Robinson Crusoe, but all his best fictions, the Journal of the Plague, Colonel Jack, Roxana, Moll Flanders, Captain Carleton, the Memoirs of a Cavalier, together with sundry topographical, historical, and didactic treatises, belong to this interval. It was the portion of his life which connects him with posterity. The previous part had been absorbed in the interests, aims, and conflicts of his contemporaries. He died on the 24th of April, 1731, being about seventy years of age, and was buried in Bunhill Fields. Notwithstanding the immediate success of many of his publications, his last days were, like too much of his whole life, embittered by the embarrassment of his circumstances. Such is the meagre and painful record of a man whose name is now venerated by so large a portion of the civilized world as that of the benefactor of their boyhood. And not only did his pen yield him a very precarious subsistence during the many years in which it was his only, or his chief means of support, but, "singular as it may have appeared in after times, the manuscript of Robinson Crusoe passed through the whole circle of the trade before it could find a purchaser." The purchaser "is said to have cleared a thousand pounds. The extent of De Foe's remuneration is not known; but it was probably far from being large." Yet the work immediately made its way with the public, and took at once the station which it still holds, and must while the world shall endure. ART. IX.-The Private Memoirs of the Court of Louis XVIII. By a Lady. 2 Vols. 8vo. Colburn and Bentley. 1830. THE Private Memoirs of the Court of Louis XVIII. are a sweeping of Auecdotes mixed up with fictions which are intended to be, and sometimes are, characteristic of the parties introduced. The pretensions of the book remind one of the cargoes of Spitalfields' manufacture which used to be sent to a port, perhaps even shipped, in order to reappear as French silk, prohibited and smuggled. Very good silk it might be, nevertheless; and we have here many sketchy and spirited descriptions, though the marks of unauthenticity are sufficiently glaring. There is therefore some amusement in this production, though, as a whole, it is neither truth, nor fiction, nor a clever and plausible mixture of both. ART. X. Dr. Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia. Vol. I. Scotland. By Sir W. Scott. 6s. THE different notices and advertise-ments which have been circulated hare probably acquainted most of our readers with the plan of the Cabinet Cyclopædia. There is one peculiarity in that plan which cannot fail to recommend the work. So much of it as relates to any particular subject or class of subjects will be complete in itself. Purchasers for whom the whole would be too vo And luminous, or expensive, or to whom much of it would be useless or uninteresting, may each restrict himself to the portion, historical, scientific, biographical, or whatever it may be, which best accords with his means or his taste, and yet not disfigure his shelves by an imperfect publication. this arrangement has the further advantage, that whenever any volume or set of volumes becomes obsolete (and how much of Science, and of Political Geography, to look no further, have many of us lived to see superseded!) that part can be renewed without the necessity for a new edition of the whole, or in any way diminishing the value of the rest. These facilities, combined with unusual cheapness, and a long list of able contributors, may be expected to render the Cabinet Cyclopædia highly popular. The first volume augurs well for the has most felicitously accomplished the work in every respect. Sir Walter Scott design of the Editor, and gained fresh reputation even for his versatile and successful pen. All the common faults of Historical Abridgments, so common that they were deemed inherent in that species of composition, are avoided, and we are presented with a Summary of Scottish record alike valuable as a first book, or a last; and which will afford equal delight to the veteran student and the ignorant youth. The second volume will complete the History of Scotland, which is to be followed by that of England, by Sir James Mackintosh; and of Ireland, by Thomas Moore. ART. XI.-Historical Account of Discoveries and Travels in North America. By Hugh Murray, Esq., F.R.S. E. 2 Vols. Longman. THE Journals of Voyages and Travels which are published so continually seem to us like so many Day Books, or Running Accounts, which it would be a good thing every now and then to post into a Mental Ledger, where the real amount of Information and Balance of Intellectual Profit might be fairly and simply exhibited. This Mr. Murray has done, as to North America, and very much to our satisfaction. His work contains the essence of between two and three hundred volumes (probably more) of all sizes, in several languages, and of all ages, from the Saga of King Orlaf Tryggeson to the Travels of Captain Basil Hall. The facts are selected, arranged, and accompanied by their authorities; and the result is a clear and impartial view of the United States. To this is added an Account of Canada; and a very interesting abridgment of the narratives of the several expeditions (as well as those of individual adventurers) for the discovery of a Northwest Passage. The work is a valuable addition to Mr. Murray's former publications, of a similar description, on Asia and Africa. ART. XII.