man, supremely great and meanly little. The sombre light of eternity, falling on this endless variety of the characters of time, will excite the mind to earnest endeavour, and, by expanding the sympathies of the heart, will enlarge and liberalize the sacred duty of charity. In this study of human character, too, will be formed friendships agreeable and ennobling. Those who interpret the experience of our lives will be the "companions of our solitude;" while they who tender with love their maxims of wisdom will be our 'friends in council." The solace of the wise at all times invigorates the heart, and braces the mind to action. True are the words of Carlyle, that great men taken up in any way are profitable company. VI. Moreover, in this study will be perceived the "hand of God as displayed in the extension and establishment of Christianity;" for the unfolding of the drama of the life of humanity, of which the history of nations is the record, is only understood by the recognition of the method of the divine government. "What is history," asks Cromwell, "but God manifesting himself, as striking down and treading under foot whatever he hath not himself planted?" To exclude this all-comprehensive idea from this study, would be on a parallel with the philosopher, who would attempt to study the physical history of the earth, without estimating the influence of the sun. Religion, as has been already stated, is the great fact in a nation's life; that religion will be either of human or divine origin; if the former, then a comparison will be instituted between the effects of those two kinds of religion on the condition of nations. The three great systems of civilization at present predominant are-Christianity, Mahomedanism, and Brahminism. As compared with each other, the superiority of the first is established, inasmuch as it enters the territories of the others, and maintains its power over them by the greatness of its truths, and is yearly extending its influence; whereas the other systems are entirely passive, and do not invade the territories conquered, or being conquered, by the truths of Christianity. Nor can the student fail to perceive the superior condition of those nations which have embraced the religion of Christ; for, wherever established, it has ennobled man, and elevated woman, advanced freedom, and rendered truth triumphant. The study of history in this aspect confirms the divine origin of Christianity, and enables the student to understand the purpose for which nations exist, and the beneficent plans in operation for the elevation of humanity-for history is the unfolding of the providence of God. "For I doubt not through the ages one increasing purpose runs, And the thoughts of men are widened by the process of the suns."-Tennyson. The Inquirer. QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS. 274. Could any of the readers of the Controversialist oblige me by giving me some directions for making gun-cotton for collodion for photographic purposes? Also directions for inaking a good and cheap camera for portraits?-PHOTOS. 275. (1.) Would some of your readers kindly inform me which, in their opinion, is the best system for teaching singing? (2.) Which are the best works on singing and music?-T. R. 276. A student who has just commenced reading for Cambridge, with the intention of aiming at the highest honours there, will feel obliged if any Cambridge man will supply him with the outline of an extensive course of mathematical study, so far as it is essential that one who is wishful afterwards to graduate in the first place should acquaint himself with preparatory to entry. It is the wish of the inquirer that full and minute details should be given as to the order in which the various subjects should be undertaken; which should be pursued simultaneously, to what extent one should be studied before commencing another, accompanied with a list of the best treatises on such subjects. An early answer to these queries, with any general remarks on mathematical study, either in these columns, or by letter, will confer a lasting favour. 277. Can any reader of the "Inquirer," who has studied geology, inform me what is the supposed origin and date of formation of the little round masses of iron pyrites, and also those conical shaped things, something like limpetshells, only much larger, and having no open base, as large, sometimes, as the closed hand, which are found in such numbers imbedded in the chalk cliffs in the Isle of Thanet? They are found when the sea washes away any part of the cliff, and have undoubtedly been buried there for ages. The latter, from their shape and the marks (dotted lines) on them, have been thought by many to be sea shells; but their being closed all round (though, singularly enough, the shell, when broken, is full of chalk) appears to preclude the idea. I have read geological books, and yet these with the layers of flint, spread thin and evenly between layers of chalk, like piles of bread and butter-how they came so, and the supposed date of their formation, is to me a mystery. Can any one solve it for me ?-MARGATE. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS. 248. The Value of Gold.