66 which was truly admirable, I recurred to the Deluge, which possessed no attraction on account of its fine colours. "This picture," said Mr. West, "that so much engages your attention, is one of a series of scripture history, which I painted by desire of the King, and is, with all these you see four deep, the property of the King;" adding, "I never pleased myself better than in the execution of this picture. I had seen all the Deluges in Europe, done by painters of eminence, but none pleased me, as they all were descriptive of the beginning of the calamity, and only produced a consternation, such as a village on fire would. I therefore chose a point of time when the awful judg-| ment had taken place, and the waters were subsiding;" adding, "I did not intend to have parted with the sketch, but I yielded it to much solicitation." the great man, and express all thelati baneful passions raging in his breastars than any other individual in thabou group. I remember once, when the Delugebad was the subject of our conversationom Mr. West said, "I painted that pic H ture in Windsor Castle twenty yearsca ago; and as the King frequently visited me when at work, he was pleased to say, when it was in a state of forwardness, that he would bring the Queen to see it; which he did.The windows of the painting room commanded a most extensive pros pect, and the rain was falling in tor-4 rents, which augmented the awfulness of the picture so much, that the Queen was struck with a feeling that would not permit her staying to contemplate it; she apologized, and withdrew, T saying she would view it some future day." " I relate this, Mr. Editor, as a proof of the striking awfulness, and sublime grandeur, of the work. Such was the impression on her Majesty, Queen Charlotte, and not much less on myself; and if you will accept my description, it shall be transcribed and transmitted to you for publication, if you approve it—it is only fifty-two lines in blank verse. In short, Mr. Editor, I was so deeply impressed with the contemplation of this awful and sublime picture, and the conversation of the great artist thereon, that my little muse haunted me, till I wrote a description, not of the deluge, but of the picture, and it was honoured by Mr. West's warm approbation, who assured me, that as a short historical notice or description would be annexed to each of the scripture pieces, my lines should be ON attached to the Deluge, as, he was pleased to say, a better could not be given. I revised, and made a trifling alteration in the poem afterwards, by the advice of my friend Mr. Cumberland, who honoured me with his patronage, and permitted me to inscribe a small volume with his honoured name." Too early lost, tho' bless'd with length of days." I frequently saw the Healing the Sick in the Temple while it was in progress, and observed that the artist changed a beautiful child, presented by its mother, to a sick child: for this change, I felt some regret, as the first was admirable, and, as I thought, required a superior exertion of talent, to delineate; but I doubt not he had a good reason for so doing. Referring to the picture of "Christ Rejected," on which we had a long conversation, and which to me was very interesting, he said, the High Priest cost him more care, pains, and exertion, to preserve the character of THE ADVANTAGES WHICH MIGHT BE DERIVED FROM THE STUDY OF NATURE, FORMING A PRINCIPAL PART IN THE SYSTEM OF Polite edUCATION. The heavens declare the glory of God, WHETHER Our attention is attracted lines as soon as convenient to the writer. EDITOR. 7 lation of the sun, the moon, and the | from their parents, or instructors, not tars, imperceptibly elevates our houghts to that Deity, by whose viviying hand they were formed out of haos; and we require neither the comprehensive mind of a Newton or 4-Herschell, to convince us they were treated by Omnipotence. Alike incomprehensible to our finite capacities, is the blazing meteor, which excites apprehension in the minds of the superstitious; and the humble lower, that is born to blush unseen, in the environs of their cottages! Though the contemplation of the earth, its animals, vegetables, and minerals, is too much neglected in the system of education, what an extensive scope would such a study afford to the reasoning faculties! And even allowing, for a moment, that no instructive knowledge could be obtained from it, yet it must evidently tend to exalt our conceptions of the Omnipotent. When we reflect that the earth, that great magazine of wealth, which affords sustenance to man and animals, successively moves round that orb by which it is illuminated, without being in the slightest degree sensible of motion or movement, even the puerility of childhood may be made sensible of the wonder-working hand of Providence. "Let us make man in our own image," said the Creator, "and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth;" thus giving him a superiority over the animate and inanimate creation. Even the vegetable world offers, to the contemplative mind, a never-failing source of beauty, wonder, and devotion; and in the sublime language of scripture, we are informed, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of its modest lilies. With the abstruse sciences, of course,females can have only a partial connection; yet how many children, who have neither taste nor ear for music, are compelled to make a perfect drudgery of that accomplishment, taking the trouble of studying their natural propensities.