Attend to business, study well Thy master's wishes night or day; One lie found out, howe'er the case, And though when in her gorgeous bowers, They seem compos'd of fragrant flowers, And every flower that comes in view Appears possess'd of beauty too, Yet pull the fairest, and anon Its odour and its beauty's gone. Or wisdom's paths real roses grow, Though fainter seem their scent and show. Pluck them, nor dread the worldling's scorn, Nottingham. M. A. C. EARTHLY JOYS UNCERTAIN. I TWIN'D me a wreath of the rosiest flowers And the bright leaves were wooing the summer winds' sigh. I sought them again at the close of the day, Yet e'en from their dry leaves a fragrance was shed. ALL ON EARTH IS TRANSIENT. How pure and lovely smiles the day To eves that know no weeping! How gladsome beams the summer ray, To hearts in pleasure sleeping! To such at morn, the leafy trees Their balmy dews distilling :To such at eve, the murmuring breeze The air with odours filling ; The pining rill, the shady vale To joy and love exciting. In youth's gay morn the cloudless mind But, ah! these scenes, so fair to view, The spring-time hopes of man are seared The summer gems, so softly reared, Yet there's a land where nought can change, But peace pervades the golden streets, THE CHILD'S LAMENT FOR SUMMER. WHERE is the glorious Summer gone! With many a sweet and thrilling tone, I hear not now the wild bird's song, Nor lingers there one flowret bright, To meet my anxious view The streams have lost their golden light, And green leaves which have proudly swung Unto the moaning winds are flung, But sear'd and wither'd now. Oft as I chas'd the butterfly I thought such blossoms could not die, But the violet in its lone repose Hath lost its od'rous breath; The lily and the queenly rose Have felt the touch of death! Alas! that such a glorious time Will the green fields renew their prime? The summer will return, fair child! And friendships, of thy childhood's hours, REVIEW-The Entire Works of the Rev. THE appearance of the third volume before The subjects which this third volume contains are both numerous and diversified, and, from the superiority of talent displayed in each department, the belief is induced, that had Mr. H. been called in early life to the senate or the bar, he would have shone in either constellation as a star of the first magnitude. These, however, were not the elements in which he either chose, or was destined to shine. The vigour of his mighty intellect wanted a hemisphere in which to range; his philanthropy desired one in which he could be most beneficial to his fellow-creatures; while his piety fixed on religion as being altogether congenial with his talents and the dictates of his heart. To be an honoured instrument in the hands of God, in teaching the souls of men the way of salvation, animated him with more exalted motives than either personal fame or worldly aggrandizement could possibly inspire. On this ground he took his stand, and in the cause of his Redeemer he has gathered imperishable laurels. From the numerous topics which fall under the author's discussion in this volume, it would be difficult to make any selection that should be accompanied with reasons for a decided preference. His "Apology for the freedom of the press," "On the right of public discussion," "Reform in parliament," and "On theories and the rights of man," all hold out an invitation to be transcribed. For these, however, and other kindred topics, we must refer the reader to the volume, contenting ourselves with a few extracts from his vindication of the sentiments he had previously advanced in favour of the liberty of the press. On this very interesting subject his views are enlarged, and his language is both nervous and perspicuous. To this liberty, he, however, assigns specific limits. His sentiments, therefore, cannot be construed into an approval of theories which would either unhinge civil government, or countenance blasphemy against God. In his reply to the reviewer of his pamphlet in the Christian Guardian, Mr. Hall observes as follows: "To plead for the liberty of divulging speculative opinions, is one thing; and to assert the right of uttering blasphemy, is another. For, blasphemy, which is the speaking contumeliously of God, is not a speculative error; it is an overt act; a crime which no state should tolerate."-p. 191. "It may not be improper in this place to notice a curious argument which the Reviewer adduces, in support of his darling tenet of passive obedience and non-resistance, from the prevailing and inherent depravity of human nature. He reminds us that mankind are represented in the scriptures as 'alike depraved and unruly,' and from these premises attempts to enforce that interpretation of scripture which would annihilate the liberties of mankind, and reduce them, without restriction or reservation, to a passive submission to their political superiors. On another occasion, I have sufficiently rescued the sentiments of the inspired writers from such a detestable imputation, by shewing that their design is merely to inculcate the general duty of obedience to government, as the ordinance of God, while they leave the just bounds of authority, and the limits of obedience, to the regulation and adjustment of reason and experience; a task to which they are perfectly adequate. "But how does the depravity of human nature evince the necessity of passive obedience and nonresistance, unless it is contended that the ruling part of mankind are not depraved? That mankind are naturally depraved and unruly, affords a good argument for the existence of government itself; but since they are alike depraved and unrulysince governors partake of the same corruption as the people, aggravated too often by the possession of power, which inflames the passions and corrupts the heart; to allege the depravity of human nature as a reason for submission to arbitrary power, involves the absurdity of supposing, that the cure of one degree of wickedness is to be obtained by affording unlimited license to a greater. Retrace the annals of all times and nations, and you will find in the triumph of despotism, the triumph of wickedness; you will also find that men bave been virtuous, noble, and disinterested, just in proportion as they have been free," &c.