course, shift more slowly, and the plot advance more leisurely to its accomplishment. Hence, that small portion of our thread which remains unspun, appears to bear a less and less proportion to the space likely to be occupied by the transactions in which we are interested. Franklin, towards the close of life, complained repeatedly in my hearing, that time passed much more rapidly in his old age than when he was young. "The year" (he said)," is no sooner begun than it is ended;" adding with his usual good humour, "I am sometimes tempted to think they do not give us so good measure now as formerly." Whoever compares the latter part of this great man's history with his first outset, will not think this change in his estimate of time very wonderful.

"The feelings which Franklin experienced when an old man, in consequence of the accidental circumstances of his history, are the natural effects of the habits of thinking, which the philosopher loves to indulge. In consequence of these habits, he feels every day more and more as a citizen of the world; and, associating himself with the inhabitants of the most remote regions, takes a deeper interest in the universal drama of human affairs. And if, in consequence of this, his years should appear to pass over his head more swiftly, it must be remembered that, after a certain period of life, this ceases to be a misfortune. Franklin himself, while he affected to hold a different language, plainly considered the matter in this light; and, indeed, could not have given a stronger proof of the happiness of his old age, than by the complaints he made of the rapid flight of time. It is only when our prospects accord with our wishes, that we are liable to the influence of this illusion.'-pp. 267, 268.

This subject leads Mr. Stewart to discuss the difference between the sexes: and here he takes occasion to express his adoption of the opinion long since sanctioned by Plato, and maintained by the most enlightened and judicious philosophers, that, "there is no natural difference between the sexes, but in point of strength. When the entire sexes are compared together, the female is doubtless the inferior; but in individuals, the woman has often the advantage of the man*."

In this opinion, I have no doubt that Plato is in the right. The intellectual and moral differences between the sexes seem to me to be entirely the result of education; using that word in its most extensive sense, to comprehend not merely the instruction received from teachers, but the habits of mind imposed by situation, or by the physical organization of the animal frame.

'It must be remembered, too, that certain intellectual and moral habits are the natural and necessary consequences of that difference in point of strength which Plato allows to distinguish the Sexes. The form of the male is evidently much the better fitted for bodily exertion, and a less measure of exercise seems to be sufficient to preserve the female in health. Hence the sedentary habits early acquired by the other sex, and that comparative timidity which results from a want of familiarity with those external injuries to which the stronger sex is daily exposed. This timidity, it is to be observed, by no means implies an impatience under present

* Plato de Republica, I. v.

suffering; for the female, though less courageous than the male, is commonly more resigned and patient under severe affliction. The mental constitutions, in this respect, of the sexes, are happily adapted to the different provinces allotted to them in life; the male being the natural protector of the female in moments of danger and sudden alarm; the female destined to be his comfort and support in seasons of sorrow, and of protracted suffering.

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From the greater delicacy of their frame, and from the numerous ailments connected with their sexual temperament, combined with their constant familiarity with distresses which are not their own, the sympathy of women with the sufferings of others is much more lively, and their titude to administer relief, wherever it is possible, is much more eager than in the generality of men. To the truth of this remark, every day's experience bears witness; and from the testimony of travellers, it appears, that the observation extends to women in all the different stages of society.

In consequence of the greater nervous irritability of women, their muscular system seems to possess a greater degree of that mobility by which the principle of sympathetic imitation operates. Hence their proneness to hysteric affections, and to that species of religious enthusiasm which is propagated by contagion. Hence also their tendency to mimicry, and the niceness of their tact with respect to the more delicate features of character.'-pp. 319-322.

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To the different process of their education, and of their early habits, Mr. Stewart imputes the inferiority of the fair sex to the stronger, in a capacity for patient thought, and for all those suits which require systematic mental attention. From their infancy, the minds of females are peculiarly alive to sensible objects; they are, therefore, easily influenced by casual associations, and hence their acknowledged superiority in their powers of conversation, and in epistolary writing.

