as much attached to the world and under the power of sin and Satan as before, is no faith at all.-Hence we may learn,

(1.) It is as impious to deny the utility and necessity of good works as it is to ascribe merit to them. They are the way to the kingdom, as one said, though not the cause of reigning. The life is the index of the, heart. Leaves and blossoms will not evidence a christian, but fruit will. Hearers of the word, and not doers of it, only deceive themselves. Faith may be previous to good works, but cannot long exist without them. James i. 22.

(2) All works performed before faith, or while in a state of unbelief, are no better than dead works, and cannot be acceptable with God. Works do not give value to faith, but it is faith that makes works acceptable: it is the tree that makes the fruit good, and not the fruit that makes the tree good. Enoch was uniform and constant in his obedience, and walked with God; but it was by faith that he obtained this testimony that he pleased God. Let our affections be ever so warm and lively, and our con duct ever so consistent, yet both the one and the other must be influenced by faith as the vital principle of all true religion. Faith in the promises, in the sacrifice and righteousness of our Saviour, is that only which brings us near to God, and renders our persons and services acceptable. Let it be our care to preserve that connexion between faith and holiness which the scriptures teach, and not put that asunder which they have joined together, knowing that as works without faith are dead, so faith without works is dead also.' pp. 85-87.

The principal fault of the sermons is, the deficiency of application: the topics of application are judiciously and distinctly suggested, but are not extended into a copious and earnest address. This fault results from the plan of the discourses, which is to compress as much truth as possible into a very small space; admitting nothing superfluous, and suppressing that inclination to repeat, explain, and enforce, which the author, like every preacher who is desirous of giving effect to his labours undoubtedly indulged in the pulpit. As intended for family, and especially for village instruction, they will consequently be adopted with most advantage by those who can introduce a few sentences, in various parts perhaps, but chiefly at the end, by way of amplifying and enforcing the author's remarks. As subjects for private meditation, however, or materials for the assistance of preachers, for both which purposes they are admirably adapted, the fault we have imputed to them is of little moment. A short hymn, in most instances by the author of the sermons, is added to each.

The work is judiciously printed in a cheap form for the lower classes, as well as in a handsome size and type for respectable libraries.

Art. XVI. A poetical Picture of America; being Observations made, during a Residence of several Years, at Alexandria, and Norfolk, in Virginia; illustrative of the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants, and interspersed with Anecdotes arising from a general Intercourse with Society in that Country from 1799 to 1807. By a Lady. 12mo, pp. 177. Price 4s. Vernor, Hood, and Co. 1809.

are

IT is but justice to say, that this lady has given us both rhyme and reason; there is very little dulness in her book, and less nonsense; very few couplets occur that do not end consonantly, and very few sentences that may not be grammatically construed. The promises of its title page literally, though not abundantly, fulfilled. There is nothing very feminine in the tone of sentiment, nor lady-like in the manner of expression; but the picture is sketched with spirit, and there is much of nature in the lively colouring and accurate detail. We can easily fancy the sprightly widow amusing her party with just such a narrative in prose; and are by no means angry with her for addressing a larger circle, in this easy, homely, conversational sort of verse. She gives a tolerable sketch of the companions and events of both her voyages across the Atlantic, and a distinct idea of the domestic economy in Virginia, and of the provisions, the fruits, and various other matters peculiarly within the province of women. We shall select, as a sufficient specimen, her account of a funeral, on occasion of the death of a female in her family, whose wedding only a year before she also describes.

The house so late with flow'rets dress'd,
When flatt'ring love became the guest,
Now ev'ry part with white was hung,
O'er all the glasses linen flung;
With all the outward marks of woe,
On ev'ry box and chest they throw
Sheets, table-cloths whate'er is white,
To hide the furniture from sight.
In the best room, on table high,
The dead within their coffin liė,
Dress'd in the clothes they us'd to wear,
No woollen shroud is needful there.
Three days the longest time they save,
The mould'ring relics of the grave;
And during Sol's autumnal pow'rs,
The grave is clos'd in thirty hours.
No outward ornament appears,
No gilded plate the coffin bears;
The initials of the name put on,
The day on which they died upon,
With small brass nails, also the
year,
Is the remembrance usual there.
Two silken cords and tassels bound
Twice loosely o'er the coffin round;
If young and single were the dead,
White are the cords and tassels spread;

