BOOK SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING RELIGIOUS

KNOWLEDGE AMONG THE POOR.

On Friday, May 6th, the eighty-first anniversary of this Society was held in the lower room, Exeter Hall, the Rev. Rowland Hill in the chair.

The object of this institution is, to impart religious knowledge to the poor by means of books. It appeared from the report, that during the past year 200,000 of the Society's books had been put into circulation, and that from its commencement 212,000 Bibles and Testaments, and about a million of its various publications had been distributed by this Society. This meeting was addressed by the Rev. T. Timson, the Rev. Mr. Saville, the Rev. Dr. Bennett, the Rev. T. James, the Rev. Mr. Preston, the Rev. Mr. Maconnel, and the Rev. R. H. Shepherd.

PRAYER BOOK AND HOMILY SOCIETY.

At the anniversary of this Society, which was held in Exeter Hall, on the 5th of May, Lord Bexley took the chair. From the name which this institution bears, its Church of England character must be obvious to all. This circumstance will, however, neither diminish nor increase its excellence. Its object is good, and its influence has been found to be highly beneficial. Among the vessels in the port of London, 1,518 were visited during the year, and numerous copies of homilies and tracts left on board for distribution. Ireland, the Continent, and India, have also experienced the Society's exertions. The number of books distributed during the year amounted to 11,851, that of homilies and tracts 127,683: the receipts to £2,127, and the expenditure to £2,177. The meeting was addressed by the Rev. Henry Budd, the Rev. W. Marsh, the Rev. Edwin Sidney, the Rev. J. Peers, Lord Mountsandford, the Rev. Mr. Evanson, the Rev. Mr. Raikes, the Rev. Daniel Wilson, Sir Claudius Hunter, and others.

To be resumed in our next.

CELESTIAL PHENOMENA.

June 1831.

THE Sun enters the tropical sign Cancer on the 22d, at 38 minutes past 5 in the morn

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ing; his semi-diameter on the 1st is 15 minutes, 47 seconds, and 6 tenths; and on the 25th, 15 minutes, 45 seconds, and 6 tenths.

The Moon enters her last quarter on the 3d, at 20 minutes past 3 in the afternoon; she is new on the 10th, at 51 minutes past 6 in the morning; enters her first quarter on the 17th, at 59 minutes past 3 in the morning; and is full on the 25th, at 7 in the morning. She passes over the planet Jupiter on the morning of the 2nd; the immersion will take place at 8 minutes 40 seconds past 1, and the emersion at 13 minutes 51 seconds past 2: the nearest approach of centres is 5 minutes, 53 seconds, Jupiter being to the south. The satellites of Jupiter will all be visible at the time, the second and fourth to the west of the planet, the fourth being the most westerly; and the first and third to the east, the latter being the easternmost; it will be exceedingly interesting to notice their disappearance and reappearance, as the Moon successively passes them.

On the 9th, about two in the morning, the Moon passes near Mercury: she also passes near Saturn, about one in the morn. ing of the 15th; near Herschel, about 4 in the afternoon of the 28th; and near Jupiter about 8 in the morning of the 29th. On the 9th, at 17 minutes 12 seconds past 7 in the morning, the moon is in conjunction with y Tauri, which will prove an occultation at London. She will also eclipse Aldebaran on the same day, the conjunction taking place at 27 minutes 52 seconds past 1 in the afternoon. On the 21st, at 46 minutes 22 seconds past 9 in the evening, she is in conjunction with y Libra, which is also attended with an occultation.

The planet Mercury arrives at his greatest elongation on the 20th. Venus is still a conspicuous object in the western hemisphere; during the evenings of this month, she is seen passing through the constellations Gemini and Cancer. On the morning of the 4th, she passes near x Geminorum, and on the 16th, near y Cancri. Mars is seen to the west of Venus, and passing through the same constellations: on the 30th, he is near Cancri.

