must transpire through a succession of future ages, so contending parties. They were independent of human that the true prophets are yet on probation, and will events, regular as the order of nature, and eternal as the remain so to the end of the world, and every succeeding fountain of inspiration. Their influence was the most generation will prove them divinely inspired. The extensive which the imagination can conceive. They pagan oracles looked only to present or approaching were not calculated to aggrandize a favorite state, not periods, and we have not, as in the other case, the priv-appropriated to the inhabitants of a particular climate; ilege, like jurymen, to make inquisition for ourselves. but they were equally useful to all countries, and obliIn a word, the divinely inspired still prophesy, through gatory on the whole human race." their unfulfilled predictions, and we are witnesses of the events which must betray their hypocrisy, or vindicate their prophetic character; whereas, the pagan oracles have been dumb for centuries, inasmuch as being confined to periods and events long past, we have no sufficient means to test their truth.

The following eloquent paragraph from Richards' Bampton Lectures, relates to the moral tendency of the heathen oracles and of the inspired prophecies:

In regard to the obscurity of the heathen oracles Dr. Dick says:

"It is probable, that if men had formed a previous idea of prophecy, they would have supposed that it would be distinct and particular, giving a clear description of events, and thus guarding against all misapplication, and against all danger of overlooking the fulfillment. This is the character of predictions written after the event, as we see in the pretended Sibylline "Happy had it been for the heathen world, if, upon oracles, which are often as plain as historical narrative. the subject of morality, their oracles had been invaria- But there is an obscurity in the prophecies of Scripbly silent. The few sentiments, which they did deliv- ture, referrible, however, to a different cause from that er, were not always grounded upon the severe princi- studied ambiguity to which the obscurity of the heathen ples of reason and truth: they varied with the fluctua-oracles was owing, for they were so framed as to admit tion of human opinions, and were even accommodated an application to the event, whatever it might be. to the prejudices, the passions, and the vices of their Such was the answer to Phyrrus, when he was going votaries. Nay, they frequently even commanded the to make war with the Romans: grossest violations of morality and decorum, and vailed, under the prostituted name of religion, the most flagitious and horrible abominations, which have ever been permitted to pollute the annals of the human race.

Aio te acida Romanos vincere posse:
Ibis redibis nunquam in bello peribis.

'I say, that thou, O son of Æacus, art able to conquer
the Romans: thou shalt go, thou shalt return, thou
shalt never perish in war.' Or, 'I say, that the Ro-

"The prophets of the true God were inspired by the purest principles. They actively and invariably exert-mans are able to conquer thee, O son of Eacus: thou

ed themselves in the cause of virtue. The system of morality, which they sanctioned, was pure, severe, and founded upon determinate and acknowledged principles. They tempered its severity, however, with the love of mercy and the gentle feelings of benevolence. With all the warmth of zeal, and energy of eloquence, they recommended the cause of the stranger, the widow, and the orphan. Neither the pomp of station nor the tyranny of power could shield the offender from their manly and indignant rebukes: and exhibiting a boldness, which, perhaps, is unparalleled in the whole history of mankind, and which could only be inspired by the confidence of truth and the certainty of Divine assistance, they even chastised a powerful monarch for the unlawful indulgence of his passions: and openly denounced the vengeance of the high Being, by whom they were inspired, against a formidable tyrant, who had murdered for the sake of plunder the poor possessor of a neighboring vineyard. The piety, which they required, was not the cold and inefficient duty of an external ritual; it was the religion of the heart, the control of the internal feelings of the soul, and an inward and ever-active persuasion of the existence and providence of an all-judging God. It earnestly excited gratitude for his favors, supplication for his forgiveness, and reliance on his protection. These moral and religious duties were not varied with the progress of civilization, nor made to bend to temporal occurrences, to the will of a favored monarch, or the caprices of