-Geography, it must be allowed, now composes an essential part of polished education; yet it is of too circumscribed a description to extend to the reasoning faculties; and, instead of the pupils being taught to study the causes, which produced a distinction of character in the inhabitants of different countries, their attention is chiefly directed to some shining edifice. The proper study of mankind, is man;" and can any rational cause be assigned, why the same kind of study should not be equally beneficial to the female sex? for though their sphere of action is much more circumscribed, yet a knowledge of human nature must eventually prove instructive to females in general. Where children are taught every thing by lessons," observes Miss Hammilton, "where the perceptive powers are never exercised, and their conceptions never cultivated, all their judgments are received from authority," or, in other words, the child acquires no new ideas, but embraces those of its parent, or its governess. To impress the heart with virtuous principles, and to call the reasoning faculties into action, are, or certainly ought to be, the prime objects in education; but mere lessons, unexemplified by existing circumstances, will never obtain these desirable acquisitions. Where then, it may be asked, shall we find objects so completely calculated to call forth the reasoning faculties, and to inspire the youthful breast with the most refined sentiments of morality and religion, as in contemplating the works of nature, and tracing the hand of Omnipotence in all her productions? In contemplating a bold and extensive prospect, where every object which surrounds us proclaims the greatness of that Being by whom they were called into existence; Tor if the eye at once embraces all those picturesque beauties, which harmonize with our ideas of order and perfection;-do not our thoughts ascend, and intuitively seem to penetrate into those realms of immortal felicity, which are to become the habitation of the righteous? "Let the most stedfast unbe liever," says the enlightened author of the Guardian, "open his eyes, and take a survey of the sensible world, and then say, if there be not a connection, an adjustment, an exact and constant order, discoverable in all its parts?-Look into the animal system, the passions, senses, and locomotive powers; are not the like contrivance and propriety equally obser- | vable are they not fitted to certain ends? and are they not by nature admirably directed to their different objects and pursuits?" Merely to perceive, without reflecting upon the beauty and uniformity of nature, somewhat resembles the folly of a youthful artist, who gazes upon a picture drawn by the pencil of a proficient, who professes to admire, without taking the trouble of studying the exactitude of its proportions. Insensible must be the heart, which never experienced a sublimity of sentiment, when the luxuriant charms of nature were presented to the view; -yet there are characters in the world, who would be alike insensible to the bold scenes in Switzerland, and the picturesque prospect from the Vale of Arno. Nature, when either viewed from the most majestic mountain, or surveyed in the minuter eminence raised by the industrious ant, is equally an object worthy the attention of the ignorant and the enlightened; for the smallest insect that creeps or flies was formed by that Omnipotent Being, who created the great Leviathan and the ponderous elephant! Could a reflecting mind survey the order and utility of the smallest bodies which are created, and entertain a doubt of the immortality of the soul' Shall all animated nature be suffered to fulfil its designs and purposes, ye man be cut off in the very midst of his pursuits? "Shall creation be all order," observes Sir Richard Steele. “ and yet the spirits or souls of men be neglected, or managed by suel rules, as fall short even of finite understanding? Shall every other passion be rightly placed by nature, and shall that appetite of immortality natural to all mankind, be misplaced or frostrated? Shall the industrious application of the inferior animal powers in the meanest vocations, be answered by the ends we purpose? and shall not the generous efforts of a virtuous mind meet with a just reward? In a word, shall the corporeal world be all order and harmony, and the intelleetual,-discord and confusion?" To believe this possible, would be to doubt the evidence of our own conscience, and to discredit the most decided testimonies of revelation; it would be to doubt the assurance of Him, who is the fountain of all knowledge, and from whose