Roman Catholics. I have been in habits | of social intercourse with many of them for these fifty years, and I may say, in habits of friendship with several, particularly with some Roman Catholic priests; and I fearlessly assert, that I never heard, or saw, or knew of any thing to justify the imputations cast upon them by S. Tucker; and I consider myself a stanch Protestant, and always have been so.

It has often been the curse of this nation to "fear where no fear was ;" and a "no Popery" terrific mania is at this time an epidemic of the land; the same disorder that seized fifty thousand of the rabble, in St. George's-fields, some forty-eight years ago.

The zealous patriot may, and will say, Hang those who talk of fear, it frights the isle from her propriety." What, in the name of common sense, have the Protestants of England to fear from the Roman Catholics; in possession, as they are, of all that the church and state can give, and with so large a proportion of the population on their side? And as for Ireland, we may let it alone, for any good either done for the people, or intended them. They were never any thing, from the acts of England, but hewers of wood and drawers of water; and such they will remain, even should they obtain Catholic emancipation.

There is little doubt, that Catholic emancipation will take place ere long, or something much worse; and in the writings and harangues against it, I have never been able to discover any thing founded upon sound reason, or the principles of Christianity. If these opponents did not betray the hallucinations of ill-informed minds, they betrayed the timidity of conscious injustice, and a complete departure from that truly Christian maxim, of doing to others as they would wish others to do to them.

I have no doubt that many sincere Christians have indulged a prejudice against the Roman Catholic faith, without any culpable expressions of it; but the rancour, misrepresentations, and ridiculous pronouncing of what its professors are now, from what their ancestors were in former days, is as uncandid, as it is in direct opposition to the principles of Christianity. It is a national disgrace, and must appear contemptible in the eyes of those states and kingdoms where Roman Catholics and Protestants live together in unity and brotherly affection.

I have lived for some years in a community quite as enlightened and as religious as any part of England; and where, I am satisfied, that any reflections upon the religion of others would be deemed, not only

indecorous, but culpable, and even impious; as being an improper interference betwixt a man's conscience and his God. Persuasion, they say, is certainly allowable; but nothing of railing or reproach, much less of calumny, can be tolerated. We should "speak the truth in love," but not in hate; and a letter such as that of S. Tucker, would there subject the writer to exclusion from respectable society, and, most certainly, to the being despised, and by none more so than those of his own religious tenets. THOMAS BAKEWELL.

Spring Vale, Sept. 8th, 1828.

ANECDOTES OF MR. BARRY, THE PAINTER.

In

THE professor Barry was better known for having painted those immense pictures in the great room of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, than for any superiority of talent displayed in the performances. He came over from Ireland full of that enthusiasm and self-approbation, which dis tinguish all the natives of that island. London he failed of obtaining the patronage he had fondly anticipated, and took up his abode in the house of a tailor in Whitchcome-street, who supported him with board and lodging during the whole time that he was painting the pictures to which I have alluded, and the debt in this case contracted was never afterwards paid.

Barry sold his pictures to the society in the Adelphi, for an annuity during his life of thirty pounds, and removed to a small dirty house in Castle-street, where he continued in dust and filth to the time of his death, not allowing any one to come near him for the purposes of cleanliness. He was a learned man, as far as concerned his profession, and it was on this account that he was made professor of painting in the royal academy; but in his lectures he attacked the president and other members, whose works he thought defective, while he held up his own as models of perfection.

Barry was of a most sordid and mean disposition, so that he would often declare, no man ought to spend more than fourpence a day; yet his spirit was such, that when invited, out of respect to his learning in the arts, to dine with the marquis of Stafford, or any other nobleman, he always put a half-crown under his plate when he had done eating, to pay for his dinner.

But he was as indiscriminately morose as he was penurious. The late duke of Norfolk, president of that institution which had purchased Barry's large pictures, called upon him one morning. Barry opened the door himself, which sent down clou

965

INSTINCT OF A SHEEP.

