits of Summer, and the romantic scenery of the country. treasures of Autumn-accept, my dear native of the United States is parL. assurances of my continued re- ticularly struck with these two points membrance, and of the unabated in which this region differs so eswarmth, upon my part, of that friend-sentially from his own. The calm ship which has been to me the happiest and beautiful, sometimes romantic, solace of life, and which will, I trust, but rarely sublime scenery of the like the region in which I am now United States, sinks into tameness and a sojourner, never experience any almost dull insignificance, compared winter. May mercy and peace be with the stupendous manifestations of ever yours, and may the Lord multiply creative power every where presented to you continually his precious favors! in this land of plains and mountains, How joyful I have been to hear from lakes and volcanoes: but, on the other you of the rapid progress of the truth hand, the poorest and humblest deniin the United States since I had the zen with you is possessed of more sopleasure of seeing you! Alas, how cial and political privileges, and, for different, in a religious point of view, the most part, of more moral and reare the scenes around me from those ligious elevation of character than the which you describe ! What moral most lordly cacique or successful chiefdesolation overspreads this whole land tain in this coorupt, unsettled, and upon which Nature has been so lavish tyrannical government. of her bounties! Is it not strange that man should always form such a contrast with his circumstances that he should be industrious, persevering, intelligent, religious, where, with few natural advantages, he suffers the rigors of a Siberian climate; and that we should find him the victim of indolence and misery, of ignorance and superstition, in the genial climate of the South, where every thing else is on a scale of grandeur and magnificence? Yet I can assure you, that if, in the language of the poet, MAN only is vile "Where Afric's sunny fountains Roll down their golden sand," Imagine to yourself a country where the climate, general aspect, and, consequently, the productions of the soil, depend entirely, not as with us upon latitude, but upon the degree of elevation above the sea; and where you can, by a journey of a few leagues, exchange the sultry heats of Summer for the refreshing breezes of Spring, and these again for the perpetual snows of Winter-where, in fact, these seasons are seated on three distinct thrones which they never quit, and which are constantly surrounded by the insignia of their power. Here a journey from the summit of the Cordillera to the level of the sea, or as well as upon the "coral shores," | vice versa, produces the most remark P able effects upon the human constitution, and proves an important means of removing disease. Here the productions of every zone are found upon the various terraces which rise one above another, like the hanging gardens of Babylon, but upon a grander scale; so that while upon one of these the traveller finds himself surrounded with oaks, alders, and various plants of the United States, he perceives above the snow-clad summits of the Andes, and on the other hand discovers with astonishment, at his very feet, as it were, in the plains below, a luxuriant country, waving with the productions of the tropics-the palmtree, the banana, and the sugar-cane. This central plateau of Anahuac, to which I have just returned after having fulfilled my commission at the city of Mexico, enjoys a delicious climate. Here the genial temperature of Spring for ever reigns, never varying more than eight or nine degrees. It is celebrated for its salubrity, and the abundance of the fruit-trees by which its villages are surrounded. The only natural disadvantage under which it labors, as far as I can discover is, that being about the same elevation as that at which the clouds float above the plains adjacent to the sea, it is often enveloped in dense fogs. Upon the rough and precipitous road from Vera Cruz, the traveller is struck at the appearance of this plateau, which seems to be an immense dyke of porphyritic rocks, containing, as I am informed, vast deposits of gold and silver. These rocks assume occasionally the most extraordinary shapes, like ruined walls and bastions. Some masses ascend perpendicularly to a height of 1300 feet above the surrounding plain. Others rise to view in the horizon like old towers whose shattered bases have become narrower than their summits. Sometimes, again, they appear in the form of gigantic columns, supporting at their termination, ranges of mountains, like pillars at the portico of a stupendous building, and, being crowned with pine-trees and oaks, present an imposing sight. But why should I attempt to describe to you that which language is inadequate to portray, the vastness and sublimity of these divine creations! How wonderful! how manifold are the works of God! In what wisdom has he made them all! Yet how few of them, comparatively, are known to man ! What vast solitudes are unexplored! What treasures are unrevealed! How small a part does a man possess of even the small aggregate of human knowledge! How small a portion of even this does he devote to the glory of Glory! Man, it seems to me, is alike ignorant of nature, religion, and himself; and for the same reason—a want of faith; a disposition to prefer sensible evidence to human testimony. Man learns almost nothing of nature from his own observation. The construction of a fly's wing will puzzle even a learned naturalist for a month. How much longer one who rejects all discoveries but his own! And who can learn religion from observation or sensible demonstration? No more can a man know himself by his own experience without the reception and belief of that revelation to man himself presented in the oracles of God, by which alone his profound ignorance of his origin, destiny, condition, relations, obligations, and capacities, can ever be enlightened. So little faith have I in the faith of men, that I should not dare to publish the wonders I have seen and heard. Were I to relate even the accounts given me by certain travellers from the southern portion of the Cordillera, of immense cataracts leaping at a single bound from the cold to the burning region-the frigid and the torrid zone, of these countries; of natural bridges spanning with a single arch inaccessible and dark abysses, in whose gloomy depths torrents are heard to roar, and numerous flocks of noctural birds create a melancholy sound; of valleys like the garden of Eden, guarded by immense volcanoes as by the flaming sword of the cherubims; of mountains of iron; of mines of emeralds, and beds of precious stones, I should certainly expect to lose all credit for veracity. I hope, nevertheless, my L one day to describe to you these wonderful works of God, and to admire with you in humble adoration his glorious attributes. Meanwhile, shall I entertain you with an account of