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mer to gratify Diana. The Sabian idolaters in Persia offered human victims to Mithras; the Cretans, to Jupiter; the Lacedemonian and Lusitanians, to Mars: the Lesbians, to Bacchus : the Phocians, to Diana; the Thessalians, to Chiron.

The Gauls, equally cruel in their worship, sacrificed men, originally, to Eso and Teutate; but latterly to Mercury, Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Minerva. Cæsar informs us, that whenever they thought themselves in danger, whether from sickness, or af ter any considerable defeat in war, being persuaded that, unless life be given for life, the anger of the gods can never be appeased; they constructed wicker images of enormous bulk, which they filled with men, who were first suffocated with smoke, and then consumed by fire. For this purpose they prefered criminals; but when a sufficient number of these could not be found, they supplied the deficiency from the community at large.

The Germans are said to have differed from the Gauls, in having no Druids, and in being little addicted to the service of the altar. Their only gods were the Sun, Vulcan, and the Moon; yet, among the objects of their worship, was Tuisco their progenitor, and Woden, the hero of the north. It is true, that neither Cæsar nor Tacitus says any thing of their shedding blood in sacrifice; yet the probability is, that, like the Saxons, and other northern nations, they not only offered blood, but took their choicest victims from the human race.

In Sweden, the altars of Woden smoked incessantly with blood: this flowed most abundantly at the solemn festivals celebrated every ninth year at Upsal. Then the king, attended by the senate, and by all the great officers about his court, entered the temple, which glittered on all sides with gold, and conducted to the altar nine slaves, or in time of war nine captives.These met the caresses of the multitude, as being about to avert from them the displeasure of the gods, and then submitted to their fate but in times of distress, more noble victims bled ; and it stands upon record, that when Aune their king was ill, he offered up to Woden his nine sons, to obtain the prolongation of his life.

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The Danes had precisely the same abominable customs. Every ninth year, in the month of January, they sacrificed ninetynine men, with as many horses, dogs, and cocks and Hacon, king of Norway, offered his own son to obtain from Woden the victory over Harold; with whom he was at war.

In Russia, the Slavi worshipped a multitude of gods, and erected to them innumerable altars. Of these deities Peroun, that is, the Thunderer, was the supreme; and before his image many of their prisoners bled. Their god of physic, who also

presided over the sacred fires, shared with him; and the great rivers, considered as gods, had their portion of human victims, whom they covered with their inexorable waves. But Suetovid, the god of war, was the God in whom they most delighted : to him they presented annually, as a burnt offering, three hundred prisoners, each on his horse; and, when the whole was consumed by fire, the priests and people sat down to eat and drink, till they were drunk. It is worthy of remark, that the residence of Suetovid was supposed to be in the sun.

To this luminary the Peruvians, before they were restrained by their Incas, sacrificed their children.

Among the sacred books of the Hindoos, the Ramayuna demands particular attention, because of its antiquity, the extent of country through which it revered, and the view which it exhibits of the religion, doctrine, mythology, customs, and manners of their remote progenitors.

In this we have a golden age of short duration, succeeded by a state of universal wickedness and violence, which continued till the Deity, incarnate, slew the oppressors of the human race, and thus restored the reign of piety and virtue.

This poem contains a description of the Ushwamedha, or most solemn sacrifice of the white horse, instituted by Swuymbhoo, that is, by the Self-existent. At the celebration of this festival, the monarch, as the representative of the whole nation, acknowledged his transgressions; and when the offerings were consumed by the sacrificia fire, he was considered as perfectly absolved from his offences. Then follows a particular account of a human sacrifice, in which the victim, distinguished for filial piety, for resignation to his father's will, and for purity of heart, was bound by the king himself, and delivered to the priest; but, at the very instant when his blood was to have been shed, this illustrious youth was, by miracle delivered; and the monarch, as the reward of his intended sacrifice, received virtue, prosperity and fame.

It is well known that the Brahmins have, in all ages, had their human victims, and that, even in our days, thousands have voluntarily perished under the wheels of their god Jaghernaut."

WORKS OF GOD DISPLAYED.

THE INDIAN ICHNEUMAN.

THE Indian Ichneuman is a small creature, whose appearance is not unlike a weasel. It is of infinite use to the natives, from

its inveterate enmity to serpents, which would otherwise render every footstep of the traveller dangerous. The proofs of sagacity in this little animal, are truly surprising, and afford a beautiful instance of the wisdom, with which Providence has fitted the powers of every creature to its particular situation on the globe, and rendered them subservient to the use of man. The diminutive Ichneuman attacks without dread, that most fatal of serpents, the Naja, or Cobra de Capello; and should it receive a wound in the combat, instantly retires, and is said to obtain an antidote from a certain herb, (according to Sparmann, the Ophiorhiza,) after which it returns to the attack, and seldom fails of victory. An experiment was tried at Columbo, to ascertain the reality of this circumstance. The Ichneuman provided for the purpose, was first shewn the snake in a close room. On being placed on the ground, he did not shew any inclination whatever to attack his enemy, but ran jumping about the room to discover if there was any hole or aperture, by which he might get out on finding none, he returned hastily to his master, and hiding himself in his master's bosom, could not, by any means be induced to quit it, or to face the snake. On being carried out of the house, however, and laid down near his antagonist, in an open place, he instantly flew at the snake, and soon destroyed it. He then suddenly disappeared for a few minutes, and again returned, as soon as he had found the herb and eaten of it. It has recourse to the herb on all occasions, when engaged with a snake, whether poisonous or not. The snake procured for this experiment was of the harmless kind. It is likewise a great destroyer of the eggs of crocodiles, which it digs out of the sand, and even kills multitudes of the young of those terrible reptiles; it was not, therefore, without some reason that the ancient Egyptians ranked the Ichneuman among their deities.

