I found the sum received and distributed averaged about | in our own souls. If there ever was a true saint on half-a-crown each, and a committee of three gentle- earth, William Peebles was one. In the Historical men was appointed, (of which I was one,) to see the Account of the Orphan Hospital, printed a few years money properly distributed, and we were assisted by the ago by the Managers of that Institution, the following landlord of the house, who was, more than any of the mention is made of this good man:visitors, qualified to judge of the justice of the different claims on this charitable fund. I asked him if the applicants were all on the spot, that we might proceed to our duty; his answer was, 'all, with one exception," and that I might see the person standing alone in one of the retired passages of the house, as he felt very reluctant to appear openly as a sharer in the public bounty. 66 "When Mr Brown, the first master of the house, resigned his situation, being called by a congregation of Protestant dissenters in England to be their pastor, the office was for some time filled by Mr Francis Archibald, who had formerly been minister of the parish of Guthrie; and in the year 1759, the managers were most providentially led to secure the services of an individual in the internal superintendence of the institution, of The circumstances attending this person, the land- whom it is, perhaps, not too much to say, that within lord related to me nearly as follows The poor lad his own sphere, and in his own day, he was one of the had been at the wells about a month or six weeks, hav- most useful and valuable characters in the city of Edining arrived there, from his home, in a diseased and help- burgh. This was the late Mr William Peebles. He less state, without the use of one of his legs, and alto- was originally brought into notice by a letter from Mr gether reduced to great weakness. He could do no Thomas Randall, then minister of Inchture, and father manner of work for the space of a month, when he be- of the late Dr Davidson of Edinburgh, addressed to gan to derive benefit from the waters, and he gained Mr Archibald Wallace, one of the managers, in which strength considerably. He was, from the beginning, he says,- Having observed, some time ago, an adverreceived on the list of claimants on the fund, and con- tisement in the newspapers, from the Orphan Hospital, tinued to draw his proportion of the money distributed. concerning a schoolmaster to the children there, I give On the Sabbath preceding the day I am alluding to, the you this trouble in regard there is one William Peebles landlord, by chance, met him, and reminded him to ap- who, I think, comes precisely up to the description of pear at head-quarters as usual; the young man was much the one wanted by you for that end. For of him, I affected, and said to the landlord that he could not con- think, I am at liberty to testify, if of any in the world, scientiously accept any more from the public fund, as he that he is born of God, and conscientious to the highest could now earn sixpence a-day by working for it. The degree of scruple as to fulfilling whatever is committed landlord, pleased with this noble instance of disinterestto his charge. At present he is schoolmaster at Strathedness in humble life, desired, nevertheless, the lad martine, a small parish, and of small encouragement, in might attend once more, and it was under these cir- this county, but of such reputation for teaching, and, cumstances that he appeared, apparently for the last particularly, for instilling the principles of religion into time. After agreeing with the landlord that he should the youth under his care, that many from different pabe paid what he had been in the habit of receiving, Irishes resort to him on this account. Content with went by myself and found the lad alone in the retired part of the house I have mentioned. He had a bashful, timid, and reserved manner, apparently about twenty years of age, was pale and sickly, and seemed extremely reluctant at receiving anything which he had not earned by his own industry and labour. There was something in his countenance expressive of extreme sensibility, and an apparent delicacy of feeling, far above what we would naturally expect to see among people in that station of life. What a different sentiment, what a contrast does this form to the picture I have drawn of mendicants in a certain part of the continent; and will any person deny that this difference arises from the blessings of liberty in our land, from the advantages of an enlightened and equitable government, the security of property, and the consolations of rational piety? Let any person, who is dissatisfied with the comforts he has at home, visit other countries and judge for himself; he will then know how to value and appreciate the substantial blessings I have mentioned, and be more and more grateful to the Almighty Disposer of events, from whom all these blessings flow. He will learn, from experience, that a kind and charitable feeling towards others, is the source of unmingled comfort and happiness to ourselves, tends to unite in indissoluble bonds of love the great family of mankind, and gradually approximates us to the great Source of all goodness and perfection. RECOLLECTIONS OF WILLIAM PEEBLES, Ir is at once a gratifying and instructive exercise, to what he has, he is willing to remain where he is, yet humbly rejoiced when I mentioned to him, which was necessary, my intention of writing to you on this head. I may justly add, that he is of the least meddling nature