lips flowed the language of truth and eloquence. "If Christ be not risen, then is our faith vain;" said that Apostle, whose conversion was one of most convineing proofs of the Godhead of our Redeemer; for this man, who was in the very act of persecuting the believers in Christianity, became one of its sincerest advocates, by the merciful interposition of our Saviour. He it was, who bore record of the soul's immortality, and who beheld the Son of God after he had risen from the dead. Not a sparrow falls to the ground, or a hair of the head becomes discoloured, without the knowledge and permission of the omniscient Parent of the Universe; and this we are assured of in that sacred volume, I have, however, rather deviated written by the pen of inspiration. from the subject of this paper; yet it "If God clothes the grass of the field, is scarcely possible to reflect upon the which to-day is, and to-morrow is beauty and order of creation, without cast into the oven, shall he not much finding the heart spontaneously directed more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" to nature's God! This direction is It is by studying nature, connected both to be wished, and hoped for, in with piety of principle, that the study those who are principally intended to will not only become interesting, but benefit by these remarks; for it is to beneficial; for surely nothing can more the young, the unenlightened, and the completely tend to elevate our feel-affluent, that I would peculiarly reings, than contemplating the Deity, in the order and perfection of his works. This study I am persuaded would of itself be sufficient to inspire unbelief with the conviction of a God. commend the study of nature. Let it not be supposed I wish the more abstruse parts of the study to occupy their attention; the most enlightened philosophy cannot satisfactorily ac count for the formation of a blade of grass; yet the range is wide which lies before them, and equally full of entertainment and instruction. The spacious firmament on high, Whether we behold the works of that Great Original in the creature formed after his own image, or whether we trace him in the minutest of all created things; when we reflect that the sands upon the sea shore, and the very hairs upon our head, are numbered, we can scarcely avoid exclaiming, How complicate-how wonderful is man! How passing wonder He, who made him such!" Whilst the sublimity of the study I am desirous of recommending expands the faculties, it tends, if I may be allowed the expression, to humanize the character; teaching the observer to know, that the prince and the peasant alike derive benefit from the bounteous hand of nature; and that the sun shines with equal lustre upon the lofty and the humble! That consciousness of superiority, arising from the pride of birth, and pomp of riches, which sycophantine dependants are too prone to excite and cherish in the youthful breast, by the adulatory expressions in which young persons are addressed, would, if the study of nature were accompanied by admonitory instruction, be considerably diminished in its effect. To the extreme pleasure, which the first youthful female in this country derived from this interesting study, even in the earlier stage of her existence, is in some measure to be ascribed that compassionating sympathy, which was so invariably displayed towards all her grandfather's suffering subjects; for in one of her morning excursions with the Countess of Elgin, after having stopped the carriage for the purpose of relieving an aged mendicant, she exclaimed, (as he walked away, animated by her munificence,) "You see, Ma'am, the sun does not shine warmer upon me, than upon that poor old man!" then with a sigh, which reflection had excited, she added, but what a difference in the future world was there between Dives and Lazarus !" No. 46.-VOL. IV. I do not mention this circumstance for the purpose of offering any adulatory ineense to the memory of our deceased Princess, but for the purpose of convincing those who are interested in the welfare of the rising generation, how much may be expected from the study I recommend. An innate principle of piety marked from the very moment her superior the actions of Her Royal Highness, understanding began to be unfolded; a piety, which, no doubt, was augof Salisbury and the departed Counmented by the precepts of the Bishop tess. Let it not be supposed I mean to infer, that the partiality the princess testified for the study of nature, was the means of calling into exercise the practice of various duties; yet, had she derived gratification from more frivolous accomplishments, I am inclined to believe a less admirable example of benevolence would have been set; for the very instance of the sun's shining with equal lustre upon the prince and the peasant, proved that the reflections excited by that study had produced a most desirable effect. REVIEW.