of prophets? I have abstained from every supposition that deceit may find its way into scenes like these: a supposition, however, which I do not discard as improbable. Where a certain honour attaches to being thus affected, some counterfeits and impostors will generally be found. But I have wished to speak of those cases only which are free from all pretence; and which a minister, who is disposed to look upon agitations as proofs of conversion, would fix upon as those which were least liable to suspicion.

God has certainly at different times revealed himself to men in a supernatural manner: but, where the effects produced are such as may readily be accounted for from the operation of natural causes, is it not visionary and enthusiastic to ascribe them to his supernatural agency? When one or two of the patients in a female ward of an hospital faint, it is common for faintings to spread rapidly around, and for a considerable proportion of the women in the ward to be subject to them. This fact has always been accounted for on grounds which will at least equally account for the successive, and almost general fallings down, &c. in religious congregations. A fervid imagination and sympathy will not be less powerful agents, in an assembly of persons who are expecting some strange operations on their bodies and minds, from the immediate agency of the Deity, or of his ministering spirits; than in a sick ward, where the mind is debilitated by disease, and anxious on the subject of bodily health. If something miraculous accompanied the agitations in question; if those who experience them were enabled to speak divers tongues, or cure inveterate diseases by a word; we should have reason to believe, that the great Being, who had wrought the miracle, was the author of the agitation. But when nothing takes place but what will admit of fair explanation on common principles, is it not folly and presumption to conclude that there has been an extraordinary interference of the Deity?

But it will be urged that, in many cases, the agitations in question are proved to be the immediate work of God by their fruits: that many persons appear after them to have put off the old man, and to be renewed in CHRIST. OBSERV. NO. 33.

the spirit of their minds: that instead of continuing to be thoughtless and profane and violent and sensual and proud, as they were before they fell down, they forsake their sins and become the reverse of what they were. Thanks to the God of all grace that this change sometimes follows the seizures we are considering: the change is his work, and to him be the praise: but though it exhibits a most stupendous display of divine power and goodness, it is not miraculous, except every conversion be called a miracle. A change of this kind is effected by God's Holy Spirit, in the ordinary course of his providence, whenever a human being is turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. Neither is there any thing miraculous in this change taking place immediately after the person, who experiences it, has undergone a violent agitation in a religious assembly. A violent concus sion of the mind, though proceeding from causes confessedly natural, not unfrequently leads, under the divine blessing, to a change of heart and life. Some are awakened to a sense of their state by a dangerous illness, others by the loss of dear relations, others by being suddenly reduced to beggary or by a shipwreck; and prove, by their future lives, that they are in truth converted persons. And why may we not view an awakening, by falling down in a religious assembly, in the same point of view with an awakening by any of the events just mentioned? And if the seizure in the religious assembly is to be deemed miraculous, because it has been followed by an awakening and conversion, why may not an illness, or the death of a relation, or the loss of a fortune, or a shipwreck, be with equal reason thought miraculous, when followed by similar consequences? Without doubt these, like all other events, take place according to the appointment of the great Governor of the world; and without doubt he appoints them for the good of his creatures, and foresees all the good consequences they will produce. But as these circumstances would by no means vindicate our looking upon them as preternatural, so similar circumstances as little authorise us to consider the agitations of which we are treating in that point of view.

If this reasoning is just; if there 4 E

does not appear to be any thing supernatural in persons falling down, &c. as has taken place in America, when there have been afterwards proofs of a real conversion, surely no one will contend, that the seizure of those, who did not afterwards appear to be converted, was supernatural. On the contrary, is it unreasonable to ask those who argue that real conversions are evidences of something su pernatural in the agitations with which they commenced, why absence of real conversion, after agitations in other cases, is not evidence that those agitations were not supernatural? But suppose that the convulsions or faintings were supernatural : does it follow that they must be the work of God? Is there not a spirit who, from his influence on human affairs, is called in scripture the God of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, the roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may destroy-who may be busy on such occasions? If he can prevail on men to look on his works as the works of God, his malice will, doubtless, be highly gratified, and impressions which began in delusion will be likely to end in the eternal ruin of those on whom he practised the deceit; though sometimes the grace of God, whose wonderful attribute it is to bring good out of evil, might disappoint his designs, and make even his wiles the means of conversion. How far an extensive view of the effects which have been found to follow from the convulsions, &c. under consideration, would countenance the idea that the Devil might be their author, at least as well as that of their being the effect of divine agency, let those judge who are best acquainted with the state of the countries and congregations in which such agitations have most prevailed. I will not dwell on this subject, as I think I have given satisfactory reasons for looking on the agitations as admitting of a fair and easy explanation from the operation of natural causes.