shalt go, thou shalt never return, thou shalt perish in war.' Of the same kind was the answer of the oracle to Croesus, when he was going to make war with the Persians, and which translated reads as follows: Croesus having passed the river Halys, shall overturn a great empire.' This was a safe prediction, because it would prove true whether his own kingdom or that of the Persians was subverted. The obscurity which attends the prophecies of Scripture has proceeded from the wisdom of God, who designed to give such notice of future events as should excite a general expectation of them, but not to make the information so perspicuous and minute as to induce men to attempt either to hasten or to impede their fulfillment. They are a part of his moral administration, and were adjusted, like all the other parts of it, to the moral nature of the persons who were to be the instruments of accomplishing his purposes. As the completion of the prophecy is left for the most part,' says Bishop Hurd, 'to the instrumentality of free agents, if the circumstances of the event were predicted with the utmost precision, either human liberty must be restrained, or human obstinacy might be tempted to form the absurd indeed, but criminal purpose of counteracting the prediction. On the contrary, by throwing some parts of the predicted event into shade, the moral faculties of the agent have their proper play, and the guilt of an intended opposition to the will of Heaven is avoided.' But the obscurity is not so great as to render it uncertain wheth

er they are prophecies or happy conjectures. It is dis- || odd or even, much sooner than what it is; and that pelled by the event; and when the prediction is turned such a thing will happen, than when. Therefore those into history, we perceive the exact correspondence. It who deliver oracles never define when. Cicero, likemay be observed that the degree of obscurity is not wise has the following remark: If this be foretold, equal in all predictions; and that some of them are who is the PERSON meant and what the TIME? The more minute and explicit than others, insomuch, that writer has conducted himself so dexterously, that any on account of their particularity, it has been affirmed, || event whatever will suit his prophecy, since there is that they must have been written after the events. No specification of men and times.' Horace also ridiThis was the charge of Porphyry against the prophe- cules with great humor the pompous nothingness of cies of Daniel." the heathen oracles in the following verses:

As these oracles, however, sometimes seemed mysteriously intelligent of future or concealed events, they have been ascribed to Satanic agency, as they doubtless should be, if they depended on any thing preternatural; for they are not of that moral tendency which renders them worthy of a divine origin. On this subject Dr. Dick says:

Lucian, in his history of Alexander, after relating in what manner that impostor pretended to answer the sealed questions delivered to him, without opening the seal, adds: Thus he delivered oracles, and gave divine responses, but with great prudence, and giving perplexed, doubtful, or obscure answers, according to the custom of oracles. Some he encouraged; others he dissuaded, replying as he thought proper. To some he prescribed plain remedies and diets, for he knew many useful medicines. But, with respect to the hopes, (of advancement,) the increase of property, and successions to inheritances, he always deferred giving an answer, adding, All things shall be done when I am willing, and when my prophet Alexander shall entreat me, and shall offer prayers in your behalf. It is to be observed that this impostor spoke in the name of the god Esculapius; and that he did not give his responses for nothing, his stated price being one drachma and two oboli (about 104d. sterling) for each answer.'"

'Although human foresight could not be the foundation of prophecy, it may be supposed that the knowledge necessary to it might be furnished, not by God, but by superior beings. If there are evil spirits who interfere in the affairs of mankind, and take pleasure in deceiving them, it will not be doubted that they far excel us in intellectual endowments, and may possess the means of extending their discoveries beyond our limited range. It is easy to conceive Satan,' as I have elsewhere observed, if his preternatural agency upon the mind be admitted, to have enabled the sub-|| jects of his inspiration to reveal secrets, because deeds committed in darkness and in the closet retirement are open to the inspection of a spirit. He could farther have made them acquainted with distant transactions, the immediate knowledge of which it was impossible to obtain by natural means. He might have given them some notices of futurity by informing them of In all points which go to confirm their claim to such things as he intended to do, or as were already in divine inspiration, the prophecies of Scripture prea train to be accomplished. He undoubtedly can con- sent a striking opposition to the pagan oracles. Those jecture with much greater sagacity than we, what predictions which are principally relied upon are unewill be the result in a variety of cases from the supe-quivocal, and their fulfillment has often been so exact, rior powers of his mind, his longer and more extensive that sceptics had no other alternative than to admit experience, and his more perfect acquaintance with their validity, or pronounce them historical records human nature in general, and the dispositions and cir- made up after the events transpired, and imposed on cumstances of individuals.' Thus far his knowledge mankind as predictions. Some of the leading prophmay go; but it is obviously inadequate to such predic-ecies of Scripture that have been remarkably fulfilled, tions as are found in the records of revelation. It are thus noticed by Dr. Dick: catches a glimpse of the outskirts of futurity, but cannot penetrate into its dark and distant recesses. 'A real prophecy, or the prediction of an event which shall be effected by causes not yet in existence, or which depends upon the free agency of men who shall live a hundred or a thousand years hence, we may safely pronounce him to be as incapable of delivering as the most short-sighted of mortals.'