A GENTLEMAN of Inverness, on a recent journey in the Highlands, while passing through a lonely and unfrequented district, observed a sheep hurrying towards the road before him, as if to intercept his progress, and at the same time bleating most piteously. On approaching nearer, the animal redoubled its cries, and looking significantly in the face of the traveller, seemed to implore some favour or assistance at his hands. Touched with a sight so unusual, the gentleman alighted, and, leaving his gig, followed the sheep to a field in the direction whence it came. There, in a solitary cairn, at a considerable distance from the road, the sheep halted, and our traveller found a lamb, completely wedged in between two large stones of the cairn, and struggling feebly with its legs uppermost. The gentleman instantly extricated the little sufferer, and placed it safely on the neighbouring greensward, while its overjoyed mother poured forth her thanks in a long-continued and grateful, if not a musical, strain. INVERNESS COURIER.

LEAVES FROM A POCKET BOOK.

"Lovest thou Me?"

BEFORE a field can be sown, there must be the seed and the sower. The Bible Society is the store from whence any quantity of the good seed may be obtained-Missionary Societies furnish the sowers-the field is the world. But what use is the seed while it remains locked up in the barnwhat use are the sowers, while they are compelled to stand all the day idle? Thus is the grand work of Christian benevolence made to depend on public feeling and on public support, and by its success the public character may be pretty accurately estimated, and the real state of the religious public determined. Oh, my country! I do rejoice that thou hast been foremost among the nations in the work of evangelization. England "hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand," and her Missionary zeal has been so far owned by Him, that the CHRISTIAN SABBATH is now a SABBATH ROUND THE WORLD! Already the poor Ethiop is stretching out his hands to God, his sons are coming from afar,

966

and his daughters from the ends of the earth! But still only a beautiful star twinkles here and there, and there is yet a darkness that may be felt, enveloping the world. Some solitary spots in the vast wilderness have begun to blossom; but, oh, when shall it ALL become a fruitful field! Much indeed remains to be undone. Have I done what I could-ask yourself, have you?

"I would the precious time redeem,
And longer live-for this alone

To spend, and to be spent, for them,
Who have not yet my Saviour known."
And I said, What shall I do, Lord?

No man can be a real Christian without, at the same time, being an useful one. If man has ten talents, he must account for the proper use of ten; and if he have only one, he must answer for the employment of that one. Who dares assert he can do nothing in advancing the cause of religion? From the highest to the lowest, all may be beneficially engaged. The gifted man may be the of God. The affluent man, messenger

like

The

the good centurion, may build a temple for his people. The benevolent man, of humbler circumstances and abilities, may visit and relieve and pray with the sick. poorest man may find a way to shew his love-a penny tract in his hand may haply prove the messenger of life to some poor soul; and if he cannot make the least pecuniary sacrifice, even a word spoken in his Master's name to an ignorant and wicked neighbour, shall not pass unforgotten, or miss its reward. God is no respecter of persons, he looks at the HEART, that determines the character of our actions, and, tried by this standard, the despised Samaritan, soared above both priest and Levite; and the two mites of a poor widow, secured her a richer recompense than all the splendid offerings of the great and noble could procure for them. Her simple_gift was more valued than them all. TRAVELLER.

GLEANINGS.

Indian Death-Blast.-At Boulah, in Bundelcund, one of the northern provinces of Hindostan, there are numerous rocky hills, which, during the hot winds, become so thoroughly heated, as to retain their warmth from sunset to sunrise. The natives, at that sultry season, invariably wear large folds of cloth around their heads and faces, just leaving themselves sufficiently exposed to be able to see and breathe. This precaution is taken in consequence of the terrific blasts which occasionally rush in narrow streams from between the hills. Persons affected by these scorching winds drop suddenly to the earth, as if shot by a musket-ball. When medical assistance, or a supply of cold water, is instantaneously procured, a recovery may generally be expected, but if no immediate remedy be applied, an almost certain death is the result.

Missions in New Zealand.-(To the Editor of the Sydney Gazette.) Sir,-I am persuaded you would not intentionally mislead your readers respecting the religious Missions established in New Zealand, and therefore I have no doubt you will readily admit into your columns the following remarks, designed to explain a few points of one of your leading articles contained in Monday's paper.