that can be. If things go well with his own soul, and well with those that are under his charge, he rests fully satisfied. I should say, that he teaches nothing but English, writing, and figuring,-his hand writing is substantial and good; he understands well the dif ferent parts of arithmetic, and having naturally good parts, he is apt to learn any thing with ease; nor does he want an ear, if that were needful.' "The excellent person thus suggested to the managers, was immediately chosen to be master of the institution, and for nearly half a century continued to discharge the duties of his place with a degree of judgment, fidelity, and success, which, perhaps, more than any other circumstance, gave to the Orphan Hospital that character for substantial usefulness which it undoubtedly acquired, and which is still remembered by not a few of those who were trained under its roof. Nor can the superior qualities which, in every respect, belonged to Mr Peebles, be forgotten by any of the managers of the institution who live to recollect them, or by those who, otherwise unconnected with the Hospital, were in the practice, under various circumstances, of repairing to Mr Peebles for counsel, guidance, and encouragement. For during a long period of his life, the room of this good man was the frequent resort of some of the best and worthiest of the citizens, as well as of many young men who were prosecuting their studies at the university with a view to the sacred ministry, and who, attracted by the singular talent which he possessed for religious conversation, the simplicity and godly sincerity of his character, and the kind and affectionate manner in which he entered into all their employments and prospects, found in the matured knowledge and experience of Mr Peebles the means of much personal improvement. Of these persons, after having been useful, and some of them eminent in their day, the greater part have been removed from the present life; but some yet remain in various quarters of the country." This is all just, and was sufficient for the purpose for which it was introduced in the narrative that contains it. But it may be well to preserve a few additional particulars, and to mention some anecdotes, of Mr Peebles. First of all, with reference to his character as master of the institution, at the head of which he was placed, it may be observed, that nothing could exceed the conscientious fidelity with which every part of his duties was performed. He never allowed himself to be absent from his post, or distracted by attending to other things; and in many difficult and delicate situations, the managers found a resource in the judgment and good sense, the patience and forbearance, and yet firmness of purpose of the master. His great rule was, to prevent the beginnings of any of those unpleasant occurrences which cannot but frequently occur in an institution where a multitude of children are collected together, over whom he possessed a command and a power, by means of gentleness and discretion, which is often denied to sternness and severity. The children, in general, reverenced him as a father, which was the name they always gave him; and the pain which many of them incurred, by offending him, was as heavy a punishment as could have been inflicted. During the latter years of his life he was a great sufferer, and much confined to his room, and often to bed. His apartment in the house entered from a passage in the upper floor. In this passage some of the boys were in the practice of gathering together during their hours of play, and of making some little noise, of purpose that Mr Peebles might overhear them; in which case they were certain that they would be called into his room, and amused by his relating to them some little stories with which his memory was so abundantly furnished, and which to them was one of the greatest treats or relaxations which they could have enjoyed. Another circumstance may serve to indicate the feelings of the children towards their teacher. When, in consequence of his confinement, his breakfast was pro vided for him in his bed-room, he always required his bit of dry toast to be sent up without the crusts being cut off, although from old age he was unable to make use of them. Those pieces of crust he laid aside in his cupboard, and afterwards gave to any of the children, with whom, for their good conduct, he had reason to be much pleased; and it came to be with them as much an object of competition to obtain one of the master's crusts, and was looked upon to be as great and honourable a reward, as if it had been a silver medal, or a piece of money. Again, in regard to the general estimation in which he was held as a singularly devout and holy man, it may be mentioned, that the late Dr Davidson used always to recommend those young men who came to Edinburgh to prosecute their studies for the Church, and who happened to bring introductions to him, immediately to get acquainted with Mr Peebles, and to keep as much as possible near him, for he would do them a great deal of good. And I well remember a late most excellent and heavenly-minded minister, in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, mentioning, that on one occasion he had brought his two sons, then very little boys, to town, in order that he might carry them to see Mr Peebles, and obtain his patriarchal blessing; and that the venerable old man had stretched out his hands from his bed, and laying them on their heads, pronounc ed over them the benediction of Jacob, "The God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads!"