addressed the venerable man in a harsh manner, saying "Since you, when absent, have been the occasion of grievous disturbances, so now, when present, it is the ardent wish of us all, that you would use your endeavours to restore peace." To which Beza answered, "that he was of a condition too humble to have it in his power to produce a commotion, in so great and powerful a kingdom; and that from nature, and on principle, he was totally averse to all disorderly proceedings; and that his zeal and exertions should never be wanting, to promote piety towards God, and the prosperity of his king and country." After considerable conversation with Beza, cardinal Lothario declared to the queen, "that he was very much pleased with him, and that he now hoped, that the result of the conference would be such as they desired, provided every thing should be conducted with temperance and right reason." And when the company were about to separate, he addressed himself to Beza, in a very affectionate manner, and said "I rejoice that I have had this opportunity of conversing with you; and, in the name of God, I invite you to the conference, for I now hope, that in a short time, the reasons on both sides being well pondered-a way to permanent concord will be discovered." Beza replied at length, and entreated the cardinal to persevere in his zeal for peace and concord; he professed, that what ever gifts he had received from God should be most sincerely employed, to promote the same object. The Protestant ministers being now convened, sent in a petition to the king, that he would, according to his promise, institute the proposed conference, without delay; and entreating, that the dignitaries of the church should not be permitted to preside, but that the king himself would consent to moderate the Assembly. Moreover, they requested, that all controversies should be de termined by the Holy Scriptures; and that the whole of the transac tions should be committed to writ ing by the royal notaries. To which the king answered, that he would act in this business, with the aid and by the advice of his proper counsellors, in such a manner that every thing should tend to peace. Some delay in opening the conference was occasioned by the ecclesiastics of the established church, who protested against granting a full liberty of disputing, to men who had been long since condemned by the highest authority. The Protestant ministers also addressed a petition to the queenmother, of the same purport as that sent in to the king. To which she replied, that they could not reasonably expect to be judges in their own cause; but that she agreed, that the word of God should be the standard, by which every doctrine should be tried. They were moreover informed by the queen, that some of the royal secretaries should be appointed to take down the debates; and that the king himself, and all the royal family, would be present at the conference. She admonished them to conduct themselves modestly, and to have nothing in view but the glory of God, of which, she believed they were sincerely zealous; and concluded by saying, "that it would not be expedient to make any concessions to them in writing, for which, indeed, there could be no necessity, since their royal word ought to be considered a sufficient security." The delegates of the reformed church having received this answer departed, when immediately some of the Sorbonnists came to the queen, and wished to know whether she could bring herself to hear the discourses of men of this new religion? and that if she resolved to hear them, it would be very unsafe for so young a man as the king to be present, for there would be great danger, on account of his tender years, lest he should be ensnared. And they again insisted, that men already condemned for heresy, ought not to have a hearing. To which she answered, that nothing should be done without mature deliberation. The conference was now instituted in a spacious hall of the monastery. The king and queen of France, the king and queen of Navarre, the duke of Arles, brother to the king, and Margaret his wife, the prince of Conde, and a large number of the nobility were present. The number of the ecclesiastics was about fifty, accompanied by a train of Sorbonnists and Canonists. The Protestant ministers were about thirty in number. The meeting was opened with a discourse, by Hospitalius, the chancellor of the kingdom, which the cardinals Taro and Lothario required should be committed to writing: but he refused, saying, that the substance of the oration was well understood by all. Thuanus, the historian, says, that this request was made for no other purpose, than to create delay. An opportunity was now afforded to Beza to speak, upon which he said, "Seeing all things which relate to the service of God, both great and small, are far above the capacity of our understanding, and depend entirely on him, I trust that it will not be taken amiss by you, O king, that we commence our deliberations with prayer to God." On which, he immediately fell on his knees, and after repeating the form of confession used in the reformed churches, he proceeded thus, "O Lord, this day, so aid thy unprofitable servants, that they may be able to confess thy truth before the king, and this most illustrious assembly. Be pleased, O Father of lights, according to thy wonted goodness, to enlighten our minds, to regulate our feelings, and to inspire us with docility, that we may be strengthened, so to speak, in exhibiting the truth which thou hast imparted to us, that it may tend to the glory of thy VOL. VII.