and stages of operation. Of this fact the abridger seems fully aware; and hence the advice and the directions given are preserved unimpaired, and the motives that should lead us to restrain their excesses, and regulate their aberrations, remain undiminished. We consider this work as laying a good foundation for a system of Christian education, and, as such, we would recommend it to every lover of his country, to every friend of peace, and every parent of a rising family. Those who are professionally engaged in the instruction of youth, will find in this abridgment some salutary lessons; and they may rest assured, that, although religion is the basis of this system, they will not find its pages disfigured with a zeal that is not according to knowledge. contains them, we shall forbear to exact any further contributions of this character. In another part, the author justly remarks, that "Offenders find a great encouragement at present in the discordance which appears between the general sentiments of the public and the provisions of law. The reluctance which every where appears against enforcing these provisions, naturally affords great encouragement to transgress them."-p. 89. To remedy this evil, he recommends, that the jury should have power "to decide on the punishment as well as on the guilt of the culprit."--p. 90. This, we conceive, would be a dangerous expedient, furnishing facilities, through which the powerful and wealthy would pollute justice in its sacred source, and bid defiance to the restraints of law. REVIEW.-An Essay on Criminal Laws.lished codes, and even in the adminis- THIS pamphlet is not calculated to make much noise in the world. It seems likely to pass along without doing either much good or harm to mankind. The punishment of death, the author considers to have many advantages. “It is in the first place very convenient, is easily executed, without requiring any complex or expensive management. It is of certain and uniform severity. The substance of the punishment cannot be frittered away either by levity or corruption on the part of the executioner."p. 53. little difficulty; but it is not so easy tration of justice, is attended with to apply a remedy that shall not introduce greater evils than it removes. Hence, the truth of the maxim—“The hand that cannot erect a hovel, may demolish a palace." REVIEW.-Brief Memoir of Krishna- Speaking of duelling, the author observes-" "There is only one punishment known for every degree of of fence. Yet the effect of this practice is found to answer its purpose. Suppose, instead of this practice, a scale of graduated punishments were introduced; suppose, for instance, an un-impressions on his mind, the means civil look were punished with a month's imprisonment, and an uncivil speech with an imprisoment of six months, and other offences in proportion, I much doubt whether, by such means, the rules of courtesy would be so well preserved as they are at present, at a very small actual cost of lives."-p. 63. Apologies like these require no comment; and from the book which that were rendered instrumental in the moral change which took place, and the sufferings which he endured from his relations and countrymen, on his renunciation of idolatry. This little history contains a decisive refutation of those assertions, which pronounce the conversion of the Hindoos impracticable. The sincerity with which it is written, no person can reasonably doubt; for. ers, every soul on board was supposed to have perished. While the people on shore were lamenting their fate, a large dog was seen buffeting the waves, and making to the beach. On reach ing the land, he was discovered to be. holding something in his mouth, which, dependently of his hopes in another tors who in vain endeavoured to renworld, he could have no inducement der assistance to the unhappy sufferto take upon himself a profession which subjected him to degradation and hardships, and exposed him to innumerable indignities, without holding out any worldly prospects of remuneration, either of wealth or honour. His conduct also appears to have corresponded with his profes-on examination, proved to be a female sion, through a series of years, from the time of his conversion to his death, which was full of consolation and holy joy. The life of this convert is not exhibited as displaying any peculiar incidents, or remarkable traits of character; for at Serampore the missionaries have, in their employment, thirty-five, both men and women, who are equally correct in their morals, and upright in their conduct." The whole number throughout India, amounts to nearly one thousand, and during the last twenty years, numbers have died in the faith of the Gospel. Krishna-Pal was the first who had the courage and fortitude to break the more than iron fetters of the Hindoo caste; and as such, his heroic virtue deserves to be recorded. For a considerable time prior to his death, he was employed in preaching the Gospel to his idolatrous countrymen, and this he did with considerable success. Many already rise up, and call him blessed; and multitudes who were acquainted with his life and conversation do not hesitate to exclaim, "Let my last end be like