In the next, and concluding chapter of this volume, the author enters into a comparison between the faculties of man and those of the lower animals. After asserting, as incontrovertible maxims, that the operations of the former are guided by reason, and those of the latter by what we call instinct, he at the same time guards himself from the supposition that he would refer all the actions of man to the one principle, as all those of brutes to the other. The true line of distinction may be thus shortly stated—' the instincts of brutes are susceptible of important modifications, from the influence of external circumstances, and the accidental experience of the individual animal,' while, on the other hand, there are, in man, many natural propensities which seem to be perfectly analogous to instinct, in their laws, and in their origin.' These plain truths are incumbered with a mass of facts and theories, which, after all, leave the question in its original state.

How far the lower animals are governed by pure, or by mixed instinct, as it is called, is a point, we presume, that never will be ascertained. What, however, it is of some consequence to us to

know is this, that let the extraordinary acquisitions, made by the brute, be ever so great, they perish with the individual. He does not communicate them to his fellows, or to his progeny, and even in him they soon cease to appear, if not kept up by continued practice. Hence, no instance can be alleged, in which any one tribe of animals has improved its condition, since the earliest account given of them by natural historians.' Of the extraordinary accomplishments, if we may use the expression, evinced by particular animals, every day furnishes abundant instances. But we have not a tittle of evidence to shew, that these accomplishments extend themselves among the brute race, without the assistance of man, who alone can teach them.

In order to exhibit the superiority of the source whence man derives his capabilities of improvement, and as an answer to that cold system of philosophy, which teaches that all our knowledge is the result of our sensations, Mr. Stewart gives, in an appendix to this chapter, a detailed account of James Mitchell, a boy born deaf and blind, and consequently dumb. The story is a very melancholy one, as concerns the individual; but, in a philosophical point of view, it is highly interesting and instructive. The following compressed history of this unique case, as Mr. Stewart considers it to be, we extract from the report of a clergyman, resident in Mitchell's neighbourhood.

"The subject of this brief notice is the son of the Reverend Donald Mitchell, late Minister of Ardclach, a Highland parish, lying on the banks of the Findhorn. He was born 11th November, 1795, and is the sixth child of his parents, being the youngest except one. All his brothers and sisters (as well also his parents), are perfectly free from the deficiency of sight and hearing, which occurs in his case; and are healthy and wellformed. His mother, who is an intelligent and sensible lady, very early discovered his unfortunate situation: she noticed that he was blind, from his discovering no desire to turn his eyes to the light, or to any bright object; and afterwards (in his early infancy also), she ascertained his being deaf, from the circumstance that no noise, however loud, awakened him from sleep. As he grew up, he discovered a most extraordinary acuteness of the senses of touch and smell; being very soon able, by these, to distinguish strangers from the members of his own family; and any little article which was appropriated to himself, from what belonged to others. In his childhood, the most noticeable circumstance relating to him, was an eager desire to strike upon his fore-teeth anything he could get hold of; this he would do for hours; and seemed particularly gratified if it was a key, or any instrument that gave a sharp sound when struck against his teeth. This would seem to indicate that the auditory nerve was not altogether dormant.

In 1808, and again in 1810, his father carried him to London, where operations were performed upon his eyes by the most eminent practitioners, with very little, or rather with no (permanent) success; while an attempt that was made at the same time, to give him the sense of hearing, by piercing the tympanum, totally failed.

"Such is the brief history of this poor lad; it remains now to give some account of his appearance, behaviour, the feelings by which he seems to be actuated, the manner in which he conveys his desires, and the methods by which he is managed.

"1. His countenance, notwithstanding his unfortunate defects, does by no means indicate fatuity; nay, the lineaments of thought are very observable upon it. His features at times (in church, for instance, and during the time of family prayer), are perfectly composed and sedate; when sensible of the presence of a stranger, or of any object which awakens his curiosity, his face appears animated; and when offended or enraged, he has a very marked ferocity of look. He is (for his age) of an athletic form, and has altogether a robust appearance.

"2. He behaves himself in company with much more propriety than could be expected; a circumstance owing undoubtedly to the great care of his parents, and of his elder sister. He feeds himself. When a stranger arrives, his smell immediately and invariably informs him of the circumstance, and directs him to the place where the stranger is, whom he proceeds to survey by the sense of touch. In the remote situation where he resides, male visitors are most frequent; and, therefore, the first thing he generally does, is to examine whether or not the stranger wears boots; if he does wear them, he immediately quits the stranger, goes to the lobby, feels for, and accurately examines his whip; then proceeds to the stable, and handles his horse with great care, and with the utmost seeming attention. It has occasionally happened, that visitors have arrived in a carriage, and, on such occasions, he has never failed to go to the place where the carriage stood, examined the whole of it with much anxiety, and tried innumerable times the elasticity of the springs. In all this he is undoubtedly guided by the smell and touch only, without any assistance from sight; for, going to call lately for his mother, I passed him, near to the house, within a few feet, without his noticing me in the least; and offering him a glass of punch after dinner, he groped for it, as one in total darkness.

