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"The Jews have frequently been instanced as a confirmation of the influence of climate; and being an unmixed people, they afford a striking example. Those of Poland and Germany, having assumed the European complexion, while those of Africa are as swarthy as the Moors themselves. And the various shades of complexion among them will be found proportioned to the time they have been settled in different climates.

"But, with regard to the influence of climate upon complexion, the fact is so obvious, that it would be but a waste of time to enter into further proofs of it: forasmuch as, both in Asia and Africa, the original inhabitants nearest the equator are, without exception, dark, and those descendants of Europeans who are found among them, have lost the florid complexion of their European relatives, and are evidently in a state of approximation to the colour of the Aborigines, though civilized habits of life must doubtless secure them against becoming black. As an example of this we may instance the Even the English settlement in Jamaica. negroes of Africa themselves differ extremely in physiognomy; some tribes being woollyheaded, others lank haired; some tall and well grown, others short and ill shaped. The same remark has been made with regard to the natives of India, of the Hindoo race some castes being black, others tawny only.' Pp. 26-28.

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With regard to the influence of habit upon the physical, mental, and moral character of men, Mr. Price observes:

"It must be evident to every observer, that any material change of habit makes a visible difference even in the same individuals; and that in a very short time. The difference of appearance between those classes, whose circumstances enable them to live without labour, and such as are subject to a labourer's life, and hard fare, is so great that if we did not know them to be continually intermixing, we might be inclined to consider them as distinct races: just as Pinkerton, and his disciples do the Highland chiefs and populace. For persons occupied within doors, as are the inhabitants of towns, naturally manifest a fairer, and less coarse texture of skin, than the rustic population of the same countries. And, though towns are continually supplied with inhabitants from the country, yet even in one generation, so visible a change takes place, that there can be little doubt, that could any instance be discovered of these two classes having been kept distinct for a few centuries, they would appear two several generic races, as the Pinkertonians would say. Every town will afford examples of this difference. But to see it to advantage we should contrast the delicate frame and animated countenance

of the genuine Parisian female, with the coarse ill-favoured person, and stolid expression of the Norman peasant. p. 30, 31.

But it is not merely the physical character which is thus influenced by habit; even the moral or mental constitution seems to be subject to the same agency; as may be seen in the instance of seamen; who even in a few years, acquire a character, as decidedly different from that of landsmen, as can possibly exist between two different tribes; and, if this were continued by an hereditary naval life, we might expect to see it still more distinctly marked.

We may likewise add, that the change effected by climate and habit upon the physiognomy, is not limited to the complexion alone. Even the more solid parts of the face are subject to it. For PROFESSOR CAMPER, speaking of the difference of formation between the skulls of Americans and Europeans, says, that it is perceptible, even in those of AngloAmericans.

"I have never," says he, "been able to obtain possession of the cranium of a native American, nor of an Anglo-American, which has, however, some peculiarities that were pointed out to me by that celebrated artist, Mr. West; of which, as he was born in Pensylvania, he was best qualified to judge. Their face is long and narrow; and the socket of the eye surrounds the ball in so close a manner, that no space is allowed for a large upper eyelid, which is so graceful to the countenance of most Europeans.' [And it appears that this formation does not proceed from any peculiarity of race; for, speaking of the upper eyelid, the professor adds:] The women of Orralaska have the same physiognomy, and the same small eyelids as those of Kamschatka, Mr. West informs me that this is a peculiarity observable also in the English that are born in North America."

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We might add to this, the remark so often made upon the national physiognomy of the Anglo-Americans, that the florid complexion of Europe soon disappears, and gives place to a sallow one: the features also assuming a peculiar cast, which enables travellers at a glance to distinguish between Americans and English.

Professor Camper further remarks, that a similar change takes place in other countries; whereby the descendants of Europeans lose the original character of their parents, and assimilate to the na

tives of the countries, in which they are born. "The greatest singularity that strikes me," says he, "equally in a Cele. bese, a Chinese, and an Otaheitan, consists in the rectangular form of the inferior maxilla. I have also remarked the same in all the women born in Asia of Dutch or English parents."

