extempore, has the very same effect, particularly if the mind is in any degree confused. It is not to be supposed that the above topics are by any means exhausted in a solitary discourse, when any single one among them would furnish materials for a volume. On some few prominent characteristics, which scarcely admit of two opinions, the author fixes his attention, and that of his hearers, and infers from the whole, that Popery is the Antichristian system foretold in the sacred writings. In this discourse, the rea-gregation, as a written one; for in sonings are fair, and the conclusions are legitimate. ON FORMS OF PRAYER. SIR, It has happened that I have lately heard a great deal said against the use of forms of prayer. I have heard ministers, in their public discourses, pass the most unmerciful animadversions upon it; and, not satisfied with wielding the legitimate weapon of sober argument, they have availed themselves considerably of that dangerous, and not very honest one, ridicule. By many other religious persons, I have heard the practice condemned in the most unqualified manner; and mentioned with all imaginable contempt, as being utterly foolish and indefensible. The frequent recurrence of these violent censures has induced me to examine the subject rather closely; and the result is, I have found that weighty argaments may be advanced in favour of praying by the help of a form. 1. It may be proved, that it is quite possible to pray in this manner, with the utmost sincerity and devotion.Prayer is the offering up of our desires, gratitude, or penitential acknowledgments to God: the language which we employ, is but the outward expression of these emotions; and is quite a distinct thing from prayer. Now, if I have before me a form of prayer, which is exactly expressive of my devout feelings, whether of praise, supplication, or penitence, or all these together, why may I not adopt this language as the vehicle of my thoughts, since I can invent none more suitable? But it is objected, that the act of looking at the book, has a tendency to divert the attention and damp the ardour of devotion. This I acknowledge; but the act of seeking acceptable words for myself, when praying Again: we can join in the audible supplications of another person, with the utmost devotion: but the act of listening to him has a tendency to divide the attention, and impair the spirituality of our minds. In fact, the extempore prayer of the minister is as substantially a form to the con both cases, the words are chosen for them by another. There may, it is true, in the extemporary prayer, be an adaptation to present circumstances an advantage in which for mal prayers are sometimes deficient; but this is no very weighty consideration, for it is possible to obtain or compose forms of prayer sufficiently comprehensive and circumstantial for every necessary purpose. Where is the pious person, however averse to forms, who has not thousands of times joined in the devout aspirations of the Psalmist, and in the fervent breathings of many a sacred hymn? and has felt all the rapture and sublimity of devotion, although repeating the words of another person. Farther, Jesus Christ has himself given us a form of prayer. "O yes," says an objector, "but he only intended it to be a model.". I am not satisfied that this was his only intention. If praying by the help of a form be as great an evil as some think it is, might we not suppose that Christ, in his infinite wisdom, would have merely given us general directions concerning the duty, and have declined supplying us with any kind of model, lest it should unhappily be prostituted to the purposes of a form? or at least, we may suppose that he would have forbidden its being used as such. But our blessed Lord has not only furnished us with a form of prayer, without laying any interdiction upon it, but, if we are to credit St. Luke, he has actually enjoined its adoption. "But the use of forms of prayer," it is said, "insensibly leads to deadness, and mere mechanical worship." I answer, it does not necessarily lead to this. If I am in a devout frame, I shall not worship God mechanically, though I utter the language of another person. Multitudes who pray extempore, are mere formalists: it may, however, be conceded, that these characters exist in greater numbers | is usually presented to us, drawn from amongst those who employ a form. the beggar who reads, instead of utters, his requests. 2. It will not, I think, be difficult to prove, that in certain circumstances, the use of forms of prayer is indispensable, or at least highly advantageous. We must allow, that every person who is placed at the head of a family, ought to worship God in his family, by offering daily prayer and thanksgiving to the divine Author of all their mercies. But many persons are so oppressed with an unconquerable timidity, arising from constitutional diffidence, or nervous inability, augmented perhaps by an unhappy education, that they find it impossible to exercise in a public way. It is by no means my intention to assert, that the predominance of fear is a sufficient apology for every one who allows it to deter him from praying extempore; but I do think there are many, (though their comparative number may not be considerable,) who can never command sufficient courage and recollection, to perform this duty to their own edification: these must either live like heathens, or avail themselves of the assistance of a form. Let not the man of inflexible nerves, and stern resolution, who has been accustomed to public speaking for twenty years, rudely brand with pusillanimity, and dereliction of duty, the humble Christian, whose excessive modesty, and secluded habits, disqualify him for the duty. Though we grant, that there are few but might surmount their fears by repeated endeavours; yet, towards