The noble planet Jupiter is still in the constellation of the Goat. On the 11th he is stationary, near μ Capricorni. There are four visible eclipses of his satellites this month; three immersions of the first as follows; on the 3rd, at 8 minutes 45 seconds past 2 in the morning; on the 18th, at 24 minutes 49 seconds past 12 at night; and on the 26th, at 18 minutes 47 seconds past 2 in the morning: the remaining one

is an immersion of the second at 23 minutes 10 seconds past 2 in the morning of the 7th. At the commencement of the month, Saturn is seen to the west of Regulus, and y Leonis. He passes near the former star on the 17th. The Georgian is near the same spot he occupied last month; his motion is retrograde.

POETRY.

DAVID PLAYING THE HARP BEFORE
SAUL.

TRIUMPHANT banners floating in the air,
Israel's great conqueror's return declare,
Rich with the spoils of war; and in his train,
Agag, the mighty foe, with captive chain,
Through the exulting wondering crowd is led,
With execrations loud upon his head;
The song of joy through every rank extends,
One shout of triumph to the sky ascends!
With heat of conquest flushed, with glory blind
Saul is extoll'd above all human kind;
Nor heeds that eye no mortal can elude,
That arm which man nor angel e'er withstood;
The high command of heaven he disobeys,
To gain the fleeting breath of earthly praise.
But Israel's God offended, soon appears,
The Great Jehovah's thunder strikes his ears,
And quails his inmost soul; he pardon sues,
And penitential tears his eyes suffuse;
But penitence, alas! is now too late,
Rebellion, his dark sin, decides his fate;
The Spirit of the Lord from him departs,
And consolation now no more imparts;

But fiends torment where peace before had smiled,
And holy calm is changed to tempest wild.
For him the charms of nature smile in vain :
While fatness drops from heaven like gentle rain,
And milk and honey flow through all the land;
Earth's choicest treasures opening to his hand,
Like rose-buds to the full admiring eve;
And joy and laughing beauty ever nigh;
His heart's consuming with a fatal blight,
And desolate mid scenes so fair and bright!
Day has no joys for him, nor night repose;
Light falls on's weary eye, and darkness shows
No horror like the blackness of his soul!
At mirth he sickens, and the sparkling bowl
Untasted from his lips he dashes down;
Affection's gentle voice uncouth is grown;
The pomp of earthly state his pride but mocks,
And his rent kingdom like a spectre shocks
His fancy; and his tortured brain now reels
Beneath the pressure of the woe he feels!

But there were seasons when, to frenzy wrought, He felt as if an evil spirit sought

To drive his soul to madness; then he raved,
And tore his hair, and scarcely could be saved
From self-destruction; such a mighty power
The demon had in that most fearful hour!

One time, when those around him saw his soul
Tortured beyond the reach of all control;
And anxious, thought of means that might assuage
His still increasing direful, maddening rage;
They trembling, venture to approach their Lord,
Beseeching him to listen to their word
Of faithful counsel-who so much had done
To sooth and comfort him-to send for one
Who on the harp most skilfully did play,
And peradventure charm his woes away.
With voice stentorious, and eager eye,;
He them desires with all despatch to hie,
In quest of him most cunning in the art,
Who might relieve his terror-stricken heart,
From the tormentor's power his mind release,
And wake once more his troubled soul to peace!
They quick return with one of greatest fame,
The son of Jesse, David is his name ;-
A youth of comely person, ruddy, fair,

Of graceful carriage, modest in his air;
And with an eye that spoke a soul of fire,
Inspired by heaven to strike the sacred lyre,
With power to harmonize the soul, and make
The tiger's nature of the lamb's partake.
Approaching now, with bended knee he falls
Before the presence of the King, who calls
Aloud, and him requests without delay,
His skill to try, and soothe his pangs away.

Bearing his own loved harp, the youth behold!
And hear him sweep the strings, now only bold;
With eyes to heaven directed, and his mind
Absorbed by tones he struck, his soul refined
To highest pitch of harmony, and his nerves
With rapture tremulous, he yet preserves
The strength of inspiration, and his face
Is beaming with the light of heavenly grace!
Although before an earthly king he kneels,
Awe only for the King of kings he feels;
His presence now he only knows, nor sees,
Nor feels aught else, and Him alone to please
Is all his aim, the burden of his song,
The language of his harp, and of his tongue!
The heart of Saul is touched, relaxed his brow;
His features settled to the calm of woe,
And his destruction wild subsides to rest:
The spring of feeling, closed within his breast,
Is opened; now the genial current flows,
And that sweet boon, the joy of grief bestows!
As on the parching earth the plenteous rain,
Descending, makes it bloom and smile again;
So, on the heart of Saul, the tender flood
Of harmony refreshed his soul; the bud
Of peace and kind returning joy appears,
And brightly glistens through the mist of tears.
At length the tide of feeling back recedes,
And reason's calm and gentle reign succeeds ;
While on th' enraptured youth, with eye intent,
He gazes oft, as on an angel sent

