189 Review.-Letters on Missions-Cabinet Cyclopædia. gard, as it is the fruit of personal experience in the season of domestic anguish. When the author discloses the Sorrows, and depicts the Exercises of the bereaved, he throws open the window of his owu heart; when he enforces their duties, he recommends the line of conduct which he himself has been solicitous topursue; andwhen he points to Resources and administers Consolation, he declares the things "which he has heard, which he has seen with his eyes, which he has looked upon, and which his hands have handled." His official character, as minister of the Liverpool Necropolis, has afforded him daily opportunities of conversing with the bereaved. At such seasons, there has been little reserve. The sorrowful, in the very act of communicating to others their grief, seem to find a temporary relief. An advantage has thus been given to the writer, in applying himself to this subject, which has fallen to the lot of few." p. iv. In the fifth chapter on "The Mourner's Advantages," and also in the sixth on "Motives to Submission," we have some valuable instruction. But the seventh on the "Mourner's Consolations," and the eighth on his "Anticipations," are the most animating and attractive. The conclusion is replete with obvious inferences, drawn from all the preceding topics, unfolding the numerous and varied evils of which sin is the prolific parent, and exhibiting the counteracting influence, which, through the medium of the gospel, the Spirit of God supplies. For those who mourn, "Sympathy" is a book that will be found to contain much tenderness and kindred feeling. It vibrates on the chords of anguish, and none but the hardened and the profligate can peruse it without advantage. REVIEW.-Letters on Missions. By Wil liam Swan, Missionary in Siberia, with an Introductory Preface, by William Orme. 12mo. pp. 340. Westley and Co., London, 1830. So much has been said of late years on the nature, difficulties, aud character of foreign Missions, that, generally speaking, but little original matter is to be expected. When however, new regions are explored, and the missionary is brought into contact with distant branches of the human family, with whose previous history we have but little acquaintance, the mind of the reader is on the alert to peruse the accounts which he transmits to his native land. It was with feelings thus excited, that we commenced the examination of this volume, and to this we were led by the title, which announces it as "Letters on Missions, by William Swan, Missionary in Siberia." Unfortunately however, for these anticipations, all the letters are without dates, and the place where they were written is left to the conjecture of the reader. In addition to this, they have no more reference to Siberia than they have to Euclid's Elements, or to 190 the arches of Blackfriars-bridge, Recovering from the mistake into which we fell, by not duly considering the literal import of a takingly-constituted titlepage, we bid adieu to the snows of Siberia, and to its forlorn inhabitants, and simply survey these letters, on missions in general, by their own light, without asking when they were written, or where their author resides. To the writer's view, the great subject of missions appears in all its relative and intrinsic importance. This he discusses with much comprehensiveness of thought, and great acuteness of observation, in twenty-one letters. In these, he weighs, with due deliberation, the nature of a missionary's life; and points out, in their various branches, the qualifications necessary for his arduous undertaking. Of Mr. Swan's general principles there can be scarcely room for two opinions. They send the gospel into heathen lands, and seem founded on the duty of Christians to inculcate a firm reliance for support, on that divine assistance which is promised in the word of God. But when from this general ground he proceeds to enter into details, the localities of preconcerted plans bation, and perhaps, in some instances, his become too prominent for universal approzeal may trespass on the bounds of prudence. The thirteenth letter on "the best means of convincing the heathen of the truth of Christianity," is full of sound sense, and is luminously written. The introductory preface, by Mr. Orme, has rather too much of a controversial aspect, for its station and professed character. Hence, the writer is led into digressions which might have been more suitable on many other occasions. It, however, displays a mind actively alive to the state of the heathen, and to the interests of the missionary cause; and concludes with a warm address to Christians, in every sphere of life, to exert themselves in promoting it with unanimity and active cooperation. Mr. Swan and Mr. Orme, are two excellent advocales for missionary exertions, and it is scarcely probable that they will plead in vain. REVIEW.-The Cabinet Cyclopedia, conducted by the Rev. Dionysius Lardner, LL. D., &c. &c. Assisted by eminent literary, and scientific men. The history of Maritime and Inland Discovery, in 2 Vols. Vol. I. 12mo. pp. 410. Longman, London. 1830. THIS volume commences with the early ages of the world, and traces, in a brief 191 Review.-National Portrait Gallery. 