-p. 193. "There is a description of men who are accustomed, systematically, to yield up their understanding to others, who, in their view, ought to be judges: it is needless to add, that the present writer (a writer in the Christian Guardian) is evidently of this servum pécus, this tame and passive herd; and that his knowledge of the subject is just what might be expected from one who thinks by proxy. These men, forgetting, or affecting to forget, that the exercise of power, in whatever hands it is placed, will infallibly degenerate into tyranny, unless it is carefully watched, make it their whole business to screen its abuses, to suppress inquiry, to stifle complaint, and inculcate on the people, as their duty, a quiet and implicit submission to the direction of those who, to speak in the vocabulary of slaves, ought to be judges.' These are the men by whom the constitution is endangered-these are the maxims by which free states are enslaved. If that freedom which is the birthright of Britons is destined to go down to succeeding generations, it must result from the prevalence of an opposite spirit-a lofty enthusi dism. The present life, therefore, contracted within moderate limits, by the exclusion of extraneous matter, has been pre asm, an ardent attachment to liberty, and an in-pared with more special reference to general readers." cessant jealousy of the tendency of power to enlarge its pretensions and extend its encroachments," &c.-p. 196. It was not the lot of Mr. Hall to witness the almost universal prevalence of the sentiments which he has here expressed. In his time they were advanced at the hazard of his reputation. The day-star had, however, risen on his mind, and he followed its light, without any regard to personal consequences. Since death has closed his eyes, the sun of political freedom has mounted above the horizon, and we have lived to enjoy the beamings of its meridian splendour. From the other miscellaneous articles, amounting to nearly forty, which compose this volume, our limits will not allow us to take any extracts. Throughout the whole, the same elegance of expression, the same keenness of investigation, and the same masculine power of reasoning, is every where apparent. Taken in the aggregate, each will appear a master-piece of its kind, which can hardly fail to gratify the reader, and quicken his appetite for the volumes which are yet to appear. REVIEW.-The Life of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M., Founder of the Methodist Societies. By Richard Watson. 12mo. pp. 387. Mason, London, 1831. THE memoirs of this very extraordinary man have been so long before the world, and in such a variety of forms, that every important source of information respecting him, has long since been exhausted. Numerous topics, indeed, on which other biographers have touched, are here placed in new combinations, and associated with motives which some preceding writers have not had either the ability to discover, or the integrity to avow; and hence, many features in his character and movements assume an attitude of originality; but in every sketch the leading facts are nearly the same; and that reader who now expects a life of Mr. Wesley composed of new mate. rials will be rewarded with disappointment. This view of the subject is indirectly avowed by Mr. Watson, in a short preface to the present volume. He tells us, that "the most approved accounts of Mr. Wesley have been carried out to a length which obstructs their circulation, by the intermixture of details comparatively uninteresting beyond the immediate circle of Metho Keeping this modest profession continually in view, the author has been eminently successful. He has imbodied within a narrow compass all that is essential to the life which he delineates, without digressing into the regions of polemical speculations, and has omitted nothing that can be deemed necessary to the development of the great principles by which Mr. Wesley was guided, and the unwearied perseverance which distinguished his probationary career. Unlike Dr. Southey, who resolved all Mr. Wesley's actions into enthusiasm and ambition, Mr. Watson has traced them to a higher source, and found this eminent servant of the Most High uniformly actuated by love to God and love to man. His first impulses and movements are narrated with much plainness and simplicity. His travels, perils, persecutions, and success in preaching, are recorded without exaggeration. The doctrines which he taught are stated without any latent concealment ; and in the formation of his societies, we behold the leadings of Providence superintending the measures which he adopted. It has been said of the celebrated Richard Baxter, that "such men are not to be drawn in miniature." A similar remark may with equal propriety be applied to Mr. Wesley; and in this light he was surveyed by Dr. Whitehead, who thought two well-crowded octavos not too voluminous to communicate his history to the world. We are not aware that any of its readers, or any of Mr. Wesley's admirers, have thought such a vehicle too splendid, or in any way displaying ostentation. To many insects of the day, over whose names the billows of time are destined to close for ever, a magnificent vehicle is of the utmost importance; but the character of John Wesley, "embalmed in its own perfume," will