right, and he had no doubt that he was right; after that, the suggestions of friends and the defiance of enemies had no more effect than the resistance of the elements to detain the steam-ship on her out-bound way. Had he been more enlarged in thought, and less a man of action, he could never have removed the mountains of power and prejudice which rose before him; the dark mountains on which the feet of earlier Reformers had so often stumbled and been lost. We cannot say, that, apart from the single subject to which he devoted his life, his views and opinions seem of the highest value. His conversation, as recorded, does not indicate an unusual grasp or profoundness of thought; and the truth evidently is, that his mind was so much engaged in active service, that he had neither time nor heart for those more contemplative efforts which enlarge the boundaries of thought, and lead to those intellectual disclosures which illuminate the path of duty. His activity of mind, however, was unceasing; and as he poured forth his writings in his mother tongue, instead of the classical language which was then generally employed by learned men, his quickening suggestions were thrown into the hearts and understandings of all his countrymen; thus preparing the way for one of the most stupendous movements which this world ever saw, and which, though it had been prayed for, foreseen, and earnestly anticipated by others, was carried forward to victory by him alone.

Most writers who have occasion to speak of Luther are apparently quite as much struck with his infirmities as with his virtues. But these infirmities did not lie deep in his character; they affected his manners, perhaps, but were not in his day considered as any subject of reproach. Erasmus, with whom he had so much sharp controversy, said of Luther, that "his morals were unanimously praised; and it was the highest testimony man' could have, that even his enemies could find in them nothing to censure." And when we find Luther wishing that he was "as eloquent and gifted as Erasmus," it does not seem as if their severity in disputation came from the fountains of the heart. Melancthon, the highest possible authority, said, that whoever had seen Luther often and familiarly must allow that he was a most excellent man, "gentle and agreeable in society, not in the least obstinate nor given to disputation. If he ever showed any great severity in combating the enemies of the true doctrine,

it was from no malignity of nature, but from ardor and enthusiasm for the truth." In these respects, he seems to have been very much like the English Johnson, who did not convey to those around him the same impression of stern roughness with which biographers have invested him, and who, with all his infirmities of temper and manner, will always, by his melancholy majesty, command the reverence of men. Like him, too, Luther was unbounded in his liberality to the poor, to whom he gave not only his money, but assistance of every description, particularly in maintaining their rights, when they were wantonly invaded. We find him declining favors offered by the Elector and other friends, saying, that, rather than accept so much kindness for himself, he would prefer to feel at liberty to apply to them in behalf of others. Under the afflictions of life, of which he suffered many, and, among others," the serpent's tooth" of having a thankless child, he maintained a grateful spirit, never insensible to what he enjoyed in his sorrow for that which was wanting. Besides the refining influence of these great and habitual virtues, he was no stranger to the graces of life. For musical taste and science he was eminent; in reading and writing poetry he greatly delighted; in all the elegant arts he was deeply interested, though he had not much leisure to give to them. It is clear that such a man could not be the halfsavage he is sometimes represented. So far from it, he stands among the foremost of the sons of light; but even the star, if it came down from its throne in heaven, would lose half its glory in the dust and darkness of the world below.

The writer of this work acknowledges that his sympathies are with the church of Rome rather than with the Reformers; if it be so, he has certainly shown most unusual impartiality. But he could not be expected to enter into the spirit of the times, nor, indeed, to comprehend the character of Luther in its relation to the wants of his age. But in the present day, when the great Reformer has so many burlesque imitators, so superfluous and excessive in their ambition to be like him that they are in danger of making the world forswear philanthropy and reform so long as it lives, it may be well to afford mankind a true account of his powers and virtues, which certainly shows, that, with some occasional roughness of speech and manner, he was consistent and, what is more, universal in his kindness of heart. Let those who would be

like him, then, avoid his failings, by recalling which they injure his memory. Let them imitate his manly courage and martyr-like self-devotion, never forgetting, that submission to the authority of conscience was the law of his life, and that his resistance to all authority which came in conflict with conscience was the great service which gave him glory in the sight of God and man. Surely, if he could maintain his genial kindness in times of violence and danger, it should not be hard to hold fast the crown of humanity in times when the Luther has only to suffer comfortably by his fireside, when the greatest cross he has to bear is the world's indifference, and when, though he longs for them as for hidden treasures, he cannot find the least prospect of a martyr's sentence and a bloody grave.

ART. VIII.A Practical Treatise on Ventilation. By MORRILL WYMAN. Boston James Munroe & Co. 1846. 12mo.

pp. 419.