this few, let us exercise forbearance and charity, and admit them to be sincere Christians, notwithstanding their mode of worship differs in some degree from our own. Again, there are many upright Christians who have no talent for public prayer. I assert this on the evidence❘ of my own senses and experience; having repeatedly heard individuals attempt to pray, who appeared to be so unacquainted with language and forms of speech, as to be unable to speak coherently, or even intelligibly. But if these persons are at the heads of families, they must perform family worship: their only recourse, therefore, is a form. I think it is somewhere about this stage of the debate that the argument "If you were the most illiterate mendicant," says one, "and wanted to ask alms, would you find any difficulty in declaring your wants?" I answer, No, if I could declare my wants in half a dozen words; but if my petition consisted of a string of complaints and requests, which I could not recite in less than ten minutes,—if I had this recital to make to some distinguished personage, and in the presence of many standers-by,-I might then, perhaps, feel myself so deficient in confidence and self-possession, as gladly to avail myself of a written form, and, though "reading what I never wrote," I might very probably escape the imputation of folly. Even some of those who are accustomed to pray ex tempore, feel, on some occasions, their minds so confused, bewildered, and embarrassed,-experience such a paucity of ideas, and poverty of language,-as renders the duty a most painful and unprofitable task, both to themselves and others. Now, if, on such an occasion, capricious prejudice were set aside, and a form of prayer resorted to, might we not be better able to worship God without distraction? By this time, I imagine I hear some reader exclaim, "O, this writer is some churchified subject or other, who has been bred up in the trammels of episcopacy, and cannot believe that any thing is right, which is not recognized in the rites and ceremonies' of the church established by law." To this he would reply, that though for the venerable establishment he entertains no feelings but those of respect; yet, he must say, that he cannot be termed a churchman, unless the circumstance of his having been baptized by a clergyman constitute him such. He frequently exercises in public prayer, in his humble way, and always extempore; having never learned a form in his life, except the Lord's Prayer; and, notwithstanding the apology he has made for praying with a book, he believes it, in general, a far more excellent way to worship God without one. His object in writing, is to promote candour and liberality. He thinks, that to remonstrate with those who conscientiously perform their duty by the help of forms of ON THE SOUNDS OF LETTERS. MR. EDITOR. SIR, I take the liberty of submitting the following observations to your readers: aspirates are distinguished by a quick breathing, with very little vocal noise; the other by a slow breathing, and humming sound united. Take p, as an instance of the aspirated, and b, of the vocal consonants; both are produced by a stoppage of the breath against the lips, but the former requires a sharp puff, the latter a kind of vocal hum, to complete it. Let a series be formed of each class respectively, let a vowel sound be the common property of one series; the aspirate, or letter h, of the other; it may be easily seen, that his heard more or less in every gradation of the There is a property in the sound of latter, and a vowel or vocal sound acconsonants, which I do not remember companies the former; for instance, to have seen explained fully to my the a in saloon, pronounced exceedsatisfaction. Every consonant hasingly short. Let each series com either an aspirated, or a vocal, sound; each vocal has its corresponding_aspirated consonant, and vice versa. The From a, y, and w, and their combinations, flow all the vowels. The Hebrew, Greek 2, 4, and English c, q, x, j, and g soft, are to be found simple or compound, among the rest. Mh, nh, yh, and ngh, are sometimes pronounced by people who stutter. The Welsh ll, by some who have an impediment, for s. The guttural sound used by the common people of Newcastle-on-Tyne for r, is not easily represented in letters; it is to be heard among the keel-men, and the inhabitants of a street called Sandgate, in the greatest perfection. It is sounded low in the throat, and the best idea of its sound mence with gutturals, proceeding as they are pronounced, through the mouth to the lips, as follows: A SPIRATE. h, n, Greek smooth'. ngh, not used. yh, not used. X, P. k, ǝ, K. S'p, rh, French r in sombre, Somersetshire, r in red. lh, Welsh ll, French 7 in resemble. nh, not used. t, T. 0, 0, th in thin. sh. 8, σ. ・f, o, Welsh ff. v, in 'vios, wh, North of England. mh, not used. P, D, π. is given by placing it as the corresponding vocal to the Hebrew rough aspirate, n. The Gaelic gh, and Greek x, are respectively similar to Newcastle r, and Hebrew ; but I think it may be seen by a little attention, that the former are pronounced in the mouth or palate, the latter in the throat, the passage for the breath being in each instance nearly closed. A knowledge of the difference between a vocal and an aspirated consonant, with a table similar to the above, to which the compounds might be added, would, I think, be useful in teaching the sound of such as are not met with in our native tongue, a difficulty not often easily overcome. Should this paper meet with your approbation, I shall trouble you with a few more remarks, together with a series of symbols, whose shape will nearly point out the sound signified. It is with the greatest deference, that the above lucubrations are submitted to your readers; my gutturals have, I fear, set them yawning, if not growling: some apology is almost necessary for presuming to becloud your pages with my dulness; but the brightness of truth is often elicited by obscure means; and if I should only be the mere flint, which some masterhand may strike against his polished steel, to produce that spark, which his genius may breathe into an eradiating glow, it will be matter of no small thankfulness, that the Creator has given, at least, a useful dulness to Mr. Editor, yours, A JOURNEYMAN MECHANIC. Lambeth, March 24th, 1825. GLEANINGS. Cannibalism.