-I think that the answer given by "Truocrat" (p. 315) to query 248 is not definite enough, nor, indeed, is it to the point. The information sought was, "How is it that gold always maintains its standard, and is not so valuable in New York as in Great Britain?" In answer we have a theory on population, corn, &c. These, certainly, to some degree enter into the causes of the relative value, but not, as your correspondent inters, wholly, or even principally. Like many other "philosophical" explanations of simple facts, it is too abstruse, and fails to secure its object by going too far-ascending to the abstract, and overlooking the simple. If my experience of mercantile affairs (and chiefly in bullion operations) is of any value, it is at your service. I suppose the writer wishes first to know"How is it that gold always maintains its standard" value in this country? The answer is simple. By Act of Parliament gold in bullion can always be exchanged at the mint for coin at £3 17s. 10 d. per oz. Such is its standard, or mint value. The question of "How is it gold is not so valuable in New York as in London?" is as easily, though not so simply answered. It arises from many causes. 1. Production.-Gold, like everything else, is subject to the law of demand and supply; and in the country where it is most easily procured it of course bears a seemingly less value than in a more remote city. The difference is only nominal, however, the increased value representing the difference of freight, &c. As we maintain that the law of demand and supply governs the value of gold as well as of other commodities, it is necessary to show that the supply is greater and the demand less in New York than in London. 2. As to the question of supply, I need not detain you. California and Australia are the principal gold mining countries, and from them gold is conveyed at a less cost to New York than to London. 3. As to the question of demand, it embraces more features. I must here be more distinct. The consumption in the fine arts is vastly greater in the United Kingdom than in America. In the former the consumption annually amounts to about £3,000,000; in the whole of North America, to about £600,000. Add to this, that in the neighbouring countries, France and Switzerland, the consumption amounts to £1,500,000, and the charges of export or import to or from them being considerably less than to or from America, it follows that their demand acts in a greater * United Kingdom. degree upon our supply from America than our demand does upon the American supply. This will be another reason why gold should be dearer in London than in New York. 4. The peculiar state of the Indian trade absorbs a vast quantity (probably the greater part of the supply) of the precious metals. It is either shipped from this country, or on account of British trade; and another reason why gold is more valuable in London than in New York, is to be found in the fact that it is more valuable in India than in London; and, in homely language, London is the "half-way house" between America, and China, and India. 5. Gold fluctuates in value like any other commodity; but, whatever be its fluctuation, it is here of one standard value. If the mercantile value be above the standard one, of course it leaves this country; but as this seldom takes place, it is generally quoted at a higher rate in London than in New York. 6. The admirable system of banking in this country would, even without Peel's ruinous Act, absorb considerable quantities of gold. In America it is different. There, banking can be carried on, and is carried on, with coin seldom sufficient to make one day's payments in metal. To give an instance. By the law of that country one-half of the proposed capital of a bank must be paid up before operations can be commenced. But several cases have been known where the new bank has borrowed the requisite amount of dollars for a single day, and the directors have sworn to it as the paid up capital of the shareholders. Ruinous failures are the consequences of this deplorable mode of conducting business; and the effect on the relative value of gold between this country and America (there being no demand for it there) is of course to make it there of less value. The bullion really required for the mercautile operations of the country is thus illegally set free for exportation. 7. Regard must also be paid to the causes stated by your correspondent, " Truocrat." The widely scattered population of America, and the greater cheapness of food, do not require such a supply of the precious metals for the convenience of commerce as the densely populated and struggling arena of Britain, but not to the extent he supposes. Capital is there of greater value, but bullion is considerably cheaper than in this country. These causes, I believe, will fully answer the question asked by your correspondent.-SCOTUS. 257. Religious Sect of Duchoborzen in Russia. -The Duchoborzen, I believe, are the religious sect in Russia who call themselves "Anti-Ceremonialists." As F. T. A. wishes to know a few particulars relating to them, perhaps you will allow space for the following, which I have taken from the German work of Moritz Wagner, on the "Caucasus," published at Dresden in 1848. The Duchoborzen do not allow the uninitiated to penetrate into the mysteries of their religious worship, so that its peculiarities have never been rightly understood. They meet daily in their temples or churches to sing psalms, and they believe that God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, dwells in every man. They receive devoutly the sermons of their elders, and their late head in particular was greatly venerated, the people believing that he was in some close relation to the Deity; and it is true that he exercised a strange power over them. The Duchoborzen had been settled, by order of the Emperor Alexander, on the borders of the Sea of Azof, as he feared that their enthusiasm might proselytize the heart of Russia. There they possessed eleven large villages, and even their enemies, the adherents of the national church, acknowledged their industry and aptitude for agricultural pursuits. In no other part of the empire was land so well cultivated. The colonists became