through Holland, it appeared in Sunder. land. From thence it continued its insidious and resistless course, until, like a destroying angel, it commenced its ruinous operations in the suburbs, and then marched boldly within the circumference of the metropolis of England. The wisdom of the wisest of the disciples of Esculapius was mocked.-The arm of the "Mighty One," has been displayed; and the fact, that "all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof, is as the flower of the field, the grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it, surely the people is grass,” has been awfully manifested. A voice from the pestilence, has seemed to address its mortal victims, "Rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness."

The voice of exhor

tation has been regarded by those who are the salt of the earth; prayer has ascended to heaven; and "the plague has been stayed." But how few, alas! have returned, to give glory to God; even among those who saw the rod, and considered who had appointed it, how small a number have publicly ac knowledged that the hand which delivered was the same which smote !

Still death has marched forward in his ordinary career, and the sons of genius and of fame have been smitten down by his ruthless hand. The loud wails of individuals, and of the community have been heard,

"For parents, husbands, brothers, friends.

Or kindred souls, by nature's self made one,'
As they have passed from their embrace away :"

the opening months of my being were indeed months of sackcloth and mourning; nor has a month, a week, or a day passed, in which it could be said,-"death has not triumphed."

Among a host that has fallen, of the brightest stars which shone in the world's intellectual and scientific galaxy, may be numbered the venerable Crabbe, by whose fall nearly the last link has been broken, that united the present literary race, with that sun of genius,-around whose orbit numerous bright satellites were used to revolve-Johnson! The learned and philanthropic Dr. Bell, whose zeal in the cause of education, and valuable bequests to support it, will preserve his memory with balmy freshness, so long as the recollection of public benevolence shall remain.—The object of the early affection of the illustrious Byron, the celebrated and beautiful Miss Chaworth, whose powerful influence upon the spirit of the noble bard, like Petrarch's

:

Laura, struck out that mystic fire, which, had it been purified by the hallowing influence of piety, would have benefited as much as it has astonished the world.-Goethe, Cuvier, Bentham, Mackintosh, Clarke, Scott, and Tenterden these master-spirits of the period in which they lived, whose names will survive the revolutions of ages, and the destruction of kingdoms, which will live while nature lives, to grace and beautify the pages of history, have supplied an abundant harvest for the grave during the short period of my existence. Never could death, during the reign of any of my forerunners boast so proud a conquest over mind, and talent, and piety, as now he can. moralizing stanzas of the interesting Cowper, are peculiarly pointed here,—

The

"Sad waste! for which no after thrift atones,
The grave admits no cure for guilt or sin;
Dew drops may deck the turf that hides the bones,
But tears of godly grief ne'er flow within.
Learn, then, ye living!-by the mouths be taught,
Of all these sepulchres, instructors true;
That, soon or late, death also is your lot,

And the next opening grave may yawn for you."

-

I have moved silently, but not unobservingly, on; no! I have noticed with more grief than any combination of terms can express, the insult and abuse with which thousands have treated some of the most beauteous parts of my person,—“ Sabbath-days." I refer not now to France, where the cold caul of Infidelity, derived from the deists of the last century, or the destructive web of frivolity, is cast over all; -nor to the unhappy, although beautiful shores of Italy, or Spain, or Portugal, where superstition and cruelty, outrage and violence, beat down common sense and humanity, but to ENGLAND! privileged and ungrateful England! Yes, here I have seen the framers and defenders-so called-of the laws of the land, violating them most outrageously; while even the laws of heaven, which command them to reverence especially those portions of myself to which I have referred, have been derided and trodden under foot. The nobles, and the great ones of the land, have become patrons of evil-doers, selecting the Sabbath, as if in wilful rebellion against the great Lawgiver himself, for journeyings, and routs, and every species of unhallowed enjoyment.

To speak the truth is not always boasting, although it may be the proclamation of one's own good deeds: if it were so, I, who am modesty personified, would for ever have held my peace. My proposition is admitted by all who understand the subtleties of metaphysical distinctions; I may, therefore, assert, that I have favoured England, and the world generally, with

abundance, even to profusion, of all that life requires for its comfortable sustenance, or that even luxury itself could wish, for its enjoyment; I appeal to the most prejudiced and profligate for the truth of my assertion, and challenge my greatest foes to contradict me:- and yet, few have been found thankful; nay, murmuring and dissatisfaction have characterized the multitude, while fraud, and oppression, and violence, have prevailed. I feel pained to be obliged, in such accusative sentences, to record the scenes and circumstances of my life, but truth and justice require it. I have witnessed crimes, such as none of my predecessors ever beheld, in multiplied instances, perpetrated. The red hand of murder has been uplifted in a new form, innocent and unsuspecting victims have fallen beneath the savage grasp of semi-demons, in the shape of men and O, horrible, most horrible,-of women too,-for no higher purposes, than to dispose of their lifeless carcases for a few pieces of paltry coin!"O tempora, O mores!"