192 in which there are said to be certain wild men who are unable to speak, and have no joints in their legs; yet they have ingenuity enough to make felt of camels' hair, for garments to protect themselves from the weather." "Cannibalism in Thibet.-The inhabitants of Thibet, according to Rubruquis, had once the habit of eating the dead bodies of their parents, from a motive of piety, believing that to be the most honourable sepulture; but in his time they had abandoned that custom, which was looked upon as abominable by all other nations. They still, however, continued to make handsome drink but perspicuous manner, the progress of discovery among the various nations of the earth, from the immediate descendants of Noah, down to the birth of Columbus, and the era of his sublime discovery of America. It is replete with valuable information in its various departments, and furnishes the best vehicle of its own recommendation. Το give a full enumeration of its excellencies would be an arduous task, and every efforting cups of the sculls of their parents, that they but that which would transcribe the volume, must leave it incomplete. We shall therefore select from its pages such fragments and incidents, as will justify the observations already made, and enable the reader to judge of the whole work from the specimens submitted to his inspection. Traditionary legend respecting the early discovery of America. "Story of the Almagrurim.-There is very little reason, however, to believe that the Arabians were accustomed to make distant voyages on the ocean or Sea of Darkness. The only evidence that they ever attempted such a navigation is found in the remarkable story of the Almagrurim, related in nearly the same words by Ibn el Vardi and Edrisi. The former of these writers, after describing Lisbon, adds, that eight persons from that city, curious to know what was beyond the sea, equipped a vessel with all necessary provisions for a long voyage, and swore not to return till they had found the end of the sea and the land at the west. They advanced eleven days in the open sea, and then twelve days more in a sea of unfathomable depth with immense waves. The winds carried them to the south, and they at last arrived at an island to which they gave the name of Ganam, or the island of sheep; but the flesh of the sheep which they found there was too bitter to be eaten. They took water, however, and continuing their voyage towards the south, on the twelfth day discovered an inhabited island. The men were large and red. At the end of three days an Arabian interpreter came to them, in order to learn the purpose of their voyage. The king being made acquainted with their intentions, told them that he had sent persons to explore the ocean, who, having sailed westward for a month, were surprised with a thick darkness, and forced to return. The adventurers from Lisbon, hearing that they were a month's sail from home, hastened to return; and in memory of that event a quarter of the city received the name of Almagrurim, the Wanderers, a name which it retained in the time of Ibn el Vardi, who died in 1358. This attempt to reach the end of the ocean was made in 1147, and was probably not the only enterprise of the kind in 1291 a similar attempt was made by two Genoese, of whose fate or success, however, no account remains. Some have supposed, and De Guignes among the rest, that the red men mentioned in this account must have been Americans; but it is much more likely that they were Normans, who are not unfrequently called red men in the East. As there was an Arabian interpreter on the island, and the distance from Lisbon was known, the coast of Africa was probably not far off; and, in fine, the Almagrurim seem not to have sailed beyond the Canary Islands."--p. 172. The following savours so much of the marvellous, that the reader must decide for himself, whether it be not more amusing than instructive. "A Peculiar Species of Men.-To the south of Cara Cathay (the Black Desert,) and south-west of Montgolia, Carpini says there is a vast desert, might call them to remembrance even in their mirth. This is precisely what Herodotus relates of the Massagetæ, and does not differ materially from what he states respecting the Padai, who were probably the Thibetian followers of Bauddha, or Buddha, in Thibet. The same custom of putting the aged and infirm to death exists at the present day among the Battas in Sumatra ; who, like the Massagetes and Thibetians of old, act under the influence of religious opinions, and deem a man guilty of the basest dereliction of filial duty who refuses to eat his father."