-Among the tricks to which scepticism has resorted, to retard the propagation of Christianity, it has been asserted by its advocates, that the reports long circulated respecting cannibalism have little or no foundation in truth, and that those by whom the certainty of this abominable practice is supported, being interested in their declarations, are therefore unworthy of credit. The melancholy fact is, however, too well attested to be generally disbelieved, and we give the following in confirmation of what we advance. It has been stated by several eye-witnesses, that in the Isles of the South Sea, but more especially at New Zealand, human flesh is often eaten. Immediately after the late depredatory wars carried on by Shunghee against Enackey and others, human victims have been seen cut in two or more pieces, and each piece throwr into a fire prepared for the purpose, and forthwith eaten. Human heads have been seen roasting before a fire, with a design to preserve them as articles of barter with Europeans, while the remainder of the victim has been eaten by the savages. This has happened frequently, and been seen by many witnesses. In New Holland, men's arms and legs have been seen in the nets of the aborigines, among other articles of subsistence. In the Friendly Islands it has been known that the savages not unfrequently dash out and eat each other's brains. On a certain occasion, a savage came to one of the gentlemen mentioned below, in a state of considerable agitation, and on being asked the cause of his half-suppressed violence, replied, that having met with another savage, who had offended him, he had cleft his skull with his club, and left him dead on the spot. He added, "But the vex not all go away, I have eaten his brains." Those who doubt of these and similar facts, may refer to the following gentlemen for their several testimonies, viz. The Rev. Sam. Marsden, Principal Chaplain of New South Wales. Rev. S. Leigh, Sydney. Messrs. Williams, Hall, Kendall, Puckey, King, Shepherd, Remp, Turner, and White, now at New Zealand. The Rev. John Butler, No. 9, President-street, East Goswell-street Road, London. Mr. Sam. Butler of Sydney, and Mr. W. Laury, St. Austle, Cornwall. Many of these can say, "I have seen men eat men.' Banian Tree.-On the banks of the river Narbudda, in the province of Guzzerat, is a Banian tree, supposed, by some persons, to be the one described by Nearchus, and certainly not inferior to it. It is distinguished by the name of Cubbeer Burr, which was given it in honour of a famous saint. High floods have, at various times, swept away a considerable part of this extraordinary tree; but what still remains, is nearly two thousand feet in circumference, measured round the principal stems; the overhanging branches, not yet struck down, cover a much larger space; and under it grow a number of custard-apple and other fruit trees. The large trunks of this single tree amount to three hundred and fifty; and the smaller ones exceed three thousand; every one of these is constantly sending forth branches and hanging roots, to form other trunks, and become the parents of a future progeny. The Cubbeer Burr is famed throughout Hindostan, not only on account of its great extent, but also of its surpassing beauty. The Indian armies generally encamp around it; and at stated seasons, solemn Jatarras, or Hindoo festivals, to which thousands of votaries repair from every part of the Mogul empire, are there celebrated. It is said that seven thousand persons find ample room to repose under its shade. To prepare Quills.-The following method of preparing these useful articles is recommended:-"Suspend them in a copper, containing hot water, just to touch their nibs; then, closing the copper, so as to be steam-tight, leave the heat and moisture of the steam, by which the quills, for a considerable time, exposed to the fat they contain will be melted and drawn out; after this treatment has been continued about four hours, they will attain a considerable degree of softness and transparency. Next day, open the nibs, draw the pith, and having rubbed them with a soft and dry cloth, place them in a gently-heated oven, or at the side of a fire, for a while; and it will be found, on the following day, that, together with the firmness and hardness of horn or bone, they have acquired the transparency, though not the brittleness, of glass." German Method of Cooling and Purifying the Air in Summer.-In the hot days of summer, especially in houses exposed to the meridian sun, a capacious vessel filled with cold water is placed in the middle of a room; and a few green branches of lime, birch, or willow, are plunged with the lower ends into the fluid. By this easy expedient the apartment is, in a short time, rendered much cooler; the evaporation of the water producing this desirable effect in sultry weather, without any detriment to health. Besides, the exhalation of green plants, under the influence of the solar rays, greatly tends to purify the air; but they must not remain in the apartments after night-fall, | or in the shade. Increase of Height at Rising.