Every month of my life has been rendered inconceivably unhappy, in that fairest, loveliest portion of Great Britain, Ireland; whose beauties and whose wrongs, have been so frequently and so ably sung by one of her own sons, and a distinguished favourite of the muses,-Moore. Famine has been succeeded by the griping hand of oppression; tithes and taxes have crippled the energies, and roused the spirit of her inhabitants, and, unless speedy and effective measures are taken to prevent it, the reign of my immediate successor,which I feel is shortly to commence,-will be one unbroken period of woes and consequences, in that country, such as I feel no disposition to name, and such as I shudder even to contemplate. I shall not continue to behold the mighty political convulsions with which, from the centre to the circumference, she will be shaken: Time's ebon cowl will have covered me; but my successor may. The warning voice of wisdom should be listened to and regarded, and thereby the threatening evil may be avoided ;-" Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings, be instructed ye judges of the earth; serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling."

Among the peculiar circumstances which have marked the eventful history of my life, battle and carnage have not been the least. The loud trumpet which called to conflict, and the cry of "to arms, to arms," have been heard with thrilling accents in various parts of the world, which

"

the pride and pomp, Investigating awful war,"

have not been able to render grateful to the ears of those upon whose shores the crimson banners have been unfurled. Portugal has bled at every pore, and still she is bleeding: nor does the probability exist, that soon her wounds will be closed. The contention of the rival brothers, Pedro and Miguel, and the right of Pedro's infant daughter to the crown of Portugal, have already, through the cold-hearted cruelty of that prototype of Richard of Glo'ster,Miguel! produced convulsions which have been felt by every power of Europe. As, however, tyranny ever works its own destruction, and cruelty and oppression furnish scourges for themselves; so will it be here let Pedro be honest in the arduous cause, and the iron rod of despotism will speedily be torn from the hand of the usurper, and the now more than half enslaved land of his birth, with its dependences, will be free!

Multiplied as have been the causes which called forth deep and loud regrets, and numerous and diversified as have been my sorrows, every source of comfort has not been torn from me. No, with high delight I have contemplated the imposing signs of the times, and from the very sources of my complaints have beheld, like the fabled phoenix of the ancients, plumed with beauty and vigour, the genius of oppressed Liberty, rising up, and throwing abroad her giaut strength, to liberate her sons in every direction. An energetic spirit has been called into existence, surpassing all the enthusiastic ardour which characterized and rendered immortal the imperial states of Greece and Rome, in their proudest days of glory; inasmuch as it has been produced by other means, and is directed to other ends than they ever knew. The puny efforts which the enfeebled arm of expiring power may put forth, to crush it with a species of convulsive action, will give nerve and determination to the supporters and defenders of the true rights of man.

The spirit to which I refer, has been kindled by the breath of the Almighty; it is the exhibition of principles, and the putting forth of feelings, which piety has generated, and which knowledge has nourished. The effects of truth upon the moral mass have been imperceptibly working, and although for a while unseen, its operations have not been less certain, than if the whole minutia of its progress had been visible ;-the moving influence of the leaven has at length discovered itself; the great questions which such movements naturally involve, must be debated, the termination of which will be, the entire renovation of the political and

religious world. From such views of things, which the experience derived from my predecessors affords me license to indulge in, my declining days are cheered, the enlivening influence of which will cause the expiring beam of my existence to close in brightness.

As if Satan knew his time to be short, or laboured under a sensible consciousness of the tottering of his kingdom, and the overthrow of his power, he has awakened all his ire, and summoned all his hostile energies to a new onset in his unholy strife. With a malice and fury great as the archives of ancient times have recorded, he has afresh excited his vassals and emissaries in the Western world to acts such as demoniacal minds alone could have proposed. If, however, I had desired that my little name should be immortalized, no means which I could have devised for such, purpose would more effectually have secured it, than those which they have pursued. Neither could any acts have accelerated the overthrow of the foes of God and man more effectually than those which they have perpetrated. Not only has the demolition of the temples of God been the means of the removal of the foundation of a system which good men abhor, and which humanity shudders to contemplate, and which God prohibits and condemns, and which must now, either by legislative enactments, or by the trial of strength, be demolished;-but the persecutors of the people of the Most High, and the driving of his messengers from their shores, have given a tone of determination to the friends of freedom and religion, which will not slumber until the enslaved of the human race are free!

