The consciousness of sin will press
The weight upon the soul,
And thronging terrors will distress,
And clouds around will roll.

But better far this gloomy way

Than paths of glittering show, Where latent snares in bright array Beset us as we go;

And better far to lean on God

Within a desert land,
Supported by his staff and rod,
And guided by his hand;

Than, dazzled by fair fortune's light,
To miss the heaven-born ray,
And wander on in mental night
Amidst the blaze of day.

The Miscellaneous Poems and Album Offerings are not without the same merit, unaffected and simple in language, and versified with ease and grace.

Remarks on Baptismal Regeneration. By Rev. H. Hughes, of Trin. Coll. Oxon.

On this disputed subject, Mr. Hughes adopts the side and reasons under the authority of our Church. His book is temperately and judiciously written, and very ably and cleverly argued, and he has guarded his opinion with necessary and nice cautions; the chain of reasoning, however, is so connected, that it would occupy much more room than we can spare to analyse and abridge it; besides, the book is small in compass, and deserves to be carefully perused. "On the ground," he says, of " Baptismal Regeneration, let no one suppose that his regeneration by the Spirit in his infancy through the baptismal rite, relieves him in the slightest degree from the obligation either to true and real repentance for sin, or to faith in Christ, both as an atoning sacrifice and the continual dispenser of a renewing spirit, to cleanse and sanctify his heart. Let us remember to whom we are regenerate; that it is to a pure and holy Being, under whose banner we are enlisted, and to whom, as to our head, our utmost obedience is due; to whom indeed we are by our new birth united, to walk as he walks, and obey as he obeyed. Thus, holding fast the profession of our faith, and looking to Christ, as to him by whom and through whom we become sons of God, we shall go on from strength to strength, till that day, when, freed from the corruptions of the flesh, we shall be invested with the full and glorious privileges of our birth, an eternal and indissoluble union with his Father and our Father, in the heaven of heavens, the mansion of God himself."

A New Interpretation of a Portion of the Third Chapter of Genesis, viewed in connexion with other parts of the Bible: including an Inquiry into the Introduction, Nature, and Extent of Satanic Influence in the World.-This author believes that when God imparts the living soul to man, he commits a pre-existent spirit to an existence in the flesh, in which it becomes Seunconscious of all previous scenes. condly, that Satan and his fallen angels (his seed) are actually upon earth in a human form; that there are two distinct races or sects-the children of God, and the children of men: and that the Gospel is a touchstone to discover the children of God from the children of the world. The conclusion to which he arrives is, "that if the interpretations concerning the spiritual difference between certain seeds upon earth, are allowed to be wellfounded, then the Calvinistic doctrine of partial redemption may be the true one. At the same time, we can never doubt of the mercy of God to those, whether nations or individuals, who have been merely deceived." The personal and earthly dominion of Satan, to whom the world had been delivered, and the two distinct races of people upon earth, form the leading points of our author's argument; and thus a new signification is given to the doctrines of Calvinism, of a class of people precluded from the mercy of God: and that God approves and disapproves of people before they are born (p. 66); approves of the promised seed of Jacob, and disapproves of the seed of Esau, against whom the Lord had indignation for ever. This work is certainly written with great ingenuity of deduction, and the manner in which the argument is conducted presents it with considerable force; but as it mainly rests upon the interpretation of figurative language, no general reconciliation of opinions on the subject is likely to be the result. Many incidental observations and collateral arguments are worthy of attention.

Reasons for abolishing Impressment, by Lieut. Standish Haly.-Mr. Haly has clearly shewn the evils of impressment, and pointed out the means by which it may be safely abolished. We have no doubt but that an ample provision for the wants of the sailor in age, together with the great competition for labour, which must act on all the lower classes of society, will ere long produce the desired results.

A Plea for Ireland, &c. by Thomas Bish, Esq. M. P. for Leominster.-Mr. Bish proposes 'that the Courts and Par

liament shall be held at occasional intervals in Dublin;' and abstractedly from all other consideration, there can be no doubt but that such a proposition, if carried into effect, would be for the advantage of that country; but in the present busy and complicated state of affairs at home, pressing on our statesmen and government in all directions, we question whether it would be possible for them to move the state-machine so far from the metropolis, and for such a length of time, without embarrassment and an escape of a large amount.

Essay on the relation of the Theory of Morals to Insanity, by T. Mayo, M. D. -The object of this very ingenious and sensible publication, is to prove that there is a moral, as well as intellectual insanity, and that the latter has been exclusively attended to, by which great mistakes and mischief have been produced, and that the decisions of juries and the opinions of judges have been inconsistent, and at variance with each other.

