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vehicle was requisite, like that which the author has devised, capable at once of reconciling the youthful reader to the dryest and least frequented path of history, and of softening down by pious reflexions the severity of the tortures narrated; in a word, it was desirous to render that pleasing and impressive, which has hitherto been esteemed too dull on the one hand, and too painful on the other, for the general, and particularly for the youthful student.

But, while we are ready to admit that this little volume is well imagined, we are particularly struck with the portion of it assigned to the ecclesiastical history of Britain, which, we think, might have been extended to the present period; and, omitting the martyrology, or placing it by itself in a separate publication, might be rendered a work of extensive utility. The author is extremely happy in her conversational mode of imparting historical cir cumstances, and of prompting the mind to the moral and religious deductions which they involve.

REVIEW.-Solitude; a Poem.
By the
Author of Guidone. Saunders and
Otley. London. 1834.

THE motto of this little work indicates that it is the last which we are to expect from its author. We are sorry to find that such is his intention. To his former production we gave our hearty applause, and though we cannot speak in similar terms of the poem now before us, yet we imagine that it contains evidence of genius of a superior order, and its defects are such as practice would not fail to correct. There is a degree of mannerism, however, discernible in this poem, which gives a monotonous character to blank verse, and which, should the unknown author resume his pen, he would do well to correct. We refer to such lines as these:

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In the slant ray of the declining noon;
Upon the sky is the old pageant still
Of endless clouds, and still the zephyrs gay,
Viewless, push on their cumbrous levity;
Between the hills, as in a picture laid,
Appears the blue and navigable sea,
Traversed by ship, that bears with stately sail,
Silent, its unseen mariners along;

Whilst near at hand a globe of insects plays
In the shower'd beam, a stationary globe,
Though each pursues therein, with restless speed,
And giddy will, its intricate, quick flight.
As here I ponder on a world unchanged,
Fixed in its ceaseless mutability,

And on the fateful links, that each to each,
Bind all things, high and low, in heav'n and earth,
In one revolving series, I myself
Feel drawn within the circle,-am a part
Of nature too,-one in the mazy dance
Of forms that vanish but to re-appear.
'Years hence,'-'tis thus my meditation runs,-
'A youth again shall stand upon this hill,-
'Another self,-and he shall see these fields
'Trod by their leisure herd, shall watch this globe
'Of insects still at play, note the same clouds
'Borne the same path, and muse, as now I do,
'On death of all, eternity of all!"—p. 6, 7.

REVIEW.-Remains of the Rev. Edward Payson, D.D. of Portland, U. S. consisting of Selections from his Conversations and Unpublished Writings. Seeley and Burnside. London. 1834. This small volume is a manual of divinity and of practical religion, which well warrants its exportation from the western shores of the Atlantic. Such works are particularly desirable for those persons who, in the routine of business, which may belong to the station in which they are placed by Providence, have not sufficient time for the perusal of regular treatises. In the pages of this, and similar productions, they may find enough to lead their minds to contemplations useful to their progress in the knowledge and love of Christ; and we have seldom met with a work better calculated to perform this holy office under the circumstances to which we have alluded. We regret that its title is not more specific of its leading characteristic. It is edited by the son of Dr. Payson, and, as much of it is compiled from recollections of paternal conversations, it does no small honour to the filial regard of the editor. The following passage, though not so doctrinal as the body of the volume, will be seen to have proceeded from a mind of strength and piety.

UNIVERSAL LAW OF BENEVOLENCE.

"Not for ourselves, but others'-is the grand law of nature, inscribed by the hand of God on every part of creation. Not for itself, but others, does the sun dispense its beams; not for them

selves, but others, do the clouds distil their showers; not for herself, but others, does the earth unlock her treasures; not for themselves, but others, do the trees produce their fruits, or the flowers diffuse their fragrance and display their various hues. So, not for himself, but others, are the blessings of heaven bestowed on man; and whenever, instead of diffusing them around, he devotes them exclusively to his own gratification, and shuts himself up in the dark and flinty caverns of selfishness, he transgresses the great law of cretion-he cuts himself off from the created universe and its Author-he sacrilegiously converts to his own use, the favours which were given him for the relief of others; and must be considered, not only as an unprofitable, but as a fraudulent servant, who has worse than wasted his Lord's money. He who thus lives only to himself, and consumes the

bounty of heaven upon his lusts, or consecrates it to the demon of avarice, is a barren rock in a fertile plain; he is a thorny bramble in a fruitful vineyard; he is the grave of God's blessings; he is the very Arabia deserta of the moral world. And if he is highly exalted in wealth or power, he stands, inaccessible and strong, like an insulated towering cliff, which exhibits only a cold and cheerless prospect, intercepts the genial beams of the sun, chills the vales below with its gloomy shade, adds fresh keenness to the freezing blast, and tempts down the lightnings of angry heaven. How different this, from the gently rising hill, clothed to its summit with fruits and flowers, which attracts and receives the dews of heaven, and, retaining only sufficient to supply its numerous offspring, sends the remainder in a thousand streams, to bless the vales which lie at its feet."-p. 104, 105.

METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL at WALSALL, from June 23, to July 22, 1834, inclusive. The situation of Walsall is so near the Centre of England, that its Temperature may be taken as th Average of the whole Kingdom.—Latitude 52°, 34', 30" N.; Longitude 1°, 57', 0" W.-Thermometer in the shade N.W. aspect.

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29.75

SW.- NE. Fair and sultry,--lightning at midnight. 29.43 N. E. A.M. thunder-storm, - P.M. heavy rain.

55 56 53 29.19 NE-WbS Heavy rain.

S. E. A.M. showery,-P.M. fair.

E.

Fair.

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GLEANINGS

A Persian Repast.-When a person of rank gives his friends an entertainment, the company is generally received in the dewan khaneh; a piece of chintz or printed calico is spread in front of the felt carpets on which they are seated. It is never washed, for such a change would be deemed unlucky; and therefore appears with all the signs of frequent and hospitable use. On this cloth, before each person, is laid a cake of bread, which serves the purpose of a plate. The dishes are brought in, on large metal trays,one of which is generally set down between every two or three individuals, and contain pillans, stews, sweetmeats, and other delicacies; while bowls of sweet and sour sherbets, with long-handled spoons of pear-tree wood swimming in them, are placed within their reach. If the feast be very sumptuous, the dainties appear in great profusion, and are sometimes heaped one upon another. The cookery is excellent of its kind, though there is, throughout the whole arrangement, a mixture of refinement and uncouthness, highly characteristic of the country. Persians, like other orientals, eat with their fingers; and the meat is cut into convenient mouthfuls, or stewed down so as to be easily torn to pieces. Accordingly, no sooner is the "Bismillah pronounced, than, bending forward, every hand is in a moment up to the knuckles in the rich pillans,-pinching or tearing off fragments of omelettes-stripping the kubands from their little skewers,-plunging into savoury stews, dipping into dishes of sweetmeats,-and tossing off spoonfuls of the pleasant sherbet. The profound silence is only interrupted by the rapid movement of jaws, or the grunts of deep satisfaction from time to time that arise from the gourmands of the party; for, though this people are temperate on common occasions, none enjoy more the pleasures of the table at convenient seasons. At length the host, or principal guest, having satisfied his appetite, rises from his recumbent posture, and, throwing himself back on his seat, utters a deep guttural "Alhum dulallah!" and remains holding his greasy hand across the table until an attendant brings water. On this the remaining visiters, one after another, as fast as the struggle between appetite and decorum permits, assume the same attitude. Warm water is brought in ewers, and poured over the dirty fingers, which are held above a basin to catch the drippings, but are generally very imperfectly wiped. Order is gradually restored; culleeoons (pipes) are produced; the company take each the posture that pleases them best, consistent with due respect; and the conversation becomes general.-Fraser's Persia.

King of Prussia.-This sovereign is almost perpepetually in motion. He sleeps in summer at Potsdam; in winter at Charlottenberg. He may almost be said-not indeed to dwell, for the word dwell gives us an idea of stationary living: but, to be at home on the road between these palaces and his capital. He inherits the manners of his Scythian progenitors, "Whose country on its wagon wheels moves ever." Potsdam is six leagues from Berlin; Charlottenberg two. He generally makes two journeys in the day from the former place, and four or five from the latter. He allows two hours of the morning to the ministers of state, who await his arrival with punctuality. The moment the two hours are expired, he is off again. He returns to Berlin during the day; but the instant he arrives, he is off to attend parades, reviews, inspections, or to visit some distant part of the town. He may be said to lead a sedentary life, but his seat is always moving behind his travelling horses.-Letters from Berlin.

Animal Life.-The following is the scale of animal life from the most celebrated writers on natural history: A hare will live 10 years, a cat 10, a goat 8, an ass 30, a sheep 10, a ram 15, a dog 14 to 20, a bull 15, an ox 20, a swine 25, a pigeon 8, a turtledove 25, a partridge 25, a raven 100, an eagle 100, a goose 100.