You express your ignorance of the labours of the Church Missionaries. I am happy to inform you they are both diligently and usefully employed; as a proof of which, I need only mention, that they have prepared a translation of several chapters both of the Old and New Testament, into the New Zealand tongue, and that it is now being printed in this colony. This is no hasty production; it is the result of long study, the combined effort of men who have made the greatest proficiency in the language. And what is still more gratifying, many of the natives, by a course of school and catechetical instruction, have been qualified to read and understand it, when it is printed and circulated among them.

You mention, with disapprobation, the circumstance of two Societies having directed their la bours to New Zealand; you having always looked upon that island as "the exclusive property of the Church Society," which was the first to place its banners there. By what process of reasoning you support this singular opinion, I cannot conceive. The simple case before you is this: here are several hundred thousands of savages to be instructed in civilization and religion; to effect this, a company of men are sent out by the Church Missionary Society, who are able to extend their instructions to about two or three thousand. Now, what should prevent another Missionary Society from sending out another band of men to instruct two or three thousand more of this large mass of human beings? If they were aiming at two different objects, an injurious collision might arise. But this is not the case; the object is not with one party to make them Wesleyans, and another Church of England-men, in the sectarian sense of these terms, but with both parties to make them Christians. But the best proof that the land is large enough to admit of the two establishments, is furnished by the fact that it has admitted them, and that the most perfect good-will and co-operation have all along subsisted between them. There has been no jealousy, no rivalry, but, on the contrary, mutual esteem and assistance. The natives know of no distinction between them, and they themselves scarcely feel

fellow-labourers in

on the other as brethren and each party looks the same work. In a Missionary field there is little known of those sectarian and narrow prejudices which exist among us.

You think that New Zealand will be about the last spot on the surface of the globe, that will be converted from idolatry and sin. It has, I confess, some peculiar_discouragements of a very formidable kind. But though 1 freely make this concession, I cannot coincide in your opinion. The New Zealanders, for a large space around the Mission establishment, are a very different people now, from what they were before those establishments were formed. They are comparatively halfcivilized; and many of them have imbibed a great portion of useful knowledge, and regard the Missionaries with much affection and respect. It requires some years to acquire such a knowledge of a language like that of New Zealand, as to be able to preach to the natives the doctrines of Christianity in all their fulness and power. This has already been done, in part, and the effects serve as a most satisfactory demonstration, that when it shall be done fully and extensively, the triumphs of the Gospel will be as striking and as splendid in New Zealand, as they have been elsewhere. I am, yours truly,

August, 29, 1827.

ONE CONCERNED.

Cold Cement.-Take one ounce of best isinglass in shreds, steep it in half a pint of common brandy (or five ounces of spirit of wine and three of water mixed, will do better) for twenty-four hours, then

let it dissolve, exposed to the heat of a fire, keeping the bottle corked, to prevent evaporation-take six cloves of garlic, bruise them well in a mortar, put the pulp in a linen cloth, and squeeze the juice into the cement, mixing it well together, and keep closely corked for use. When it gets too stiff, add a little more spirits of wine, and place it near the fire till the spirit is mixed with the cement. This is excellent for joining broken glass, and all purposes where a cement is required.

High Treason in Japan.-The punishment of high treason has generally been exceedingly brutal in all countries; but, perhaps, no people on earth have been so barbarous in this particular case as the Japanese. When a man forfeits his life by any crime against the sovereign of the state, all his family, all his relations, fall with him. An order is despatched to the governors of the places where they happen to reside, and they are directed to be led to execution at the same hour exactly, and thus, in the course of a few minutes, a whole race of men is cut off for ever from the face of the earth.