We are warranted in assuming that the absence of the moral sense constitutes a form of unsoundness, analogous to that intellectual unsoundness which is commonly understood when the term insanity is used; and accordingly, that we may talk of a moral and of an intellectual insanity as contradistinguished species.' This general position is illustrated by cases; but we think the case of Mr. A. the man morally insane, could possibly justify no legal measures being taken to dispossess him of the freedom of his person or will; granted that he was insane; so is every man whose passions are violent, ungovernable, and disproportionate to the exciting causes. 'If (says the author) he had sufficient courage, he would rob or murder' but he did not; consequently society had no complaint against him for violated laws. He had squandered much of his property, and he was supposed to be meditating an unjust will. Agreeing, as we do, with Dr. Mayo, that this wickedness is madness, we cannot see how it is to be repressed in the way which he proposes. There was a time when these passions were in their infancy-when this will, now rigid and determinate, was flexible and soft-and the moral sense, however weak and faint, capable of expansion and improvement: probably this persons's education was imperfect; the examples around him also tending to foster his evil disposition. A case like this society may lament, but surely it cannot interfere with, without danger of introducing greater evils than the permission of this GENT. MAG. VOL. II.

life of folly and mischief. Besides, is it not the case, that the two species of insanity are seldom found quite separate from each other? A long continued indulgence of fierce and fiery passions, leads at length to a confirmed malevolence of heart; and this hoarded and cherished wickedness, ever brooding over its loath-some schemes of revenge and hatred, is sure at last to impair the soundness and strength of the intellect, as it changes even the features of the countenance; and seems to destroy the health both of body and of mind. We wish we had room to enlarge more on this interesting subject, but we most earnestly recommend to the medical and philosophical reader the able pamphlet that has called our attention to it.

vier.

fith.

The Animal Kingdom, by Baron CuTranslated by Edward GrifFish. Part XLI.-Another admirable part of Cuvier's most learned work, with a very interesting introduction; the work itself, of course, would bear none but a long and learned analysis. We find that Cuvier infers that the ancients were acquainted with about 150 species of fish, nearly all that were edible in the Mediterranean. reminds us to ask of our learned readers, from what the Latin name of the sturgeon, acipenser,' is derived. Is it Gothic, or Persian, and how formed?

This

A Sermon preached at Selleck, co. Hereford, by Robert Armitage, B. A.This discourse is directed against the sin of drunkenness, which seems very prevalent among Mr. Armitage's parishioners, and which, indeed, in an alarming degree, is spreading its pollution most banefully and fearfully over the lower orders: we did not know before, that even that grateful and refreshing beverage of the cider countries, was abused for the purpose of brutal intoxication. If a powerful and awakening discourse, urged with affectionate earnestness from a conscientious and zealous pastor, can help to correct this abominable and fatal evil, destructive of every virtue, and all usefulness, Mr. Armitage's is well cal3 G

culated to effect the purpose. As a corollary to it, we mention a fact which has lately come to our knowledge, that at a celebrated gin-shop in the eastern quarter of the metropolis, three or four young women preside at different counters, each of whom on an average takes fifty pounds a day in halfpence!! We should say, from some knowledge and observation, that the lower orders in our metropolis were never in such a state of demoralization as in the present day; which is principally to be attributed to habitual and terrific habits of intoxication.

The Origin and Progress of Astronomy, by John Harrien, F.R.S.-The object of this work is to indicate the probable origin, and to trace the progress of Astronomical Science. The author first notices the principal phenomena of the heavens; next, the manner in which the ancients endeavoured to explain the constitution of the universe, and account for the movement of the celestial bodies. The works of the early Greek astronomers; the discoveries of Hipparchus; the improvements of Ptolemy; the systems of the Arabians, the Hindoos, and the Chinese, are reviewed. The works of Kepler and Tycho Brahe are explained. The theory of Newton receives its due attention; and lastly, the latest discoveries in the heavens are all registered.

A Descriptive Catalogue of Books in the Library of JOHN HOLMES, F.S.A. with Notices of Authors and Printers, Vol. IV. 1834. [Not published.]-In our Magazine for December 1832, p. 532, we noticed the 2d and 3d volumes of Mr. Holmes's valuable Catalogue; and we there expressed a wish that an index should be added to the three volumes, and also to have a portrait of the respected collector. Both these hints have been taken up by Mr. Holmes in this volume; to which is prefixed a striking likeness of our worthy friend, executed in lithography from a drawing by Mr. Love, of Norwich. After 150 pages, descriptive of additional articles, Mr. Holmes has favoured his friends with a general index to the first three volumes, and a separate index to the fourth volume.

This volume, like the former ones, contains much bibliographical information; and the biographies of authors, both ancient and modern, if they do not contain many original particulars, tend much to enliven the catalogue, which is one of the most amusing melanges of the kind we have ever noticed. We heartily wish Mr. Holmes may live long, to add to his collection, and to receive presents from

his numerous friends, which we observe are always recorded in his Catalogue.