-The cartilages between the vertebræ of the back-bone, twentyfour in number, yield considerably to the pressure of the body in an erect posture, and expand themselves during the repose of the night; hence a person is considerably taller at his rising in the morning than at night. The difference in some amounts to so much as one inch; and recruits who have passed muster for soldiers in the morning, have been rejected at night as below the standard. Candles from Hog's-lard.-Dr. O'Neil, of Comber, has discovered a process by which lard may be used, for making candles: he renders this substance superior to the Russia tallow, and not so expensive. The lard, after having undergone bis process, resembles white wax or spermaceti. Candles made of this prepared substance burn with a brilliancy superior to common candles, and, it is said, even to gas; they are free from any unpleasant smell, and do not feel greasy to the touch, nor give off any smoke; they burn much longer than candles of the same weight, and, by a slight alteration in the process, they can be rendered yellow, or of any other colour, or of a perfect whiteness, which neither, light, air, nor smoke, can alter. Mental Process for conceiving the Earth's Magnitude. It has been estimated, that the surface of the earth contains nearly 200,000,000 of square miles. Now, were a person to set out on a minute survey of the terraqueous globe, and to travel till he passed along every square mile on its surface, and to continue his route without intermission, at the rate of 30 miles every day, it would require 18,264 years before he could finish his tour, and complete the survey of this huge rotundity on which we tread :' so that had he commenced his excursion on the day in which Adam was created, and continued it to the present hour, he would not have accomplished one-third part of this vast tour.-Again: Were the earth a hollow sphere, surrounded merely with an external shell of earth and water 10 miles thick, its internal cavity would be sufficient to contain a quantity of materials one hundred and thirty-three times greater than the whole mass of continents, islands, and oceans, on its surface, and the foundations on which they are supported. Northern Expedition. The plan to be pursued by Captain Franklin and his party is as follows:-Proceeding along lakes Huron and Superior, they are to winter near the Great Bear Lakes. In the spring they are to proceed to Behring's straits, where a ship will be ready to transport them to India. The same vessel will then take in provisions for Captain Parry, and sail again for Behring's straits, where about that time he is expected to be met. For the land expedition, provisions will be laid in by the Hudson's Bay Company, in various depots on their route. They are also provided with portable water-proof canvass, which, if required, may easily be converted into a canoe. Population of the Globe. The number of inhabitants which people the earth at one time may be estimated to amount to at least eight hundred millions; of which 500 millions may be assigned to Asia; 80 millions to Africa; 70 millions to America; and 150 millions to Europe. With regard to their religion, they may be estimated as follows: Pagans, Roman Catholics, 490,000,000 130,000,000 100,000,000 43,000,000 Greeks and Armenians,. 30,000,000 From this estimate it appears, that there are more than four Pagans and Mahometans to one Christian, and only one Protestant to seventeen of all the other denominations. Bolivar and Joseph Lancaster.- Mr. Lancaster, lately residing in the Caraccas, has recently received an interesting letter from Bolivar, inviting him to his newly acquired dominions, to establish among the Colombians his celebrated system of education. He states, that the government has placed a million of dollars at his disposal, for the purposes of mental cultivation, and that be thinks this sum cannot be more advantageously expended, than in giving extension to the Lancastrian mode of instrac tion. Atmospheric Pressure. The pressure of the whole atmosphere upon the earth, is computed to be equivalent to that of a globe of lead 60 miles in diameter, or 5,000,000,000,000,000 tons; that is, the whole mass of air which surrounds the globe, compresses the earth with a force or power equal to that of five thousand millions of millions of tons. · Natural History.-A splendid collection of stuffed birds has been presented to the Ashmolean Museum, by the Honourable and Rev. Arthur Philip Percival, Fellow of All Souls' College. The specimens now collected in the Museum illustrate the grand divisions of the systematic arrangements of Linnæus, Cuvier, and Lamark-namely, the classes and orders of Animalia vertebrata; Mammalia; Aves; Chelonia; Pisces; et Insectæ; together with Conchylia. Pompeii.-The most recent excavations made at Pompeii have brought to light some of the most interesting objects which have yet been discovered. They consist of a house, which, from its paintings, has been named the Casa del Poeta Dramatica; a public bath complete; a marble statue, similar to those of Cicero; a large equestrian statue in bronze, supposed to be that of the Emperor Nero; and various other objects. Consecrated Ass.-A short time ago a fine ass was imported into Liverpool, from Alexandria in Egypt. The animal has since been purchased of the importer by the followers of the late Johanna Southcote, at Ashton-underLine, and it is said they regard it as an invaluable treasure, in consequence of its being a native of the East. They gave 125 guineas for the animal. Writing. The common writing of the Calmucks, as well as of some other Oriental nations, is read vertically-that is, in lines from the top to the bottom, which appears also to have been originally the case with most of the hieroglyphics of Egypt; but these were, in process of time, placed horizontally, in the manner now generally practised. New Comet.-Professor Harding, of Gottingen, on the 23d of August, discovered a new comet in the constellation Orion; appears without a tail, and is travelling to the south. |