-p. 267. The funeral rites of the Grand Khans of Tartary, to which the following passage alludes, will be read with indignant interest. "It has been an invariable custom, says Marco Polo, that all the grand khans and chiefs of the race of Zingis Khan should be carried for inter. ment to a certain lofty mountain, named Altai; and in whatever place they may chance to die, although it should be at the distance of a hundred days' journey, they are nevertheless conveyed thither. It is likewise the custom, during the progress of removing the bodies of those princes, to sacrifice such persons as they happen to meet on the road; saying to them, Depart for the next world, and there attend on your deceased master;" being impressed with the belief that all whom they thus slay do actually become his servants in the next life. They do the same with respect to horses, killing the best of the stud, in order that he may have the use of them. When the corpse of Mangu Khan was transported to this mountain, the horsemen who accompanied it, having this blind and horrible persuasion, slew upwards of ten thousand persons who fell in their way." It cannot be denied, that the contents of this volume, carrying us back into the remote regions of antiquity, during the reign of ignorance and superstition, have, in many respects, an air of fable and romance. In this twilight of history it is difficult to distinguish between fiction and reality; but we have no right to call every thing legendary which is not conformable to modern manners, and justified by more recent discoveries and visits. The accounts though strange are always entertaining: and such is the variety, that some new incident, or narrative, presents itself in every page. REVIEW.-National Portrait Gallery of Illustrious and Eminent Personages of the Nineteenth Century, with Memoirs by William Jerdan, Esq, F.S.A. &c. &c. Fisher, Son, and Co. London. 1830. THE ninth and tenth Numbers of this splendid publication are now before us, the former containing Portraits and Me moirs of His late Majesty, the Right Honourable Spencer Perceval, and Admiral Lord Keith; and the latter, those of the Right Honourable Charles James Fox, the Right Honourable Thomas Grenville, and Viscount Beresford. The public voice has spoken so decisively in favour of this work, that the numerous encomiums which have been passed upon its merits by all the literary censors of the day, render any extended remarks from us unnecessary. The ground which its spirited and enterprising publishers have chosen, was not preoccupied by any series of Modern Portraits worthy the attention of the connoisseur, or adapted to enter into that department of the library devoted to the fine arts. Competitors have certainly started up since the commencement of the work, but, we believe, the character of these rival productions, when compared with the style and manner of this Portrait Gallery, can serve only to excite admiration of its cheapness, and of the talent employed upon it, and to recommend it more powerfully to public notice. The desideratum in Literature and Art which these Memoirs and Portraits have supplied, was one of the first importance; and even to have failed in an attempt to introduce the worthies of modern times into every respectable book-case, would have entailed no disgrace. The effort, however, has been eminently successful. At an unprecedently moderate price, the most finished labours of the best artists have been submitted to the public, accompanied with biographies, possessing all the interest which an intimate acquaintance with the distinguished subjects, and a commanding talent, can bestow. The memoir of Mr. Perceval, in number 9, contains a great many hitherto unpublished facts connected with that gentleman's tragical catastrophe. These come from the best possible source; the learned editor having been a close spectator of the dreadful transaction which he has described. BRIEF SURVEY OF BOOKS. 1. The Modern Newgate Calendar, or Newgate and York Castle in the Nineteenth Century, by Leman Thomas Rede, (Bennett, London,) is a catalogue of human enormities, at the sight of which a virtuous -individual would blush, and hang his head to think himself a man." We have before us two parts, and in them the portrait of Martin the incendiary, who has a most forbidding aspect, and that of Slack 134.-VOL. XII. 194 the murderer, whose countenance betrays no symptoms of guilt. The trials of these miscreants, and of many others, occupy the pages, and suitable reflections are interspersed, to render crime odious, and to deter from its commission. 2. An Address to the Members of both Houses of Parliament, on the West India Question, by Alexander Mc. Donnell, Esq., (Ridgway, London,) is designed to palliate, if not wholly to deny, the evils connected with slavery. Cultivation by free labour the author thinks to be totally impracticable. The negroes, he argues, have little taste for artificial wants, and the real necessaries of life can be so easily procured, that, if free, the greater part of their time would be spent in indolence. To prevent this, he gravely concludes, that their shackles should not be thrown aside, and that the driver's whip should still be brandished over these victims of injustice. The cause is worthy of such an admirable reasoner! 3. A Catalogue of Embellished Publications on Architectural Antiquities, &c. by J. Britton, (Longman, London,) contains some beautiful specimens of wood engravings, belonging to the works announced, and which cannot be inspected without exciting admiration. 4. Philosophical Tables compiled from various Authors, Ancient and Modern. (Simpkin, London,) is a literary curiosity, sublimely dark, and philosophically mysteri ous. The man who should be doomed to study these tables until they were perfectly understood, would be an object of pity; and if they are comprehended by the author, he deserves a patent. 