$43 The Stayed Man.-Answer to a Query. sus knew from the beginning who they 66 But if we allow that these passages Your obedient servant, OBSERVATIONS ON "THE STAYED 844 flections, during his long and much varied life, he having been tutor and chaplain to Charles II. when Prince of Wales, whom he accompanied during his exile. At the restoration he was appointed Dean of Westminster, afterwards promoted to the Bishopric of Worcester, and finally to that of Salisbury, where he died in 1665, universally esteemed and regretted. He was a man of a very mild and gentle temper, which even the sufferings and persecutions he endured, during the tyrannical usurpation of Cromwell, failed to destroy. It was said of him, a short time after his decease, “That since Mr. Richard Hooker, none has lived whom God had blessed with more innocent wisdom, more sanctified learning, or a more pious primitive temper, than he." It is scarcely possible that a work like the Imperial Magazine can render more service to the literary world, than by occasionally publishing extracts from meritorious works, which, like Bishop Earle's, are not generally known, together with brief sketches of their authors. I therefore hope to see many such extracts in the Imperial Magazine. I have been informed that you num ber among your readers, several who have resided at, or visited New Zealand, or who are in possession of information relating to that interesting country. If so, I hope they will seize this opportunity to lay their information before the public through the medium of your Magazine. So little, comparatively speaking, is known in England respecting these fertile and MR. EDITOR. beautiful islands, that I am certain SIR, I observed in your May num- any remarks upon their climate, soil, ber, col. 426, an article entitled, "The animal and vegetable productions, hyStayed Man," which is there errone-drography, minerals, harbours, or inously attributed to Mr. Edward Blount, who, in fact, as he quaintly says, "only played the midwives' part, bringing into the world another's offspring." The real author was Dr. John Earle, Bishop of Salisbury, a most pious, learned, and vigilant prelate. Microcosmographie, or a Piece of the World Discovered, in essays and characters (from whence the character of the "Stayed Man" is extracted,) has passed through many editions, but has now become scarce. This work is generally esteemed, by literary antiquarics, to be the result of the author's own observations and re habitants, will excite much interest, and greatly gratify many of your readers, but none more so than, LONDON: I Your's, &c. An Answer to the Query proposed by MR. EDITOR. CANNOT but admire the practice adopted in your valuable Magazine, of proposing questions on various 845 Reply to a Query. 846 subjects to be answered by any per- | from the scriptural purport of the son who may read your work. The Mosaic sacrifices, and the express practice is, I think, calculated to pro- spirit of scripture declarations on the duce permanent usefulnesss, in eli- point. citing from those who, perhaps, never entertained the most remote idea of communicating their sentiments to the world, many useful observations, and in opening to them a path for lite-made. "The law" of ceremonies “havrary pursuits. 66 Your correspondent, "Scriptor," inquires, Upon what authority Jewish customs are abolished among us, since Christ and his disciples conformed to many, such as the Passover, &c." The Jewish ceremonies were, doubtless, most interesting and splendid. Their fascinations were so irresistible, that we find many of them obtained among some of the primitive professors of Christianity, and they are still embraced by some churches professedly Christian. The attachment shewn to these customs by the church of Rome, is too manifest to need remark; and it has, perhaps, more than any thing besides, contributed to effect its apostasy. It is not, however, my present intention to inquire, whether these ceremonies are calculated to assist or impede the influence of Christianity on the minds of its professors; but that they are disallowed by what are called orthodox Christians, is a wellknown fact; indeed, your querist grounds his inquiry upon the circumstance that these ceremonies are abolished amongst us. It is generally admitted that the Passover, like other ceremonies among the Jews, was typical of that great event, which, in the fulness of time, should take place--the redemption of mankind. It can, therefore, be easily supposed, that all the prefigurations of this great event should continue in full exercise, until the thing which they all represented should itself be fully accomplished. But when this redemption was effected by the atonement of Jesus Christ, it was to be expected, that those observances which typified it, should at once cease; in deed, the end of their office would be fully accomplished when the event to which they pointed was brought to pass. It must, therefore, be obvious, admitting this view of the ceremonies, that the authority upon which they are abolished among us," is derived The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews has clearly shewn, that the sacrifices under the law should cease when the great atonement for sin was ing only the shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, could not make the comers thereunto perfect;" and when