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more wondrous than this vast and magnificent erection were the contents of which, for the time, it was the depository. These specimens of the productions of a large portion of the nations of this babbling earth were seen, indicating the progress of each in those arts which tend to human refinement, comfort, and luxury; while, daily, immense throngs of human beings of various colours and climes, were beheld sweeping onward through its numerous compartments, surprised, bewildered, and yet intensely gratified; and reminding the looker-on of that great multitude which no man can number, who, redeemed out of every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue, stand before the throne of God and the Lamb.

That the Exhibition was promotive of nobler objects than the mere gratification of curiosity, will scarcely be questioned. It was there proved, to a demonstration, that taste and skill, so far from being monopolized by any country, are generally diffused among mankind; and thus a check was given to that spirit of national bigotry and exclusiveness, which is so often the accompaniment of ignorance, of the inhabitants and productions of other countries than our own. The display, too, of the multitudinous objects there collected in honourable rivalry, must have given a powerful impetus to the cultivators of the useful and ornamental arts; while the visitation of our shores, by the multitudes of foreigners, who were attracted by the novel and glorious spectacle, may reasonably be presumed to have done something towards the destruction of national animosities, and the diffusion of the spirit of universal brotherhood. Recent events have, it is true, unhappily shown that the dreams which some, yielding to the enthusiasm of the hour, then indulged of war, henceforth, being an impossibility among the nations of Europe, were fallacious; but this does not prove that the war spirit was not in some measure subordinated, and more peaceful dispositions engendered, in many minds, than those which previously prevailed. To myriads of our fellow-countrymen, the Exhibition was an attraction so powerful as to induce them to turn aside, for a season, from the labours and profits of their ordinary avocations, that they might with their own eyes inspect its wonders; and the period thus employed by them still lives in the recollection of many, as a time when they became conscious of an elevation of thought and feeling, to which they were formerly strangers. The entire period, from the opening to the close of the Crystal Palace, was an interval of peculiar and unusual interest to the nation generally; and we wonder not that, as the time appointed for the termination of the Exhibition approached, a strong desire took possession of the public mind that the Palace, instead of being broken up, and reckoned among the things that were, should be preserved, and in future years be made subservient to the enjoyment and improvement of the people. For various reasons, indeed, it was not deemed expedient by the authorities, that the structure should remain in Hyde Park; but the wishes of the public have been substantially, and in some respects, more than met, by the company of enterprising men who, having purchased the materials of the original erection, have employed them,

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with such additions as were requisite, in raising the still more splendid PEOPLE'S PALACE at Sydenham.

In this gorgeous fabric, and the adjacent grounds, are collected such a multitude of objects to gratify the eye, and call into exercise the powers of the mind, as are not to be found on any other spot on this terraqueous globe. Here the memorials of the past, and the realities of the present are blended together, constituting one vast and harmonious whole. The spectator, as he surveys one class of objects, is carried back to the ages anterior to man, during which the earth was preparing for his reception; as he looks on others, his mind travels, with the rapidity of lightning, to lands and scenes far away; and then as the images of others are imprinted on his visual organs, he returns to his own seagirt isle, and rejoices in the fact, that it is here a gracious Providence has fixed the bounds of his habitation. The People's Palace is a thing of which its originators may well be proud; and we cannot but hope that, in harmony with its designation, it will contribute to the instruction and happiness, not of a mere section, but of the masses of the community. "The schoolmaster is abroad!" is a statement which we often hear, and in which we delight to recognize a fact big with hope for our country and the world. The schoolmaster is abroad; and whether we see him embodied in human form, or appearing in the shape of a Crystal Palace, we hail his advent. Under proper regulations and management, we expect that the institution at Sydenham will rank high among the numerous educational influences brought into operation by the intellect and philanthropy of the age, for the mental illumination and social improvement of the people; and a pitiable circumstance truly will it be, if, through the mistaken views and proceedings of those intrusted with its direction, the good which it is calculated to accomplish, should be, to any extent, neutralized.