-Elements of Physics, or Natural Philosophy, General and Medical, explained independently of Technical Mathematics. 2 Vols. Vol. II. Part I., comprehending the Subjects of Heat and Light. By Neil Arnott, M D., of the Royal College of Physicians. 8vo. Longman and Co. London. 1829. A very useful task was that undertaken by Dr. Arnott in the commencement of this work, and very ably is he continuing and extending it. There are few who can devote themselves to scientific investigations, but all have occasion for some acquaintance with the results of those investigations. In many cases, too, the proof is independent of the mathematical technicalities by which it has been encumbered, and may be presented, together with the result, in a lucid and popular form. All that is really and practically valuable in science may thus be brought within common reach. Of the interesting and useful way in which this is done in the work before us, the following specimen may be taken, which relates to the effect of heat in expanding different bodies: “A cannon-ball, when heated, cannot be made to enter au opening, through which, when cold, it passes readily. "A glass stopper sticking fast in the neck of a bottle often may be released by surrounding the neck with a cloth taken out of warm water-or by immersing the bottle in the water up to the neck: the binding ring is thus heated and expanded sooner than the stopper, and so becomes slack or loose upon it. "Pipes for conveying hot water, steam, hot air, &c., if of considerable length, must have joinings that allow a degree of shortening and lengthening, otherwise a change of temperature may destroy them. An incompetent person undertook to warm a large manufactory by steam from one boiler. He laid a rigid main pipe along a passage, and opened lateral branches through holes into the several apartments, but on his first admitting the steam, the expansion of the main pipe tore it away from all its branches. "In an iron railing, a gate which, during a cold day, may be loose and easily shut or opened, in a warm day may stick, owing to there being greater expansion of it and of the neighbouring railing, than of the earth on which they are placed. Thus also the centre of the arch of an iron bridge is higher in warm than in cold weather; while, on the contrary, in a suspension or chain bridge, the centre is lowered. "The iron pillars now so much used to support the frout walls of houses, of which the ground stories serve as shops with spacious windows, in warm weather really lift up the wall which rests upon them, and in cold weather allow it again to sink or subside-in a degree considerably greater than if the wall were brick from top to bottom. "In some situations, (as lately was seen in the beautiful steeple of Bow Church, in London,) where the stones of a building are held together by clamps or bars of iron with their ends bent into them, the expansion in summer of these clamps will force the stones apart sufficiently for dust or sandy particles to lodge between them; and then, on the return of winter, the stones not being at liberty to close as before, will cause the ends of the shortened clamps to be drawn out, aud the effect increasing with each revolving year, the structure will at last be loosened and may fall. "The pitch of a piano-forte or harp is lowered in a warm day or in a warm room, owing to the expansion of the strings being greater than of the wooden frame-work; and in cold the reverse will happen. A harp or piano, which is well tuned in a morning drawing-room, cannot be perfectly in tune when the crowded evening party has heated the room. "Bell-wires too slack in summer, may be of the proper length in winter."-Pp. 66, 67. ART.XIII.-The Valley of the Nymphs, We recommend to every reader of cultivated taste this beautiful and graceful little Poem. Had modern Bards known how to avail themselves of the fine forms of the Grecian Mythology, that Mythology would not have become the bore and the bugbear which it has been made. Keats saw its capabilities for really poetic purposes; and that perception gave their peculiar charm to his brief and broken effusions. With much of a kindred spirit, as a poet, Mr. Johns unites the higher attributes of a Christian Philosopher, and he has thus given depth and purity and power to his subject, without impairing the fragile loveliness of its texture. The plan of his poem is most felicitously conceived, and slight indeed are the exceptions that could be taken to its execution. ART. XIV.