But it appears from the observations of the same writer, that a considerable degree of change is sometimes perceptible even in the same individuals; and our author enumerates several which have certainly been effected by a change of diet and climate; hence he observes with justice :

"Now, if such changes as these are produced in one or two generations, and even in the same individuals, we must needs admit them to be indisputable proofs of the effects of climate and habit upon the human physiognomy."

It is by a series of facts and observations like these, that our author accounts, and that most satisfactorily, for the diversity which actually prevails amongst the existing tribes and nations of the earth. And it will be seen that his scheme harmonizes with divine truth, for if it be possible, (and that it is so, is proved by Mr. Price,) to account for these varieties in a satisfactory manner, without assuming an original distinction to have existed, then we shall fully come to the truth of the text we have before quoted, that God hath made of one blood all nations of men that dwell on the face of the earth.

It has been observed, that a grain of sweet is worth a pound of sour; in like manner, we say that a single fact is worth a thousand theories. It is the fault of men of science that they still adhere to school philosophy, and forget the inductive process of Bacon; if they adhered more closely to the latter, they would observe how much dependence there is between all the works of God. They would not seize on a solitary fact, or a series of facts, whereon to build a theory or construct a system, without observing the connection of those facts with others, and thus surveying the operations of God in all things: their reasonings would then be more correct; their theories, perhaps, less few and ingenious, but more profound and practical. In a word, they would look through nature up to nature's God," and examine his works, not by the dark, uncertain, and glimmering

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rays which human learning supplies, but by the light of revelation. They would then form correct conclusions, and avoid the errors which unsanctified learning is so apt to lead men into.

The remainder of the essay is occupied in an examination of the effects of coal fire on the colour of the eye, on the colonization and population of Britain, on the Celtic tribes, on the local physiognomy of Britain, and on Continental physiognomy; and on the causes affecting mental character.

These topics, though apparently diverse in their character, are yet made to bear upon the main object of the author, so that we must acknowledge, to use his own language, that the contents of the book do by a forcible train of arguments, from facts already acknowledged, and by the developing of physiological causes hitherto unknown, contribute materially towards the general stock of knowledge, and place the subject of which it treats, upon a foundation entirely new.

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We should, did our limits permit, object to some statements of the author, and to some deductions which not warranted by the facts stated, but as they do not affect the general argument we pass them over; we like our author more when he is adducing facts, than when he attempts to theorise. As a whole, the volume does credit to his heart, as a defender of divine truth; to his head, as a scholar; and to his industry, for the collection of interesting facts by which it is illustrated.

We ought, perhaps, to apologise to our readers both for the length of our extracts, and our remarks on the work before us, but we trust its importance will plead our excuse. To the physiologist, the divine, and the christian, it presents ample materials for reflection; and we recommend it as containing a storehouse of information, and a variety of ingenious remarks on subjects which are important, but which are greatly misunderstood.

EGOTISM.-Never talk much in what you do, or of what you do. Let your works, and not your words, praise you in the gate; and rather imitate the deep and silent river, that pursues its noiseless way, and is only known by the fertility and luxuriance it diffuses in its course, than the impetuous brook, that attracts the eye by its clamour, only to behold its shallowness.-Dr. Raffles.

THE PUBLIC MEETINGS OF 1829.

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THE public meetings are over: most of our country friends have returned to their homes; the excitement arising from large assemblies, eloquent speeches, and interesting reports has, in some degree, abated; we have looked and listened our fill; and we now sit down to reflect, and to reason upon what we have seen and heard. Our annual religious festival is not intended for mere mental gratification; but that we may be rendered strong and vigorous, and prepared for new and extended exertion. We take our stand on an elevated spot, not only that we may contemplate the beauties of the surrounding scenery; but that we may survey the ground over which we have passed, and estimate the difficulties already surmounted. The same elevation enables us also to look forward, to observe the extent of territory still in the possession of the enemy, that we may cheer each other onward with the cry, "There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. We are not of a melancholy temperament: like Hume, we are ever more disposed to look on the favourable, than the unfavourable side of things;" a turn of mind which he observes, "it is more happy to possess, than to be born to an estate of ten thousand a-year." But were we contrariwise inclined, it would be impossible to indulge in gloom, unless we could unite with it the most determined misanthropy. Who that feels any interest in the temporal welfare of his fellow-creatures? who that has any anxiety for their religious and moral improvement? who that is disposed to join in the sacred anthem, Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will towards men," but must feel grateful for what has been already accomplished, and animated by the pros. pects which open before him? What friend to the circulation of the Scriptures but must rejoice that the Bible Society alone has distributed within the year, three hundred and sixty-five thousand Bibles and Testaments? What friend of religious education, but must receive with pleasure the report that there are in Great Britain and Ireland, more than ninety thousand gratuitous teachers, and about a million of scholars? Once more we ask, what friend to the evangelization of the heathen, but must view with delight the progress of the Missionary Societies,—