wealthy, and, during the reign of Alexander, lived in peace. They paid their taxes, supplied recruits, and lived as became good citizens. When Nicholas ascended the throne, their lot was soon changed. The Czar wished to promote the unity of the national church, and their persecution began. They were accused of harbouring deserters, and on this pretence large sums were extracted from them. If any guilt did attach to this crime, it is likely that they were guilty; but the punishments inflicted upon them were cruel and severe. Above a hundred were cast into prison, flogged, and tortured; thirty were knouted and banished to Siberia; and the whole body transported from their own fertile plains to the borders of the Arpatschai, the coldest, most sterile, and desolate district of the Caucasus. They settled there in seven villages, but the harsh climate and barren soil, in a place where only the most favourable summers will ripen corn, made their condition very deplorable. A second ukase ordered the remains of the Duchoborzen also to emigrate; and 4,000 or 5,000 had to sell their lands and little possessions so hurriedly that they received scarce a tenth of their value. They had been offered the choice of remaining in their own villages, and conforming to the national church, but very few yielded to the temptation. It is indeed remarkable that with such imperfect ideas of religion, and conceptions of God and futurity, they yet clung so firmly to them, and for their sake renounced their hopes of worldly well-being to encounter the miseries of exile in dreary and barren deserts. How to communicate with them I know not.FRAOIN. 251. Lenore. The word "Lenore," I am told by a friend who has an extensive acquaintance with the Scandinavian languages, is a Swedish female name.-A. M. 268. A Telescope.-If "Socius" will apply to Mr. H. Tulley, 23, Lower John-street, Liverpoolroad, Islington, London, he can get his telescope put to rights for £1 or 25s.—that is, the mirrors re-polished and adjusted.-F. B. 272. Hebrew Grammar and Dictionaries.-If A. J. C. intends studying Hebrew, I would recommend him to get Gesenius's "Hebrew Grammar," by Pro Rodiger, price 9s., and Gesenius's "Hebrew and English Lexicon," by Tregelles, price £1 5s., published by Bagster and Sons.J. E. Che Young Student and Writer's Assistant. GRAMMAR CLASS. QUESTIONS FOR SOLUTION.-IX. (a) 108. Reduce and to decimals. 109. Reduce 0675 and 0675 to vulgar frac tions. 110. If 1lb. of sugar cost '0703125 of 16s., what is the value of 0625 cwt.? 111. Add together,,, and, both as vulgar fractions and as decimals, and show that the two results coincide. 112. Find the value of 3-5s.+2.9 of 23.375s.1:75 of 16.6s. (b) 113. A horse was sold at a loss for 40 guineas; but if it had been sold for 50 guineas, the gain would have been three-fourths of the former loss: find its real value. 114. What is the first hour after six o'clock at which the two hands of a watch are (i.) directly opposite, and (ii.) at right angles to each other? 115. I wish to enclose a piece of ground with palisades, and find that if I set them a foot asunder, I shall have too few by 150, whereas, if I set them a yard asunder, I shall have too many by 70: what is the circuit of the piece of ground? when B comes to help him, and they take 3 days 116. A does of a piece of ground in 10 days, done the whole, each separately, or both together? more to finish it: in what time would they have (c) 117. What is the solidity of a cylinder whose length is 72-25 ft., and the circumference the length? 118. Required the cubic contents of a cylinder, having a length of 174.2 ft., and the circumference 17.42 ft. 119. The length of a hollow roller is 4 ft., exterior diameter 2 ft., and the thickness of the metal of an inch: determine its solidity. 120. If a cylinder, whose length is 13 ft. 4 in., contains 1728 cubic feet, what length must be cut off, so that it may contain that number of cubic feet? GEOGRAPHICAL CLASS. Junior Division.. Perform Exercise 8, in the October No., 1854, Vol. V., p. 358. The Societies' Section. REPORTS OF MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETIES. The Bermondsey and Horselydown Mutual | Improvement Association, which holds its meetings at the Sunday School and Preaching Station, Snow's Fields, consists of three classes; viz., on Friday evenings, one class for the study of English grammar and composition; and on Saturday evenings a class for the study of the French language; and from half-past eight till ten (the same evening), a public discussion class. The two first are for members of the association only, and are the objects of the liveliest interest to those who attend them. The discussion class is free to all, and of a thoroughly liberal and unfettered character, as may be seen from a list of the subjects debated: "What are the Best Means for Suppressing Crime?"-"Is Man a Free Agent?""Which is the Best Form of Government?" "Are Christians peculiarly protected by Deity? -"Is Combe's System of Phrenology true?"— "Which was the Greater Poet, Shakspere or Milton?" These are a few of the questions that have lately been discussed. Those that are to follow are of an equally suggestive nature, and fully merit the consideration and study of all thinking minds. The spirit in which our discus sions are conducted is truthful and tolerant. All kinds of opinions are freely heard and freely criticised.-G. R. London Society of Compositors.