-The United Family; or 1829. THE purpose of this little work is to teach religion in the form of fiction. This purpose would probably be better answered if the topics chosen were more simple, and the language employed more familiar. Some discoveries are also made which children would scarcely make for themselves, but which it would be quite time enough for them to admit when capable of examining the Bible for themselves. We give an instance"Whilst Cain, therefore, must have depended on the goodness of the work, Abel, as he made his sacrifice in faith acceptable to God, renounced, I make no ART. XV.- Cottage Poetry. By the VERSE has a peculiar charm for the uneducated; and those who converse little with books find it easier to retain ideas which are conveyed in metre than under any other form. It is, therefore, of importance that literary pleasures which may be prepared for them of this kind should be carefully managed, so that good sense may be mingled with excitements of the imagination. In this respect the little work before us is highly creditable to the judgment of the writer, and may form a very useful addition to the cottage library. ART. XVI.-A Manual of Ancient History, particularly with regard to the Constitutions, the Commerce, and the Colonies of the States of Antiquity. By A. H. L. Heeren, Professor of History in the University of Goettingen, &c. &c. From the German. 8vo. Oxford. 15s. THE best books of this class are German, and Professor Heeren's is the best German book of this class. It amply justifies the declaration of the Translator, that in it "the geography, chronology, biography, and bibliography of the kingdoms and countries of the ancient world reader, and so lucid is the arrangement are brought at once before the eye of the that the darkest and most tangled portious of history are seen in a clear and perspicuous light." It is in the form of a Syllabus of Lectures, with numerous references to authors of all ages and countries. Although now first presented to the English reader, its value may be estimated by the fact of its having passed through six large German editions, two French, and been translated into almost every other European language. ART. XVII.-The Companion_to_the Almanac; or, Year-Book of General It is expected that 80,000 copies of the Such a sale, taken in connexion with British Almanac will be sold this year. published by the Stationers' Company, the great improvement in the Almanacs other works, to shew that the Society would suffice, without referring to their with which it originated is a mighty matains, like those of the last two years, a chine for good. The " Companion” conhuge mass of information on chronology, statistics, &c., under the same general arrangement, except that for the "Useful Directions and Remarks" is substituted a List of "Charitable Institutions in and near London, classed according to their Objects." The activity, labour, and extensive resources, implied in this compilation are astonishing. The least the public can do, and it is all that is required, is to receive the knowledge so diligently collected, and so cheaply preferred, for its use. MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE. Number of Presbyterian Congrega- the number of Presbyterian places in his county. tions. To the Editor. SIR, Is the Supplement to the Congregafional Magazine for last December, there is a very curious and (if correct) useful table, exhibiting, or purporting to exhihit, lists of the numbers of Churches, Dissenting Chapels, &c., in every county of the Schools, National, British, and Sunday-and of the contributions raised from each by Religious Societies. In several respects it might be usefully reprinted for the Repository; perhaps in none more so than in the illustration which it affords of a topic from which it draws great consolation. The author, in exhibiting the subscription to the Unitarian Association, says, "It will be doubtless gratifying to the friends of Evangelical truth to perceive how little is done in any county by this confessedly opulent party (the Únitarians) towards the extension of their views of Christianity-a pretty certain indication that they possess but little influence over their own minds." My present object is to draw your readers' attention to the ridiculous misrepresentation which (for want of any proper information on the subject) appears as regards the Presbyterians, including in that title the Unitarian as well as Orthodox and Scotch division of that body. It is pleasant to see the "Congregafional" scribe exhibiting the following consolatory results of different periods: I now subjoin the list exhibited of the sumber of Presbyterian Congregations in the different counties, and earnestly beg that you will keep a space in the Repository, which (as you need not copy any The "Congregational" will perhaps then place his future list of Presbyterian brethren in a somewhat higher rank of comparison. Counties. Norfolk ..... Northamptonshire. Northumberland Nottinghamshire Oxfordshire Rutlandshire Shropshire Somersetshire T. No. of Presb. Cong. None 1 None 1 12 None 10 15 3 7 None 1 1 50? 3 3 None 2 7 5 2 .... 