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their large pecuniary resources-their attentive and persevering committees their laborious and indefatigable missionaries? We might go on to particularise the various institutions of benevolence for the body, and for the mind; on behalf of the Jew and the Greek-the bond and the free-the christian and the heathen, but we forbear. It may be said, "They are unequal, altogether unequal, to the requirements of the Saviour, or the wants of mankind :" they are; but viewed as a whole, they are a noble exhibition of christian principle, and a gratifying proof of what may be accomplished by voluntary disinterested exertion.

In reviewing these meetings we rejoice in the ability with which the cause of religion has been advocated. Notwithstanding the defects which we shall presently notice, the most critical and fastidious hearer must, we think, allow that the reports have been characterised by candour, plain dealing, and good sense; that the speeches have been distinguished for benevolence, piety, and eloquence. The advocates felt that they were pleading for and defending a good cause, before an enlightened and liberal tribunal; they were fervent and zealous in the work, they called upon the people to support the claims of religion and morality, against superstition, idolatry, and vice; they invoked the name of Jehovah-the sacred fire descended, and the audience with one voice exclaimed "The Lord he is the God! the Lord he is the God!"

We have been delighted with the liberality which (with a few exceptions) has characterised these meetings. Christians have at length discovered that they can, without compromising their own opinions, unite with other Christians, who profess a somewhat different creed, to ameliorate the condition, and promote the welfare of mankind. We rejoice in this, for while we feel the importance of those five doctrinal points which have occasioned so much controversy in the religious world, and of our own interpretation for which we should, at the proper time and place, be willing to contend; we also know that there are at least five other points to which our Lord required the attention of his followers, when he recommended them to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, to instruct the ignorant, and to set the prisoner at large. By contention for the former, we sometimes provoke our opponent to wrath; by at

tention to the latter, we may provoke each other" to love and to good works." To us, then, it is an interesting sight to behold a multitude of Christians, declaring by their conduct, that repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, are matters of so much importance to the temporal interests and immortal welfare of their fellow-creatures, that they can, for a while, forget their own minor differences and peculiarities, and what care we! Christ is say, preached, and therein we do rejoice, and we will rejoice!

We must notice one or two defects, which we wish to see remedied.

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It is too much the fashion to give and receive compliments on the platforms of our Public meetings. The disciples of the meek and lowly Jesus should abstain from informing their fellow-labourers that they are great men," bright and shining lights,' ""stars of the first magnitude;" that their "whole lives are devoted to the welfare of mankind," that "a whole continent will sing their praises;" and so on. If those who are known to be actively employed in the same committee or society, and to be in constant private communication, stand before the public thus to speak of each other, they will find it difficult to exonerate themselves from the charge of being parties to a previous contract, the terms of which are, "Allow me to be Cæsar, and you shall at least be Brutus :"

"Tho' 'tis determin'd by the schools
That Flattery's the food of fools
Yet now, and then, you'r men of wit
Will condescend to take a bit.'

We regret this condescension, for after all it is so. These gentlemen have an established reputation, their claims and their merits are appreciated by the public; and they may dispense with these tricks of cajolery. The nobleman can afford to appear in a plain dress, it is his footman who needs the trappings, and lace, and embroidery.

We wish that the speakers would be less extravagant with their similes and metaphors. All reasonable allowances must be made for those who are repeatedly called upon on public occasions :

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She is almost an outlaw; yet she ought not to be allowed so to outrage the laws of nature, as "to make feathers descend with destructive velocity," or "stones fly away as the eagle towards heaven. Thunders are not accustomed to whisper, nor lightnings to shed their genial influence on the earth, by travelling in their respective orbits. But enough of this; a word to the wise is enough.