his!" About one half of this tract is occupied with a biographical sketch of Mr. Ward, of whom we gave a portrait, and a memoir, in our number for December last. infant, in whom, after much exertion, suspended animation was at last restored. She was adopted by the clergyman and his lady, of the place, but could give no other account of herself than that she was called Eliza; to which her benefactors added their own name, Courville. Receiving from them a pious education, Eliza grew: up, an ornament to virtue. Mr. Courville, however, was taken ill and died; in consequence of which, his widow and Eliza were compelled to leave the parsonage. Repairing to the vicinity of London, they intended to open a school, but the design not answering their expectation, they were compelled to live on the little property that had been lodged in the hands of a' banker, who, they one morning learnt with anguish, had stopped payment. Reduced to the last extremity, they went together into a jeweller's shop in Oxford-street, to sell a diamond from a necklace that Eliza wore when the faithful dog dragged her ashore. In this shop they accidentally meet two gentlemen, who ultimately turn out to be her father and brother. They take her home, place her in affluence, and settle on her benefactress £300, per annum for life. The great lesson inculcated throughout this narrative is, the advantages of piety and virtue, leading the mind to habitual resignation under afflic tion, and to a reliance on the divine protection in the darkest seasons of adversity. ON TIME AND PULSATION. REVIEW.-Eliza Dalvanley, or, Religion the True Source of Happiness. 18mo. pp. 195. London. Westley, 10, Stationers'-court. 1823. THIS is a good tale, and one that is well told. The incidents are arranged Answer to a Query, inserted col. 106. with much judgment, and ingeniously I was much amused on first making introduced just where they are likely the experiment, which, however, apto produce most effect. The history peared so unaccountable, that I was which it contains is briefly as fol-induced to examine it rather carelows: On a tremendously stormy night, a ship was wrecked on the coast of Devonshire, and, in the midst of specta fully. This convinced me that the mystery was not from any property of matter, or motion, yet unexplored; but that it consisted in a deception which I had unguardedly been practising on myself. That the agreement of the striking of the shilling against the glass, with the hour of the day, is not occasioned by the pulse of the thumb, will be evident, I think, when we consider1st. That pulsation is in no manner governed by time, being a regular and uniform extension and compression of the spiral fibres, unless affected by disease, or altered by any sudden commotion of the system. 2dly. The vibration of the thread is only partly caused by the motion of the pulse, being principally occasioned by a movement of the hand, from the position in which it is held. Thus, if the thumb, instead of its being held up, be rested upon any thing, the motion of the shilling will be considerably diminished. It appears to me, therefore, that the cause exists solely in that curiosity which is implanted in the mind, from which we are naturally pleased with, and anxious after, any thing which is proposed to us as new or uncommon. Thus, in the present instance, a person going to make the experiment, being surprised and delighted at its strangeness and novelty, will wish to see the effect produced; having then, for the proof of the experiment, previously acquainted himself with the hour which struck last, when the proper quantity of strokes are given, he involuntarily impedes the motion of the string by fixing his arm perfectly still, which before had acquired a degree of motion, corresponding with the movement of the shilling; at the same time, though almost imperceptibly, by raising or depressing the thumb, the movement is counteracted, and is thus prevented from striking more than the given quantity. This may be proved by requesting a person to hold the thread, who is unacquainted with the supposed consequence of the experiment, when, instead of stopping at the hour, it will continue to vibrate as long as the position is maintained. With respect to what your correspondent mentions, of its being occasionally about half a minute before the last stroke is made, that will be the case, when the vibration, being quicker than usual, is checked before the number is completed, from a sort of vague apprehension excited in SINCE our article, which relates to this affair, was inserted in col. 218 of this number, we have learnt that the King has been pleased to remit the sentence of death, passed by the court-martial on this gentleman, and to direct that he shall be dismissed from the colony, and be called upon to enter into recognizances not to reside within any of his majesty's colonial possessions in the West Indies. The sentence of death, it is said, had been accompanied by a recommendation to mercy, from the court which passed it. This strange business is still involved in much mystery, which time, and the return of Mr. Smith, will probably unravel. Against this gentleman many infamous insinuations