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clearness of statement and soundness of argument, than that with which Mr. Beresford has indulged us. It possesses also some novelty of view, and is calculated (we should think) to put the question which it discusses for ever at rest, among persons who use words with precision and know how to reason with correctness. The tenet which Mr. B. so ably combats is "that it must be useless to inculcate good works, distinctively, because good works are the unfailing produce of faith; and, consequently, that the faith which fails to produce them is not the true faith." To demonstrate the fallacy of this doctrine, he begins with admitting that faith, in its last and utmost degree of perfection, (which has never yet been found in man,) might necessarily be inclusive of good works: but then he contends that faith, which is so confidently pronounced to be instantaneously perfect, is gradually progressive; and he quotes James, ii. 22. to prove that faith, so far from being regarded as a self-perfecting principle, is made perfect by works.' Mr. B.'s citations from Scripture are decisive as to the point at issue. We quote one of them, with his comments:

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The last passage with relation to faith, which I shall produce from St. Paul, will, I trust, be completely decisive in my favour, so far as his authority is concerned. It is to be found in the 13th chapter of the 1st of Corinthians, at the 13th verse: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity; these three: but the greatest of these is charity."The greatest of these is charity! Why then, good works, (with which charity is shown in every word of the chapter to be strictly identical,) good works, then, I say, are, here, deliberately, and without qualification, pronounced by St. Paul himself to be greater even than faith- than that very faith, of which he has been hailed as the leading advocate, throughout the unnatural contest with her own offspring, into which she has been driven. Charity, says St. Paul, is greater than faith. Whoever, therefore, maintains the doctrine, that faith includes charity, if he determine still to keep his hold upon St. Paul, must be prepared to assert, that, in St. Paul's opinion, the less includes the greater; or, in other words, that a part may be greater than the whole imaginary dogma, familiar to all my readers, as a proverbial sarcasm upon contradictory propositions.

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But some, perchance, under the pressure of these difficulties, may deny my premises, and inform us that "charity," in the quoted sentence, is to be understood as something purely spiritual—as a designation of Christian love in the abstract, without any reference to the outward practice of good works. Should any be bold enough to hazard such an experiment upon the word in this place, let him be sent to the chapter from which I have drawn it, and of which charity is the single subject. He will there find, that the charity so exaltedly described by the Apostle, is no speculative, airy sentiment of the mind; but a principle, in action-an energy, stirring in the effective discharge of moral business; indefatigable in the labours of universal love, while self-exposed to the shot of scorn, and self-presented with the bitters of mortification in fine, a virtue of struggle, and encounter, painfully working her ascent to glory, against a raging rebellion of passions and desires.'

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That class of divines, with whom Mr. B. is at issue, ought attentively to peruse this pamphlet: the conclusion of which contains the true rule to be followed by preachers on this subject; viz. that faith is to be represented to our hearers, as an influential, but not as a compelling principle that, as this principle may be theoretically taken into the mind, without terminating in correspondent practices, those practices are, therefore, to be distinctly enforced.'

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We have often been surprized that any set of well-meaning men can have an objection to represent faith and virtue as lending mutual assistance to each other; since good practice is not less propitious to good principles, than good principles are to good practice. Our Saviour declares that the doing of his will is the best preparative for knowing his doctrine; and can those who oppose this rule be intitled to the appellation of Evangelical Preachers?

MISCELLANEOUS.

Art. 24. The Complete Weather-Guide; a Collection of practical Observations for prognosticating the Weather; drawn from Plants, Animals, inanimate Bodies, and also by Means of philosophical Instruments; including the Shepherd of Banbury's Rules, explained on philosophical Principles. With an Appendix of miscellaneous Observations on Meteorology, a curious botanical Clock, &c. &c. &c. By Joseph Taylor. 12mo. 6s. Boards. Gale and Co.