-Two or three months ago, this society took a house in Raquetcourt, Fleet-street, to be fitted up with newsrooms, library, and other apartments, for the convenience of the members. From a recent report of the acting committee, we are glad to observe that a large collection of useful and valuable books of reference has been already made, the number of volumes now being above 800, about 250 of which have been sent gratuitously, chiefly by the members. Some of our readers may be glad of the opportunity of aiding the London Society of Compositors to improve their library. Donations of books will be gratefully received and duly acknowledged. Works of reference and standard books have been purchased with the funds of the society, which the committee have judiciously refrained from expending on lighter publications. But for the recreation of the members other kinds of reading are also desirable, and the library is as yet almost wholly unsupplied with books of miscellaneous literature. Literature. LITERARY INTELLIGENCE. Modern French literature has just sustained a great loss by the death of Madame de Girardin. She was stricken down in the full prime of life, but after a long and painful illness. When quite young, she, under her maiden name of Delphine Gay, gained great reputation, under the proud name of "Muse de la Patrie," for some exquisite poetical productions, which even Lord Byron admired, though he had small liking for French verse. Her subsequent literary labours, extending over many years, are familiar to all who have occupied themselves in any degree with French literature. We regret to have to announce the death of Henry Colburn, Esq., the eminent publisher. naturalist of long standing and especial eminence in his own department. For inore than thirty years Dr. Johnston made it his peculiar study to examine physiologically and systematically the zoophytes, sponges, and mollusca of his native shores; and being gifted with a fluent pen and poetical feeling, his writings are all more or less characterized by their delightful and impressive style. In that small company of British naturalists, from the circle of whom we have lost, during the past year, David Landsborough and Edward Forbes, George Johnston was a conspicuous and valuable member. The early appearance of Victor Hugo's new volume of poems, under the title," Les Contemplations," is announced at Paris. Proposals have been circulated for the erection of a memorial to Mary Russell Mitford, to con- Mr. Heywood, the member for Lancashire, has sist of a plain monument over her grave in the given notice in the House of Commons, that next churchyard of the village which her writings have session he shall move "An address to Her Mamade classical, and, if sufficient funds are pro-jesty, praying that Her Majesty will be graciously vided, the establishment of a village industrial school. pleased to appoint a Commission to inquire into the state of the authorized version of the Bible, On Monday, July 30th, died, at the age of fifty- and to prepare a plan for the further revision of eight, Dr. Johnston, of Berwick-on-Tweed, a that translation." Aids to Self-Culture. THE ESSENTIALS OF GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION.-No. III. LIFE implies duty. Self-culture is life's paramount duty. Unless man's nature is capable of bearing all its intended fruit, it has not been rightly cultured; and by so much as it is impaired by want of culture, it is incapable of adequately performing its lifeduties. Thought is man's noblest life,-that on the culture of which character and action-the signature of character-depend. All life should be reproductive. Every thought unexpressed in act or word is essentially barren, and fails in the fulfilment of the end for which its birth was granted. Every thought within us should be noble, pure, and good; and as word and act can only manifest thought, then all speech and action would be lifeworthy. Our present purpose is to aid "the utterance of thought by speech." Ease, grace, and readiness in this, as in all else, are the results of persevering labour. "The dull, mechanic exercise" must neither be despised as drudgery, nor performed with perfunctory carelessness. The soothing flattery that Genius atones for all faults, and often snatches "grace beyond the reach of art," must not be laid like unction to the soul. Few thoughts are oftener erroneously entertained than that which makes the egotist exclaim, “I also am a genius." The "patient touches" of "slow endeavouring art" we honestly assert are, in our opinion, the only means by which the glorious thoughts of true genius may be fittingly commended to the mind, and the only instrumentalities by which mediocrity can be rendered sufferable; without these genius is unimpressive, and mediocrity is "very tolerable, and not to be endured." We write for self-culturists. To them our advice is given, and for them the labour of preparing these papers is undertaken. Why should they grudge labour if we grudge it not? Let but one solitary half-hour each day be given to the study of the subject now before us, and it will not be long before the style of the student will undergo a marked change, and rapidity and correctness of composition supplant that lugging, straining, struggling unfitness to find fit utterance for a thought, which, to inept students, is so toilsome. A little labour now, and the habit of easy, fluent, ornate speech is acquired for life; yet a little more indulgence in negligence, and evermore restraint and sorrow shall reward The difficulty of using the pronouns of any language is well known, and the importance of gaining an accurate acquaintance is acknowledged on all hands. This must be our excuse if our paper is lengthy, our details minute, and our examples and exercises numerous. us. Pronouns are the representatives of nouns. They are either Personal, Relative, or Adjective. Personal pronouns represent persons. They are inflected to indicate-1st, Person; 2nd, Number; 3rd, Gender; 4th, Case. |