—a prayer, the fulfilment of which, with that of many others, put up for them, they have not failed fully to experience. Mr Peebles, it has been observed, possessed a remarkable talent for religious conversation, He never indulged in mere gossip,-all was solid, and substantial, and sensible, full of Scripture truth and illustration. The whole Bible seemed to be written on his heart, out of the abundance of which his mouth spake. The various Scripture titles of the Almighty he was very fond of employing, and always did it aptly. For example, was be speaking to a friend who had experienced some deliverance from danger, or strength under some heavy trial, he would counsel him to give the honour and praise to Jehovah Nissi, "the Lord his banner." Was he called to minister comfort to some one whose mind was troubled and filled with fear, he would speak to him of Jehovah Shallom, "the Lord who would yet send peace." Referring to any place where much of God's presence had been felt, or of some season when the power of his grace had been richly experienced, he would say, that the name of it was Jehovah Shamman, for "the Lord was there." And when alluding to the orphan children under his charge, and in the prayers he offered up in the inidst of them, his favourite title for their heavenly Father was Jehovah-jirch, "the Lord who had provided for them." He was very fond of mentioning anecdotes of good men of the olden time, and the pious and pithy sayings of the sound and orthodox ministers with whom he had been familiar in his early days. Among others, the following are remembered: It was remarked by an old minister whom I used to hear, that the devil is just the believer's fencing master, for by trials and ten-stations he teaches him how to fight himself.""Speaking of the greatness of the love and of the sufferings of Christ, O believer,' said an aged minister, 'Jesus Christ, drank hell dry for you!' Was not that a strong expression?"-" I remember a clergyman once preaching on a Monday after the Sacrament, who ob served that it was a blessed thing that Jesus did not say to his disciples, Arise, go hence,' but (John xiv. 31.) Arise, let us go hence.' He went with them, and so will he go with you from this place, my brethren, if ye are truly his disciples." The scene of his youth, on which he most frequently dwelt, and with much apparent delight, was the parish, or rather the Parish Church of Longforgan, in Fortarshire, where he appeared to have enjoyed many seasons of great spiritual refreshing under the ministry of a Mr Lyon, who was then the incumbent in the charge. The descriptions which he gave of the life and power of godliness existing among the persons with whom he was then associated in religious duties, and especially in the communion service, were very animating and encour aging to the young minds to whom they were addressed; and the remembrance of the details which he gave of what was experienced by himself, and many others on such occasions, excites the ardent wish that they could be revived and restored in these comparatively cold-hearted days. A circumstance to which allusion was made in a late number of the present publication, may be more fully stated in its connection with Mr Peebles. When the late Dr Davidson (then Mr Randall) of Edinburgh, and Dr Balfour of Glasgow, were fellow-students at college, they formed a wish to establish a prayer or fellowship meeting, in which they, and one or two other young men that were like-minded, might occasionally join for wor ship and mutual counsel. They were at a loss, however, for a convenient place in which they might hold their meetings, and were too shy or reserved to make their wants known to others, so as to obtain it. Their first meetings were, therefore, held in the branches of some tree about the Meadows, which at that period was a comparatively reused spot. They soon found the inconvenience, however, of such an arrangement, | and plucked up courage to make the matter known to Mr Peebles, who immediately established his own room in the Hospital as the place of their rendezvous. There they continued to assemble in the company of the good man who had relieved them from their embarrassment, and there for a long series of years a succession of pious youths held regularly their weekly Christian conferences, from which they all acknowledged they derived both unspeakable pleasure and advantage. Nor were these meetings discontinued in the Orphan Hospital till the period of Mr Peebles's death. Among those who regularly attended them, during the last years of his life, besides several ministers of the Church, who are still alive, may be mentioned the names of the late Rev. John Russell of Muthil, Donald Macgilvray of Kilmalie, and Mr Findlater of Inverness. Mr Peebles possessed a countenance singularly expressive of his character, full of intelligence, benignity, and peace. During the latter years of his life, he suffered severely from a very painful disorder, but endured it with exemplary patience, and the most heavenly minded composure and resignation. On occasions of the dispensation of the Lord's Supper in Lady Glenorchy's Chapel, he contrived to be present, and nothing could be more striking and dignified than his figure and appearance, as he took his place in the corner of the session seat, to which he was assisted by the almost equally venerable Alexander Clerk, so long known and respected in that place of worship. Mr Peebles died in great peace on the 15th April 1807. His remains were borne to the grave by the managers of the hospital, accompanied by the