yield a fragrance in every form which his biographer may adopt. Its buoyant properties will secure its immortality, and place it beyond the influence of folio, quarto, octayo, or duodecimo delineation. The more voluminous biographies of Mr. Wesley were never intended to be superseded by this volume. To those who have the former, the present will communicate little that is new; but it will throw into the hands of thousands, a condensed account of one of the most remarkable ministers of the gospel that has ever lived since the days of the apostles; and supply them with the essence of the larger volumes, which the expense of purchasing had placed beyond their reach. We apprehend that this work was undertaken at the particular request of the Methodist Conference; from which circumstance it is fairly to be inferred, that it has obtained the sanction of this great organ of the sect-to whom it will be a text-book, from which there can be no appeal. We cannot but think that this work has been confided to very able hands. Mr. Watson was well acquainted with the task he engaged to undertake, and had constant access to every species of information that the subject would allow. Of these favourable circumstances he has availed himself, and produced a book, moderate both in size and price, that is creditable to his talents, faithful to the character of Mr. Wesley, and honourable to the connexion of which he was the founder. On traversing the interior, one of its mountains presents to the eye of the astonished visitant, the most terrible volcano that has hitherto been discovered on any portion of the globe. Of this appalling spectacle, an ample description, extracted from a former edition of this work, may be found in column 376, of the eighth vol. of the Imperial Magazine for 1826, and also an engraving in col. 105 of the following year. On this account we must at present confine our observations to a solitary paragraph, which, though short, will communicate some idea of this awful bed of liquid fire. "After walking some distance over the sunken plain, which in several places sounded hollow ander our feet, we at length came to the edge of the great crater, where a spectacle sublime, and even appalling, presented itself before us 'We stopped and trembled.' Astonishment and awe for some moments rendered us mute, and, like statues, we stood fixed to the spot, with our eyes riveted on the abyss below. Immediately before us yawned an immense REVIEW.-Polynesian Researches, by Wil- gulf, in the form of a crescent, about two miles in liam Ellis, Vol. III. pp. 407. Fisher and Co., London, 1831. THE exalted character which we gave, in our former numbers, of the two preceding volumes, is amply supported by the intrinsic merit of this which is now before us. The extensive circulation with which the "Polynesian Researches" have been honoured, furnishes a convincing evidence, that a numerous class of readers are deeply interested in the narrations, events, and incidents which the author details. From his long residence in these distant islands, Mr. Ellis was favoured with opportunities of prosecuting his researches, which rarely fall to the lot of any individual. These he seized, and improved with the most unremitting industry and perseverance; and, with talents every way adequate to the task, he has produced a work which gives more solid and genuine information respecting the inhabitants and productions of the South Sea Islands, than can be found in the accumulated volumes of all the writers who have preceded him. REVIEW.-Polynesian Researches, (Sandwich Islands,) Vol. IV. pp. 471. Fisher, & Co. London. 1831. THE island of Hawaii (the Owhyhee of Captain Cook) will ever be memorable in the annals of our country, as the place in which that celebrated circumnavigator was murdered by savages; and in many other respects we discover phenomena which render it truly remarkable. length from north-east to south-west, nearly a The inhabitants of these insulated regions are scarcely less remarkable in their manners and modes of acting, than the preceding natural, or almost preternatural, singularity of the island is astonishing. Among their varied amusements, the following custom cannot fail to arrest the at tention of the reader. "There are, perhaps, no people more accustomed to the water than the islanders of the Pacific; they seem almost a race of amphibious beings. Familiar with the sea from their birth, they lose all dread of it, and seem nearly as much at home in the water as on dry land. There are few children who are not taken into the sea by their mothers the second or third day after their birth, and many who can swim as soon as they can walk. The heat of the climate is, no doubt, one source of the gratification they find in this amusement, which is so universal, that it is scarcely possible to pass along the shore where there are many habitations near, and not see a number of children playing in the sea. Here they remain for hours together, and yet I never knew of but one child being drowned during the number of years I have resided in the islands. They have a variety of games, and gambol as fearlessly in the water as the children of a school do in their play-ground. Sometimes they erect a stage eight or ten feet high on the edge of some deep place, and lay a pole in an oblique direction over the edge of it, perhaps twenty feet above the water; along this they pursue each other to the uttermost Throwing end, when they jump into the sea. themselves from the lower yards, or bowsprit, of a ship, is also a favourite sport, but the most general and frequent game is swimming in the surf. The higher the sea and the larger the waves, in their opinion the better the sport. On these occasions they use a board, which they call papa hé náru, (wave sliding-board,) generally