If lately married, black and white;
If aged, black they think is right.
A stand is near the coffin's head,
Cover'd with white, and on it spread
A pillow, and a prayer-book there,
Against their preacher should appear.
For there the sermon is prepar'd,
And in the house with rev'rence heard;
It is expected ev'ry friend
And every neighbour should attend,
A compliment that few neglect,
It being meant to show respect.
The sermon o'er, all done their part,
The corpse plac'd safely in the cart;
For its more like a cart than hearse,
Their mode of drawing it is worse;
One shabby horse, who scarce can crawl,
Conveys the dead, without a pall,
Quite open to the public eye,

Where the deceased is meant to lie.
Somhtimes they're in the church-yard laid,
Sometimes in their own garden's shade,
Just where the burial place remains,
Which their old ancestors contains;

And those who have no vault, must lay

In Potter's-field their senseless clay.'-pp. 117-121,

Our good-humoured traveller will not be offended, at our giving her the hint to correct, if opportunity should offer, one or two coarse expressions, such as the Lord knows where;' to omit some of her rubs at the parsons and methodists, because every lady should seem to have a regard for religion; and to make up her mind on a point which she seems to regard aɛ somewhat doubtful, when recording the death of Washington,

If sorrow is a proof of grief

Virginia gave it to her chief!'-p. 49.

Art. XVII. The Practical Mathematician, containing Logarithms, Geometry, Trigonometry, Mensuration, Algebra, Navigation, Spherics, and Natural Philosophy. Illustrated by copper-plate engravings. And, to render it peculiarly adapted to Schools, nearly 600 Practical Questions are included. By John Sabine. 12mo. pp. 358. Price 7s. Sherwood, Neely, and Jones. 1808.

THERE was a time, when the mere mechanical labour of writing a

book deterred many a literary character, whose works would have enlightened the age in which he lived, from commencing author: but our lot is cast in happier days. Since the discovery of those inestimable auxiliaries of intellectual exertion, a paste brush and a pair of scissors, the operations of authorship are much facilitated, and we are often called upon to admire the manual dexterity of one, who by this novel mode of cutting up a writer clothes himself in the shreds and patches he has procured, and thus passes himself on the world for a real author. In

former times, it was thought a formidable thing to appear before the public; and an author would, with trembling hands and throbbing breast, examine his manuscript again and again before he ventured to commit it to the press but, since the recent improvements in the manufacture, this race of beings has become more hardy, and dreads not to expose its productions to an ordeal severe as the fire of Moloch.

Now, our readers must not conclude that we mean to censure Mr. John Sabine, whose name adorns the title page of this book; nothing, we assure them, is farther from our intention. We took up the work with a determination to praise it, if possible; and many are the occasions, on which we have been more strongly tempted to change our views. There is manifested, on the part of Mr. Sabine, such a docility of spirit, such a candid readiness to yield to the opinions of others, such a pointed conviction of the folly of hanging by a rope of sand which almost constantly preserves him from "leaning on his own understanding," and such a determination to copy faithfully whatever falls in his way, (whether it be suited to the purpose, or not,) as are really very engaging, and would certainly have disarmed our anger, even if the book had fallen into our hands at a period much more unfortunate than the present.