I have listened with no little astonishment, to some who have debated upon the subject of delivering their fellows from bondage; and while I have done so, have conceived, either that their hearts must be hard as adamant, their intellects weak, or their sense of justice pitiable in the extreme. Gravely they have admitted the evil and the iniquity of the system, and as gravely have contended that a course of preparation is necessary for the slave population to pass under, before freedom can be given to them, or the curse which themselves have put, or bound upon their fellows, can be remitted. Troubles innumerable, and evils incalculable, they argue, would result from their present emancipation, while the very means of instruction, by which alone they maintain they can be prepared for freedom, are now taken from them, by the banishment of the teachers of religion from their islands. A protracted series of years has already pass

ed, without one step being taken, of a determined and efficient character, for imparting to the slave, that, which is the unalien. able birthright of every man-FREEDOM.

Those to whom I have referred, appear to have taken as their patterns in conduct and logical acumen, tyrants who lived under the reigns of my younger brothers; hence, they merely echo their disgusting expressions, without saying what preparation is necessary, or what period is required, in order to their being so prepared.

I feel a degree of complacency from the assurance, that I shall not witness the storm and strife which will rise out of the debate; and with equal delight, I contemplate the certain and speedy triumph of the champions of freedom, and the universal shout which will roll round the world-❝AFRICA IS FREE!"

Amidst the brilliant prospects which gently dawn upon and cheer me in these last days of my being, one heavy cloud tends partially to obscure them, and will, I fear, tarnish my glory the indifference which prevails, in a painful extent, towards the welfare of those, through whose instrumentality the world will ultimately be evangelized-"SEAMEN And Soldiers."

Hopes, bright hopes, were once entertained by me, that another gem would be added to the crown which Reform has placed upon my brow, by the establishment of a system, the extent of whose operations would have been commensurate with the necessities of the millions of those neglected classes. Could I gather up anew the energies of my youth, and command the attention of former days, my voice should be heard through the length and breadth of the world over which I preside—to make speedy provision for the moral and spiritual wants of those who minister, and have so long ministered, alike to the safety and comfort of their fellow-creatures, both by sea and land.

Every royal ear should hear my voice; every minister of righteousness should be made to act up to the high responsibility which, in this particular, rests upon him. The societies already established for the purpose of communicating the gospel of salvation to those sections of the world, where ignorance and superstition prevail, should be instructed how deeply their interests and their duty are involved in the benefit of these men, while those whose intemperance of spirit, and folly of action, mar a work which angels would contemplate with extacy, should shrink away into the obscurity to which their own conduct exposes them. But my wishes, I feel, cannot

be realized, my strength fails me, my former influence has expired, my admirers have forsaken me. The approach of my successor, in all the beauty and healthfulness of youth, engages general attention; from whose influence the multitude looks to realize those advantages which at my inauguration they expected, and to a great extent might have enjoyed, had not thoughtlessness and procrastination marked their conduct. The coldness of death steals upon me, my power of vision is contracted, my breath is short and hard. I will, however, spend it in His service from whom I received it; may His glory, during the reign of my successor, be more extensively made known; may those who peruse the close of my history, remember that they all "do fade as a leaf," and that "THE END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND!"

Scarcely had this venerable member in the family of Time uttered the above words, before the solemn hour of midnight was announced. The sound vibrated through every vital part. His voice was lost in silence, and, without convulsions or a groan, Eighteen Hundred and Thirty-two expired.

OLD AND NEW STYLE.

(From the Salisbury and Winchester Journal August 26, 1832.)

CONSIDERABLE difficulty is often felt by persons accustomed to antiquarian literature, in understanding the alteration of the style; and likewise in exactly comprehending the year intended to be expressed when written thus:-1673 172. The following short explanation is, therefore, submitted to our readers, with the hope of rendering the subject perfectly clear.

Previous to September, 1752, the civil, or legal year, in this country, commenced on the day of the Annunciation, the 25th of March, whilst the historical year began, as at present, on the day of the Circumcision, the 1st of January; thus a confusion was created in describing the year between the 1st of January and the 25th of March; for the civilians called each day within that period one year earlier than the historians. For example, the former wrote, "January 7th, 1658," and the latter "January 7th, 1659," though both described the 25th of the following March, and all the ensuing months as in the year 1659.

To prevent errors, that part of each year is usually written agreeably to both calculations, by placing two figures at the end;

February 3, 164

8 Civil or legal year, 9 Historical year. Hence, whenever the year is so written, the lower figure always indicates the year now used in our calendar.

