"think you could have no objection to try the effect of a more intimate acquaintance." p. 125.

Some people have considered unbelief as a negative qualitythe opposite of that positive virtue of the soul and exercise of the faith which we term belief. But it is not only personified but apostrophised in the following hymn, which might be entitled, "The sweet Ebenezer we have in review."

Begone Unbelief! my Saviour is near,
And for my relief will surely appear,

By prayer let nie wrestle, and he will perform :
With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the stortit.
Though dark be my way, since he is my guide,
'Tis mine to obey, 'tis his to provide:

Though cisterns be broken, and creatures all fail,
The word he has spoken shall surely prevail.

His love in time past forbids me to think

He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink;
Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review

Confirms his good pleasure to help me quite through.
Why should I complain of want or distress,

Temptation or pain? He told me no less:

The heirs of salvation, I know from his word,

Through much tribulation must follow their Lord. p. 136.

ART. XV.-Poems by MARY RUSSELL MITFORD. 2d pp. 257. Price 10s. 6d.

POEMS OEMS on very different occasions may be supposed to have very different degrees of merit, and this is exactly the case with the collection now before us. It has however the recommendation of being more interesting to general readers than is usually the case with publications of this nature. Miss Mitford possesses a fine fancy, and a mind susceptible of the beauties of nature. She is not very dignified or pathetic; but there is an artless innocence in her compositions which often pleases not a little.

The Poem, on revisiting the school where she had been edu cated, contains some very natural reflections prettily expressed. We extract that part which describes the Garden: "Here in the Garden's ample shade,

Through many a happy hour we play'd;
And still yon sunny path retaias
The boundaries of our small domains.
Yes, still is seen the tiny bower,
The mimic walk, the drooping flower;
Turf, such as cheers th' imprisoned lark
Pales that might bound a fairy park;

And fairy elves were here I ween
As light of heart, as gay of mien,
As ever midnight circle drew,

Or from the acorn sipp'd the dew.-
Though blundering zeal and lack of skill,
The flower we lov'd, contriv'd to kill;
The deftest gardener of us all,
Has known such evil chance befal,
Yet never blossom seemed so fair
As the small plants we tended there:
Sweet mignionette, or flaunting fea,
Young rose, or stunted myrtle-tree.
Twas sweet at evening's sportive hour
To pluck the long-expected flower,
Our own dear flower, with hope so gay,
Nurtured and watch'd from day to day:
'Twas sweeter still to bid it deck

With childish love some playmate's neck;
That rose, to ev'ry rose prefer,

Yet wish it fairer still for her."

The piece entitled Fair Eleanor, displays a strong, romantic imagination; it is written somewhat in the measure, but not in the stanza, of Alonzo the Brave and the Fair Imogene. The Pen and the Sword, from a French translation of the Tahkemoni, a Hebrew work, is an ingenious little fable; and the same may be said of the Wreaths. But we consider a collection of detached Poems, whatever be their merits, as by no means so interesting, or so likely to procure the author much popularity as one continued descriptive piece; and are therefore glad to see that a poem of this description is likely soon to meet the public eye.

ART. XVI.-Hints, for establishing an Office in Newcastle, for collecting and recording authentic information relative to the state of the Collieries in its neighbourhood, and the progress that has been made towards ascertaining the nature and constitution of the strata below those scams, to which the workings in this country have been confined. By WILLIAM THOMAS, Esq. to which are added Observations on the Necessity of adopting Legislative measures, to diminish the probability of the recurrence of fatal accidents in Collieries, and to prolong the duration of the Coal Mines of the United Kingdoms. By WILLIAM CHAPMAN, Esq. Civil Engineer: Being Two Essays, read at a meeting of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne, and published by Order of the Society. 1815,

THE importance—the necessity-of a supply of coals for the

prosecution of manufactures and arts, and even for the comfort of domestic life, is obvious; and renders the preservation and proper management of the coal deposits in this country great national objects. But there is no prospect of that which is so essential at present, becoming less so in future; and hence the expediency of availing ourselves, under the least risk of suffering, and with the smallest waste of human life, of the advantages which Nature bestows. The fatal accidents that have happened in our coal mines, have excited an interest beyond that which almost any other calamity could have excited; and have given peculiar force to any proposal for either preventing their recurrence, or lessening their effects. On the present occasion, it will be sufficient to mention two or three disastrous events of recent occurrence. The first of these took place on the 3rd of last May, when the water broke into Heaton Main Colliery, near Newcastle, from an old working; and such was the impetuosity with which the water rushed into the mine that 75 persons perished. On the 2nd of June another accident happened at Newbottle Colliery, on the river Wear, in which an explosion of inflammable gas took place, and 57 persons lost their lives. The inflammable gas is said to have entered the mine from an adjoining waste, which had been too nearly approached in working. On the 27th of the same month, a similar accident happened at the Isabella pit, at Sheriff-hill Colliery, by which 10 persons were killed, making a total of 142 persons who have thus lost their lives in less than two months! This must be enough to awaken attention; and on this ground we are desirous to press the substance of this pamphlet upon the notice of the Legislature, convinced that it is by a public act alone that an adequate remedy can be provided.