-The Life of John Goodwin, No one who attaches importance to the question, Whether the salvation of all mankind, or or only a part of them, be possible? can look upon the subject litigated between the adherents of Calvin, and the followers of Arminius, with indifference. When persons whose names rank high for learning and religion, are seen to have enlisted themselves under the banners of their respective leaders, and the contest has been continued through a long succession of years, it is desirable to mark the progress of the controversy, and to ascertain whether the question at issue is any thing nearer decision, or whether it must always remain interminable; whether concessions on either side have been made, and to what extent; whether the resistance offered on the one part has been so far subdued by the other, as 3 X to constrain the opponents, if not to live in perfect harmony and good humour, at least to keep the peace. Whatever may be the secret discontents of those who shall be found to have been unable to maintain the ground they had assumed, society, generally, will not fail to cherish, with affection and gratitude, the memory of those who have successfully distinguished themselves in the vindication of those principles which inspire a kindlier spirit, and offer a more extensive participation of benefits, and to applaud the labours of those, who have contributed to perpetuate the memory of their names, and the value of their services. Without entering into a particular statement of the points at issue, it will be sufficient for the present occasion to observe, generally, the melioration of sentiment and expression of those, who, in the present day, profess to be the supporters of the doctrine of particular redemption, compared with those which were employed by the generalissimo of the Calvinian host. On the subject of a limited atonement, and of a sovereign reprobation, Calvin has thus expressed himself: "Unde factum est, tot gentes, una cum liberis eorum infantibus aternæ morti involveret lapsus ada absque remidio, nisi quia Deo ita visum est? Decretum quidem horribile, fateor: inficiare tamen nemo poterit, quin præsciverit Deus quem exitum habiturus esset homo, antequam ipsum conderet, et ideo præsciverit quia decreto suo sic ordinarat." Calv. Inst. lib. iii. cap. 23. i. e. "Whence is it, that the fall of Adam has involved so many nations, together with their infant children, in eternal death, without remedy, but that so it seemed good in the sight of God? A horrible decree, indeed, I confess: no one, however, can deny that God foreknew what event awaited man, before he made him, and that he therefore foreknew it, because he had thus ordained it by his own de cree." Every Christian reader will rejoice in the mitigated expressions, at least, with which the Calvinism of the present day is asserted, if those expressions do not even encourage the hope, that the period is not remote, when the horrible decree shall be abandoned as altogether untenable and unscriptural. In this opinion, we are glad to indulge upon the good faith of what is affirmed in a periodical publication of the present day, professedly Calvinistic. "We, and the body of persons called Calvinists, are not the advocates of a limited atonement, or of sovereign reprobation. No, we bold that the sacrifice of Christ possesses infinite worth, and, in regard of suffciency, is able to save a thousand worlds. We are satisfied that no human creature will suffer the condemnation of eternity, but on account of personal guilt, and that no decree of God interferes with the salvation of any sinner to whom the gospel is preached." London Christian Instructor, or Congregational Magazine, for October, 1822. For these important concessions, and the improved temper in which they are made, we cannot but revert with pleasure to the age which gave birth to John Goodwin, as having mainly contributed: a period not less remarkable for the political conflicts which shock the state, and involved it in a civil war, than for the predominance of the peculiar sentiments of Calvin, and the spirit of intolerance in matters of religion. For though John Goodwin was far from being solitary in his opposition to the dogmata of Calvinism, yet by the soundness of his learning, the acuteness of his genius, and the depth of his piety, joined to an unusual sweetness of temper, and felicity of expression, he soon became pre-eminent in the controversy. He was successful in carrying conviction to the minds of thousands, of the untenableness of Calvinistic predestination. The attention which was thus awakened to the doctrines he taught, soon brought upon him a bost of opponents, to whose attacks, many of which were of the most injurious and abusive nature, we are indebted for some of the most valuable treatises on the subjects of general redemption and religioas liberty, ever produced. Thus did he give a practical exposition of Samson's riddle-" Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." Nor was he called upon merely to write in vindication of what he taught, but on more occasions than one, he was challenged to public disputations. One of these was held in the church of Allhallows the Great, in Upper |