Christ came, he said, "Sacrifices, and burntofferings, and offerings for sin, which are offered by the law, thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein.” "Lo I come to do thy will, O God!" "He taketh away the first" (the Jewish ceremonies) "that he may establish the second," (the sacrifice of himself.) In the same epistle, the great atonement for sin is distinguished from the sacrifices of the law, by its being once offered. "After he had offered one sacrifice," "he for ever sat down at the right-hand of God," "there being no more sacrifice for sin." Jesus and his disciples did, indeed, observe many of those rites which Moses had commanded. He " came not to destroy the law, but to establish the law," by performing all its requisitions, and he taught his disciples to do likewise, because the time was not then come for him to perfect that law by his sufferings. It was, therefore, quite consistent with the Saviour's mission, for him to observe all those institutions, which were appointed as types of himself: but when the death of our blessed Redeemer occurred, the whole book of Jewish rites was closed; and when Jesus uttered, “It is finished," that dispensation was 66 abolished which, for ages, had, like John the Baptist, directed the Jewish nation to "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world." 847 Natural or acquired Abilities.-A Parody. 848 2nd, They are derived from a higher abilitics are intended, I had in a fit of what you may, perhaps, call per-source-they are the gifts of nature: verseness, chosen to apply it in the former sense; but as, upon cooler consideration, I think the frivolity of those remarks would expose me to your just censure, I now beg to consider it as applying to mental abilities, and shall, therefore, not trouble you with my previous lucubrations. As I intend to be as brief as possible, it will not be necessary to enter into any description of the different powers of the mind, as they will be more readily conceived of than expressed, and as they do not form the principal subject of inquiry. The object of your question, I take then to be the comparative value of natural and acquired abilities; and I shall endeavour to make my remarks apply equally to the individual possessor, and to society at large. I am of opinion, then, that natural abilities are the most valuable in both cases, for the following reasons and here it may be proper to premise, that, as this is not intended for a religious essay, the term nature is not used in a religious sense; nor yet in strict accordance with heathen philosophy. We shall not then proceed to deify nature; but while we consider man as a rational and intelligent creature, we shall trace the origin of all his mental powers to the “ First Great Cause and Grand Intelligence;" and having taken this view of the subject, it will scarcely be necessary to assert the superiority of this source, and that the gifts must consequently, in a measure, possess the perfection of their high origin. 3rd, They involve a greater degree of responsibility.-As man is an accountable being, having received from the highest possible source numerous mental powers and faculties; he necessarily becomes responsible for the exercise and improvement of those talents, and hence their value is enhanced above any other powers he may possess, supposing him to be able to originate in his own mind any ca 1st, Because natural abilities lie at the very foundation of all acquired; and here I am almost inclined to affirm, that, strictly speaking, there are no such things as acquired abilities, inde-sual or permanent capacities. pendently of natural; but as I do not 4th, They are better calculated to inwish to get rid of the subject so unce- sure success.-Though it is not inremoniously, I shall leave it with you tended, that persevering application to specify a few instances of that de- will not surmount many difficulties, scription. It appears to me, how- and ultimately enable a person of but ever, that the case of an idiot is scanty intellectual powers to arrive at strictly in point here; he has no na- a good degree of knowledge, and pertural mental abilities; and, I ask, can haps to some degree of literary emihe acquire any? But in those cases nence; yet it must be allowed, that apparently favourable to the acquire- where great natural genius is enjoyed, ment of talents, may it not rather be and where, likewise, perseverance and considered as the eliciting, or im- due application (as the question adprovement, of talents already possess-mits an equal degree of industry in ed, or the directing of them into a different channel, than the implantation of a new principle by any efforts of our own? I grant that most or all of our mental powers may be improved by culture, of which the memory is a remarkable instance; but this is widely different from the attainment of any new and independent faculty: THE following lines by Dryden, conI know that many great men have re-tain, perhaps, one of the finest comferred their success in the attainment of a knowledge of the arts and sciences, &c. to their persevering application; but could they have persevered, if they had not possessed natural powers of mind; and if those powers had not been suited, and naturally formed capable of such particular exercise? both parties) are in exercise, enlarged success and unfading glory will