The modern fanatics have had a most barbarous taste for titles. We could produce numbers from abroad, and at home. Some works have been called Matches lighted at the Divine Fire," and one "The Gun of Penitence :" a collection of passages from the fathers is called "The Shop of the Spiritual Apothecary:" we have "The Bank of Faith," and "The Sixpennyworth of Divine Spirit :" one of these works bears the following elaborate title; "Some fine Biscuits baked in the Oven of Charity,

carefully conserved for the Chickens of the Church, the Sparrows of the Spirit, and the sweet Swallows of Salvation.' Sometimes their quaintness has some humour. Sir Humphrey Lind, a zealous puritan, published a work which a Jesuit answered by another, entitled "A Pair of Spectacles for Sir Humphrey Lind." The doughty knight retorted, by "A Case for Sir Humphrey Lind's Spectacles."-DIsraeli.

The Birmingham Coach in 1749. A Birmingham coach is newly established to our great emolument. Would it not be a good scheme, (this dirty weather, when riding is no more a pleasure,) for you to come some Monday in the said stage coach from Birmingham, to breakfast at Barrells, (for they always breakfast at Henley;) and on the Saturday following it would convey you back to Birmingham, unless you would stay longer, which would be better still, and equally easy? for the stage goes every week the same road. It breakfasts at Henley, and lies at Chipping Horton; goes early next day to Oxford, stays there all day and night, and gets on the third day to London; which from Birmingham at this season is pretty well, considering how long they are at Oxford; and it is much more agreeable as to the country than the Warwick way was.- Lady Luxborough's Letters to Shenstone.

Literary Notices.

Just Published.

Baines's History of Lancashire. Part 42.

Part 15 of a New Edition of the National Portrait Gallery: containing Memoirs of Sir Robert Peel; Robert Jameson, Esq.; and the Duke of Richmond. Part 7 of Fisher's Views in India, China, and the Shores of the Red Sea. From Original Sketches by Commander Robert Elliot, R.N.

Christ the Resurrection and the Life; being a Sermon preached on occasion of the Death of the Rev. Wm. Vint, S. T. P. Idle, Yorkshire. By Richard W. Hamilton, Leeds. 32mo.

The Way of Salvation. By H. F. Burder, D.D. Biographical Sketches of Eminent Artists; comprising Painters, Sculptors, Engravers, and Archi

tects.

Herschel's Brief Sketch of the Present State and Future Expectations of the Jews.

The Treasures of the Earth. By C. Williams. Shutford's English Grammar; adapted to the Younger Classes of Learners.

Inclination and Duty at Variance. By the author of the Military Blacksmith."

Remains of the late James Fox Longmire, of Worcester College, Oxford; with a Memoir. By Daniel Longmire, B. A.

Rossette's Disquisitions on the Anti-papal Spirit; translated by Miss Caroline Ward; in 2 vols. Hora Phrenologica. By Dr. Epps.

Howitt's Abridgment of his Popular History of Priestcraft.

L'Echo de Paris. By M. A. P. Le Page. Illustrations of the Bible. By Westall and Martin. Sacred Classics, Vol. VII.; Select Sermous. By Jeremy Taylor, D.D.

Manual of English Grammar. By J. M'Culloch. Two Years at Sea. By Jane Roberts.

The First Volume of an Evangelical Synopsis, for the Use of Families; or, the Holy Bible, with Notes explanatory and practical; selected from the most eminent Biblical Scholars, and interspersed with Original Remarks. By Ingram Cobbin, A. M.

In the Press.

A New Edition of the Life of Samuel Drew, M.A. with considerable additions.

Le Cameleon; a Magazine of French Literature. Redemption; or, the New Song in Both Worlds. By Robert Philip.

A Series of Essays on Revealed Characteristics of God. By G. Barrow Kidd, Minister of Roe Chapel, Macclesfield.

The Preacher's Manual; Lectures on Preaching. By S. T. Sturtevant.

Essay on Poisons; with twenty coloured plates. By Dr. Castle; the sixth edition.

The Voluntary Principle, in its Application to Religious Institutions. An Address, &c. By Richard Keynes.

The Agricultural Magazine. By the Proprietor of the Dundee Guardian, late Editor of the Constitu tional and Dundee Courier.

LONDON: PRINTED AT THE CAXTON PRESS, BY H. FISHER, SON, AND CO.

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