The alteration in the calendar, which formed what is usually called the old and new style, took place on the 2d of September, 1752, on which day the old style ceased, and the next day, instead of being called the 3d, was called the 14th of September.* The cause of this change is well explained in the following extract from a popular work:

"The calendar was further improved by Julius Cæsar; who, finding that the sun performed his course in 3651 days nearly, gave 365 days to each three years, but to every fourth year 366 days; adding a day before the 6th of the calends of February, which was then reckoned twice; and hence from his sextus, we have the term bissextile, or leap-year. But the astronomers concerned in reforming the calendar under Pope Gregory XIII. observing, that in four years the bissextile added 44 minutes more than the real course of the sun, and finding that in 133 years this would cause a difference of a day, directed that in the course of every 400 years there should be three sextiles retrenched, the years expressing the centuries not being leap-years, unless divisible by four; thus 1600 and 2000 are bissextile, but 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not. This improvement was adopted in England in 1752, in pursuance of an act of parliament, in which it was ordered, that the next day following the 2d of September, should be accounted the 14th, the omission of the intermediate days causing the difference between the old style and the new.+"

By the same act of parliament, the commencement of the civil year was changed from the 25th of March to the 1st of January. E. G. B.

lower the historical year; thus-

2D. SERIES, NO. 25.-VOL

III.

+ Audley's Companion to the Almanack, 3d Edit: p. 12, 13.

mountain being covered with woods, or detached trees and shrubs, he will see these trees and shrubs projected as dark objects upon a very bright and clear sky, except at the very place where the sun is going to rise; for there all the trees and shrubs bordering the margin are entirely (branches, leaves, stem, and all) of a pure and brilliant white, appearing extremely bright and luminous, although projected on a most brilliant and luminous sky, as that part of it which surrounds the sun always is. All the minutest details, leaves, twigs, &c. are most delicately preserved, and you would fancy you saw these trees and forests made of the purest silver, with all the skill of the most expert workman.

The swallows, and other birds flying in those particular spots, appear like sparks of the most brilliant white. This beautiful and interesting phenomenon may be seen at any hour of the day, and also at the setting, as well as the rising, of the sun. The extent of the field illuminated is variable, according to the distance the spectator is placed from it: when the object, behind which the sun is going to rise, or has just been setting, is very near, no such effect takes place; but when the phenomenon is witnessed at a great distance, and the mountain is of considerable elevation, whole tracts of the forests are illuminated. The professor has seen immense spruce firs on the Alps illuminated white throughout their whole length. Nothing can be finer (he says) than these silver-looking spruce forests; and although he observed them at the distance of more than a thousand metres, yet he saw a vast number of large swallows or swifts, that inhabited those high rocks, in the shape of small brilliant stars or sparks, moving rapidly in the air.

WATER BAROMETER.

THE proceedings of the Royal Society, of June 21st, contain an interesting notice of the erection of a water barometer in the hall of the Society. The tube was very skilfully made by Messrs. Pellat and Co. at the Falcon Glass House. It was 40 feet long, and one inch in diameter at its lower end, and so nearly cylindrical throughout its whole extent,as to diminish only by two-tenths of an inch at its upper end. A small thermometer, with a platina scale, was introduced into the upper end of the tube, and an external collar of glass was united to that end by heating it, with a view of giving it additional support, and preventing it from slipping. This end of the tube was then drawn out into a fine tube ready for sealing

with the blow-pipe, and a small stop-cock was fitted on to it. The cistern of the barometer was formed by a small copper steamboiler, 18 inches long, 11 wide, and 10 deep, capable of being closed by a cock, and having at the bottom a small receptacle for holding the lower end of the tube, so as to allow of the water in the cistern being withdrawn, without disturbing that contained in the tube.

The boiler was set with brickwork, in a proper position over a small fire-place. It was nearly filled with distilled water, which was made to boil thoroughly, so as to free it from air; and the cock being then closed, the water was raised in the tube by the pressure of the steam collected in the upper part of the cistern. The tube when filled was hermetically closed at the top; a proper scale, constructed by Newman, was applied to it, great care being taken to determine its height, and to ensure the accuracy of its adjustments, and the precision of its measurements, by an exact mode of reading; and also to provide proper corrections for temperature. The water in the cistern was protected from contact with the air by being covered with pure castor oil to the depth of half an inch.

Observations have been made with this barometer from October 1830 to March 1832, and some curious results have been obtained. In windy weather, the column of water is found to be in perpetual motion, not unlike that from the breathing of an animal. Many considerable fluctuations in the pressure of the atmosphere are rendered sensible by the motion of the aqueous column, which would totally escape detection by the ordinary mercurial barometer; and it has been remarked, that the rise and fall of the water barometer precedes by one hour the rise and fall of the mercurial one. But the most striking result of the comparison between the two is, the very near coincidence of the elasticity of the aqueous vapour, as deduced from the experiments, with its amount as determined from calculation in a range of temperature from 58 degrees to 74 degrees.

COLONY OF LIBERIA.

WE are glad to find that the public mind of this country, is becoming feelingly alive to the importance and advantages of this truly philanthropic and interesting colony, of which we gave an account in page 371, of the preceding year.

Elliot Cresson, Esq., a native of Philadelphia, and a member of the Society of Friends, who has been for some time in this country, for the purpose of making known