five or six feet long, and rather more than a foot wide; sometimes flat, but more frequently slightly convex on both sides. It is usually made of the wood of the erythrina, stained quite black, and preserved with great care. After using, it is placed in the sun till perfectly dry, when it is rubbed over with cocoa-nut oil, frequently wrapped in cloth, and suspended in some part of their dwelling-house. Sometimes they choose a place where the deep water reaches to the beach, but generally prefer a part where the rocks are ten or twenty feet under water, and extend to a distance from the shore, as the surf breaks more violently over them. When playing in these places, each individual takes his board, and, pushing it before him, swims perhaps a quarter of a mile, or more, out to sea. They do not attempt to go over the billows which roll towards the shore, but watch their approach, and dive under water, allowing the billow to pass over their heads. When they reach the outside of the rocks, where the waves first break, they adjust themselves on one side of the board, lying flat on their faces, and watch the approach of the largest billow: they then poise themselves on its highest edge, and, paddling as it were with their hands and feet, ride on the crest of the wave, in the midst of the spray and foam, till within a yard or two of the rocks or the shore; and when the observers would expect to see them dashed to pieces, they steer with great address between the rocks, or slide off their board in a moment, grasp it by the middle, and dive under water, while the wave rolls on, and breaks among the rocks with a roaring noise, the effects of which is greatly heightened by the shouts and laughter of the natives in the water. Those who are expert frequently change their position on the board, sometimes sitting and sometimes standing erect in the midst of the foam. The greatest address is necessary in order to keep on the edge of the wave: for if they get too forward, they are sure to be overturned; and if they fall back, they are buried beneath the succeeding billow."-p. 369. The preceding extracts will render all further observations on this volume unnecessary. The description given of the volcano, and the plate which represents it, together with a vignette in which the natives are seen sporting on the waves, are worth more than six shillings, the price of the whole volume. REVIEW.-The Winter's Wreath for 1832. another, they do not bid so fair to reap the harvest, as to destroy the field. Of the Winter's Wreath for 1832, it will be no contemptible encomium to observe, that it is in every respect worthy of its predecessors. The pictorial ornaments are of the usual number. The subjects are both diversified and appropriate, and the engravings are exquisitely finished. To The literary articles exhibit a due proportion of prose and verse. All the subjects are strictly moral, and many of the compositions display talents of a superior order. every one, the name or designation of its author is attached, and in the catalogue, consisting of seventy, many will be found, whom both fame and public opinion have, long since, crowned with the wreath of popularity. Without attempting to institute an inquiry into the comparative merits of these performances, we beg to introduce, from the pen of Mr. Thomas Roscoe, as a fair specimen of the whole, and a masterly delineation of character, "The Young Minister and the Bride, by a Sexagenarian. "Near this little hamlet, at the foot of the bills stretching westward, lay the ample domains of the wealthy Lord L-; forming part of those fertile and cultivated districts, which betoken the near abundance of the rich loamy soil of the northern graziers. Its present possessor had returned within the last year, from the Continent, to reside at the seat of his forefathers, and find employment for the well-lined coffers of his immediate predecessor. The new Lord, we were informed, was now on the eve of forming an union with one of the fairest girls in the county, the daughter of his father's old friend, the late member for Kgentleman who, by his imprudence, bad left, at his death, a large family involved in considerable diffculties and embarrassment. The late Lord L however, had not only materially assisted them, but bad even consented that the family union, long before projected between his friend's daughter and his own son, should still take place. This, too, was an object in which the mother of Margaret Dillon (already betrothed to the scion of L House, before his departure for foreign lands) was more particularly interested, having several younger children almost wholly unprovided for. Circumstances, therefore, seemed to render it imperative on the eldest to fulfil her mother's wishes; and only by some strange perversity of fate, was such an alliance likely to prove an unhappy one. "The lovely Margaret was then in her seventeenth year, while her intended lord was nearly as many summers older, and by no means of that prepossessing character and exterior, nor of that lofty reputation and rare report, calculated to win "golden opinions" from all manner of women. The marriage, however, was to have taken place on his return, without much consideration of reciprocal feeling, and had been delayed only in consequence of the sudden demise of his Lordship's father. His return, we were told, had been marked by no expression of joy on the part of his tenantry or retainers; nor, what was more to be regretted, on the part of the intended bride herself, who was, on the other hand, said to be a favourite with all classes of her acquaintance. "If the new Lord, however, had failed to make himself liked, this did not seem to be the case with a young clergyman in the vicinity, of the name of Maurice Dunn, whose noble look, and high, yet |