children, the members of the prayer meeting, and many other Christian friends, and were deposited among the ashes of the orphans who had died in the house. After the funeral the whole members of the institution were assembled, and the occasion was suitably improved in an address by the late excellent Dr Hunter of the Tron Church. CHRISTIAN TREASURY. The Bible. A nation must be blessed, indeed, if it were governed by no other laws than those of this blessed book; it is so complete a system, that nothing can be added to it, or taken from it; it contains every thing needful to be known or done; it affords a copy for a king, and a rule for a subject; it gives instruction and counsel to a senate; authority and direction for a magistrate; it cautions a witness, requires an impartial verdict of a jury, and furnishes the judge It en with his sentence; it sets the husband as lord of the Lousehold, and the wife as mistress of the table; tells him how to rule, and her how to manage. tails honour to parents, and enjoins obedience to children; it prescribes and limits the sway of the sovereign, the rule of the ruler, and authority of the master; commands the subjects to honour, and the servants to obey; and promises the blessing and protection of its Author to all that walk by its rules. It gives direction for weddings and for burials; it promises food and raiment, and limits the use of both; it points out a faithful and an eternal guard an to the departing husband and father; tells him with whom to leave his fatherless children, and in whom his widow is to trust; and promises a father to the former, and a husband to the latter. It teaches a man how to set his house in order, and how to make his will; it appoints a dowry for the wife, and entails the right of the first-born; and shews how the younger branches shall be left. It defends the right of ail, and reveals vengeance to every defrauder, overreacher, and oppressor. It is the first book, the best book, and the oldest book, in all the world. It contains the choicest matter, gives the best instruction, and affords the greatest pleasure and satisfaction that ever was revealed. It contains the best laws, and pro foundest mysteries that ever were penned. It brings the best tidings, and affords the best of comfort to the inquiring and disconsolate. It exhibits life and immortality, and shews the way to everlasting glory. It is a brief recital of all that is past, and a certain predic tion of all that is to come. It settles all matters in debate, resolves all doubts, and eases the mind and conscience of all their scruples. It reveals the only living and true God, and shews the way to him; and sets aside all other gods; and describes the vanity of them. and of all that trust in them. In short, it is a book of laws to shew right and wrong; a book of wisdom, that condemns all folly, and makes the foolish wise; a book of truth, that detects all lies, and confutes all errors; and a book of life, that shews the way from everlasting death. It is the most compendious book in all the world; the most authentic, and the most entertaining history that ever was published; it contains the most early antiquities, strange events, wonderful occurrences, heroic deeds, unparalleled wars. It describes the celestial, terrestial, and infernal worlds; and the origin of the angelic myriads, human tribes, and infernal legions. It will instruct the most accomplished mechanic, and the profoundest artist; it will teach the best rhetorician, and exercise every power of the most skilful arithmetician; puzzle the wisest anatomist, and exercise the nicest critic. It corrects the vain philosopher, and guides the wise astronomer; it exposes the subtle sophist, and makes diviners mad. It is a complete code of laws, a perfect book of divinity, an unequalled narrative; a book of lives, a book of travels, and a book of voyages. It is the best covenant that ever was agreed on, the best deed that ever was sealed, the best evidence that ever was produced, the best will that ever was made, and the best testament that ever was signed. To understand it, is to be wise indeed; to be ignorant of it, is to be destitute of wisdom. It is the king's best copy, the magistrate's best rule, the housewife's best guide, the servant's best directory, and the young man's best companion. It is the school-boy's spelling-book, and the learned man's masterpiece; it is the ignorant man's dictionary, and the wise man's directory. It affords knowledge of witty inventions for the ingenious, and dark sayings for the grave; and it is its own interpreter. It encourages the wise, the warrior, the racer, the overcomer; and promises an eternal reward to the conqueror. And that which crowns all is, that the Author is without partiality, and without hypocrisy, for in him is no variableness, nor shadow of turning."-From an Old Author. The Benefits of Retirement.-Keeping much retired, and by ourselves, is most profitable for us all. Indeed, when our worldly business is attended to, as it ought to be, and secret duties are punctually observed, there cannot remain a great deal of time for persons, in any station, to spend in company; and they who imagine, that praying at certain seasons, hearing the Gospel, and then entering into a sort of general conversation about religion and religious people, will be sufficient, are grievously mistaken. Unless we love (and contrive, as we are able,) to be much alone, how can we often, and solemnly, call to remembrance the evil of our past life, so as to loathe ourselves? How feel contrition for the follies of our innate depravity? How, with the blessed Mary, ponder in our hearts the sayings of our Lord? How enter deeply into his agony and death, the price of our peace and eternal life? How weigh the value of our spiritual privileges, and the weight of the crown of glory laid up for the faithful? How feel the strength and multitude of our obligations to him in exemplary obedience, constrained by love passing knowledge? Though the pastors of Christ's Church speak on these subjects, and they make part of every conversation, we must ruminate in private upon them, or they will never duly impress our mind.