"Moses clearly foretells the invasion and conquest of Judea. The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance.' 'He shall eat the fruit of thy cattle and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed.' In these words it is impossible not to see a description of the Romans; who were not neighbors to the Jews, as the Philistines, the Syrians, and the Egyptians were, but had estab

We said that the intelligent among the pagans speak respectfully of the Sibyls. This, however, is not uniformly the case. The following are examples to the||lished the seat of their government at a great distance contrary:

in Italy; who were distinguished by the extent and "Aristotle says, that 'pretended prophets express rapidity of their conquests; spoke a language totally themselves in general language. In a game at odd different from that of Judea; first reduced the country and even, a man may say, whether the number bell into the form of a province, and afterwards laid it waste

THE SIBYLS.

"Sicillian Muse, begin a loftier strain!

Tho' lowly shrubs, and trees that shade the plain
Delight not all; Sicillian Muse, prepare

To make the vocal woods deserve a consul's care.
The last great age, foretold by sacred rhymes,
Renews its finish'd course: Saturnian times
Roll round again; and mighty years, begun
From their first orb in radiant circles run.
The base degen'rate iron offspring ends;
A golden progeny from heaven descends.

*

*

*

103

in the reign of the Emperor Vespasian. In the second || and which, in the opinion of Mr. Pope, is the most place, Moses foretells the dreadful sufferings of the noble and spirited translation that has appeared in any Jews at the time of the conquest. He shall not re- language. In connection with it the reader may congard the persons of the old nor show favor to the sult the eleventh chapter of Isaiah. young.' He shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down; and thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.' Let Josephus, an eye-witness, prove how awfully this prediction was verified in the indiscriminate slaughter of men, women, and children, by their unpitying foes, and in the dreadful famine which the wretched inhabitants suffered during the siege of Jerusalem. He relates one instance, and there might be many, of a woman who ate the flesh of her own child; and he says 'that no other city ever suffered such things, as no generation from the beginning of the world so much abounded in wickedness.' In the third place, Moses foretells the dispersion of the nation: And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people from one end of the earth even unto the other.' We all know that the prediction has been fulfilled, and that the present state of the Jews exactly corresponds with it. They have no country, no province, no city which they can call their own, but for more than seventeen centuries have been strangers and wanderers, yet remain distinct.

"The fate of Babylon was foretold in the following words, And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces; and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.' The destruction of a city so extensive, containing magnificent buildings, and surrounded by lofty walls, could have been effected suddenly only by an earthquake. It was the work of time; but every particular has been fulfilled. For centuries the very place where it once stood the wonder of the world, was unknown." Many of the prophecies of the New Testament, as that concerning Jerusalem, have been fulfilled in a manner equally convincing; but we have not space to notice them.

We conclude by again referring to the "Pollio" of Virgil. Whether, as is generally supposed, it be in part a translation of some of the Sibylline verses, or whether the poet caught his inspiration from Isaiah, as some infer, the production, coming from a pagan pen, is much to be admired. As few of our fair readers are familiar with the original, and many of them doubtless have never seen a translation, we will insert Dryden's, which is probably the best in our language,

The lovely boy, with his auspicious face,
Shall Pollio's consulship and triumph grace:
Majestic months set out (with him) to their appointed race.
The father banish'd virtue shall restore:

And crimes shall threat the guilty world no more.
The son shall lead the life of gods, and be
By gods and heroes seen, and gods and heroes see.
The jarring nations he in peace shall bind.
And with paternal virtues rule mankind.
Unbidden earth shall wreathing ivy bring,
And fragrant herbs (the promises of spring,)
As her first off rings to her infant king.

