worthy of confidence, in our author's opinion, than that of Marocco merchants engaged in the trade, who are too jealous of the projects of inquirers to afford them any accurate infor nation.

Timbuctoo, according to Mr. J.'s reports,

Is situated on a plain, surrounded by sandy eminences, about twelve miles north of the Nile El Abeede, or Nile of the Blacks, and three (erhellat) days journey from the confines of Sahara: the city is about twelve miles in circumference, but without walls. The town of Kabra, situated on the banks of the river, is its commercial depôt, or port. By means of a water carriage east and west of Kabra, great facility is given to the trade of Timbuctoo, from whence the various articles of European as well as Barbary manufactures brought by the akkabaahs from the north of Africa, are distributed to the different empires and states of Soudan, and the south. This great mart is resorted to by all nations, whither they bring the various products of their respective countries, to barter for the European and Barbary manufactures.' pp. 252, 253.

It is said, the streets are crowded with strangers of various African tribes in their respective costumes, none of whom in'cur any restriction or disability by their peculiarities of religious observance: the police is extremely well managed ; most civil offices are occupied by Moors, but military appointments by the Negro natives. The king in 1800 was a native, named Woolo. Mr. J. could hear nothing of the library of manuscripts in some unknown character, reported to exist in this city; though he says there is a state library containing many Arabic MSS. and a few in Hebrew. king is said to possess several mines, yielding large quantities of gold in a state of great purity; and of this metal he is reported to possess immense treasures. Mr. J. con jectures the town to be situated 1500 miles SSE. of Fas, 1150 from Akka and Wedinoon, 1300 from Tafilelt, 230 E. of Jinnie, and 1000 F, of Houssa. He gives credit to the report of a water communication with Cairo.

In the interior of Africa, and among the rich traders who engage in this traffic across the Continent, there is but one opinion with regard to the Nile of Egypt and the Nile of Timbuctoo, and that opinion is, that they are one and the same river, or rather that the latter is the weste branch of the former.' P. 264.

Other parts of the reports, concerning particular tribes, some said to worship the sun, some compared to the English, were probably invented to sport with our traveller's credulity.

There are two discussions of some importance remaining, which we have scarcely room to mention. One describes the present mode of redeeming shipwrecked mariners, enslaved by the tribes of the Desert; and suggests a plan to expedite

sort.

their release, by lodging funds for that purpose with the vice. consul of Mogodor, to which the captors might at once reThere is also an appendix, giving a minute and inte resting account of the plague which infested the country during our author's residence; of the precautions by which he escaped it, and of the preferable mode of treating the unfor tunate persons whom it attacked: in this, however, we find scarcely any thing of importance that was not known before..

The author's long separation from English society, is the best excuse for the excessive inaccuracy of his style, and indeed: for certain transgressions of decorum, which we could hardly pardon except in a writer who had long dwelt among a sensual uncivil zed people. Particulars of a scientific nature, at least when they occur in a popular work, should be veiled in a scientific language. There are also many repetitions, and deviations from method. The typography is neat, but very incorrect. The plates would be more valuable, if the author could have answered emphatically for the accuracy of his drawings; they are nevertheless a very proper and agreeable appendage to the volume; the subjects are interesting, and the style of execution, though not very chaste, is spirited and striking.

Art. X. Lectures on the Figurative Language of the Holy Scripture, and the Interpretation of it from Scripture itself. To which are added, Four Lectures on the Relation between the Old and New Testaments, as it is set forth in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Also, a single Lecture on the Natural Evidences of Christianity. By William Jones, M.A. F.R.S. Author of the Catholic Doctrine of the Trinity, &c. To which is prefixed, a short Account of his Life and Writings. A new Edition, 8vo. pp. xvi. 374. Price 8s. boards. T. Hamilton. 1808. THE late Mr. Jones, of Nayland, will be recollected by many of our

readers, as the author of a very valuable treatise on the Catholic Doctrine of the Trinity,' as the judicious editor of the selection of pieces under the title of The Scholar armed against the Errors of the Times," and as the author of many other tracts in defence of the principal doctrines peculiar to the Christian System. He will be remembered also, as an intrepid champion of our religious establishment, and as a very ingenious and plausible defender of the theologico-philosophical system of the Hutchinsonians. The Lectures, a new edition of which is now on our table, constitute, in our opinion, one of his most ingenious and valuable works. They are at once calculated to illustrate and enforce scriptural truths, to throw new light upon some doubtful passages, to enlarge the understanding, to affect the heart and conscience, and stimulate to upright and holy conduct. The peculiarities of the Hutchinsonian school are in this volume but seldom to be traced; and were the Lectures freed from here and there a drop of the gall of bitterness' against Papists on one side, and Sectarians on the other,' we should give them our unqua lified approbation.