A History of British Fishes, by William Yarrell, F.L.S.-The present age teems with works on natural history, but few of them are original. One person copies from another, aud thus errors are perpetuated, and but few new facts are recorded. In making this remark, we are aware that no one work on any branch of natural history can be perfect. Almost every day produces some new discovery, and so infinite and various are the objects which nature presents to us, that this probably will continue to be the case till the end of time. What we want,

therefore, are the practical remarks of out-door naturalists; of those who are willing to submit their observations to the public, as Mr. White of Selborne did, with an earnest desire to add to the stock of general information. His motto might have been " Dies diem docet," and it is one which a naturalist should never lose sight of. Those who take their lessons in the fields, have an endless opportunity of studying the genuine charms of nature, and they will learn more by doing so, than any information they can

derive from books.

There is, however, one branch of natural history which many are precluded from entering upon, and we consequently know less of it than any other. We mean the habits and general history of fish. The very element they inhabit presents an obstacle to observation, and the result is, that we had no work on British fishes which could at all be depended on. This desideratum has now been supplied by Mr. Yarrell, and the task could not have been undertaken by one more competent for it. History and patient observations are enriched by a science of no ordinary kind, and he only submits his work to the public when his facts and classifications have been matured by time, and received the approbation of men of science in this and other countries. We have little hesitation, therefore, in saying that the work before us is, perhaps, the most perfect of its kind which has been yet published. It is written in a style at once clear and satisfactory, and the illustrations are quite equal, if not superior, to those of Bewick's birds and quadrupeds. Indeed, we hardly thought it possible that fish could be so perfectly represented by engravings on wood, and we refer to the print of the perch as a proof of this. The vignettes also are equally well executed, and we are much mistaken if they will not excite general admiration.

We will now proceed to give one or

two extracts from the work itself, not only for the purpose of shewing Mr. Yar rell's style as a writer, but as instances of his research, and of the information he affords:

"The air-bladder does not occur in all fishes; some fishes, and those principally that live near the bottom of the water, are without any. Among those species that have an air-bladder, many appear, on the closest examination, to have no canal or tube by which the air, with which the bladder is more or less distended, can escape. Muscles for compressing the air-bladder, are obvious in some species, and wanting in others, yet the air-bladder apparently performs the same service in all. The air found in these bladders, however variable in its nature, is believed to be secreted by the inner lining membrane, and in some instances by a red body, which appears to form part of the walls of the air-bladder itself, and is made use of in minute bloodvessels arranged between the membranes. The structure of the conger-eel will amply repay the trouble of examination."

In addition to these interesting facts, Mr. Yarrell tells us that "those fish that live near the bottom of the water, have a low standard of respiration, a high degree of muscular irritability, and less necessity for oxygen. They sustain life long after they are taken out of the water, and their flesh remains good for several days. The carp, the tench, the various flat fish, and the eel, are seen gasping and writhing on the stalls of the fishmongers for hours in succession; but no one sees any symptom of motion in the mackerel, the salmon, the trout, or the herring, unless present at the capture.'

We cannot take our leave of Mr. Yarrell's work, without recommending it again to the attention of the public, which we do with the greatest confidence. We may say, in the words of "father Walton," when addressing an " honest angler,"

"most readers may receive so much pleasure or profit by it, as may make it worthy of the time of their perusal, if they be not too busy men."

Whoever, in short, is in possession of Bewick's Birds and Quadrupeds, should have Mr. Yarrell's work on British Fishes to place beside them.

Ten Sermons preached in the Parish Church of Tavistock. By the Rev. Whittington H. Landon, M.A.-These Sermons are evidently composed by a manwe should guess a young man of vigorous powers of mind, but somewhat unpractised pen; nevertheless they display so much activity and originality of thought,

that we are convinced Mr. Landon only requires pains and study to raise him to a very high rank among modern theological writers. We can assure him that, were he to give himself a twelvemonths' hard schooling in the Mathematics, and as much attentive study of the pure but highly rhetorical style of Rose, or Robert Hall, we know of no one among the rising generation of divines who might effect more for the cause of religion and the Church. There is a readiness in seizing on the strong and prominent points of an argument, a peculiar skill in the application of Scripture, and a strength of feeling which, whatever blemishes we may be able to discover by perusal, must have rendered these sermons peculiarly forcible in delivery. A highly powerful but somewhat extravagant pulpit rhetorician, we apprehend, is responsible for no small portion of Mr. Landon's faults, so contagious is manner in compositions; for we observe a constant recurrence of pet expressions, and a certain ambling cadence in many sentences; which, however they may pass comparatively unnoticed in the rapid continuity and unsubdued fearless singularity of Mr. Melville's style, will by no means amalgamate with the abrupt transitions of Mr. Landon's. We most earnestly, however, recommend this volume to the perusal of all who can appreciate acuteness of intellect, and strength of feeling, and to the author its careful revisal. To the last sermon we would call the particular attention of our readers as the most correct in style, and certainly not the least remarkable for deep thought.