-VENN, SACRED POETRY JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. BY RICHARD HUIE, Esq., M. D. WHAT means that sweet and heav'nly sound, What lights that meek and placid smile Why shews that frail and aged form, He knows, ev'n midst that cheerless scene, In Hubert's towers, though plenty flows, And, O! what other source than this The charm, which bids the realms of light The charm, which makes heaven's self so bright, MISCELLANEOUS. A Ceylonese Christian.-At a festival at Ganesa's (Gumputtee's) temple in Ceylon, while the multitude of worshippers, assembled at the temple, were engaged in boiling their rice for an offering, one of them who went for water fell into the well. As soon as the circumstance was made known to the crowd, they rushed to the well, and among them was the pandarum (priest) of the temple, who, as soon as he had gratified his curiosity, returned to the temple. None among them manifested the least concern for the unfortunate man who was sunk in the water. They looked into the well, and talked about the man in such imminent danger with the most perfect indifference. Not an individual seemed to think assistance could or ought to be rendered, till one of the headmen came to the spot; he exerted all his influence to induce some one to dive into the water, which any person accustomed to swimming might have done with perfect safety, but his efforts were in vain. He then sent for the priest, who was known to be an expert swimmer. At the command of the headman he came, but excused himself from the act of mercy required of him, by saying that he could not absent him self so long from the duties of the temple without sustaining a loss. Just at this moment came to the place a young man, unknown to the crowd, who, as soon as he learned that a fellow-being was drowning, threw aside his garment, and leaped into the well. After repeatedly diving, he found the body and raised it to the surface of the water, from which it was taken by the by-standers. As soon as the noise and confusion occasioned by taking out the lifeless body had subsided, a loud whisper passed along the crowd, "Who is that young man? Who is that good man?" They were not a little surprised, and some of the enemies of Christianity confounded, when they were told that this good Samaritan was Azel Backus, a Christian! This event did not a little towards stopping the mouths and weakening the strength of some who were arrayed against Christians, and the cause in which they were engaged; and is to all, who have any knowledge of Scripture, a striking comment on the words of inspiration, "Overcome evil with good." : Verily there is a God that Judgeth in the Earth.That desperate and cruel tyrant, Antiochus Epiphanes, not merely ruined the Jewish nation as a distinct commonwealth, but ridiculed and insulted the sacred ordinances of Jehovah himself. Profaning the temple in the most daring manner, he set up the image of Jupiter within the precincts of the holy building, and causing a swine to be boiled, directed that the broth should be sprinkled over the Holy of Holies itself. The wickedness of this daring persecutor, however, was most striking in the malicious edicts which he published against the sacred books of the Old Testament. He searched out all the Hebrew copies he was able, and burned them and he issued proclamations throughout Judea, that every Jew who possessed a copy of the Bible should deliver it up to be destroyed, on pain of death in case of refusal. But, blessed be God! though there have been cowards and traitors to the holy cause in all ages, who have feared man's anger more than the wrath of God, yet there have been, at the same time, brave and resolute servants of Christ, who have valued their Bibles above their blood. Such heroes existed in the days of Antiochus; men who dared to preserve their Bibles at the hazard of their lives, not fearing the vengeance of the cruel tyrant. It is remarkable that God's justice descended on this desperate persecutor in a peculiar manner: worms bred in his bowels, and there issued from his putrid body so intolerable a stench, that his physicians could not endure the room. Thus hell took possession of the guilty soul, even before it was detached from the body. A fearful monument is this, of God's dreadful indignation against those who dare to despise and trample upon his holy commandments. The honest confession of a Freethinker. The reverence of Lord Barrington, the celebrated author of the Miscellanea Sacra for religion, is well known. He was intimate with Anthony Collins the freethinker. One day he inquired of Collins why it was, that though he himself had very little respect for the doctrines of revelation, he yet took the greatest care that all his servants should regularly attend at church. His reply was, that he did this to prevent their robbing and murdering him. Published by JOHN JOHNSTONE, at the Offices of the SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN HERALD, 2, Hunter Square, Edinburgh, and 19, Glassford Street, Glasgow; JAMES NISBET & Co., HAMILTON, ADAMS & Co., and R. GROOMBRIDGE, London; W. CURRY, Junr. & Co., Dublin; and W. M'COMB, Belfast; and sold by the Booksellers and Local Agents in all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and in the principal Towns in England and Ireiand. Subscribers in Edinburgh, Leith, and Portobello, will have their copies delivered at their own residences regularly, by leaving their addresses with the Publisher.