Our author refers the spiritual language of Scripture to five heads, from the matter of one or other of which the figurative language is borrowed. 1 From the images of nature, or visible things as representations of things invisible. 2. From the institutions of the Law, as prefiguring the things of the Gospel. 3. From the persons of the prophets, as types of the great Prophet and Saviour that was to come. 4. From the history of the church of Israel, as an ensample to the Christian world. 5. From the miraculous acts of Moses, as signs of the saving power of God towards the souls of men These topics furnish matter for twelve interesting Lectures. The elucidations are almost always satisfactory, and often very ingenious and happy. The author keeps moral improve ment, as well as intellectual instruction and delight, constantly in view; as will appear from the only two short passages we have room to quote. After shewing the great variety of ways in which the natural image light gives scope to the figurative language of Scripture, he proceeds,

of

You see, our God is light; our Redeemer is light; our Scripture is light; our whole religion is light; the ministers of it are light; all Christian people are children of the light, and have light within them. If so, what an obligation is laid upon us, not to walk as if we were in darkness, but to walk uprightly as in the day, shewing the people of this world, that we have a better rule to direct us than they have. If we who have the light walk as they do who are in darkness, the same darkness will assuredly come upon us; we shall understand nothing, we shall care for nothing; the light that is within us will be changed into darkness, and then, vanity and confusion will be the consequence, as to those who walk in the dark through a perplexed and dangerous path: and better would it be not to have had the light, than to be answerable for the guilt of having extinguished it and turned it into darkness. This is the moral doctrine to be derived from the usage of light in the sacred language,” P. 38.

Again, in another place, after remarking how much better truth enters into the mind under the vehicle of some analogy, than in its own ab. stracted nature; and how the best preachers often take advantage of some such analogy after the manner of scripture, he instances from the passage in 1 Cor. vii. 31, in the following words:

Suppose a preacher would persuade his auditory not to abuse the station in life to which providence hath appointed them; and not to pre. sume upon the character they may sustain amongst men for a short time here upon earth: he reasons from the transitory nature of worldly things: and ti he teaches them to see in a glass, by setting before them the change able scenery and temporary disguises of men in a theatre. In the world at large, as upon a stage, there is a fashion in the characters and actions of men, which passeth away, just as the scenery changes, and the curtain drops, in a theatre; to which the Apostle alludes. The world is a great show, which presents us various scenes and fantastic characters; princes, politicians, warriors and philosophers; the rich, the honourable, the learned and the wise: and with these, the servant, and the beggar, the poor, the weak, and the despised. Some seldom come from behind the scenes; others, adorned with honour and power, are followed by a shout, ing multitude, and fill the world with the noise of their actions. But in a little time, the scene shifts, and all these phantoms disappear, The

king of terrors clears the stage of these busy actors, and strips them of their fictitious ornaments; bringing them all to a level, and sending them down to the grave, as all the actors in a drama return to their private character when the action is over.

From this comparison how easy and how striking is the moral. Nothing but a disordered imagination can tempt an actor on a stage to take himself for a king, because he wears a crown, and walks in purple, or to complain of his lot, because he follows this fictitious monarch in the habit of a slave. Therefore, let us all remember, that the world, like the stage, changes nothing in a man, but his outward appearance: whatever part he may act, all distinctions will soon be dropped in the grave, as the actor throws off his disguise when his part is over. On which consideration, it is equally unreasonable in man either to presume or to complain.

'One such moral lesson as this, which shews us the real state of things un. der a striking and familiar resemblance of it, is worth volumes of dull ab stracted reasonings. It captivates the attention, and gives lasting information; for when such a comparison hath once been drawn out, the instruction conveyed by it will be revived as often as the image occurs to the memory.' p 253.

The author's object, in the Four Lectures on the Epistle to the Hebrews, is to shew the Harmony between the mysteries, doctrines, and morality of the Old and New Testaments. The remaining Lecture, on the natural evidences of Christianity, is ingenious and striking, but sometimes too fanciful. On the whole, we consider this volume as deserving the attention of every intelligent inquirer after Christian truth; he must have read and thought much previously, who can peruse this book without deriving from it both pleasure and advantage.