*

*

*

His cradle shall with rising flow'rs be crown'd;
The serpent's brood shall die: the sacred ground
Shall weeds and pois'nous plants refuse to bear:
Each common bush shall Syrian roses wear.
But when heroic verse his youth shall raise,
And form it to hereditary praise,

Unlabor'd harvests shall the fields adorn,
And cluster'd grapes shall blush on every thorn;
The knotted oaks shall showers of honey weep;
And thro' the matted grass the liquid gold shall creep.'
Yet, of old fraud some footsteps shall remain:
The merchant still shall plow the deep for gain:
Great cities shall with walls be compass'd round;
And sharpen'd shares shall vex the fruitful ground:
Another Tiphys shall new seas explore;
Another Argo land the chiefs upon th' Iberian shore:
Another Helen other wars create,

And great Achilles urge the Trojan fate.
But, when to ripen'd manhood he shall grow,
The greedy sailor shall the seas forego:
No keel shall cut the waves for foreign ware;
For every soil shall every product bear.

The lab'ring hind his oxen shall disjoin;
No plough shall hurt the glebe, no pruning-hook the vine;
Nor wool shall in dissembled color shine;
But the luxurious father of the fold,
With native purple, and unborrow'd gold,
Beneath his pompous fleece shall proudly sweat;
And under Tyrian robes the lamb shall bleat.
The Fates, when they this happy web have spun,
Shall bless the sacred clue, and bid it smoothly run.
Mature in years, to ready honors move,

O, of celestial seed! O, foster-son of Jove!
See, lab'ring nature calls thee to sustain
The nodding frame of heav'n, and earth, and main!
See, to their base restor'd, earth, seas, and air:
And joyful ages, from behind, in crowding ranks appear.
To sing thy praise, would heav'n my breath prolong,
Infusing spirits worthy such a song,

Not Thracian Orpheus should transcend my lays,
Nor Linus crown'd with never fading bays;
Though each his heav'nly parent should inspire;
The Muse instruct the voice, and Phoebus tune the lyre
Should Pan contend in verse, and thou my theme,
Arcadian judges should their god condemn."

104

Original.

TRAVELING.

BY BISHOP MORRIS.

TRAVELING.

But all these objects soon lose their novelty, and with it much of their attractive charms, leaving the weary traveler possessed of few pleasures in comparison of his numerous discomforts.

Before commencing a long journey there are the expense, care, and toil of making preparation. Then comes the pain of parting with family and friends, it may be, to see them no more. Should the journey be prosperous and end in a safe return, still it will not be performed without corroding care and sleepless nights, on account of the home interest, especially if the absence be long, and the tourist unaccustomed to it. Females, particularly, are liable, under such circumstances, to become "home-sick;" and when this disease once gets firmly seated on the heart, it destroys all the pleasure of traveling, engrossing at once both thought and feeling.

YOUR Correspondent, a native of the United States, has never visited any foreign lands, and does not desire to do so, as he prefers "the land of the brave and the home of the free;" but he has some experience in traveling in our own beloved country. Of course he writes not for the entertainment of those who have feasted their eyes on the mountain scenery of Italy, surveyed the catacombs and pyramids of Egypt, braved the sirocco of Arabian deserts, or wandered amidst the sacred relics of the Holy Land; but with the hope of benefiting some who have not traveled at all. Americans are a migratory people; the facilities for traveling are increasing; distant points are apparently brought near together; much conversation on the part of those who have been abroad, renders them familiar to all, and a general spirit of passing to and fro is cultivated. Many who have never been distant from the place of their nativity, seem to think they lack but one thing to ren-time he is stung with cold, impeded by ice, or in peril der them happy, that is, to travel and see the world; from the sweeping current of the swollen stream. Again, and they long to be on the go. Some desire chiefly to as soon as he leaves the M’Adamized road, he will find behold the distant city with its domes and steeples; some|| himself alternately contending with rocky hills and to scale the lofty Alleghanies, those "majestic pyramids muddy vales, with a little sprinkling of Davy Crockof nature;" while others are impatient to explore the et's railroad, made by laying poles crosswise in the new countries of the far-famed west, strangely suppo- track to prevent the carriage from being entirely swampsing that the nearer they get toward where the sun goes ed. It is said that riding on these causeways, is good exdown, the more paradisiacal will be their situation. ercise for an invalid, especially one of conjested liver, but Now it is for the special benefit of those infected with it is certainly not a pleasant remedy. To these commonthis restless spirit of migration, that your correspondent || place evils, which discount so largely from the pleasures begs leave to submit a few thoughts. of travel, must be added exposure to inclement weather.