From heaven, to make his wounded spirit whole,
And pour the balm of peace into his soul!
Affection pleads, and yearns within his heart;—
The minstrel is not suffered to depart ;.
David he loves, and in his court retains,
Who favour and increasing honour gains,
And oft resumes his heaven-instructed lyre,
To yield th' afflicted king his heart's desire.
ROBERT STYLES.
Ball's Pond Road, 4th February, 1831.

THREE SONNETS,

ON THE PAINTINGS AT THE ALTAR OF BERESFORD CHAPEL, WALWORTH.

THE ASCENSION.

VICTORIOUS Conqueror of death and hell!
Omnipotence is centred in thy name;
What mortal eloquence aright can tell,
The majesty of thine eternal fame?
Uprising on the thunder-cloud sublime;
By faith we see thee spurn the shores of time,
And gather to thyself the robes of light,
And sceptre of infinity! (thine own,

Ere the first morning chased chaotic night,)
And take thy seat on heaven's embazoned throne.
Hark! heard ye not that whelming burst of praise,
The gratulations of the sinless throng?
Archangel, seraph, saint, unite their lays,-
The mighty chorus of immortal song!

2. THE THREE MARYS, AND THE DEAD CHRIST.

ELECT and holy women! unto whom
The blessing of a Saviour's grace had come,
Well might ye feel a more than mortal throe
Of agony, when looking on His woe.
"Tis even so! his lips are mute in death,
And cold the dews that glitter on his brow;
The eloquence of mercy stirred his breath,
But all is hushed, alas! in silence now!
Nay-gently draw aside the thorny crown;
For yet the purple stream doth trickle down

His furrowed check; and hide those scars,
Warm with the recent conflict on the tree.
Ere the third twilight dawns, the morning stars
Shall hymn the risen God, and angels bow the knee.

3. THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION. Pavilion of insufferable light!

O'ercanopied with glory's sable shrouds ; Holy, sublime, irradiated height!

Edged all around with fire-emblazoned clouds! Approach with awe!-here hallowed feet have trodAnd tremble in the presence of a God! There stands "the man of sorrows :" yet, behold, Unearthly splendours have enrobed his frame ! Listen!-what voice was that which erewhile rolled Thro' yonder dazzling portico of flame? It is enough! the favoured Three adore;

The man of sorrows and the God are one! Bow! bold blasphemer! dare not question more The Father's witness to his equal Son! BENJAMIN GOUGH.

A RETROSPECT OF YOUTH.
Oh! bright were the days of my youth,
As they rapidly glided away:
When my heart was the mirror of truth,
And my path was illumed by her ray :*
When I knew not the guile of the world,
Nor saw its enticements displayed,
The banner of hope was unfurl'd,

In brightness and beauty arrayed.
And I deem'd that this banner alone
Should ever move over my head;
That my heart should be purity's throne,
And vice should be harmless or dead.-
But the days of my manhood are come,
And the dream of my youth-time is o'er;
Disappointment and care are my doom,

And my trials are greater and more.
Oh! bright were the scenes that appear'd,
Illusive, alas! though they proved;
And gladsome the hopes that I rear'd,
Though they drooped as their soil was remov'd:
If I tasted the bitter at all,

The drop would envalue the sweet;
And pleasure was there at my call,
I fear'd not-I knew not deceit.