To Englishmen, who live in a climate extremely changeable, yet are fond of spending much time out of doors, it is of some importance to be weather-wise; and a guide to this sort of wisdom is therefore worth their acceptance. It must be said in recommendation of the writer before us, that he has taken no inconsiderable pains in the compilation of his work; and that, if he may not always be implicitly followed in his philosophical attempts at illustration, he has collected a multitude of facts and observations which may be useful in prognosticating the changes that are continually occurring in our atmosphere. His title-page sufficiently specifies the various departments of his undertaking; and it will perhaps be sufficient for us to offer to our readers a few of the rules here given for obtaining a foreknowlege of the weather. In the first part, we are presented with a series of observations by which we may judge of alterations of weather, deduced from the appearances of nature: but some of these observations, resting on no philosophical principle, cannot be fully credited. The chickweed, pimpernel, and other plants, by the opening and shutting of their petals may indicate changes in the atmosphere; and some animals may be so affected by them as to give signs of their approach: but we cannot think that oxen by licking their forefeet, or oxen or dogs by lying on their sides, announce rain.' The experiment with the leech (p. 27.) is curious, and more worthy of dependence.

Changes indicated by the clouds merit notice. E. G. If clouds appear gradually to diminish, and dissolve into air, so as to become invisible, it is an indication of fine weather.' (P. 31.)

• It not unfrequently happens that two different currents of clouds appear; these are certain signs of rain, particularly if the lower current fly swiftly before the wind.' (P. 31.)

While rain is falling, if any small space of the sky be observable, it is almost a certain sign that the rain will speedily cease.' (P. 34.) If the wind veer about uncertainly to various points of the com pass, it is a sure sign of rain.' (P. 37.)

Among the signs deduced from appearances on the earth's surface, we find the following: In a morning, if a mist, which hangs over the low lands, draws towards the high lands, it is a sign of an approaching fine day.' (P.40.)

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Respecting the seasons, it is observed that a cold and windy May is favourable to corn, that a damp spring or summer is commonly followed by a fine autumn, and that, if the winter is rainy, the spring will be dry.' (P. 45.) We pass over the observations on the influence of the moon, because we think that they are of little value; and because it is confessed, in one instance, at p. 52., that the lunar situations have a very weak effect:' a remark which may be generally applied.

Part ii., which contains observations on the use of the Barometer and various philosophical instruments, may be perused with advantage by farmers and others: but, when (p. 90.) Mr. Taylor speaks of the sinking of Fahrenheit's thermometer fourteen degrees as indicative of the destruction of succulent vegetables,' he must mean to 14 degrees above zero, or 18 degrees below the freezing point; and, when he mentions Reaumur's thermometer as less accurate than that of Fahrenheit, we do not understand him. It is differently graduated, and in one respect is preferable, because it makes the freezing point zero. What reason can be assigned for marking it 32 ?

From the Banbury Shepherd's rules, we take two or three short specimens: If, in the morning, some parts of the sky appear green between the clouds, while the sky is blue above, stormy weather is at hand.' (P. 98.) If small clouds increase-much rain; if large clouds decrease-fair weather.' (P. 101.) On these signs dependance may be placed. — In the Appendix, the direction of the winds, on an average of ten years, is given from the register kept by the Royal Society: but the precise years are not stated:

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North-east winds seem of late years to have been more prevalent than this account indicates. The engraving which fronts the title, called Flora's Dial, is explained at p. 156.

From the few specimens which we have given, it will be seen that Mr. Taylor's Guide to a knowlege of the weather, if not complete,

may be very useful; and we hope that he will be encouraged to render it a still more valuable directory.

Art. 25. The Lamentations of the Children of Israel, respecting the Hardships they suffer from the Penal Laws, and praying that, if they are repealed, so as to exempt the Catholics and Dissenters from their Influence, the Jews may also enjoy the Benefit of this Indulgence, in common with the rest of his Majesty's Subjects. In a Letter to a dignified Clergyman of the Church of England. By Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Levi, Ďavid, Bathsheba, Solomon, 1000 Wives and Concubines, Daniel Belteshazzar, Manasseh Ben Israel, of the House of David. 8vo. PP. 72. Souter.