Existence of the Soul after Death, &c. by R. C.-We have now several dissertations on this subject, in which much ingenuity and learning have been displayed; but we consider the argument in favour of the non-suspension of the faculties of the mind and spirit, to outweigh that which advocates their sleep, or temporary oblivion. This is the side also adopted and well supported by the present author: but the great mystery still remains, and must remain unexplained,-How the soul or spirit of man can exercise its energies, without the medium of the body and intervention of the senses. The various arguments on either side of this question, are collected in Archbishop Whateley's Sermons from a Country Pastor, but it is hardly clear to which side the learned author inclines.

Essay on the habitual Love to God considered as a Preparation for Heaven. By Joseph John Gurney.-This little work is highly to be recommended, both for the

soundness of its reasoning and the warmth of its piety. It comes fresh and pure from the deep sources of an enlightened mind, and an affectionate and devotional heart. The author has long been honourably known both for his active exertions in the cause of forlorn humanity, and for his admirable Treatise on the Evidences of the Christian Religion; and there is such a truly evangelical spirit breathing through this his last work before us, as cannot fail to find in many hearts a congenial soil where its seed will not be dropt in vain.

The Autobiography of Jack Ketch. Published by E. Churton.-As apothecaries and chemists form neutral salts of alkalis and acids, so we may presume Mr. Churton intends to neutralize the effect of one of his publications by the spirit of another; and thus he gives us at once the Biography of Jack Ketch, and the Biblical Annual; Illustrations of the Bible, and the Memoirs of Madame Junot; but this is not a safe or salutary plan: the mischief which may be wrought on the feelings, sensibilities, and virtues of a young mind, by the impure and vicious representations of the one, we are not at all sure will be effaced by the piety of the other. Let Mr. Churton abstain

for the future from such biographies as the one we now allude to; it is nothing but a revolting and hideous picture of vice, crime, and misery.

Mr. MURRAY's new Edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson will be comprised in eight volumes, to be published monthly. The first volume of this acceptable edition of every-body's favourite Biographer, is embellished with a whole-length portrait of Dr. Johnson, a view of his birth-place at Lichfield, and a copy of the print of the Company at Tunbridge Wells in 1748. The present editors have, we think, improved on the arrangement in Mr. Croker's edition. Their plan is, to give as foot notes to Boswell's text whatever appeared to bear directly on the subjects therein discussed, or on facts of Johnson's life omitted by Boswell; reserving for the seventh and eighth volumes the conversational fragments of various biographers. The original text of Boswell will therefore appear pure and unbroken. We shall watch the progress of this work with much interest, and revert to it again at a future period.

Mr. Murray has also announced a Series of Illustrations-Portrait, Landscape, and Autographical-of the various Memoirs of Dr. Johnson.

Delineations, Graphical and Descriptive, of Fountains Abbey. By J. and H. S. STORER. 4to. 18 plates.-Though Fountains Abbey has been a favourite subject with artists, and must continue so, -for the combinations which may be formed from its beautiful and extensive ruins are inexhaustible,—yet no separate work has hitherto been dedicated to the task of giving a complete series of its several portions. We should do injustice to the Messrs. Storer, if we did not mention that the present views are characterized by a careful attention to the architecture, as well as to picturesque effect; though this remark is unnecessary to those who are acquainted with their former meritorious works. The engravings are executed in the bold and firm style of the old school; the description is a sensible and judicious compilation from the best published authorities, among whom it will be remembered is the able topographer, Dr. Whitaker, in his History of Craven. The work deserves a place by the side of Britton's Cathedrals, and Ferrey's Christchurch.

The Castles of the English and Scottish Border; from original drawings by T. M. RICHARDSON; with descriptive and historic illustrations. Imperial Quarto. Parts I. II.-Mr. Richardson is an artist of Newcastle, and his views are very effectively executed by his own hand, in aquatint. There are also some very tasteful etchings, as vignettes. The interest of the subject speaks for itself: it is one which well deserves to have a volume, and that a handsome one like the present, devoted to its immediate illustration.

Wanderings through North Wales, by THOMAS ROSCOE, Esq. with engravings, by W. Radclyffe, from drawings by Cattermole, Cox, and Creswick. Part I. 8vo. The best account we could give of this work would be to describe it as a Landscape Annual, only it is to be published in sixteen Monthly portions, Mr. Radclyffe's burin has, in this number, displayed to the best advantage a beautiful landscape of the Vale of Llangollen, taken from Sir W. W. Wynn's terrace; the cascade of Caunant Mawr; and a clever