be the result of the right improvement of natural abilities. A PARODY. pliments paid to Milton, that this as- "Three poets, in three distant ages born, 849 Flour. Review: Mexican Revolution. The force of nature could no farther go, These lines have given rise to the Parody which is subjoined. It was occasioned by the meeting of an author, very shabbily dressed in an old velvet waistcoat, on which he had sewed embroidery of a later date. Three waistcoats in three distant ages born, The bard with faded lustre did adorn. The first in velvet's figured pride surpast; The next in 'broidery; in both the last; His purse and fancy could no farther go, To make a third, he join'd the former two. To Ascertain the Purity of Flour. THE purity of flour may be partly ascertained, by grasping a handful, and squeezing it for half a minute, when, if laid even roughly on a table, it will preserve its form: if adulterated, it will soon fall down; especially if the adulteration, instead of whiting, be ground stones, bones, or plaster of Paris. 2. Dip the fore-finger and thumb into a little sweet oil, and take up a small quantity of flour between them; if pure, it may be rubbed for any length of time, and it will not become adhesive; but if it be mixed with whiting, it soon becomes putty: if pure, it also becomes dark-coloured, but if impure, it is very little altered by the oil. 3. Lemon-juice, or vinegar, will also detect the presence of whiting, by the agitation produced in the flour; pure flour produces no particular effect with these fluids. 850 On examining the military chest, it was found to contain about 18,000 dollars. What thus remained of the specie, together with some spare arms and artillery, was buried in the fort. "Every thing being in readiness, the garrison prepared to evacuate the fort. A distressing scene then took place. The necessity of aban doning the unfortunate wounded, whom, from the nature of the barranca over which it was necessary to pass, it was impossible to carry out, was imperious. The hospital was filled with these victims, the majority of whom were the officers and men who had accompanied Mina from Soto la Marina: they were incapable of bodily exertion; the limbs of most of them being broken. Parting with such men, who had fought so bravely, and who were so devoted to the cause they had espoused, filled every breast with unutterable agony. Some anticipated the fate that awaited them, and entreated their friends to terminate their existence; some indulged hopes of mercy from the Spaniards; spair, covered their faces, and were unable to while others, overwhelmed with grief and debid what they considered a final adieu. proceeded with the division to the appointed "At eleven o'clock at night, Colonel Bradburn spot, whence the sally was to be made. The route chosen was through the barranca before described, the only direction by which there was any chance of escape. On arriving at the rendezvous, Colonel Bradburn was surprised to find that Don Pedro, who had reached there first, had imprudently permitted the women and children to precede the march. They soon got into confusion, and by their screams alarmed the enemy, and thus apprised them of what was in agitation. From the difficulties which the barranca presented, it was impracticable for the troops 'to remain formed in their march; and bence, in the darkness of the night, they soon dispersed, every one exploring his path, and endeavouring to take care of himself. and sentries of the enemy were encountered; "In the bottom of the barranca, the picquets with whom a continual skirmishing prevailed. weakness; others were shot by the random fire Many of the fugitives dropped down from of the enemy. The screams of the women, the reports of the enemy's musquets, the cries of those who fell, the groans of the wounded, and the intense darkness which reigned around, gave to the scene indescribable horror. Some few, particularly of the females, were so dismayed, that they returned to the fort; preferring the chance of a pardon to the risk of that de REVIEW.-Memoirs of the Mexican struction which then seemed inevitable. Revolution, &c. (Concluded from col. 759.) Two attempts were afterwards made by the besiegers to carry the fort by storm; but the resistance of the brave defenders, reduced as they were through famine and desertion, compelled them to retreat with loss. By the last shot which the besiegers fired, Colonel Young was deprived of life. On his death the command of the fort devolved on Lieut. Col. Bradburn, who, on discovering that the enemy manifested no inclination to raise the siege, and finding their own provisions and ammunition quite exhausted, determined forthwith to evacuate the place. The greater part, however, by the dawn, had gained the opposite summit of the barranca. Here, many of them flattered themselves the danger was over; but the foreigners, being ignorant of the topography of the place, were uncertain every step might place them in the power of which way to direct their course, fearing that the enemy. They marched on as chance directed them, in parties of two, three, or six. Soon after day-light, they were beset by parties of the enemy's cavalry, who had been ordered along the summit of the barranca, as soon as the fort. Another scene of horror began:-the it was known that the garrison had evacuated enemy's cavalry rushed in