We suspect that some arch rogue, who would be found, on an examination by a jury of Jews, not to have the hall-mark of the synagogue on him, here assumes the guise of a circumcised Israelite, and in this character addresses a Christian bishop, for the purpose of placing certain facts and doctrines in a point of view from which they are rarely contemplated by the members of Christian communities. So entirely does this writer keep up to his character, that he very strenuously advocates the cause of the Jews, and pleads for their admission to the full privileges of citizenship: but he discovers more knowlege of the New Testament, and of the circumstances of Christian churches, than the children of Israel ever give themselves the trouble to attain. Some humorous and at the same time embarrassing argumenta ad hominem are also directed to the dignified clergyman. It is in this style that the letter-writer proceeds:

• You have converted our moiety of the Bible to your own use, and have utterly prohibited us from making any advantage of the New Testament, which might satisfy us for our loss of the old.

• You have violently seized upon Moses and Aaron, and the Ten Commandments, which were our natural property, and have placed them over your communion tables; yet make this pretence of Christian communion a reason for excluding us from all advantages as members of the commonwealth: so that our law and our prophets can afford us no protection, though you have exalted them to the first places of worship.'

• We are not in the case of Catholics or Dissenters, who are said to have injured you: we never turned you out of your churches ; we never set up chapter-lands to sale, nor pulled down your hierarchy; but, on the contrary, it is to us that you owe your mitres and your revenues, your privileges and pre-eminences. If any one asks, whence you derive your priesthood, you know in your consciences that Christ himself was a layman; you fetch your pedigree from the house of Aaron, and make more profit to your order of the five books of Moses, than of all the four Evangelists.'

This pseudo Jew glances at the doctrine of the Trinity as an insuperable obstacle to the conversion of the followers of Moses. The picture of the Christianity of the present day offers no incitement to the Jews to join issue [to concur] with it. Before you attempt to

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convert us, be first agreed amongst yourselves, what it is you would have us to believe.'

An apology is attempted for those Jews who put our Saviour to death, by pleading in their excuse that they were the mere dupes of priestly imposture, ambition, and cruelty; and to shew that the same causes have led to similar effects in subsequent periods, and that Christianity, with all its high pretensions, has not relieved the world from these scourges, the writer jogs the bishop's memory on the subject of Christian persecution:

I shall just mention a few historical facts. Pope Julius in seven years was the occasion of the slaughter of two hundred thousand Christians. The massacre in France cut off one hundred thousand in three months. P. Perionius avers, that in the persecution of the Albigenses and Waldenses, one million lost their lives. From the beginning of the Jesuits till 1580, that is, in about forty years, nine hundred thousand perished, saith Balduinus. The Duke of Alva, by the hangman, put thirty-six thousand to death. Vergerius affirms, that the Inquisition in thirty years destroyed one hundred and fifty thousand. To all this I may add the Irish rebellion, in which three hundred thousand were destroyed, as the Lord Orrery reports, in a paper printed in the reign of Charles II. Besides all these, vast numbers have been destroyed in the subsequent persecutions in France and Piedmont, in the Palatinate and Hungary. Can this be the religion of Jesus Christ, the humble messenger of glad tidings, - Peace on earth, and good will towards men ?'

Though playfully ironical or wittily satirical in some parts of his letter, in others the author so gravely pleads the cause and so highly extols the moral character of the Jews, as a body, that we could almost believe him to be "a Hebrew of the Hebrews."

The Jews have been alternately persecuted and degraded, as a punishment for their faithful adherence to the religion of their fathers; they ceased to be considered as men, in proportion as they wished to remain Jews. Mixed among civilized nations, they would have proved useful citizens, had they not been prevented by a barbarous policy. In fact, humiliation and misfortune did often really degrade us. To these baneful causes is to be attributed the degraded state in which many of our brethren still languish in some countries.'.

To accelerate the moral regeneration of the Jews, we must remove those prejudices so long prevailing in Europe, and perpetuated by blind hatred, or lawless cupidity. It is equally the duty and the interest of every government, to give all the Jews residing in their territories, the rank and rights of citizens, as a means to induce them to devote themselves to the service of the country.'

It must be said of this representation that, whether it proceeds from a real or a pretended Jew, it has the merit of being correct. The writer of these Lamentations, however, leaves us in no doubt of his real character, when, in taking leave of the Christian bishop, he offers him the first cut of the paschal lamb and the chief seat in the synagogue.

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