Character and Manners of the South Sea Islanders.-(By the Rev. Mr. Knott, who has been thirty years a missionary in the South Sea Islands.) Until within the last few years the character and manners of these people were barbarous in the extreme. Wars were very prevalent amongst them, and the custom of human sacritices prevailed to a great extent, two-thirds of the population being annually destroyed in infancy, for offerings to their idol deities. In describing the manner in which Christianity had been established in the islands, Mr. Knott relates the following particulars: After the missionaries had been settled in the islands several years, and made every effort with a view to Christianize the natives, the king at length determined to ascertain whether the religion which he and his people had so long believed were true or false. This he did by endeavouring to call forth the power of their idol deity in the following manner:-He ordered a fishi called the turtle, (which in those parts was considered to be a sacred fish, and was offered to the deities in their idol temples,) to be brought to him, and gave orders that it should be dressed near his dwelling, and distributed to the people, in order to see whether by applying it to a purpose different from the supposed sacred one to which it had been usually dedicated, the wrath of the deity would not be displayed in the bad effects which would result to the persons partaking of the fish. The turtle was accordingly dressed and eaten by the people, but no bad effects had followed. Similar experiments were subsequently made and with similar results; and the king being then satisfied that the god whom he and his people had worshipped was possessed of no power, at length ordered that idol worship should be abolished; and the people from that time had embraced Christianity as taught by the missionaries in the islands; and the whole of the idol images were subsequently destroyed. The Reverend Gentleman said he should have brought one to England, but there was not now a single one to be found. Mr. Knott is about to return to the South Sea Islands, to resume his missionary labours, and to pass the remainder of his days there.

Rebel Bed.-Lately died in Witherslack, Mrs. Raingill, aged one hundred years and six months. In 1745, she lived with her father, Ralph Burton, at Forest Hall, being then about eighteen years of age, and the rebels in moving southward paid them a visit, and regaled themselves with what they found upon the premises. On their return, after being defeated at Preston, they were rather in a hurry, being closely pressed by the English troops, and on this side of Forest Hall, by the old road, there was rather a sharp hill, at the bottom of which they left a baggage cart, which fell into the hands of Ralph Burton aud others. In this was found a piece of stout ticking, spun round from the finest flax; it was made into a fet which Mrs. Raingill has slept ever since.great curiosity.

Prison Torture.-A horrible instance of human vengeance occurred a short time since at Minden, in Westphalia. The object was a person who, from conscientions motives, peculiar to the religious body of which he was a member, had refused to serve in the militia. He was placed in a cell, the floor and sides of which were closely studded with projecting spikes, or pieces of sharpened iron, resembling the blades of knives. The individual remained in this state for 24 hours, and the punishment was repeated at three distinct intervals. It is considered a rare occurrence for a person to survive the second infliction of this species of cruelty. In this instance, however, the sufferer did not perish.-From the Report of the Prison Discipline Society.

Equitable Device.-An old Italian, on his deathbed, left little to his widow except a fine horse, and a favourite cat; desiring, however, that the horse might be sold, and the price employed in masses for his soul. The widow sent the horse and cat to market, with an injunction to sell the horse for a crown, but not except the purchaser also bought the cat for four hundred crowns. In this way she, with ease to her conscience, got the money for her own use.

Getting Sober.-A man in Norridgewock, Maine, applied to a magistrate lately, for permission to be put in gaol for a few days. He said he had been tipsy for two or three weeks, and should be so for a long a time to come, if he was not prevented. The justice introduced him to the gaoler, who locked him up on Saturday; and on Tuesday he came out, a very sober-looking man.-American Paper.

Marine Fans.-In the bed of the Red Sea, and on some part of the coast of America, there grows a very curious marine plant, which is flat, and spreads very much like a peacock's feather. Its colour, in general, is tawny, but some are found of a very fine olive. It is formed of innumerable ligneous fibres, interwoven together, and is as supple and tough as whalebone. They are sometimes found eighteen inches long in the Red Sea, and are eagerly sought by the women of America for fans. In some few instances these plants are found of a very beautiful red, or variegated, when of course their value is greatly increased.

A Luminous Bottle.-The following is a method of preparing a luminous bottle, which will give sufficient light during the night to admit of the hour being easily told on the dial of a watch. A pbial of clear white glass, of a long form, must be chosen, and some fine olive oil heated to ebullition in another vessel; a piece of phosphorus, of the size of a pea, must be put into the phial, and the boiling oil carefully poured over it, till the phial is one-third filled. The phial must be then carefully corked, and when it is to be used it must be unstopped to admit the external air, and closed again, The empty space of the phial will then appear luminous, and will give as much light as a dull ordinary lamp. Each time the light disappears, on removing the stopper it will instantly re-appear. In cold weather, the bottle must be warmed in the hands before the stopper is removed. A phial prepared in this way may be used every night for six months with success.-Mechanics' Magazine.