CLOSED rooms and the heat of fires are essential to the comfort of the inhabitants of New England during about eight months in the year. The great cost and labor required for maintaining these fires have produced constant efforts to improve the apparatus and render the methods of warming more economical. The old fireplace, which formed the sittingroom of a large part of the family, in the days of our ancestors, was long ago abandoned for the improved forms introduced by Franklin and Rumford. These again have passed away, and new arrangements of stoves, grates, and furnaces have succeeded each other, during the last fifty years, with a' rapidity which, although it has often outrun improvement, has in the main greatly advanced the economy of warming houses, and given great comfort to all classes of people. Heat alone, however, is not all that is necessary to our comfort, or even health, in winter. Without a constant supply of pure air, consisting of those proportions of oxygen, nitrogen, and aqueous vapor which nature has combined in the common atmosphere, we can expect neither a healthful body

nor a vigorous mind. Now, it unfortunately happens, that a supply of this pure air, or the ventilation of rooms of every kind, is necessarily adverse to the most economical methods of heating them, and it is a matter of no small difficulty to combine an efficient ventilation with a moderate consumption of heat. Even in cases where mere expense has been disregarded, and the attention has been confined solely to producing a temperate and pure atmosphere, success has not always followed the efforts of those men whom of all others we should consider most competent to direct works of this kind. To show this it is sufficient to mention the failure of Sir H. Davy, in 1811, in his attempt to ventilate the House of Lords. But if the subjects of warming and ventilating be not yet so thoroughly understood as could be desired, we are certainly advancing in our knowledge of them, by a more complete investigation and publication of the laws and principles on which they are founded. Besides the treatise just published by Dr. Wyman, of which it is our purpose to give a more particular account in this article, we have had, heretofore, several very excellent works, particularly those by Mr. Tredgold and Dr. Reid.

The latter of these gentlemen has been rendered somewhat conspicuous by his labors in warming and ventilating the Houses of Parliament, and by the cry which has been opened upon him, in various forms, from the English press. Whatever may be said of his practical efforts, his book bears ample testimony to his very competent knowledge of the subject upon which he is engaged. But he is evidently an enthusiast, and, like most other enthusiasts, a man of a single idea. Ventilation is, with him, about all that is necessary in life. Food and clothing are insignificant, compared to it. The Lords and Commons are to meet in their new palace, not so much to make laws and govern the kingdom, as to enjoy the comfort of a perfect ventilation. Hence, all architectural design and arrangement are to be rendered subservient to this end. Carrying his notions to this ridiculous extent, we cannot wonder that he has failed to obtain credit with judicious men, who, however they may hereafter use his work when in search of facts, will not yield to his opinions the weight of an authority.

The work by Dr. Wyman is not less complete and full than that either of Tredgold or Reid; and in some points it

is much more so. It is very judiciously arranged. The plan which he has followed, according to the Preface, has been,"First, to describe the laws and properties of gases generally; especially the law of their diffusion, so important in its influence upon ventilation.

"Secondly, the chemical and physical properties of the atmosphere.

"Thirdly, the processes by which atmospheric air may become vitiated; particularly the processes of respiration and combustion, and the nature of the gases produced by them.

"Fourthly, the means by which impurities, whether chemical or mechanical, may be removed from atmospheric air.

"Fifthly, the principles of the movements induced in air by heat, especially those occurring in apartments and in chimneys. "Sixthly, the moving power best adapted to ventilation, and the quantity and qualities of the air which should be supplied.

"Lastly, the mechanical arrangements best adapted to effect the ventilation of the various structures to which they are applied." pp. vi., vii.

The first part of the volume, which contains an account of the physical and chemical properties of the atmosphere, as a necessary introduction to the more practical parts of the work, is very full and satisfactory, and shows Dr. Wyman's familiar acquaintance with the discoveries of modern science. But as we intend that the work shall speak for itself, we commence with the following extract of a curious computation, made by Dumas, showing the sufficiency of the supply of oxygen in the atmosphere.

"The air which surrounds us weighs as much as 581,000 cubes of copper, 3,273 feet by the side; its oxygen equals in weight 134,000 of these same cubes. Supposing the earth peopled with a thousand million men, and animals equivalent to three thousand million of men, they would not together consume in a century a weight of oxygen equivalent to sixteen of these cubes of copper, while the air contains 134,000 of them. It would require 10,000 years for this number of men to produce a sensible effect on the eudiometer of Volta, even supposing all vegetable life annihilated!” — p. 7.

Of the following facts and instances relating to combustion, some are new, and those which are not so will bear to be again examined.

"A pint of oil when burned produces a pint and a quarter of water; a pound of gas, more than two and a half pounds of water.