-Subscribers in Glasgow will, in like manner, have their copies delivered, by leaving their addresses at the Publishing Office there, 19, Glassford Street. Subscription (payable in advance) per quarter, of twelve weeks, 1s. 6d.-per half-year, of twenty-four weeks, 3s.-per year, of fortyeight weeks, 6s.-Monthly Parts, containing four Numbers each, stitched in a printed wrapper, price Sixpence, THE SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN HERALD, CONDUCTED UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF, THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH. No. 59. 66 THE FEAR OF THE LORD, THAT IS WISDOM." SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 1837. ON THE NECESSITY OF DIVINE BY THE REV. GEORGE GARIOCH, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me."-JOHN xiv. 6. Ir may be asserted, perhaps, that the heathen nations, whose history has in my former papers been alluded to, were not so far advanced in civilization as to be capable of exhibiting the full extent of religious knowledge to which the human mind, in more favourable circumstances, is capable of attaining; and the classical states of Greece and Rome may be pointed out as affording an exemplification of the inaccuracy of the views which have been stated. To this assertion, and the grounds on which it rests, I shall now advert. PRICE 1d. The ing of much notice; but the influence of the Old Testament Scriptures, in conveying religious information, either directly or indirectly to the heathen, merits a great degree of attention. The Scriptures may be considered tantamount to a continued uninterrupted revelation of the Divine will, which was efficient for the illumination of the heathen intellect, in two different ways. Israelites themselves were kept in perpetual remembrance of the unity and majesty of God, to which their own Scriptures bore unchanging testimony; and to whatever quarter of the world they directed their steps, they carried along with them the knowledge of those fundamental doctrines of true religion;—or, it may be supposed, that some of the more intelligent heathens might come into contact with those who were acquainted with the theology of the Hebrew Scriptures. This latter supposition is rendered exceedingly probable by what is recorded of Pythagoras and Plato, two of the most celebrated Grecian philosophers, who spent a part of their youth in visiting eastern countries, for the purpose of acquiring knowledge. In proceeding to an examination of that which is considered the religious system of the philosophers of Greece and Rome, an element of the greatest importance must be brought into view The state of the heathen intellect in Greece was which has hitherto been unnoticed--and that is, altogether different from that in which it was mathe indirect communication to heathen nations of nifested in any other parts of the world, to which the truths contained in the Scriptures of the Old allusion has yet been made. In Greece the fine Testament. It is difficult to conceive, that the arts were cultivated with success: poets, philosoknowledge which was afforded to the parents of the phers, orators, historians of the first order arose, human race, of the existence and perfections of the and schools of instruction were opened, in which one only true God, should have been altogether the powers of the mind were trained, and advancforgotten by their posterity, even in distant ages. ed to the highest degree of improvement of which It is so interesting and sublime,-it so adapts itself they were susceptible. In such a condition of to all the necessities of human nature, and it sheds society there could not fail to be cherished a perpesuch a brilliant light upon all those magnificent tual and growing desire for the increase of knowoperations of power which are perpetually display-ledge. Wherever the treasures of wisdom could ing themselves before the eyes of mankind, that we be found, every determined and laborious effort are apt to form the opinion that it would make an would be called into operation, in order to explore irresistible appeal to the understanding and the them. Is it likely, when the states of Greece were heart of rational creatures, and exact from them a so far advanced in civilization-when the minds of full and continued assent. But this pleasing conBut this pleasing con- the people were so incessantly operated upon by ception is opposed by the stubborn facts of history, all the ordinary stimulants of education, and when which prove that the mind of fallen man is incap- so many brilliant stars of the first magnitude illuable of preserving the knowledge of true religion, minated the intellectual firmament, that the rich except through the means of frequent revelation reasoners of the East would have remained undisfrom heaven, or by the aid of the written records covered? Could a country like India, so singular or permanent memorials of such revelation. The in its religion and policy, have escaped the peneinfluence, therefore, of mere tradition is undeserv-trating survey of the enterprising travellers of VOL. II. |