have been thrown out, especially by a paper, which, under the sanction of a national appellation, espouses the cause of intolerance and of inhumanity. But' Wilberforce, and his manly associates, having been daubed with its filth, the missionaries cannot hope to escape without being spattered. SECURITY FOR DEAD BODIES. Ir is well known, that in the metropolis, and in many large towns, the bodies of the dead are frequently stolen from their graves. To preserve these sanctuaries from violation, several BRIDGMAN'S iron coffin, and Hughes's inven schemes have been proposed, among which, tion, as hereafter described, seem most likely to prove successful. Mr. Bridgman's coffins having been long in use, an objection was made by the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, to their interment; which circumstance, it is not improbable, laid the foundation of Mr. Hughes's invention. The judge of the Ecclesiastical Court, however, decided, that parishes have no right to refuse iron coffins, or to impose extra fees for them, and directed the one al-1 luded to, to be interred without any extra charge. We consider both inventions as deserving the sanction of the public, being calculated to increase labour, to secure the dead, and to remove the apprehensions of their sur viving friends. Under this impression, we shall submit both to our readers, that they may use their own judgment, when the common event of death occurring in their families, makes a decision needful. Bridgman's patent iron coffin is made of thin plates of rolled or wrought iron, but of sufficient substance to meet, without breaking, any powerful pressure that may be applied. The lid has 14 springs, which are screwed into it, and then laid over four dove-tail'd bars, which stretch across the coffin into a bar which is riveted to the sides, and under which bar the 14 springs catch; after which a cement is used, that renders the coffin perfectly air-tight. It is but fair to say, that these coffins have been used more than five years; many hundreds have been buried in them, and no instance of their being robbed has ever been discovered. A young surgeon, in the Times of Dec. 17, 1822, having said, that the body stealers meant to open one, and leave it above ground; Mr. Bridgman, in the Times of Feb. 24, 1823, defied them to execute that threat. In March, 1823, an attempt was made, and they attacked one in the retired church-yard of Chinkford, Essex, but were compelled to abandon the attempt as hopeless, after bruising the coffin in a shameful manner, without being able to reach their prey.-The following is a calculation that has been submitted to the House of Commons," that one acre would contain 5700 more iron coffins than wooden ones; and that, supposing one acre to be filled with iron coffins at ten feet deep, it would yield labour beyond that of wooden coffins to the amount of £47,489. 10s. The extra charge is trifling, and they may be used either as lead or wooden ones. Mr. HUGHES, the patentee of the above engraved representation, is of Barking, in Essex, and his patent will create equally as much labour as that of Mr. Bridgman. It consists in iron or steel straps of considerable substance, which secure the body: those round the wrist and ancle much resemble those attached to the stocks in villages; those across the breast, the fastenings of which are concealed by the arms, may be compared to the belts which fasten on a soldier's knapsack; the one round the belly, to a half-hoop; and the one round the neck, to a soldier's stock. The whole is wadded round with a kind of worsted org od ven od blod of do netting. When the corpse is thus attired, it is placed on a false bottom, and fastened by sockets, bolt-latches, and pins: the specification provides for an iron grating over the corpse. Near the feet appears the socket, which is fastened to the false bottom, into which the elastic wedge, which is just above it, enters, when the body is to be interred; while above, at A, is the bolt or pin, which, being driven into the elastie wedge, causes its shoulders to spread under those in the socket, thus rendering the corpse in every place securely attached to the timber. GLEANINGS;-religious, LITERARY, SCIENTIFIC, &c. Religious. or corrosion, and effectually prevent the salt water from decomposing the copper. principle, it seems, is, to render the whole copper on a ship's bottom electro-negative, by the application of a certain quantity of zinc, or iron, in close contact with the ship's copper, West India Bishoprics. To superintend the or any part of her bottom under water-which affairs of the Church of England in that quar-zine or iron, only, will suffer all the oxidation ter of the world, two bishops have recently been appointed; one to the Leeward, the other to the Windward Islands. A residence is to be appropriated for them, and each is to be allowed £4000. per annum, and a retiring pension of a £1000. after twelve years' residence: Jamaica is to be the head of one see, and Barbadoes and St. Vincent's the moveable seat of the other. Literary. Translation of Josephus. We understand that a new translation of Josephus, the Jewish historian, has lately been undertaken by a clergyman