..... of Pope, speaks of the poet thus:"That he was not scrupulously pious in some parts of his life, is known by many idle and indecent applications of sentences taken from the Scriptures; a mode of merriment which a a good man dreads for its profaneness, and a witty man disdains for its easiness and vulgarity.” (Lives of Poets, vol. 4, p. 93. Edin. 1815.) And Dr. Dick, in his admirable treatise on the inspiration of the New Testament, referring, as I suppose, to Dr. Johnson's remarks, observes, "Such witticisms, it hath been well said, a man of taste will despise for their vulgarity, and a good man will abhor for their profaneness." (See Sec. 4. for other excellent remarks on the same subject.) in itself does not thereby lose any of its enormity; and I cannot prevail with myself to believe, that it was originally introduced by Christians, but, rather, has been by them borrowed from unbelievers, and the avowed enemies to religion; and that nothing but its gradual advances could bide its real odiousness, and create an indifference to a practice so shocking and irreverent. ON MR. WEST'S PICTURES. By S. HUGHES. recollect the awe and astonishment it inspired. I will shew it you," he replied, with his usual politeness; and led me into the ante-room, where it stood beside the Death of Wolfe, of which I shall first speak. AT the time my late friend, Mr. West, was gratuitously exhibiting his Death of Nelson, for many weeks at his own house, I, after viewing it with great 4. The practice wounds the minds of satisfaction, was informed by himself many. This may be inferred from the that it was the work of less than five citations introduced into the last par- | months. I then inquired for the Deticular. Consider also the situation luge, a picture, of which I had seen of young converts. Consider, too, the the finished sketch at the exhibition nature, craft, and vigilance, of the several years before, and which had old serpent; and you will soon disco- made so deep an impression on my ver the interest he must feel in lessen-mind and memory, that to this hour I ing the value and importance of the Bible, and in representing those who trifle with its contents as insincere, and religion itself a farce; and thus he may shake their faith, and by degrees influence them to slight the word, and at length to treat it as a cunningly devised fable. But we appeal to facts; and the hearts of numbers, now established with, or fallen from grace, will testify their abhorrence of the practice in question, when they first embraced the truth. Whatever tends to weaken or destroy the design of God in the gift of his holy word, must give pain to seriously disposed persons, whose minds are alive to the injury produced; and nothing can exonerate those Christians from blame, whose minds are not wounded, except inconsideration, which may, and does arise in most instances, from local causes, such, for instance, as early impressions and education. To conclude: Until I am convinced that it is possible to entertain too high a reverence for the word of God, I shall not easily be persuaded that the above remarks are too severe; for, though I am ever so willing to allow that many trifle with and profane the sacred Scriptures for want of thought, yet I must maintain, that the practice "This picture," said Mr. W. "is the property of Lord Grosvenor, and the original. I painted five; the King has the second, and the third is my own, and in the next room by the side of Nelson. I was a young painter (continued he) when I executed this; the date (pointing to it) is 1766." I remarked I had seen a picture on the same subject about three years before that date, with very few figures in it. He replied, “Yes, that was painted by Penny, and is a plain matter-offact history; but I deemed it insufficient to convey to posterity the death of so great a man. I therefore proposed to several of the first artists, an epic delineation of that event, as worthy their pencil; but not finding any one inclined to undertake it, I resolved to attempt it myself."-And if I recollect right, he then added, "it was in the first exhibition at Somerset House." Mr. West must have been then in the thirtieth year of his age, as he was born in 1738. After pointing out the vivid beauty of the colours, mellowed by time, 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 judgment 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." 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 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." the great man, and express all the baneful passions raging in his breast, than any other individual in that group. I remember once, when the Deluge was the subject of our conversation, Mr. West said, "I painted that picture in Windsor Castle twenty years 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 prospect, and the rain was falling in torrents, 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, 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. ON 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, And the firmament sheweth his handy work." WHETHER Our attention is attracted by a survey of that beautiful canopy which is suspended over us,—whether our thoughts are directed to the contemplation of ourselves,-whether we reflect upon the harmony which prevails throughout all animated nature, 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-or, whether we observe the exquiwas 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 site beauty discernible in the form and variety of numberless hidden gems,-yet all conspire to prove the greatness, the goodness, and the mercy, of that Supreme_Being, by whom we were created. The contem plation of the sun, the moon, and the | from their parents, or instructors, not stars, imperceptibly elevates our thoughts to that Deity, by whose vivifying hand they were formed out of chaos; and we require neither the comprehensive mind of a Newton or a Herschell, to convince us they were created by Omnipotence. Alike incomprehensible to our finite capacities, is the blazing meteor, which excites apprehension in the minds of the superstitious; and the humble flower, 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;-or 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 66 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 observable? 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, yet 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 such 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 frustrated? 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 intellectual,-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 convincing 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 incense 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 the actions of Her Royal Highness, from the very moment ber superior 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, A. M. comprising an Account of the Controversies in which he was engaged in Defence of Religious Liberty, and of General Redemption. By Thomas Jackson. In 1 vol. 8vo. pp. 459. With a fine Portrait. London: 1822. 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 |