The description of this little reptile will naturally excite in the mind of the Christian, some profitable reflections. First, we see the great enemy of the Ichneuman is the serpent, and though so exceedingly formidable, is soon conquered by this apparent insignificant animal. The original and great enemy of man, is represented as the old serpent, the devil: the vast diversity of stratagems and devices he exercises to destroy human beings, render him awfully formidable; yet, when man resists, the arch foe is soon put to flight. Again-the Ichneuman, by having recourse to a peculiar herb, is enabled to overcome the most dangerous serpent, in defiance of its utmost strength and It is by the Christian having recourse to the throne of grace, where he receives that salutary encouragement My grace is suppcient for thee, that he is not only able to conquer the potent adversary, but to triumph and glory intribul ation. Further

venom.

more, when the Ichneuman had not free access to his valuable panacea, he durst not venture to attack his enemy; he was obliged to take refuge in the bosom of his master. What a poor defenceless creature is the christian, at a distance from his divine panacea, and where should the christian find refuge, in the time of danger, but in the bosom of his Lord.

GRACE OF GOD MANIFESTED.

An account of the Conversion of the Jew, E. S. Schoenberg, of Poland, which took place in 1811, and is by himself thus related.

NONE but God, who searches the heart of man, knows, that even in my early youth, I secretly revered the christian faith.None but the Almighty, who is enthroned in heaven ab ve, knows, that I never could hear objections against christianity without misgivings. The guilty thought, Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, was a deceiver of men, could never gain entrance into my heart. My way of thinking was this: As not one science is cultivated among the Jews, but all learning is in the possession of the Christians, why should they be thought so senseless with regard to their faith, and worship a man, as him in whom Almighty God has manifested himself in flesh and blood, if there was not at least some thing plausible in it? In my 'childhood already I endeavoured in simplicity to understand and to impress upon my mind that there is an Almighty, Omniscient, and Omnipresent Being, who will reward good and punish evil; that this Divine Being ought to be revered and worshipped by men; that man was not made merely to enjoy himself here, but to be prepared for an infinitely better and happier life, and that the soul of man is immortal. And God, the merciful Father of mankind, whose bowels of compassion are moved, when a creature, made in his image, walks on the path of temporal and eternal misery, conferred his grace on me, and guided me by his saving light into evangelical truth in the following man

ner:

Three weeks ago I passed by a church on a Sunday, and at the sight of the congregation, which came out after the service, an indescribable sensation pervaded me, which prevented me from proceeding on my way. I stood still, looked at the people, and a voice seemed to speak to me, saying:-Shouldest thou not seriously inquire into the truth of the Christian Religion?— Dost thou not consider it worth while to ascertain the truth

The eighth, beryl.] This is a pellucid gem of a bluish green colour.

The ninth, a topaz.] A pale dead green, with a mixture of yellow. It is considered by the mineralogists, as a variety of the sapphire.

The tenth, a chrysoprasus.] A variety of the chrysolite, called by some the yellowish green and cloudy topaz. It differs only from the chrysolite, in having a bluish hue.

The eleventh, a jacinth.] A precious stone of a dead red colour, with a mixture of yellow.

The twelfth, an amethyst.] A gem generally of a purple or violet colour, composed of a strong blue and deep red.

An account of a Negro Sale, which took place at Demarara, an Island of the West Indies, related by an eye witness.

A FEW days ago I had the opportunity of being present at a more regular sale or market of slaves than I had seen before: and here I witnessed all the heart-rending distress attendant upon such a scene. I saw numbers of our fellew-beings regularly bartered for gold, and transferred like cattle, or any common merchandise, from one possessor to another. It was a sight which European curiosity had rendered me desirous to behold, although I had anticipated from it only a painful gratification. I may now say, I have seen it! and while nature animates my breast with even the feeblest spark of humanity, I can never forget it!

The poor Africans who were to be sold, were exposed naked, in a large, empty building, like an open baru. Those who came with intention to purchase, minutely inspected them, bandled them, made them jump and stamp with their feet, and throw out their arms and legs; turned them about, looked into their mouths, and according to the usual rules of traffic with respect. to cattle, examined them, and made them shew themselves in a variety of ways, to try if they were sound and healthy. All this was as distressful as humiliating, and tended to excite strong aversion and disgust; but a wound still more severe was inflicted on the feelings, by some of the purchasers selecting only such as their judgment led them to prefer, regardless of the bonds of nature and affection. The urgent appeals of friendship and attachment were unheeded-sighs and tears made no impression —and all the imploring looks, and penetrating expressions of grief, were unavailing! Hungry commerce corroded even the golden chains of affection, and sordid interest burst every tie of

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