But it may be demanded, whether, allowing the agitations in question not to be supernatural, it is not, nevertheless, right for ministers of religion to encourage them; since they are not unfrequently found to be followed by true conversion. This is a question to which I beg to call the atten

tion of your more experienced readers, and to request their sentiments upon it.

I cannot conclude without adding, that I do not apply the foregoing remarks to any part of your quotation from the Evangelical Magazine, except that which relates to what had taken place in New Connecticut : and that, in what I have said, it has been my object rather to consider the question in a general point of view, than to confine my attention to the events in that province. B. T.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. You have lately noticed some inconsistencies of the British Critic; but there is one which you have passed over, but which appears to me as extraordinary, and as much worthy of remark as any of the rest. In that critic's review of Mr. Overton's work is contained, as all your readers well know, a direct and explicit disavowal of the whole doctrine of original sin. In his late review of Mr. Daubeny's Vindicia Eccl. Anglic. that disavowal is repeatedly ratified and confirmed. Yet, Sir, this same critic takes every occasion to assert his belief in baptismal regeneration, a spiritual operation symbolized by the purifying effects of water, and supposed by him, and many other churchmen, constantly and invariably to accompany the administration of the outward and visible sign, of which it is the inward and spiritual grace. They even speak of this belief, as if it were the discriminating mark of a faithful son of the church, whose doctrine they contend it is, and any deviation from which they stigmatize as characteristic of Methodism, Calvinism, &c. Now, Sir, if this be indeed the doctrine of the church (and it is not the design of this paper to controvert the position) it must be granted, that the church is, at least, consistent with herself in maintaining it. She believes (as you have abundantly shewn from her homilies, and as the admirable preface of her baptismal office expressly affirms,) that "all men are conceived and born in sin;" consequently, there is no absurdity or incongruity in her supposing (if she do suppose) of every infant she baptizes, that he is at the same

time" spirit."

regenerated by God's holy

He who believes there is existing defilement, may reasonably use means to remove it; and should he presume that it is removed when in reality it is not, his mistake, at any rate, is accompanied with no inconsistency or contradiction: while a man who should be seen applying the same means to an object, which he affirms and believes to be already clean, and pure from all contamination, and should then be heard declaring that this state of purification was the effect of the operation he had just performed upon it:-such a man would, I apprehend, be chargeable with direct contradiction; and the bye-standers might possibly think him a little disordered in his reason.

But where is the consistency of the British Critic in adopting this supposition? With what harmony of principles will he separate the dogma of original sin from that of baptismal regeneration? Nay, I might ask, upon what grounds of self-agreement will he, or any of those persons who agree with him in the denial of an hereditary taint in the moral constitution of man, vindicate the practice of infant baptism at all?

In truth, Sir, I am exceedingly. grieved to observe what a derelic tion some late numbers of the British Critic manifest of several of those principles, for the support and maintenance of which I had always understood that this work was originally undertaken. Ever till now I had supposed the doctrines of original sin, and justification by faith alone, to be orthodox doctrines, held equally by all who made any profession of vital and spiritual christianity; and constituting, together with the divinity and atonement of our Saviour, that common ground on which pious Calvinists and Arminians meet, and make conjointly a stand against the inroads of Pelagian and Socinian errors. But, the British Critic now teaches the contrary. He boldly rejects these doctrines, from the system, of which

he is the champion, and classes them among the errors and heresies characteristic of Calvinism, to run down which, per fas et per nefas, seems the order of the day.

But does not this conduct of a writer, who has hitherto supported so respectable a character, indirectly tend to the credit of the cause against which he discovers so much hostility, and inadvertently give occasion of triumph to his adversary? Will not the readers of his work be apt to infer, that Mr. Overton's victory is pretty decisive upon the whole, when they perceive that he has driven his able opponents from their own formerly avowed principles, in order to find a vantage-ground from which they may repel his arguments? Will not this seeking out for new ground lead, in the minds of some persons, to a conclusion, that the doctrines thus abandoned were found, by these reviewers, so logically linked with the hated tenets of personal election and final perseverance, (which it was necessary for them at all events to resist cum totis viribus,) that no alternative remained but to put the best face upon the matter which they could, and at any rate to expel them from their system? And what is the proper name of that system in which the doctrines of original sin and justification by faith have no place? Pelagianism. Alas! how effectually, though unconsciously, do these critics serve the cause of Calvinism? For, let it once be admitted (and they certainly have done what in them lies to further the admission,) that the above-mentioned doctrines necessarily involve an elec-. tion of grace, and the certain perseverance in holiness of those who are so elected, and all truly pious Arminians, I believe, will not hesitate to receive the latter as articles of their creed, rather than expunge the former. Reduce them to the alternative of being Calvinists or Pelagians, and they will not long be undecided in their choice.