of the established church. A classical version of this unique and celebrated writer has long been a desideratum in English literature; and if the gentleman above alluded to succeed in his arduous enterprise, he will confer no mean obligation on his language and country. Origin of English Newspapers. The intense interest in public events excited in every class by the threatened invasion from Spain, by the Spanish armada, gave rise to the introduction of one of the most important inventions of social life; that of newspapers. Previously to this period, all articles of intelligence had been circulated in manuscript; and all political remarks, which the government had found itself interested in addressing to the people, had issued from the press in the shape of pamphlets; of which many had been composed during the administration of Burleigh, either by himself, or immediately under his direction. But the peculiar convenience at such a juncture, of uniting these two objects in a periodical publication, having saggested itself to the ministry, there appeared, some time in the month of April, 1588, the first number of The English Mercury; a paper resembling the present London Gazette; since No. 50, the earliest specimen of the work now extant, is dated July 23, of the same year. This interesting relic is preserved in the British Museum. Letters of Couper. Some additional letters of this delightful poet and amiable man have recently made their appearance in print, for the first time; and they even exceed those which have so long secured the public approbation. Their unaffected pleasantry, abundant variety, and unstudied eloquence, cannot fail to afford a high literary treat, especially to readers who unite piety with taste. Dutch Literature. Another volume of the modern poetical literature of Holland, from the same pen to which we are indebted for the Batavian Anthology, has made its appearance. Scientific Copper-sheathing-Sir Humphrey Davy has lately been engaged, in conjunction with Sir R. Seppings, surveyor of the navy, in directing experiments made at the bottoms of several vessels at Portsmouth, coppered under their direction, with a view to ascertain, upon a large scale, the effect of the galvanic principle which Sir H. proposes to apply in a particular manner, for protecting the copper-sheathing on ships' bottoms from corrosion. The Medicine.-Sir Henry Halford, President of the Royal College of Physicians, has notified, in the Gazette, that a new edition of the "Pharmacopoeia Collegii Regalis Medicorum," revised, corrected, and reformed by the said college, is now ready for publication; and all apothecaries, and others whose business it is to compound medicines, distil oils or waters, or make other extracts, within England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, are requir ed to conform strictly to the prescriptions it contains, under the penalty of being proceeded against to the utmost extremity of the law. How necessary and salutary this official authority is over the department of medicine has been proved by too many melancholy facts; to which has been added a recent case in Liverpool, where the death of a child was occasioned by administering an improper quantity of calomel, made up at a druggist's shop, not by rule, but by guess. Test for Cast Iron -The best and most certain test of the quality of a piece of cast iron, is, to try its edge with a hammer: if the blow make a slight impression, denoting some degree of malleability, the iron is of a good quality, provided it be uniform; if fragments fly off, and no sensible indentation be made, the iron will be hard and brittle. Music.-A new musical instrument has been constructed, on a patent obtained by Mr. W. Pinnock, of the Strand, which produces the most exquisite music, and appears to combine several requisites hitherto unattained. It resembles the piano-forte in form and mode of playing, but its sweet and powerful sounds are continued, as in the organ: it might indeed be called an organized piano-forte, but it has received the name of Euphonon. Entomology-Professor Thunberg, of Upsal, has proposed to sell his large and valuable col lection of insects, containing at least between 25 and 30,000 specimens, collected from every quarter of the world, during the last 60 years: the collection has been particularly enriched from Japan, Java, Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, and South America. This formation has cost the indefatigable proprietor large sums in purchasing collections, besides his own labours; for the whole of which he expects £2000 sterling. Miscellaneous. Apple-trees. It is stated, on the authority of a gentleman of Easingwold, that the seeds in an apple which are perfect in form, without flat sides, produce trees of the same genuine fruit, while the compressed or flat seeds produce a bastard kind." Bees. The Rev. Mr. Dunbar has, by a series of experiments in Scotland, ascertained, that when a queen bee is wanting for a hive, her majesty can be, and is, produced from the egg of a working bee. In one experiment, having removed the queen, the bees set about constructing royal cells, and placing common larvæ in them; in seven days, two |