-Ch. Adv. name, the prosperity of the king and all his people, and the peace and tranquillity of the Christian republick, and especially of this kingdom." When Beza had finished his prayer, he addressed the king, in the following manner: "O most illustrious king, it is esteemed, indeed, a great felicity by those who honour and obey their sovereign with fidelity, to enjoy the privilege of seeing his face, which is, as it were, the visible representation of the majesty of God. And it cannot be otherwise, but that faithful subjects should be greatly agitated, when thus admitted into the royal presence: for we are naturally so constituted, that what we see with our eyes, affects us much more sensibly and deeply, than what we perceive by the simple apprehension of our minds. But if, at any time, it so happens, that subjects are not only permitted to behold their prince, but to be seen by him, and ve at is more, to be heard by him, and to meet with his approbation, they would, indeed, seem to themselves to have attained the highest object of their wishes. These distinguished privileges, for a time, it hath pleased God, that some of your faithful subjects have not been permitted to enjoy to their great disadvantage and grief-until now, when the same God, in his infinite mercy, having regard to our unceasing tears and groans, hath so favoured us, that he hath granted unto us, this day, the blessing, which has been rather the object of our wishes than our hopes; that we should be admitted to the privilege of seeing your Majesty, and of being seen and heard by you, in this most illustrious assembly. Such a favour, we have never before experienced, and never expect afterwards to enjoy the same; so that the whole period of our remaining life will be insufficient to express, in a suitable manner, our obligation to God, and our gratitude to your Majesty, for this R signal favour. And in addition to concord; but, at the same time, they all the rest, we are not only privi- are of opinion, that we insist on conleged with access to your royal ditions so unreasonable and diffiperson, but are tenderly and be- cult, that they are entirely inadmisnignantly invited by you, to be of sible; and that, rather than fail of one mind, in our obedience to God, accomplishing our favourite objects, as we are in our allegiance to you. we would be willing to turn the We must confess, that our minds world upside down; and that we are scarcely capable of conceiving, would be glad to dispossess others in a proper manner, of these distin- of their places and honours, that we guished favours; much less have we ourselves might enjoy them. Many words to express, the sense which difficulties of this kind surround us, we entertain of your great goodness but we would choose rather to bury and condescension. We choose, then in oblivion, than by recounting rather, therefore, in modest silence, them, to renew our own sorrows; to confess our inability to do justice especially, at such a time as this, to the subject-which surpasses all when we are convened, not to make eloquence, than to degrade it, by complaints, but to endeavour to dethe poverty of our speech. But this vise a remedy which may remove one thing is the object of our most them all. But what is that which earnest desire, that our obedience amid so many evils inspires us with may this day be graciously accepted courage? Certainly, O king, we have by your Majesty. If God would no ground of security in ourselves, only grant, that our coming together for we are among the most obscure might at length put an end to our of our race: nor, indeed, does any grievous afflictions, so that, by the arrogance or vain confidence possess auspiipus events of this day, the our minds, for the meanness of our very emembrance of those evils condition effectually represses all which have pressed so heavily on us, thoughts of this kind. But that might be obliterated, what reason which confirms and animates us, is should we have for everlasting gra- a good conscience. We are suptitude! We refer to those disturb- ported by the persuasion, that we ances, on account of religion, which are engaged in a good cause, of have already been the ruin of so which we trust, that God, through the many persons. Various circum- intervention of your Majesty, will stances have combined to prevent, be the defender. Besides, your be until