And I fancied the stream of my life
Would ever thus calmly flow on,
Undisturbed by the rapids of strife,

And of passion's storms, for there were none. But the days of my manhood are come,

And the dream of my youth-time is o'er ;
Life's current is whitened with foam,

And the trumpets are loud in their roar.
Then guide me, thou God of my sire;
My errors in mercy forgive:
With wisdom and virtue inspire,

In faith, hope, and love, let me live:

I, poverty ask not, nor wealth,

Lest either should lead me astray: I ask not for sickness or health,

But, ah! for thy blessings I pray. Sheffield.

ROBERT A. WEST.

REVIEW. Journal of Voyages and Travels, by the Rev. Daniel Tyerman, and George Bennet, Esq, deputed, from the London Missionary Society, to visit their various stations in the South Sea Islands, China, India, &c. between the years 1821 and 1829: compiled from original documents, by James Montgomery. 2 Vols. 8vo. pp. 586. 576. Westley and Davis, London. 1831. MANY years have elapsed since our eyes were cast on a work so voluminous, and 2D. SERIES, NO. 6.-VOL. I.

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yet so very interesting in all its parts. The title-page indicates that an almost endless variety of matter is embraced, that the people, manners, and customs, to which we are about to be introduced, are diversified and strange, and that therefore a succession, or rather a continuation, of excitement may be expected. Nor have we been disappointed; our anticipations, which were of no very moderate description, have been fully gratified. We accompany the author through the vicissitudes of his voyages and travels, and in a spirit of sympathy which rarely flags, participate in his dangers, and rejoice in his escapes.

A work containing nearly twelve hundred pages, that can keep alive attention from its commencement to its termination, must be above the common order. It must not merely be intrinsically valuable in itself, but the materials of which it is composed must be of that peculiar description, which finds a mirror in every reader's mind. Such, however, is the work before us. It conducts us through distant oceans, presents us with a picture of savage life, and directs our attention to man emerging from hereditary barbarism into semi-civilization, and thence assuming the dignity of that character, which, under more favourable circumstances, he was intended to support. We pass from islands to continents, and survey tribes and nations in all the grades of character and habit, which idolatrous philosophy, superstition, and pagan rites can impose. We contemplate the human mind crouching under the mandates of despotism, and tormented with horrors arising from the realities of an undefined futurity, and then pause in astonishment at the variations through which the mental energies may be compelled to sink, or induced to rise.

In one great field of his inquiries, the author has indeed been preceded by Mr. Ellis, through whose Polynesian Researches the natives and productions of the South Sea Islands have been rendered familiar to our views. This field, however, has not been exhausted. A sufficiency of original matter remained to furnish Mr. Bennet with a plentiful harvest. In reaping and gleaning he has been both industrious and successful, and his readers will rejoice in having an opportunity of feasting on his ample stores.

The work before us is not opposed to that of Mr. Eliis, nor has it been written to act in concert with it. It takes its stand on neutral or independent ground, and confirms, by a kind of unintentional coinci

dence, the statements already laid before the public by Mr. Ellis. Frequently, indeed, the same facts appear in new combinations, and under varied aspects; and many important particulars arise, which impart new features to the people, countries, and productions which are described.

It is pleasing, however, to observe, amidst this diversity of statement, this variety of delineation, a perfect consistency running through both works. This harmony is highly creditable to the veracity of their respective authors. Each has explored the same source; and having drawn his supplies from the fountain-head of information, the fidelity of each narrative, so far as any parallel appears between them, receives, from this happy concurrence, the genuine stamp of truth.

tion.

These volumes of Mr. Bennet contain no theories of philosophical speculaThey imbody an accumulation of facts, derived from actual observation, and so arranged as to present a lively portrait of the customs and peculiarities of those tribes and nations to whom they apply. The incidental occurrences interwoven throughout the narrative, are in general not less interesting than the relations which form its details. Combined together, they impart a degree of utility and entertainment which neither source could exclusively supply. We are therefore led, from the whole, to conclude, that if genuine information respecting the remote portions of the globe, drawn warm from rational, animal, and vegetable life, can render a publication popular, the journal of Mr. Bennet will speedily command an extensive circulation.

In support of the preceding observations, we now proceed to lay some extracts before our readers.

Habits and Customs of Natives of New South Wales.