Art. XI. Poetical Gleanings on Instructive and Interesting Subjects. Selected and Compiled by a Lady, fcp. 8vo. pp. 200. price 3s. 6d. Williams and Co. 1809.

FASTIDIOUS critics may undoubtedly find subjects of censure in

this collection of fugitive poetry; a considerable portion of which by no means exceeds mediocrity. But it contains several poems, by men of high endowments and reputation, such as Cowper, Hawkesworth, Bishop Horne, and some others. We have also noticed some elegant hymns, printed here without a name, which the fair compiler probably did not know were the production of the late Mr. Moore, a dissenting minister at Modbury, Devon. With these are associated many compositions, not unworthy of such an honour; some of them original, we believe: others very properly transferred from periodical works, in which they obtained only a transient notice.

They are arranged under the following heads: The Seasons,-Diffe rent Periods of Life, The Nature of Life-Happiness, The Death of Friends, Miscellaneous, The Seasons of Devotion, The Pleasures and Duties of Religion, Affliction,Mortality, and the Future State, -concluding with a Hymn to the Deity.

As a farther recommendation, we will subjoin a passage from the pres face, describing the laudable intentions of the author in presenting this Collection to the world./

It is especially adapted to guide the taste, and form the habits, of youth of both sexes; though she conceives the lovers of poetry and

morality in general, even those who have attained the maturity of life, may reap benefit from this little volume, Engaged in the instruction of youth of her own sex, she has long felt the want of a little work to recommend as a suitable companion for retirement, for the solitary walk, and for the devotions of the Sabbath. Regardless of the censures of those who never knew the pleasures of retirement and devotion, and who therefore despite them, she hopes to prevail on the docility of other, whom she is anxious to guide in the way of wisdom, virtue, and happiness.' Art. XII.

Analysis of the Carbonated Chalybeate lately discovered near Stow. With Observations on the Effects of carbonic Acid, and Nitrogene, on the Animal Economy, &c. By R. Farmer, 8vo. pp. 68. price 2s. Evesham, Agg; Lackington and Co. 1809.

THIS pamphlet is intended to announce to the public the discovery,

of a Chalybeate Spring, in the neighbourhood of Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire. It is the production of an individual, who, as we are informed in the preface, has but lately turned his attention to chemi, cal subjects; and, under such circumstances, it is by no means discreditable either to his abilities or proficiency. The water, when it first issues from the spring, is colourless and transparent; but it soon becomes turbid, and deposits a yellow sediment. Its taste is astringent, but not unpleasant; its specific gravity is 1.0025; and its summer tem perature about 52°. The spring produced, during the summer of 1807, from four to eight gallons an hour; but the quantity, and consequent ly the strength, varies with the moisture or dryness of the season. On being analysed, the solid contents of one gallon were 32 grains; the aeriform, 115. 44 cubic inches.

The solid matter consisted of muriat of lime, 3 grains; - of soda 1-of manganese, 2; sulphat of lime, 4; of magnesia, 1; carbonat of lime, 8;-of manganese, 2;-of iron, 7; neutral salts not ascertained, 4; total, 52

"The acriform fluid consisted of carbonic acid, 20. 52; oxygen, 20. 32; nitrogen, 74. 4: total, 115. 44.

From the unusually large proportion of the red oxyd of iron which it contains, there can be no doubt that this water will prove a valuable remedy in those diseases of debility for which chalybeates are generally prescribed.

Mr. F. adds a comparative table of the composition of the Tunbridge, Spa, Cheltenham, and Stow waters with Extracts from some of the best authorities relative to the use of Chalybeates,' and a glossary of the technical words made use of in the work'.

Art. XIII. Six Sermons on the following Subjects, Baptism, Confirmation, the Vows of Baptism and Confirmation, the Lord's Supper. By John Scott, A. M. Vicar of North Ferriby, and Lecturer in the Holy Trinity Church, Hull. 12mo. pp. 132. Price 2s. 6d. Seeley, Hatchard. 1809..

WHEN a system of religion becomes general in a country, its ceremonies will probably be attended, by the crowd, through the influence of custom, rather than of conviction. Parents will neglect to teach their children the origin, the reason, and the design of the religious institutions which they profess to venerate; and childrch, who, in their