this time, our deliverance nignity, O king, which is manifest from evils worse than death, under in your countenance, and in all your which we have groaned. Often all words;-and your equity, O most hope would have expired, had it not illustrious queen, the goodness of been for some favourable events, by your disposition, and of the illustriwhich our minds have been pre-ous princes of the royal family!served from utter despair. We reckon it among the first of our grievances, that by some means or other, a fixed and almost indelible impression has taken possession of the minds of many, that we are a turbulent and ambitious set of men; bigotted to our own opinions, and enemies to peace and tranquillity. There are some, indeed, who enter tain a more favourable opinion of our spirit, and believe that we are not altogether averse to peace and and ye chosen counsellors, who, we cannot but hope, will be as ready to grant unto us that holy peace and concord, of which we stand in so much need, as we are to receive it. From all these considerations, we are encouraged to hope, that the events of this day will be propi tions." Having finished his address to the king, Beza next addressed himself to the dignitaries of the church, in the following manner: "What need of many words? One thing inspires us with hope, which is, that we trust, that you, with whom we are to be engaged in this conference, will be disposed, under the influence of the law of charity, to use your endeavours to illustrate the truth, rather than obscure it;-to instruct, rather than contend;-to weigh arguments, rather than impugn them. Finally, that you will exert yourselves, rather to arrest the existing evils than to render them fatal and incurable. And now, in the name of that God, who hath convened us in this place, and who is the witness of our thoughts and words, we entreat and beseech you, to divest yourselves of all prejudice and passion, in regard to what has been said, written or done, during the last forty years, so that the proposed end of this conference may not be defeated. And as it relates to us, you shall find, by the blessing of God, that docility and readiness to receive the truth from the word of God, which I trust you desire. Do not suppose, that we have come hither to maintain any error; for our sincere desire is, that whatever is found wrong in ourselves or in you may be corrected. Do not suppose that we entertain the arrogant design of overthrowing the church of God, which we know must be eternal. Do not imagine that we seek to reduce you to the same mean and humble condition, in which we are placed: with which, however, by the grace of God, we are contented. Our desire is, that the foundations of Jerusalem should be firmly established and her ruins restored;-that the spiritual temple should be re-edified, and that the house of God, built up with living stones, should recover its pristine splendour;-that the dispersed sheep should be collected, and brought back to the fold of the one great Shepherd. This is our design, this our purpose, and most ardent wish; which, if you have not hitherto believed, we hope you will have no reason to doubt, when with all patience and gentleness, ye shall have entered into conference with us. And, now, I fervently wish, that instead of disputations and arguments, we could, with united voices, sing a song of praise to God, mutually pledging ourselves, that henceforth, with our combined forces, we would assail the hosts of unbelievers. It will, indeed, be a disgraceful thing, if, while we both preach the doctrines of peace and concord, we should evince a disposition easily to separate and with difficulty to be reconciled. But why mourn? These are things. which may and ought to be wished for by men, but to effect them, belongs to God alone. And may it please him, of his infinite goodness, to forgive our sins, and in the place of our darkness, to illuminate our minds with the light of truth; and thus to accomplish for us, that desirable end which is so necessary to our peace." (To be continued.) Literary and Philosophical Intelligence, etc. Tombuctoo-M. Auguste Caille, the French traveller who has succeeded in reaching Tombuctoo, has been rewarded by his king, with the title of knight of the Legion of Honour, and a pension.