"When one dies a natural death, the corpse, shrouded in pieces of bark, is laid on the ground, and four small fires are lighted at the head and feet on either side. A grave is scratched up in the ground and another fire lighted in the hole, which is allowed to burn out; the body of the deeeased is then laid upon the ashes, with any little property which belonged to him, his club, his spear, his clothes, and the earth is heaped over all. But if the person fell in war, or his blood was shed by murder or chance-medley, his body is not buried, but burnt to dust. Like all savages, the New Hollanders use their women cruelly. They get their wives by violence, seizing them by storm, or springing upon them from ambush-when, if the unfortunate female makes any resistance, her uncourteous suitor knocks her down with his waddy, (a tremendous cudgel,) and carries her off, on his shoulders, in a state of insensibility, with the blood streaming from the love-tokens which he has inflicted on her. Ever afterwards she is his slave; at meals she and her daughters sit behind her husband and her sons, picking the bones, or gorging on the refuse of the garbage with which the lordly sex appease their gluttony, and which are occasionally thrown to them, as dogs are fed in a poor

man's family'in England. Their cross, deformed, and diseased children are often killed out of the way, but they are very fond of those whom they rear. From the quick and eager exercise of their eyes, in seeking for their prey, they are exceedingly keen-sighted, and discover birds in the trees, or venomous reptiles in the grass, where Europeans see nothing. Of serpents they are much afraid, and flee from them as from death. They are proportionately skilful in tracking the kangaroo, the emu, or any other animal over the grass, which might seem, to our eyes, as undisturbed as though Virgil's Camilla herself had passed over it, without bending a blade or shaking the dust from the blosom of a flower. They follow the trail of their countrymen, with equal sagacity and confidence, for leagues together, through woods, and over wilds, apparently as printless as the air; and when once they have seen the foot-mark of a European, they never forget it, but can instantly recognize the faintest vestige of the same.-Vol. ii. p. 154.

A Court of Justice in the South Seas. "We have just witnessed the novel scene of a court of justice here. Hard by the chapel, there stands a magnificent purau-tree, round about and under the expanded shade of which, long forms for seats were fixed, enclosing a square of about twenty-five feet across. No pains had been taken to clear the ground, which happened to be strewn with loose stones. The judges took their places on the benches. Most of these were secondary chiefs, the superior ones being with Pomare at Tahiti. They were handsomely robed in purau mats and cloth tibutas, with straw hats, and made a most respectable appearance. There were nearly thirty of these; among whom one, called Tapuni, having been previously appointed chairman of the tribunal, was distinguished above the rest by a bunch of black feathers, gracefully surmounted with red, in his hat. Hundreds of people seated themselves on the outside of the square. Two young men were then introduced, who sat down quietly at the foot of the tree. These were the culprits they were charged with having stolen some bread-fruit. Silence and earnest attention prevailed. Tapuni now rose, and called upon the accused to stand up, which they immediately did. He then stated the offence for which they were arraigned, and as their guilt was clear, having been detected in the fact, he told them that they had committed rebellion, by breaking the law, outraging the authority of the king, and disgracing the character of their country, One of the young men, hereupon, frankly confessed that he had perpetrated the theft, and persuaded his comrade to share with him the crime and the plunder. Witnesses are seldom called in such cases, offenders generally acknowledging their misdeeds, casting themselves on the justice of the court to deal with them accordingly. This is a remarkable circumstance, and we are assured that it is so common as to constitute a trait of national character. A brief conversation followed among the judges, respecting the utua, or punishment, to be inflicted on the youths, as they were thus faahapa, or found guilty. The sentence was then delivered by the president; this was, that they should each build four fathoms of a wall, now erecting about a plot of taro ground belonging to the king. In such cases, the condemned are allowed their own reasonable time to execute the task required, and it generally happens that their friends, by permission, lend them assistance. We have seen an aged father helping his son to perform hard labour of this kind, which must, nevertheless, be finished to the satisfaction of an authorized inspector. It is remarkable, in the administration of justice here, that, when the sentence is pronounced, the criminal is gravely asked whether he himself agrees to it, and he generally replies in the affirmative. There is something very primitive and patriarchal in this simple yet solemn form of conducting trials.”— Vol. i. p. 179.

and

Among the incidental occurrences and relations recorded in these volumes, the