Price of Wheat.-The following are the Annual Average Prices of Wheat from 1792 to 1826, taken from Official Documents.

970

.....

Pin Manufacture.-It is stated in a late scientific journal, that it has been ascertained from incontrovertible sources of information, that more than fifteen millions of pins are daily manufac tured in this country, to meet the demand for home consumption and the foreign markets.

Literary Notices.

Just Published.

Complete in one vol. 8vo. with a Portrait on Steel, the Sermous of the Rev. George Whitefield; A Memoir of the Author, by Samuel Drew, A.M. and a Dissertation on his Character and Preaching, by the Rev. Joseph Smith.

Scripture Natural History for Youth, by Esther Hewlett, in two vols. 16mo. with 82 coloured, or plain, Plates.

Adams's Modern Voyager and Traveller, through Europe, Asia, Africa, and America: 4 vols. royal 18mo. with 50 coloured Plates of Costumes, and seven Wood Cuts.

King's College.-The "First Book for the Instruction of the Students."

A new and improved edition of Psalms and Hymns. Edited by the Rev. Thomas Willcocks.

A Volume of Sermons. By Rev. B. Taylor, M.A.
The second Number of the Enigmatical Enter-

tainer and Mathematical Associate."
Outlines of Practical Education. By James Butler.
A Practical Survey of the Faculties of the Human
Mind.

Occasional Thoughts on Select Texts of Scripture. By the late John Mason Good.

A neat Pocket Edition of Boston's Fourfold State, in 18mo. Without Abridgment.

Memoirs and Select Remains of the late Rev. John Cooke of Maidenhead. By George Redford, M.A. 2 vols. 8vo.

Conversations on Geology, including the latest discovery, as explained by Granville Penn, 1 vol. 12mo. The Preacher's Manual, a course of Lectures on Preaching. By S. T. Sturtevant, 1 vol. 12mo.

The Union Collection of Hymns, adapted to Public Worship, 1 vol. 12mo.

The Apology of an Officer on the Unlawfulness of War, 2d edition. 1 vol. 8vo.

Protestant Remarks on Transubstantiation, and other tenets of the Church of Rome. By the Rev. W. Cowley, A.M. 12mo.

A Treatise on Practical Arithmetic and Mensuration. By S. P. Reynolds.

In the Press.

Fishers' Grand National Improvements; or, Picturesque Beauties of the British Empire in the Nineteenth Century: commencing with Liverpool, Manchester, &c., in the County Palatine of Lancaster.

The Winter's Wreath.-The Annual published last year under the title of the "Winter's Wreath," will appear this season with increased claims to the public attention. The proprietor has made uncommon exertions to keep a high place amongst the elegant works of this class; and in the letterpress and illustrations, the Wreath will be excelled by none of its competitors. Embellished with twelve highly-finished line Engravings on Steel, from a selection of rare and curious pictures never before engraved, the productions of the following painters: H. Howard, R.A., J. Northcote, R.A., W. Havell, Geo Arnald, Renton, Nicholson, (of Edinburgh.) F. P. Stephanoff, J. Watson, Severn, (of Rome,) Vandyke, Wright, (of Derby,) Garnier, Burns, &c.; and engraved by the following eminent artists; Goodall, Finden, Robinson, Smith, Miller, Lizars, Radclyffe, Edwards, &c. The Poems of the late Mrs. Ribbans. Time's Telescope for 1829.

We understand that the forthcoming volume of "Friendship's Offering," will appear in a style far superior to any of its predecessors. The plates are of the first character, engraved by the most eminent artists; and its literary contents, superintended by the experience and talents of its editor, Mr. Pringle, will be well worthy of its embellishments. The splendid style of the leather binding, which now so happily unites durability with elegance, also fits the volume for immediate reception into the library.

Preparing for Publication.

A complete series of Lithographic Engravings of Belzoni's Model of the Egyptian Tomb. It will contain at least eighty plates, accompanied with appro priate descriptions and explanations. This Atlas is publishing by subscription."