WESLEYAN MISSIONARY MEETINGS.

Chester.-On Monday, the 5th of April, 1819, a Missionary Meeting was held at the Methodist Chapel, in the city of Chester, when a large and truly respectable company met together. The business of the day was introduced by public service at half-past ten. At two, a concourse of people again assembled. On this occasion, several excellent speeches were delivered, and a detailed account was given of the Missions, interspersed with lively anecdotes, and some singular narratives, which rendered the meeting highly interesting. The day was concluded with public service. On each occasion a collection was made for the support of the Missions; which, together with the sums collected on the preceding day, amounted to upwards of £123.

Liverpool.-On the morning of Tuesday the 6th, at eleven o'clock, a Missionary Meeting was held in Brunswick Chapel, Liverpool. This spacious place was soon filled with a very respectable assembly, and many interesting speeches were delivered. Among the speakers, were two ministers of different denominations, who expressed their sentiments in a truly Christian spirit, deprecating the pernicious effects of bigotry, party interest and feeling, and signifying their ardent desires that the principles of the Gospel might be disseminated among the heathen. The day concluded with public service. On these occasions, and on the preceding sabbath, the collections in all the chapels amounted to upwards of £200.

Warrington.-A Missionary Meeting held at Warrington, on Good Friday, was numerously and respectably attended. Much interest was evidently excited by the statements which were given. Persons of various denominations mixed in the congregations; and their satisfaction was attested by their readiness to assist in the general contributions. The sum collected, far exceeded the expectation that had been entertained.

In Manchester, and in several other large towns, similar meetings have been held; and in all, the influence of a Missionary spirit has been decidedly conspicuous. In some few places, through the stagnation of trade, the scarcity of employment, and the con

sequent poverty which prevails, the collections were not expected to be large. But, even under these inauspicious circumstances, the readiness manifested by the people, to assist in sending the Gospel to the heathen, produced a pleasing effect, while their united exertions more than equalled the success that had been anticipated.

In

It appears from the statements given in several of these meetings, that, generally speaking, the Methodist Missions throughout the world are in a flourishing condition. But few exceptions to the contrary appeared. the West Indies, the prejudices that had been entertained, seem evidently on the decline. Hence in many places, from the sobriety and good behaviour of the pious negroes, the planters have found an interest in promoting the Missionary instruction of their other slaves. In nearly all these meetings, the views of the speakers were principally turned towards those parts of the Eastern hemisphere, in which the exertions of the Missionaries have not been obstructed by legal impediments. Hence Ceylon presents an interesting scene; and the successes which have appeared, seem correspondent to the favourable circumstances under which the efforts to establish the Gospel have been made.

A CURIOUS DISCOVERY RELATIVE TO

THE FORMATION OF THE BRAIN.

PROFESSOR MALACHARME, of Pavia, who has long employed himself on the comparative anatomy of the Brain, has found the corpus callosum and pineal gland in several birds. One discovery of importance he has made: this relates to the structure of the Brain, and its influence on the intellectual faculties. The lamina of the Brain he has observed to vary in number from 600 to 780; but in the brain of an idiot, he discovered only 324; and in that of a dumb person, only 362. Hence he infers, that the extent of the intellectual faculties is proportionate to the number of lamina in the Brain. Mr. C. Bonnet, of Geneva, whose correspondence with the Professor on this subject is published, admitting the premises, denies the conclusion; and supposes, that the number of lamina in the Brain is increased by the exercise of the intellectual faculties.

Grunwald Journ, de Méd.

twelve-inch stroke, with the same ease as a six-inch stroke, we save a valve full of water at each stroke, and so on in proportion to the length of the stroke. And since this Patent Pump can have any length of stroke, without any additional friction, it must raise more water than any other pump, and with greater ease. This peculiar property of these pumps has been so clearly demonstrated on board of the vessels that have hitherto used them, as to astonish every person who has beheld them at work, on seeing the incredible weight of water raised by the strength of two men.

Melancthon records a very dreadful example of God's righteous judgment upon a company of profane wretches, who, in a tragedy, intended to represent the Death of Christ upon the Cross. In this blasphemous exhibition, he that acted the soldier's part, instead of piercing with his spear a bladder full of blood, concealed under the garment of the man who personated Christ, wounded him to death. The dying man, in falling down, killed another, who, in disguise, acted the part of the woman that stood wailing under the Cross. The brother of him who was first slain, slew the murderer who acted the soldier's part; and, for slaying him, he was hanged, by order of justice.

THE PRICE OF A BIBLE IN 1274.

In the year 1274, the price of a small Bible, neatly written, was £30; which sum, no doubt, was equal to £200 of our money. A good Bible may now be had for two or three shillings. It is said that the building of two arches of London Bridge cost only £25; which is £5 less than a copy of the

Bible, many years afterwards. Of what incalculable value is the art of Printing! We have the pleasure of seeing its beneficial effects more widely extended than ever, by Sunday Schools, Bible Societies, and Christian Missionaries.

THE CHARACTER OF OUR LORD.

THE character of our blessed Lord, taken from a book, entitled Les Préjugés detruits," Prejudices destroyed,"-by J. M. Lequinia, Member of the National Convention of France, a professed Atheist.

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Chap. 26. Of Jesus Christ.

"He called himself the Son of God: Who among mortals dare to say he was not? He always displayed virtue; he always spoke according to the dictates of reason; he always preached up wisdom; he sincerely loved all men, and wished to do good even to his persecutors; he developed all the principles of moral equality, and of the purest patriotism; he met danger undismayed; he described the hard-heartedness of the rich; he attacked the pride of kings; he dared to resist, even in the face of tyrants; he despised glory and fortune; he was sober; he solaced the indigent; he taught the unfortunate how to suffer; he sustained weakness; he fortified decay; he consoled misfortune; he knew how to shed tears with those that wept; he taught men to subjugate their passions, to think, to reflect, to love one another, and to live happily together; he was hated by the powerful, whom he offended by his teaching; and persecuted by the wicked, whom he unmasked; and he died under the indignation of that blind and deceived multitude, for whose good he had always lived."

ON THE STATURE OF MAN.

MAY we not safely conclude, from the names of various measures now in use, that such measures were originally correspondent to sizes much larger than our own?

For example: an inch is expressed in most European languages by a word signifying a thumb; and consequently informs us, of the common breadth of an ancient thumb; as, de pede Herculem: thus we may say, de pollice Germanicum. A palm expresses the standard measure of six inches. Hence we may suppose, that a palm of the ancient Germans was,generally speaking, about an inch and a half broader than most of the modern. The smaller ell, (which seems to be a contraction of Ellenbagen, that is, an elbow,) is equal to a cubit; and describes an extent from