We confess, however, that in reference to this matter, we are not altogether void of apprehension. There are two questions, especially in relation to which we fear erroneous opinions are entertained by many at the head of affairs; viz. ; the consumption of intoxicating liquors on the premises, and the opening of the Palace to the public on the Lord's Day. In reference to the first of these questions, we regret to have to state, that action has already been taken by the Directors, which has resulted in the establishment of the liquor traffic in a building which should have been regarded as sacred to the cause of Intelligence and Virtue. In reply to a memorial on this subject, from the Executive Committee of the "United Kingdom Alliance,' the Directors are reported to have said, "That it is not the intention of the Directors to permit the sale of any spirituous liquors in the Crystal Palace or grounds. That it is intended to supply beer and wine under regulations for securing moderation and good order, application for permission to do so having been made by the Directors, and acceded to by Government, under a conviction that it is called for by public convenience, and calculated to promote the cause of order, decorum, and sobriety."

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This reply of the Directors appears to us replete with fallacies.

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We wish they had intimated what those regulations are which are to secure moderation and good order," in the consumption of those liquors, the tendency of which is to produce excess and disorder. It is well known that there are laws in existence intended to " secure moderation and good order" in the sale of intoxicating drinks in our ordinary public houses and beer shops,-with what results, facts patent to the world, testify. As a general rule, the vendor of an article will supply his customers as long as they continue to demand it, and can pay for it: and, we suspect, those who have the management of the wine-bottle and the beer-tap in the Crystal Palace, will not long be superior to those considerations which are found to influence men of business, generally. The assertion, that the sale of wine and beer is "calculated to promote the cause of order, decorum, and sobriety," is a strange one. In what respects have these beverages hitherto contributed to the public weal? Is it nọt a fact, that their use has, in numberless instances, resulted in drunkenness and its attendant abominations? Is it not a fact, admitted by the most competent and impartial judges, that, but for these and kindred liquors, our prisons and penitentiaries would be comparatively empty? And is it not also a fact that, with multitudes, what is called their moderate use, is almost invariably the precursor of excess? These things cannot be denied, and, under these circumstances, to expect that the sale of beer and wine in the People's Palace will promote "the cause of order, decorum, and sobriety," is as absurd as it would be to look for grapes from thorns, and figs from thistles. We trust that our friends of the Alliance, and the Christian public at large, will agitate this question, until the Government and the Directors are induced to reconsider their determination, and the People's Palace is no longer degraded into tap-shop.

The opening of the Palace and its grounds to the public on the Lord's Day, though not yet a fact accomplished, we fear, without strenuous exertion on the part of the friends of the Sabbath, will shortly be so. In certain quarters, there is a strong desire to rob the Sabbath of its peculiarities as a day sacred to rest and devotion, and to turn it into a day of recreation and pleasure. Such persons, we need scarcely say, are strenuous advocates of the cause we deprecate, and various are the considerations which they advance in support of their views. One of their favourite arguments has been, that if the Palace were open to the people on the Sabbath, it would draw them away from the public-house, and its temptations to crime; but this argument has been deprived of what little force it had, by the circumstance that the Palace itself is now a licensed drinkery. Besides this, we are afraid it will seldom be found that the frequenters of public-houses have such a love for the beautiful in Nature and Art, as is sufficient to induce them to abandon their favourite places of resort. That some advantages might result to some of the working classes, from the throwing open of the Palace on the Lord's Day, we are not disposed to deny ; but we feel convinced these would be more than counterbalanced by the evils it would originate. Such an event

would be another step towards destroying, in the public mind, that idea of the Sabbath's sacredness, which is the strongest guarantee for its observance; and, this once removed, there is every probability that the enjoyment of a Sabbath by the working man, would become only a question of convenience and expediency with his employer; so that, instead of being able to look forward with confidence and hope to a weekly rest, he would be in danger of becoming the victim of increasing toil. Multitudes, too, especially of the young, there is reason to believe, would be drawn away from those religious ordinances and associations, which now exercise a powerfully restraining influence over their minds, and would gradually lose all sense of religious obligation, until they became the dupes of infidelity or stolid spiritual indifference. It is said, indeed, that the working classes themselves demand the opening of the Palace on the Sabbath; but what right, we ask, have they to require that the numerous persons engaged in attending to its affairs, should be worked on the day of rest for their pleasure? In seeking this, they are placing themselves in the position of employers, and enacting a part which, in their own masters, they would condemn as the height of tyranny. If they wish their own rights to be preserved; let them respect the rights of their companions in toil.