N. G.

GREAT BRITAIN.

In the press, The Narrative of Captain D. WOODARD and Four Seamen; containing an account of their captivity among the Malays for two years and a half, and of the Manners and Customs of the Country, &c. in one volume octavo.-A brief Retrospect of the Eighteenth Century; containing a Sketch of the Revolutions and Improvements in Science, Arts, and Literature, during that period; by S. MILLER, M. A. member of the American Philosophical Society, &c. in two volumes octavo.

The Christian Reader's Guide; being a characteristic catalogue of modern English publications on Theology, and other important branches of knowledge: to which is prefixed, An Essay on the Choice and Use of Books; by T. WILLIAMS, author of the Age of Infidelity, &c.-A new edition of WATKINS's Biographical Dic tionary, which will contain upwards of a thousand additional articles. Letters on the present State of Europe; by Mr. BIGLAND, author of Letters on the Study and Use of History. The Evangelical Preacher; or, a select Collection of doctrinal and practical Sermons, chiefly by English Divines of the Eighteenth Century. Vol. III. Selected by the Reverend Professor Bruce and John Brown, Whitburn; and the Reverend Mr. Peddie, Edinburgh.

Preparing for the press, a new edition of BOSCAWEN'S Translation of Horace, with the original, and many notes, to be printed in a convenient sinall size.-A History of Litchfield, in two volumes octavo, by the Reverend F. HARWOOD.-Ithaca, being an Account of a Voyage through the whole of the Dalmatian Islands; by Mr. GELL, with numerous engravings.

We understand that the Reverend Sir HENRY MONCRIEF WELLWOOD, of Edinburgh, is preparing for the press, a volume of Sermons, which will appear in the course of the winter,

An interesting periodical work is announced, entitled, 4 general History of modern and contemporary Voyages and Travels; which is intended to exhibit a faithful and satisfactory view of the publications of distinguished modern voyagers and travellers as soon as they appear, whether in our own, or in any other language; especially of those, whose expensiveness of form would be likely to prevent their translation or general circulation. It will be published in monthly numbers, in 8yo,

price 2s. 6d. each, illustrated by engravings.

A valuable paper on the Management of Fruit Trees, by WILLIAM FAIRMAN, Esq. is inserted in the twentieth volume of the Transactions of the Society of Arts. It is on the subject of engrafting; and is entitled Extreme Branch Grafting, to distinguish it from that in common use. By Mr. Fairman's method, trees, which have been in a vitiated or barren state, have been rendered productive: new grafts having been introduced at the extremity of the branches and at intermediate parts, the size and beauty of the tree have been preserved and even improved; the new grafts have not only become luxuriant, and produced large crops of fruit, but energy and vigour have been communicated by them to the parent stock, and indicated by healthy shoots and branches from every part of the tree.

A trial was lately made, upon the Thames, of a machine called the LIFE PRESERVER, which perfectly succeeded. This machine is not only calculated to preserve those by whom it is used, but enables them to afford assistance to persons in danger without exposing themselves to any hazard. It is a kind of hollow waistcoat, made of sheet copper, which projects six or eight inches from the body, and reaches from the neck to the waist, round both of which it is secured by straps, and is formed in eight separate divisions. It is perfectly safe; since, if, by any accident, a few of the divisions should not prove water-tight, the remainder would be sufficient to sustain the body. Six persons, with these machines properly attached to them, went down with the tide, retaining a perpendicular position with the head and shoulders above water, from Parliament Stairs to below Blackfriars Bridge; and moved themselves in any direction in the water with very little exertion.

,,

The best way of boiling rice is said to be quite loose in the water, as this gives the grain full room to swell. One pound of Fast India Rice thus boiled in plenty of water for forty minutes, and then turned into a sieve or cullender to drain, will weigh upwards of three pounds. With the addition of a little sugar and milk, this will make a hearty breakfast for six or eight children; or with the addition of boiled apples, damsons, currants, or any other fruit, and sweetened, it will prove an excellent substitute for the heavy suet

and flour puddings frequently used in

schools.