1 4 5 1 1 8 13 23 Staffordshire Surrey.. Warwickshire. North and South Wales lengthened communications, only giving Intolerance of "Bible Society" Meet us the results) may be only a corner, for giving better information on this point; and that at least some one reader in every county will (from his local knowledge or the best estimate he can form) SIR, ings. Southampton, November 18, 1829. As your publication is intended to give send you for that corner his report of a correct statement of the treatment Uni tarians receive in this country, I shall solicit your insertion of the following facts. At the anniversary of the Bible Society at Ryde, the Rev. - Macniel suggested that all such meetings should commence with prayer, and that no Unitarian should be permitted to take any share in the proceedings of a Bible Society. The Chairman, the Rev. H. Thompson, wished to call to the recollection of the speaker, the rules of the Bible Society. Instead of yielding to the authority of the Chairman, Mr. M. appealed to the decision of the company, who wished him to proceed. At this meeting some persons from Southampton were present. The spirit there shewn was carried to South ampton. A less open method was there adopted. A friend of mine was requested to inform me, that my presence on the platform would be painful to many, because I was an Unitariau; and that he had been desired to solicit the Secretary not to give me a motion to propose as he had usually done. This he refused to do verbally, but wrote me a letter from London, whither he had gone, which I did not receive till the day before the anniversary of the Bible Society at Southampton. I immediately on receiving the letter wrote to the Secretary, mentioning the name of my informant, and requested him to erase my name from the Committee and the list of subscribers. The Secretary declined bringing forward my letter of resignation, and subsequently explained to me the cause. At the public meeting no mention was made of Unitarian exclusion, but to the other subject of introducing Bible meetings with prayer, reference was made by the Chairman, who was present at Ryde. I need not mention that if that innovation be made, the Society of Friends will be prevented from uniting in Bible meetings with their former cordiality; nor will I dwell on the consequences that in other cases may result from the discordant views which may be introduced of the manner in which the prayers should be conducted in such public assemblies. In my reply to the gentleman who communicated to me the offence I committed in my being au Unitarian, I stated that I had been a subscriber to the Society from its first formation; that I was the chief mover of a Bible Association at Lowestoft, of which I was Secretary as long as I resided there; that when I removed to Frenchay, I held a not less important station in the Kingswood Bible Society, and from both places had received testimonials of the fidelity with which I had discharged the duties of the offices I had held. I added, that I was an avowed Unitarian when I was chosen a member of the Southampton Bible Society, and I deemed myself responsible to uo man, nor to any body of men, for the religious opinions I adopt. They are the result of an unbiassed investigation of the word of God, and Christ alone I acknowledge as the Head of his church.-The age, Mr Editor, in which we live is termed liberal. The power of inflicting pains and penalties is taken away, but the spirit of intolerance remains among those who fear even for the dust which covers the altar. If you will insert this communication in your next Repository, you will oblige yours, &c., MICHAEL MAURICE. The Eclectic Review and Dr. Doddridge's Diary and Correspondence. To the Editor. SIR, WHEN in the first instance I resolved to publish the Correspondence of my venerable ancestor IMPARTIALLY, as the greatest honour I could do his memory, and in justice to the public, I was perfectly aware of the personal hostility such an act could not fail of arousing. I plainly foresaw that the same spirit which inspired the Pharisees of old to revile the ever-blessed Messiah as the "companion of publicans and sinners," would tempt the presumptuous hypocrites of modern days to reflect upon the innocent gaiety of heart which mingled with the profound piety of Dr. Doddridge. In proving him by his own words to have been destitute of party feeling, I was conscious that that very party whose rancorous spirit he most deplored, and who since his death have so artfully represented him as one of themselves, would combine again to asperse his memory, as during his life they strove to injure his usefulness. With these convictions upon my mind, I had, however, others which counterbalanced them, and are infinitely more important. I knew that the character of Dr. Doddridge was without concealment, and that, as during his life the devout and learned of every class sought his friendship with avidity, and while they ardently esteemed him as a man, venerated him no less as a practical divine; so I concluded that by mingling the records of his domestic virtues with the annals of his biblical labours, I should extend his reputation |