among the flying and kneeling individuals. No quarter was given. lances, the greater part of the fugitives were Cut to pieces by the sword, or transfixed with destroyed. The few who escaped, among whom tion to the dense and foggy state of the atmowas Don Pedro Moreno, owed their preservasphere. The clothes and money found on the victims, were looked upon as prizes by the cavalry soldiers, who for that reason preferred killing to making prisoners of them; for if they 851 Review-Mexican Revolution. had spared their lives, and conducted them as prisoners to head-quarters, the booty would not have lost the clothes. "The next morning, the enemy entered the deserted fort in triumph. Then ensued a tragedy, by order of the infuriated Linan, which it is vain to attempt to depict in colours sufficiently strong. 852 The warrior, indeed, perceives no have been so great, as in that case they might difficulty connected with it. He finds justice securely entrenched under the cover of his arms, and prowess with him is the criterion of right. Animated by the example of kings and heroes, whose exploits have been recorded in the pages of fame, he only aims at wealth and military glory; he marches on in his career of conquest over heaps of slain, and smiles at the blood which either flows around him, or smokes upon his sabre. The hospital, as we have before observed, was filled with wounded, a large majority of whom were foreigners, principally Americans. Those who could bobble to the square, a few paces distant, were made to do so, while others, whose fractured limbs would not permit them to move, were inhumanly dragged along the Pround to the fatal spot. There stood the ferocious Linan, feasting on the spectacle; regardless of their miserable situation, of their former gallant conduct, of the clemency and respect which they had shewn to royalist prisoners ummindful of all these considerations, he or dered them to be stripped of all their clothes, and shot down, one by one. "Linan occupied three days in compelling the other prisoners that were found in the fort, to demolish the works; which being effected, he ordered them to be brought to the square, and there shot. One of the prisoners, immediately before being shot, discovered the place where the treasure and other articles were buried; but even this information did not save his life. "Thus terminated the siege of Sombrero; out of the two hundred and sixty-nine men who had entered the fort with Mina, only fifty escaped." From the extracts thus given, the reader will be able to contemplate the horrors of war, reflect on the cruelty of the Spaniards, on the bravery of Mina and his followers, on the author's talents as a writer, and on his fidelity as a narrator of the facts which he describes. We have already hinted, that the delineation given in these volumes are not without some tincture of colouring unfavourable to the Spaniards, whose character is almost every where placed in an unpleasant light. The facts themselves are, however, of such a nature, that they cannot with justice be questioned, when viewed in the abstract; although it must be allowed, that a writer, under an impression of opposite feelings, would have found occasion to give prominence to another class of objects. The Spaniards, in the conquest of Mexico and Peru, acted upon that principle which Mina followed. The only difference lay in the result of their exertions;-the former were rewarded with wealth and victory, and the latter was recompensed with poverty and death. Among all the " mighty troublers of the earth, Who swam to sov'reign rule through seas of blood," from Nimrod to Napoleon, there is scarcely an invader to be found, to whom the charge of injustice will not apply. The history of nations is too frequently, like the laws of Draco, written in blood; and he who can justify the depredations of these military marauders, may become apologists for Mina. But whatever may be said respecting the principles by which Mina was actuated, nothing can be inferred from hence, either to the advantage or disadvantage of the volumes which record transactions of which he is the hero. The narrative abounds with a variety of incidents; among which none are more interesting, than those that accompany the capture and death of this daring adventurer. Independently of these, the descriptions given of the country, its governTo men in different walks of life, ment, its population, wealth, internal whose minds have been trained to va- resources, together with the manners ried modes of reflection, questions of of the inhabitants, interest the feela very opposite nature will readily oc- ings, which are alternately soothed cur. The warrior and the moral phi- and harassed; while mingled emotions losopher seem to belong to distinct of pity, sympathy, contempt, and inspecies of beings. The latter will dignation, occasionally occupy the readily inquire, what were the motives mind. No person, we think, can peruse which induced Mina to enter South these volumes with attention, without America, to commit depredations on acknowledging them to be instructive, the Spanish territories? This is a ques-important, and interesting. We shall tion which we must confess it is more be pleased to learn, that the author has easy to propose, than satisfactorily to beeh amply remunerated for his past solve. sufferings, and his present labour. |