Atkinson, (an author who wrote upon navigation in 1686), Martin Clare, Mr. Bonnycastle, and Dr. Hutton, are the writers who have furnished Mr. Sabine with the greater part of what his present book contains. We have not been able to ascertain precisely, whether, in copying from these, apen or a pair of scissors was the instrument employed by Mr. Sabin: but be this as it may, we must applaud him for-the general accuracy with which he has performed his operations. James Atkinson treats the subject of logarithms very superficially and inadequately; so does Mr. Sabine. Atkinson calls all the fundamental propositions in trigonometry, (propositions susceptible of, and requiring demonstration) axioms; so 66 a series are," talks of "remains,” does Mr Sabine. Dr Hutton says, "any how," when he means any when he means remainders, and says way; so does Mr Sabine. Dr. H. represents ratios by means of frac tions, (a mode of representation protested against by Mercator, Huyghens, and others, as unsatisfactory and leading to error); so does Mr. Sabine. Dr. H. speaks of “an infinite approach," a phrase to which we can attach no "air is a heavy body which meaning; so does Mr. Sabine. Dr. H. says, gravitates," (that is, a gravitating body which gravitates) so does Mr. Sabine. Dr. H. fails into an error in a solution of the problem relative to the pressure of earth against walls; Mr. Sabine carefully adopts it. Dr. H, in the demonstration of the proposition that "the angle formed by a tangent and chord is equal to half the arc of that chord" refers twice to definition 57, because det. 57, in his geometry, was the one which defined the measure of an angle therefore Mr. Sabine refers twice to def 57, although it happens that he has but 55-having omitted some in copying from Hutton, so that def. 39, is that to which he should have referred Thus, he proceeds, very carefully transcribing from authors all their little inadvertencies and blunders, and as judiciously abstaining from adopting those parts of their works which are truly honourable to their reputation, and really useful to What can be a more commendable trait in a man's character, than this rea 'iness to take to himself the blame of others' mistakes, while he nobly disdains to deck himself in their excellences?

science.

The effect of our author's occasional deviations, from his plan of uni form transcription or patchwork, is such, that we cannot sufficiently com mend his self-denial in not indulging himself in more frequent exeursions. Thus, in solving some of the examples, in Algebraic fractions, left un wrought by Mr Bonnycastle, he blunders in such a way as proves decidedly his claim to originality. And he takes especial care, under Progressions, to confound progression with proportion; and, when treating of Collision, to transfer from one part of Hutton's Course to another, for the sake of illustrating the coctrine of percussion, six examples, in not one of which can impact ever occur !

From all these circumstances combined, (and various others, indeed, which we should be inclined to specify, were we not afraid the public might suspect Mr. S. has fee'd us to applaud him) we cannot but assign to this author a high niche in the Temple of Fame. We earnestly ex-· hort him to perseverance: though, if it would not be thought too presumptuous, we would beg to recommend. that in future, unless Mr. S. can procure an Entick's or a Perry's Spelling Dictionary, he copfide the correction of the press to the printers. It is not every one who can make allowance, as we do, when a man of genius neglects such a trifle as orthography. An ill-natured critic would carp for a week at an author who puts scaline for scalene, monagan for nonagon, trapezuim for trape-. zium, malster for maltster, and so on.-The British public is much in want of a complete treatise on Fluxions, as well as one on Optics: and as these are topics which our author has not included in the compendium, Let him but proceed in the we beg to recommend them to his attention. tract in which he has so honourably commenced his operations, and no, like some men of quick parts, be seduced into other regions, and he must ultimately be successful: he will soon get beyond all our modern eminent mathematicians and philosophers, our Joyces, and Mavors, and Williamsons, and Florian-Jollys, and having reached the acmé of science, may illuminate the world with a production of which he may say with far greater truth than ever Ovid could,

Jamque opus exegi, quod nec Jovis ira, nec ignis, "Nec poterit ferrum, nec edax abolere vetustas. .

Art. XVIII. Poems, by Miss S. Evance, selected from her earliest Productions to those of the present Year, foolscap 8vo. pp. 131. price ōs. Longman and Co. 1809.

AS the latest productions of our fair author are not half so fine or so melancholy as her earliest, we think there is some hope of her. Her taste appears to have been sadly corrupted by the poetry of the Della Cruscan school; but we flatter ourselves she may now be reckoned among the converts to simplicity and nature. Her fancy, instead of being stimulated to the production of extravagance and absurdity, will gradually be reduced under good discipline; and her amiable sensibility, employed on the real sorrows and sufferings of others, will no longer be perverted into an instrument of needless torture to herself. Acute feeling is a talent which may as easily become a blessing as a curse; and those who possess it are chargeable both with folly and ingratitude, if they make it, either for themselves or others, a source of misery, instead of a means of happiness. While therefore we feel a little indignant at the murmurings and moanings

T