The inconveniences and difficulties of extended journies are not all imaginary. At one time the traveler is oppressed with heat, parched with feverish thirst, and nearly suffocated with clouds of dust; at another

strangers. But suppose him to escape this, still he is subject to a score of nameless perplexities which must be borne, because they cannot be avoided.

That the American traveler enjoys some pleasures It is extremely unpleasant to grope all night in darkwhich he cannot command at home, is readily admit-ness, exposed to a chilly atmosphere, and the more so ted. In mid-winter it is decidedly grateful to the sense if pelted by a continuous storm of rain, sleet or snow; of feeling, to inhale the balmy zephyrs of the south, for such wear and tear upon a passenger's constitution as they rustle through the boughs of the live oak affects his spirit, and suggests thoughts of a severe illand the broad green leaves of the magnolia, waftingness, where he would be at the mercy of uninterested soft notes of melody from nature's musicians—the feathered tribes of every hue. It is no less delightful in summer to be fanned by the refreshing breezes of the Green Mountain or White Mountain of the north. Moreover, it satisfies one's curiosity to gaze on the extended prairie of the west; for on entering it for the first time, the surprised traveler, like the inexperienced voyager, is ready to exclaim, "The sea, the sea, the open sea!" and when he reaches the middle of it, and passes some deep ravine, where the distant forest is concealed from view, he may carry out the figure by saying, "We are out of sight of land." It is equally pleasant to others to stand on the shores of our inland seas the lakes-whitened with sails of commerce and bordered with new and flourishing villages. To some it would appear at least novel, to be conveyed perfectly at their ease twenty miles an hour, by a railroad locomotive; while others would regard it as quite desirable to traverse our eastern cities, thronged with moving multitudes of every nation-wander among the shipping of the crowded port, and see "old ocean heave."

Among the trials of his patience are those which arise from delays and disappointed expectation of getting on his journey. A freshet may carry off the ferry or bridge, his only dependence for crossing some river, or he may be journeying where there is none to lose, and find himself at a dead halt till the flood subside. The coach may break down where it cannot be repaired, or the boat may get aground or break a shaft, and leave him on a bleak sand-bar, or desolate shore, to shift for himself. What is still worse, deception will be palmed on him, by interested and unprincipled men. Systematic imposition on strangers, is a regular part of the trade of many individuals and companies, whose business is to convey passengers in steamboats and stages. Your correspondent speaks here from woful experience, and may be indulged in giving one or two examples, commencing with a trip on the Ohio river.

According to the printed bills, the boat will leave

"this day, at 4 o'clock," and beside the bill, a positive || heard in the southwest, whose bill of fare and prices verbal promise is given by the proper officer of punc- was in this laconic style: "Corn-bread and hommony tuality. Deceived by fair speeches, smoking chimnies, doings, two bits; flour-bread and chicken doings, four and other appearances of preparation, you bring your bits." But not so, generally, at stage houses. Whatbaggage aboard, and in conformity to the rules of the ever the fare may be, the bill is always up to high water cabin, enter your name, with the full expectation of mark. But let that pass-we off again, and are making presently being under way. Toward dark they blow some headway. off steam and ring the bell, as if about to clear; but it proves to be only a manœuvre to ascertain whether a sufficient number of passengers can be obtained to make a profitable trip. They fail to appear, the fire is lowered, and you are informed they cannot get ready to leave till to-morrow morning, and if you really get off by to-morrow night, it will be well, unless they are forced out sooner by competition. Now this, to one pressed for time to accomplish the object of his jour-ing, after paying for the privilege of riding, to be conney, or on his return trip, attracted by the consideration of