5. Annot and her Pupil, a simple story, (Hamilton, London,) aims at nothing higher than to amuse children, without neglecting to blend instruction with entertainment. The incidents are natural, and the narrative is conducted with a degree of perspicuous simplicity, that can hardly fail to please. 6. Natural Historian, or Traits of Animal History, by Mrs. G. Vasey, (Bennett, London,) is a useful little work, publishing in numbers. It treats exclusively of the animal tribes, gives the natural history, and distinguishing peculiarities, of each, and is embellished with two hundred well-executed engravings. It brings animal history within a narrow and pleasing compass. 7. The Principles and Plan of the Society for Promoting Christian Instruction, (Davis, London,) place the design of this institution in an amiable light. It N is founded in benevolence, and every way deserving of public support. 8. Intemperance; or, the Horrible Consequences of Ardent Spirits in their Ercessive Use, &c. by G. C. Smith, (Bethel House, London,) exhibits a painful, but not an overdrawn picture of the miseries atendant upon drunkenness. The demon of intemperance has stretched his pestiferous wings over the whole earth, and the demoralizing effects consequent upon the worship of this modern Moloch, are too dreadful to be contemplated. This work consists of a series of pamphlets, in which the general and excessive use of ardent spirits is shown by a multitude of facts, which serve also to prove that the great increase of crime, pauperism, and disease, is either the direct or collateral consequence of this colossal vice. We concede to Mr. Smith every praise for the energy and ability with which he has compiled this mass of information, on a subject most certainly involving a nation's welfare. 9. An Introductory Lecture upon the Study of Theology, and of the Greek Testament, delivered at the University of London, by the Rev. T. Dale, M. A (Taylor, London,) details the object and the extent of the lectures which will be delivered in the Theological Institution of the London University. A highly unfavourable sensation was excited against this seminary, as originally founded, from an apparent laxity of regard, in the projectors, to the subject of religion. This feeling will give way, when it is clearly ascertained that a desideratum so important has been adequately supplied. The national tendency of a great public school, can, most certainly, be then only really serviceable, when its operations are conducted under the sacred auspices of the "faith we owe." 10. A Concise System of Mechanics, by James Hay, Land Surveyor, (Simpkin and Marshall, London,) is a treatise which embodies the essence of more voluminous works on mechanical science. The arrangement appears to be judicious, and the technology usually attendant upon scientific discussion is in a good measure dispensed with. They who feel interested in the doctrine of forces, and the construction of machinery, will meet, in the present work, with considerable information on these subjects, compressed into a reasonable space. 11. A Dialogue between a Sceptical Physician, and his Christian Patient, (Murray, London,) is supported on each side with much acuteness and talent. Its character is metaphysical, and each party 196 seems to be acquainted with its modes of argumentation. The Christian Patient has decidedly the advantage in all his reasonings and conclusions, though he sometimes deals in dogmas, and sweeping expressions which might have been spared. On the whole, it is a well-written tract, highly deserving the attention of such as think and reason, as well as read. CELESTIAL PHENOMENA. AT 54 minutes past 4 in the afternoon of the 24th of January, the second lunation of the present year commenced in the 4th degree of Aquarius, the Moon having nearly 3 degrees north latitude, descending and approaching the Earth: on the 27th she had arrived at her perigean point, and at 47 minutes past 10 in the morning of the 31st, she completes her first quarter revolution. On the evening of the 1st of February, she is observed to the south of the Pleiades, approaching Aldebaran ; which she passes before her next appearance; she. is consequently noticed to the east of this star on the following evening, directing her course under the horns of the Bull: she is seen to the east of these stars on the evening of the 3rd, and on the fourth she passes betweeen γ હ and Geminorum; on the evening of the 5th, she is noticed under the Castor and Pollux, approaching Saturn, which she passes at 30 minutes past 8 in the morning of the 7th: at 42 minutes past 7 in the evening of this day, she completes her half revolution, being full in the 18th degree of Leo with nearly 3 degrees south latitude ascending; she is observed to approach Regulus, and will pass this star before her next appearance. On the 10th, she crosses the ecliptic in her ascending node, and arrives at the apogean point of her orbit on the 12th. On the morning of the 13th she passes above Spica Virginis; on the morning of the 15th she passes between a and B Libræ, and directs her course above Mars and Antares: she enters her last quarter at 28 minutes past 12 at night, and is in conjunction with Mars at 7 minutes past 8 in the evening of the 17th; she is consequently noticed to the east of this planet, on