A new Saline Well has been opened at CHELTENHAM. It is situated three hun dred yards above the old well. The properties and doses of the water are nearly similar to those of the lower spa, with a greater proportion of sulphur.

Mr. ARTHUR YOUNG, in No. 248 of the Annals of Agriculture, mentions that a gentleman in Merionethshire gave a goat to each of several poor families, upon condition that they should never be turned loose to commit depredations. They were accepted, and upon meeting one of the owners afterwards, the gentleman enquired what benefit had been derived from his goat. The man replied, that the comfort of it was very great; that she gave milk enough for himself and three children through the summer; that he fed it with the refuse of the garden, the stalks of potatoes, and weeds from the hedges. This, as Mr. Young remarks, is a very valuable hint, applicable to a thousand situations; and would give great comfort to many poor families which cannot keep a cow; and there is scarcely a garden, the refuse of which would not keep a goat. The milk and cream are very rich, sweet, and palatable.

It appears from the scale given in SMITH'S New English Atlas, that England and Wales measure 58,335 square statute miles, or 37,334,400 acres; that the po-, pulation amounts to 8,872,980, which gives 152 persons to a square mile. Scotland and Ireland are nearly equal to each other in acres, and together are equal to England and Wales. The population of Scotland. being 1,600,000, averages fifty-five persons to a square mile; and that of Ireland being about 4,250,000, averages 146 to a square British mile. The area of a square, statute mile is to the area of a square geographical mile as three to four.

The Royal Family being about to oceuby the apartment at Windsor Castle in which the CARTOONS have hitherto been placed, those inimitable paintings would have been in some measure lost to the public. His Majesty, with his accustomed attention to the prosperity of the arts and the public gratification, has, in consequence, ordered them to be removed from Windsor to Hampton-court.

The Surgeons of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and its neighbourhood, have been in the constant practice, since May, 1801, of inoculating weekly with the cow-pock, the children of the labouring poor of that city and its neighbourhood, free of expence. They have just reported, that, since the commencement of their charity, they have inoculated above six thousand children; that no instance of death has happened to any of these children while under the disease; that scarcely any of them have required

any medical treatment; and that not single instance is known to the surgeons, where the Small-Pox has supervened, after the vaccine disease had taken place.

In the twenty-first volume of the Transactions of the Society of Arts and Manufactures, J. C. CURWEN, Esq. has commuicated a well-conducted series of experi ments, which he has made with a view to ascertain the best system of feeding cattle with potatoes, and has pointed out the cheapest method conducive to that purpose. He has accurately described a mode of washing them expediously, of boiling them by steam, and of applying them advantageously with other food. He has proved that land, planted with potatoes, will yield a greater quantity of useful and nourishing food, either for men or cattle, and with greater certainty than can be furnished by any other crop; and that, by following his plan, large tracts of land, now employed as meadows, may be spared for corn.

In the same volume, are given a description and engraving of a machine for clearing roads from mud, invented by Dr. JOHN WINTERBOTTOM, of Newbury. By two of these machines, each requiring four horses and two men, two miles of road were cleared in two hours and a half, which work was judged to be equal to the labour of more than eighty men in a day. On a subsequent trial, seven miles were cleared by two machines in one day, which work, it is asserted, could not have been done in one day by four hundred men. The price of each machine is about ten guineas.

Two bounties of ten guineas each, were adjudged by the society to Mr. WILLIAM · BowLES, of Finsbury-street, for two useful pieces of Mechanism invented by him, description and plates of which are given. The first is intended to prevent accidents. to horses and carriages, in going down, hills: the principle on which it acts is that of instantaneously placing a gripe upon the wheels, so as to check the velocity of their motion, and hinder the pressure of the carriage upon the horses in descending steep roads. The second is a very useful Screw-press, by which the power of pressure is continued without attendance, whilst the matter acted upon recedes under the screw. This press is advantage-ously applicable to the use of the farmer, in making cheese; of the brewer, in pressing hops; and all similar cases.

This patriotic society has recently turned its attention to the supply of the British Navy with hemp from our own colonies; and it has been ascertained, by actual experiments, that Canada can furnish this article equal in quality, for the uses of the navy, to that from the Baltic.

FRANCE.

From a general recapitulation at the