The circumstances which led to the publication of the two Essays which constitute the pamphlet before us, are thus stated in the Advertisement.

"So long ago as the year 1797, the Hints by Mr. Thomas were read at one of the monthly meetings of the Literary and Philosophical Society of this town, but from causes which it is not very material either to discuss or to assign, the proposal which they contain, though highly ap proved of and partially encouraged, fell to the ground, and until now, has never been revived.

"The late disastrous event at Heaton Colliery, by recalling this scheme to the recollection of some members of the Society, forcibly suggested to them the propriety of again bringing it forward. Mr. W. Chapman, to whom their intention was communicated, undertook with alacrity the

task of extending the plan, and of giving it a more practicable form, in conformity to the intimation contained in Mr Thomas's concluding paragraph. The papers of these two gentlemen, in the order in which they How appear, were accordingly read at the meeting of the Society on the 6th of June; and in consideration of the extreme importance of the subject, and the universal interest which it had excited, it was resolved, that the Society should publish these communications at its own expense.

It would be painful and superfluous to dwell on the necessity which so loudly calls for exertion in the present circumstances of the Coal mines in the district of the Tyne and Wear. It must force itself with irresistible conviction upon every humane and reflecting mind. Amongst various weighty reasons, however, that might be here enumerated, it will suffice to mention, that the more numerous and extensive the excavations become, the greater will be the difficulty of guarding against surrounding wastes, all of which must of course be filled either with water, carburetted hydrogen gas, or carbonic acid gas. It should likewise be held in remembrance, that when at a future period it shall be found necessary to work the lower seams in this coal field, the operations of the miner must be carried on under immense accumulations of water.

The Hints and Observations in these Essays are of a practical nature, and appear to be the result of much local knowledge of the subjects. The proposed object, besides being interesting to humanity, is also national and economical; and the means suggested for accomplishing it, are the establishment of an office at Newcastle in which authentic documents relative to the coal-mines in that neighbourhood should be collected and recorded, in order to furnish a complete knowledge of all the under-ground workings. It is proposed, that when any colliery is abandoned, an exact plan of it should be constructed and deposited in the oilice, showing in what parts the coal had been worked out, and in what places only abandoned.. The old mines soon fill with water and carburetted hydrogen gas; and it is obvious that, as the deposits of these destructive agents become more numerous, the danger of accidents will be increased in the same ratio, unless their exact positions be known. Mr. Chapman also mentions instances in which great loss had been sustained by sinking pits, and executing other expensive operations upon a seam of coals which had previously been exhausted, for want of such knowledge as it is proposed to collect. Another point of view in which an accurate knowledge of the old workings would not only be important but essential, is in the event of the High Main seam being exhausted; in which case the Low Main must be resorted to: but this would be almost impossible without a correct knowledge of the old superincumbent wastes. That this exhaustion of the High Main is not altogether improbable will appear more evident from the estimate which Mr. Chapman has given of the

vast annual consumption and enormous waste of this mineral: and with which we shall conclude our short observations-recommending the subject to the attention of all whose enlarged views embrace the future, as well as the present, prosperity of the

island.

Annual consumption of Pit Coal.

In the Iron and other manufactories in the Coal counties, about

Tons.

4,000,000

Coals paying coast duty, about 3,600,000 Ch.
Winchester, or

5,040,000

4,000,000

Coals consumed for Culinary and other purposes, in
the counties not paying duty, about

Total 13,040,000

<< According to the above estimate, which I conceive in some parts to be underrated, more than sufficiently to compensate for any error on the opposite side, the annual consumpton of Great Britain will amount to the enormous quantity of thirteen millions of tons of coals, exclusive of the waste, which is beyond all reasonable comprehension, and can only be restrained by legislative authority; which may, I conceive, be so exerted as to produce beneficial results, not only to the future, but to the present times." p. 25.

ART. XVII-An Outline of Mineralogy and Geology, intended for the use of those who may desire to become acquainted with the Elements of those Sciences; especially of young persons. Illustrated with four Plates. By WILLIAM PHILLIPS, Member of the Geological Society. pp. 205. 5s. 6d. Phillips. London. 1815.

THE

HE improvement of chemistry, during the last fifty years, has been so rapid; and the benefits it has conferred upon kindred branches of knowledge, so great; that most of these, which previously existed only as arts, are now classed among the sciences. This is precisely the case with Mineralogy: Geology, however, is still in such an infantine state, that it must be considered rather as a body of facts, than as a pure system of principles; and consequently its claims to the rank of a science are not altogether admissible.

The daily wants of society confer superior importance on the science of mineralogy; and the vast diffusion of know