the following morning; she is now observed to approach Jupiter, and will pass above him on the 19th, the conjunction taking place at 11 in the morning; her crescent now gradually diminishes until 36 minutes past 4 in the morning of the 23rd, when her revolution is completed, she being again in conjunction with the Sun. The glorious luminary of the Solar Sys tem pursuing his unremitting journey among the innumerable Suns that enrich the ebon vault of heaven with their bright and twinkling beams, is now observed to recede from the noble planet Jupiter, which appears in the eastern hemisphere a short time before Aurora uncloses its portals, and the rosy Morn proclaims the approach of day to the inhabitants of this portion of the globe. This majestic wanderer through the immensity of space, is now a conspicuous object in the constellation Sagittarius, and will doubtless afford the observer a considerable degree of gratification, to notice his progress among the stars that compose this asterism. He is first seen between 25 and 29 Sagittarii; on the 4th he is observed in a line with and 26 Sagittarii, directing his course between the latter star and 29 of this constellation; he is noticed between them on the 6th; after passing them, he directs his course between 26 and 30 Sagittarii, and passes them on the 9th on the morning of the 11th, he is noticed between 4 and 29 Sagittarii, on the following morning he is observed in a line with 30 and 33 Sagittarii and on the 14th between and 30 of the same constellation. On the morning of the 15th, he is noticed in a line with 29 and 30 and between and 33 Sagittarii. His path now becomes exceedingly interesting, in consequence of his near approach to, and passage by, v Sagittarii; the distance between the planet and star continues to decrease until the 19th, when Jupiter is noticed to the south of the star, in a line with it and 33 Sagittarii, and between it and w Sagittarii. On the morning of the 21st he is seen in a line with and 30 Sagittarii, and on the following morning, between w and 1 and 2 Sagittarii. His recess from has now become very apparent, and his passage under π and o is the next interesting feature in his course. On the morning of the 23rd, he is observed in a line with these stars, and on the 25th with 1 and 2 of this constellation. He is noticed between o and Sagittarii on the morning of the 27th, and on the 1st of March he is seen between the former star and w Sagittarii. The approach of the planet Mars to Jupiter, which has been observed considerably to the west of him during February, now becomes very apparent, the distance between them daily and rapidly decreasing. At 43 minutes 34 seconds past 5 in the morning of the 5th, the first satellite of Jupiter is immersed in his shadow, the planet being observed between 0 and 7 Sagittarii; on the 7th he is noticed between 0 and, and on the 8th, in a line with o and 1 Sagittarii: He is observed in a line 198 with the former star and 2 on the follow ing morning, and directs his course be tween and, passing between them on the 15th. Sir Thomas Lawrence. THE death of this distinguished artist, which took place on the evening of Thursday, January 7th, 1830, has thrown a veil over the fine arts, which the lapse of many years may be insufficient to remove. The presidency of the Royal Academy has never been held by a more talented master, or by one more zealously devoted to the interests of pictorial science, than Sir Thomas Lawrence. In his own productions, to an exquisite fidelity of outline, he added a power in the relief of his figures, and the toning of his colours, which gave life to the canvass, and mimicked nature with a resemblance the most characteristic and striking. Artists who are now enjoying a well-earned celebrity, owe no small portion of their fame to the fostering hand of the late President. His urbanity and domestic virtues were not less remarkable than his talents, and in his death we have to mourn at once the loss of a highly gifted painter, and an excellent man. The following particulars imbodying a brief memoir of his life, are extracted from the Literary Gazette of the 16th of January. Sir Thomas Lawrence was born at Bristol, where his father, who had been an exciseman, kept an inn. From this place the family removed to Devizes, and finally to Bath, where the opening talents of the young artist became their principal support. When only seven or eight years of age, he attracted great notice by his imitations of the "human face divine," and became a pupil of Mr. Hoare, a crayon painter of exquisite taste, fancy, and feeling. first he executed crayon likenesses in the manner of his instructor, and two portraits of ladies in red jackets, with hats and feathers, for each of which he was paid ten shillings and sixpence, are still in existence, and in their finish display much of the peculiar delicacy of his later productions. At After some time, the future President confined his exertions almost entirely to the production of small oval portraits in cray, ons, which were sold at a guinea apiece. He was, at the same time, much noticed and patronized by the Hon. John Hamilton, a member of the Abercorn family, who resided on Lunsdown Hill, and contributed greatly towards the cultivation of the young |