We take our leave of this subject, with our best wishes for the societies and their advocates. May wisdom guide their deliberations; zeal and integrity distinguish their agents; the influences of the Holy Spirit secure their success; and a still happier meeting be afforded them in the spring of the year, 1830!

We intend to devote a small space in succeeding numbers, for the purpose of laying before our readers a summary statement of the operations of the respective societies which have held their anniversaries, as they may be gathered from their respective reports.

THE INFLUENCE OF MONEY.-Money has a magic influence, a transforming power, that rectifies every inauspicious circumstance, and fills up every unhappy void.

It can give youth to age-beauty to deformity-devotion to indifferenceelegance to rudeness-orthodoxy to scepticism-gentleness to austerity-and the bloom and loveliness of twenty, to the wrinkles and decrepitude of three score years and ten.-Dr. Raffles.

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Where Communications may be addressed to the Editor, (post paid.)
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Harjette and Savill, Printers, 107, St. Martin's Lane, Charing Cross.

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THE

A RELIGIOUS AND LITERARY JOURNAL.

AS EVERY MAN HATHI RECEIVED THE GIFT, SO MINISTER THE SAME ONE TO ANOTHER.'

No. 21.]

THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 1829.

A SERMON

[PRICE 3d.

PREACHED AT THE WEIGH-HOUSE MEETING, MAY 17TH, 1829.
BY THE REV. J. BURNETT, OF CORK.

"Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou
not known me!"-John xiv. 9.

AMONG the variety of teachers employed
for the instruction of the children of men,
in different ages and countries of the
world, they have discovered different dis-
positions, different modes of instructions,
and have acquired different habits in
pressing on those whom they intended to
learn, the instruction they offered. Among
most, however, of the teachers of the
children of men, we find a readiness to
yield to obtuseness, or indifference, or
opposition, when either of these causes
seemed to indicate that those who should
have been taught, were either incapable
of learning, or unwilling to be improved.
We find the teacher, after persevering for
a certain season, at last giving up in des-
pair, abandoning the work he had under-
taken, and taking it for granted, that it
must belong to another field of operation,
and that any further effort on his part is
interdicted either by the stern resistance
of the individual opposed to him, or his
utter hopelessness of succeeding, from
the want of his pupil's capacity to learn.
We cannot, however, discover this to be
the case with regard to the Lord Jesus
Christ. In this respect, as in every other,
he rises above all instructors that pre-
ceded him-above all that followed him.
He is reviled, and he reviles not again,
but teaches still. He is kind, and his
kindness is misinterpreted, and still he
invites them to hear his lessons of wis-
dom. Those who came to hear, are un-
willing to be taught, and yet he presses
home the wisdom that comes from above.
His miracles are derided, when he makes
an appeal to them as a proof of the divine
origin of the mission he came to execute,
and yet he continues to multiply those mi-
racles as a channel through which he might
yet expect to get at the mind of those by

VOL. I.

whom the miracles were despised. He holds up his own testimony of lovedenies having any connexion with the elevation that this world might bestow upon its children, and yet he is arraigned as an enemy to Cæsar, and is crucified and slain. And when his divine power is manifested by the resurrection, and he appears again upon the earth, his object is, to renew in his ambassadors the teaching for which he suffered and died, and he commands the very renewal to be opened in that Jerusalem where all his wisdom had been derided and despised.

The Redeemer, however, does not confine his perseverance as a teacher to those who statedly and directly opposed the instruction he administered. We are told that he pursued the same perseverance with regard to his disciples. We wonder not at those that are beyond our controul, despising that wisdom with which they may not be acquainted, and the value and importance of which they have but little opportunity of ascertaining. But when we find rebellion against parental kindness, or opposition to the instruction which it is within the bounds of a parent's love to impart, we find some risings of mind peculiar to those circumstances, as a response for the ingratitude with which our assiduity may have been treated. Now this was not the way of our Redeemer. He was as kind to his opposing, despising disciples, as he was to those who were far beyond the circle in which he moved. When the men who had tasted of his kindness, and felt the power of his love, or who had seen the wonders of his miracles, or had shared in their benefits, or had ministered with him in the work of love, to whom direct lessons of divine wisdom had been imparted, were found

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