Hitherto the Sabbath has been one of the greatest national blessings. It has shed its genial influence on all classes. If, however, we wish it to be perpetuated, we must guard against the threatened encroachment. That this evil may not overtake us, let us memorialize Her Majesty's Government, and our Houses of Legislature; but, above all, let us invoke the interposition of that Being, who can turn the hearts of men 66 as the streams of the south."

W. REED.

AFRICAN DISCOVERY.

Perhaps, nothing has more eminently distinguished modern times, than the progress of geographical discovery. A new world has been discovered on the other side of the Atlantic-an ocean, which, by the ancients, was regarded as an impassable waste of waters. Beyond the Cape, and on the far side of the great Pacific, we have discovered regions, more extensive than the empire of Augustus, which abound in golden treasures, beyond the most extravagant dreams of Avarice. But while discovery has thus been going on with rapid strides, in regions, where isles and continents were hardly supposed to exist, little, exceedingly little, has been done to extend our acquaintance, with a quarter of the globe, which is famed as having become in the infancy of mankind, one of the most early seats of civilization; the very cradle of the arts, the sciences, and the literature of the ancient world. True, Egypt has been known as the land of the Pyramids from time immemorial, and the Barbary States, have a history reaching back to the period, when Carthage and Rome disputed in mortal combat, on the waters of the Mediterranean, for the empire

of the world. True, European enterprise has discovered and peopled Southern Africa, even to the blood-stained frontiers of Caffraria. True, the genius of commerce has found out the shores of Western Africa, while commercial cupidity has polluted them with the footsteps of the man-stealer, and converted them into the scene of unheard of atrocities, on the part of rival chiefs, who, impelled more by the passion for gain, than by the love of power, carry on war in the interest of the slave trade, with savage fierceness. Parke and the Landers' have done something to extend our acquaintance with the countries that lie on the banks of the Niger, just as Bruce had contributed to our knowledge of the lands through which the Nile pursues its majestic course. But after all, the interior of this vast continent, may be pronounced a terra incognita, at least to civilized nations. We know, next to nothing, of the lands and climes of Central Africa; we know nothing of the manners and customs of the people, by whom those unknown lands are occupied. From time to time, however, individuals arise, who, impelled by philanthropic feelings, or by love of enterprise, devote themselves to the cause of discovery in these remote regions. Indeed, we are not without hope, that the interior of Africa will be, as well known ere long to the geographer, as the interior of America now is. And sure we are, that in proportion, as those regions become better known to the civilized world, and the channels of honest commerce are opened out, it will become increasingly difficult, and ultimately impossible, to carry on the nefarious trade in human beings.

The following sketch, communicated by an esteemed correspondent, the Rev. T. A. Bayley, gives an interesting account of a perilous adventure, by an individual devoted to the cause of African discovery, in one of its most sultry and uncultivated districts.

AN ADVENTURE IN THE SAHARA.

July 14th, 1850. We are at length fairly in the land of demons, as the country of the Ghât Tuaricks is called by themselves. All around, the mountains take castellated forms, and high over all, rises the Kasar Janoon Palace, or Citadal of the Ginn: a huge square mass of rock, said to be a day in circuit, and bristling with turret pinnacles, some of which must be seven hundred feet in height. Nothing but its magnitude can convince the eye, at a distance, that it is not a work raised by human hands, and shattered by time or warfare. Its vast disrupted walls tower giganticly over the plain. Here, as in another Pandemonium, the spirits of the deserts collect from places distant thousands of miles, for the purpose of debate and prayer. It is a mosque as well as a hall of council, and a treasury to boot, for imaginable treasures are buried in its caverns. Poor people love to forge wealthy neighbours for themselves, no Tuarick will venture to explore these Titanic dwellings, for according to old compact, the tribes of all these parts have agreed to abstain from impertinent curiosity, on condition of receiving advice and assistance from the spirit-inhabitants of their country. In my former visit, I nearly lost my life in an attempt to explore it, and was supposed to have been misled by mocking spirits: little did I think that this superstition was about to receive another confirmation.

July 15th.

I rose early, and marched about three hours and a half to

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