"3. The feeling by which he appears to be most powerfully actuated, (at least to a stranger), is curiosity, or an anxious desire to make himself acquainted with every thing that is new to him. He appears to feel affection to those of his family very strongly ;-discovered extreme sorrow on account of his father's death; laid himself upon the coffin, after his father's corpse was put into it, apparently in much grief; went frequently to his grave, and threw himself upon it, whilst he gently patted the turf, and bemoaned himself greatly. He is likewise capable of feeling mirth, and frequently laughs heartily. He is highly gratified by getting new clothes; and as tearing his clothes is the most usual expression of his anger, so the punishment he feels most is being obliged to wear them after he has torn them. He is subject to anger, upon being crossed in any of his desires, or when he finds any of his clothes, or articles with which he amuses himself, removed from the chest in which he keeps them.

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4. Respecting the manner in which he conveys his feelings and desires, I am much at a loss to give the information that might be expected. It is certain that those of his family know perfectly in what temper of mind he is, and what he wants to have; and these intimations he conveys to them in the presence of strangers, without these last being sensible of his doing so. When he is hungry, he approaches his mother or sisters,

touches them in an expressive manner, and points towards the apartment where the victuals are usually kept. If he wants dry stockings, he points to his legs; and in a similar way, intimates his wishes upon other occasions. A pair of shoes were lately brought to him, and on putting them on, he found them too small. His mother then took them, and put them into a small closet; soon after a thought seemed to strike him, and he contrived to obtain the key of the closet, opened the door, took the shoes, and put them upon the feet of a young lad who attends him, whom they suited exactly. This action of his implies considerable reflection, and shows that he must have made some accurate examinations, though unnoticed at the time. When he is sick and feverish, which sometimes happens, he points to his head, or takes his mother's hand and places it opposite to his heart, seemingly with an intention that she may observe its beating more quickly than usual. He never attempts to express his feelings by utterance, except when angry, when he bellows in a most uncouth manner. Satisfaction or complacency he expresses by patting the person or object which excites that feeling. His smell being wonderfully acute, he is frequently offended through that sense, when other persons near to him smell nothing unpleasant; he expresses his dissatisfaction on such occasions, by putting his hand to his nose, and retreating rapidly. His taste seems also to be exquisite, and he expresses much pleasure by laughing and smacking his lips, when any savoury victuals are laid before him.

5. His father, when alive, was at much pains in directing him, as his mother still is; but his elder sister seems to have a much greater ascendancy over him, and more power of managing him than any other person. Touching his head with her hand seems to be the principal method which she employs in signifying her wishes to him respecting his conduct; this she does with various degrees of force, and in different manners; and he seems readily to understand the intimation intended to be conveyed. In short, by gratifying him when he acts properly, and withholding from him the objects of his complacency when he has done amiss, he has been taught a sense of what is becoming in manners, and proper in conduct, much stronger than it could be otherwise believed, that any person, in his singularly unfortunate situation, could acquire."-vol. iii., pp. 418-423.

The latest communication, in the appendix, concerning this unfortunate person, is dated August, 1826. Added to the various papers, detailing his history, which are collected by Mr. Stewart, it demonstrates that, though Mitchell is still labouring under his original infirmities, his intellectual capacity has exhibited, with his advance in years, a gradual and striking improvement.

We have now introduced the reader to the leading topics discussed by Mr. Stewart, in this volume. We could have wished, that they had been treated within a more reasonable compass than a quarto, of nearly 600 pages, particularly as an octavo, of 300, would have been much better proportioned to the quantity of valuable matter here given to the world. We have confined ourselves chiefly to the practical principles disclosed in it, with a view rather to induce the reader to study the work for himself, than to bewilder him in controversies and comments, which would far exceed the space that we could bestow upon them.