the magnificence of the city of Mexico? Shall I speak to you of the floating gardens that cover its lakes; of its beautiful buildings of porphyry and amygdaloid; its majestic palaces; its churches glittering with metallic riches; or of its cathedral, surpassing in this respect all the churches of the world, having the balustrade around the great altar of massive silver, and its lamp, of the same metal, of so vast a size that three men go into it when it is to be cleaned? Shall I tell you of the beautiful fountains in the midst of the public square; of the city promenade, the charming Alameda, or of its shops absolutely overflowing with gold, silver, and jewels? Surely if I may defer to consider now in the natural beauties of this romantic country the workmanship of God, much more may I delay to a more convenient season a description of the works of man. Let me rather, my dear Lspeak of the moral and religious condition of the people, a subject in which you feel so deeply interested, and of which indeed you requested me at parting to give you some information. You are aware that this country has been, ever since its discovery, the resort of adventurers from almost every nation. The first conquerors, the Spaniards, largely predominate amongst the mixed population which has been the result of this constant influx of foreigners, added to the various intermarriages of these with each other and with the natives. We have here in consequence almost all colors and religions. Copper-colored natives, fair Europeans, Spaniards, Creoles, a few Negroes, and the castes which have originated from themthe Mestizoes, Mulattoes, Sambos, Quarterons, Quinterons, &c. compose the population. Here, as with us, the tint of the skin is made an important criterion of merit and distinction; and it establishes a certain equality among those who take pleasure in refining upon the prerogatives of race and origin. A white who rides barefooted fancies that he belongs to the nobility of the country, and when he enters into a dispute with one of the titled lords of the land it is no unusual thing to hear him exclaim to the nobleman, "Is it possible that you really thought yourself whiter than I am ?" Hence it is that the various castes of mixed blood of every grade, as well as the colored races from which they are descended, are kept by the laws in a state of degradation and contempt. This in turn obliterates the landmarks of virtue, and opens the way to every species of crime. Among the pure races, the indigenous natives who compose a considerable part of the population, seem to me entitled to peculiar commiseration. From the days of Montezuma their history is that of cruel oppression, and unmitigated suffering. Notwithstanding all they have endured they still retain much of their peculiar traits of character, in some of which I have felt much interested. Like the aborigines of our own country, they are from early infancy grave, melancholy, and taciturn, and with the same terrific suddenness pass from a state of calm repose to one of violent and uncontrollable passion. Every shade of softness is unknown to the energy of their character. They possess, however, a great degree of improveability, and show when cultivated a precise and logical under standing and a particular tendency to subtilize or seize upon the minutest differences in objects that are to be compared with each other. They have preserved a particular taste for painting and for the art of carving in stone and wood. Many of them are employed by the Romish clergy in painting the images and carving the statues of saints. They have likewise retained the same taste for flowers which Cortez noticed in his time. In the great market of Mexico the native does not sell even fish, or pineapples, or vegetables, or fermented liquor, without his shop being decked out with flowers, which are renewed every succeeding day. The Indian shop-keeper appears seated behind a perfect entrenchment of verdure, and every thing around him wears an air of the most refined elegance. This taste for the beautiful is certainly very singular in a people in whom one would suppose their ancient sanguinary worship and the frequency of human sacrifices to have extinguished every feeling connected with sensibility of mind. Nor has their religious condition been much bettered by the introduction of Roman Catholicism among them. This superstition, as complicated as their own, has but given to them new symbols and ceremonies. The missionaries even favored those affinities and that admixture of ideas by means of which the Mexican mythology became merged in Romanism. The Holy Spirit, for instance, was identified with the sacred eagle of the Aztecs, and not only the persons in the Trinity, but the Virgin and the saints were thus received by them in exchange for their own divinities. The following incident, which was related to me, will serve to illustrate their religious sentiments. Some time since the English collector, Mr Bullock, obtained leave from the clergy and authorities to disinter and take casts from the image of the sanguinary goddess Teoyamiqui. During the time it was exposed, the court of the University was crowded with people, most of whom expressed the most decided anger and contempt. Not so, however the Indians. Not a smile escaped them, nor a word—all was silence and attention. In reply to a joke of one of the students, an old Indian remarked, "It is true we have three very good Spanish idols, but we might still have been allowed to keep a few of those of our ancestors." In the evening it was discovered that chaplets of flowers had been placed on the statue by the natives, who had stolen thither unseen for the purpose. This shows that the diligence of the clergy for three hundred years has not yet succeded in banishing their ancient idolatry. Yet they possess This is but an imperfect outline of the condition of this population. Indolent and wretched, they live but from day to day. Immorality, grossness of manners, and ignorance, serve but to increase the degradation which arises from tyranny and oppression. On the other hand, the elevated classes are distracted with social and political animosities. Proud, revengeful, and cruel, they are full of turbulence and anarchy, and the prey of every ambitious chieftain. much politeness of manners, with a great degree of frankness and generosity. In a religious point of view, however, they are the veriest slaves of priestcraft. The Bible is unread and almost unknown among them, while the vain and showy ceremonials of Popery are regarded with superstitious reverence. You can then easily conceive how deluded and depraved a population inhabits this beautiful country. It is this reflection which casts a shade over its most charming landscapes, and represses those emotions of delight which its magnificent scenery and rich productions would otherwise inspire. It is as though a beautiful female were transformed by magic into an inanimate statue while we were admiring her charms. Or |