-He has also received ten thousand francs from the Geographical Society. The information he communicates is represented as afford. ing a very interesting connexion between the accounts furnished by Watt and Winterbottom, in their journey to Timbo, in 1794; by Major Laing's in the countries of Kouranko and Soulimana, in 1822; by M. Mollien's in Foutah-Jalloh, in 1818; by Mungo Park's to Joliba, in 1795, and 1805; by Dochard's to Yamina and Bam makou, in 1819; as well as all the itinera ries of caravans on the route from Tombuctoo to the country of Tafilet. "There can no longer be any doubt," says a Paris paper, "concerning the very high situation of the sources of the Bafing, the principal tributary of the Senegal. M. Caille, having set out on the 19th of April, 1827, from Cakondy, the tomb of Major Peddie and Major Campbell, crossed that river at Bafila. He also crossed the great stream Joliba, and thence went to Kankan, where he spent some time-a large city in the country of the same name, which supplies much gold from its mines. From this place he travelled about 200 miles to the eastward, beyond the Soulimana, to the village of Time, where he arrived on the 3d of August, and was detained by illness five whole months. "At Time began another excursion towards the north, which is the second part of the journey. Designing to reach the Joliba again, he set out on the 10th of January, 1828, and after passing through more than one hundred villages, and examining the situation of Sego from a short distance, he saw that river once more at Galla, on the 10th of March, approaching it from the west, and crossed an arm of it to reach Jenna. All this is entirely new; as well as his route from the environs of Timbo to Time. "The third portion of his journey was on the great river, (the Joliba or Niger,) having embarked 23d March, after a residence of thirteen days at Jenna. The water was at that time low. The river was in some places a mile in breadth, and in others much narrower, varying in depth and clearness. His journal notices the tributaries and the islands of this stream, and refers particularly to Lake Debo, (the same which is designated, but misplaced in French maps as Lake Dibbie,) and he gives new and authentic notices and statements, along the whole course of the stream. On the 17th of April, he arrived at Kabra, the port of Tombuctoo, and entered the city on the following day. On the 4th of May he left it for El-Arawan, which he reached in six days, and the wells of Teligue in eight more.-All the springs of fresh and brackish water were carefully noted by M. Caille, during his passage through the desert. He suffered doubly the fatigues and privations of that trying journey, on account of the season of hot east winds. He left El-Arawan on the 19th of May, but did not reach ElHarid until the 29th of June. There the caravan was divided into several parts; on the 23d of July, he arrived at Tafilet. He reached Fez on the 12th of August; and, by the aid of a guide, arrived at the sea coast, and September 17th was re ceived by the French Consul at Tangiers, where it was difficult to recognise him in his disguise." The Tea Plant.-It has been doubted whether there is more than one variety of the tea plant. Dr. Abel is inclined to believe there are two, but that either will yield both the black and green teas, according to the mode of preparation. Dalrymple thinks the principal difference between the black and green, is the age of the leaf-the latter being prepared when the leaf is in a less mature state, and while it contains a quantity of viscid, and to a certain degree, narcotic juice, which gives the peculiar character of the hyson teas. Abel remarks that leaves slowly dried will retain more of the green colour than those that are rapidly dried. The green tea is carefully dried by exposure artificial heat, in shallow pans, over a to the open air in the shade, the black by charcoal fire. The difference of latitude in which these teas are cultivated will show the difference, we think, of species. The green tea district lies between the 29th and 31st degrees north latitude, and the black tea district between the 27th and 28th degrees north latitude. The green teas met with in India, are the gun. the hyson, the leaf of which is small, closepowder, with a leaf rolled quite round, and ly curled, and of a blueish green. Of the black teas, the three following are the best: 1st, the Pouchong, of a peculiarly delicate flavour, not often met with out of India or China. 2d, the common Souchong; and 3d, the Bohea tea, called in China the The Chinese use only the black teas, and wooe-cha. Tea is a product of Japan. prepare the others for exportation. It was first introduced into England during the Commonwealth, and now about twen ty-two millions of pounds, are annually consumed there; in the rest of Europe more than five millions, and about as much vels, speaking of the virtues of this plant, in America. Dr. Clarke says, in his Trathat "The exhausted traveller, reduced by continued fever, and worn by incessant toil, experiences in this infusion, the most cooling and balsamic virtues; the heat of his blood abates, his spirits revive, his parched skin relaxes, and his strength is renovated."-Washington Chronicle. We are happy to state, that the first number of a newspaper, in the Chinese character, has been issued lately from the press here. It is, we believe, exclusively of a miscellaneous nature, and intended for circulation among the Chinese. We have not heard of any of them offering themselves as subscribers, but even were the numbers to be distributed gratis, an advantage may be gained by enlightening |