Recipe for the Destruction of Slugs.-A dusting of quick lime will be found effectual (either in gardens or in fields) and may be applied in the morning, before sun-set, or late in the evening, so as to fall upon them when they are out of retirement; and as they will sometimes evade the first dusting, a second may be administered in the course of a few minutes, which will completely destroy them.

Gothic Architecture. This term was first applied to English architecture by Sir C. Wren. It originated with the Italian writers of the 14th or 15th century, who contemptuously applied the expression "La Maniera Gotica," to all the works of art in the middle ages.

Simple Remedy to Purify Water.-It is not so generally known as it ought to be, that powdered alum possesses the property of purifying water. A large table-spoonful of pulverized alum, sprinkled into a hogshead of water (the water stirred briskly round at the time,) will, after the lapse of a few hours, by precipitating to the bottom the impure particles, so cleanse it, that it will be found to possess nearly all the freshness and clearness of the finest spring water. A pailful, containing four gallons, may be purified by a single teaspoonful.

Extraordinary Preservation.-In a little work called "Voyages aux Alpes," which has recently been published in Paris, a curious account is given of an avalanche which occurred in Switzerland many years ago. During the absence of a Swiss farmer, his cottage and stable were, by the fall of the avalanche, enclosed in snow; his wife and daughter were at the time in the stable. Six weeks afterwards, the snow having melted a little, an opening was effected, and the two females were found alive, having been supported by the milk of the cow during that long period. The space left free from the snow was sufficient for air, and fortunately there was a good winter's stock of provisions for the cow near the stable.

Newly-discovered MSS. of Locke.-A bundle of old manuscripts has lately come into the possession of a gentleman at Boreham, in Essex, which turn out to be original letters and writings of the illustrious John Locke. The MS. of his Essay on the Human Understanding, with all his corrections, and many letters written during his banishment in Holland, as well as some letters of Algernon Sydney, Lord Shaftesbury, and others, are amongst this precious collection.

Singular Sagacity of a Dog.-During the late snow, a remarkable incident of the brute-reasoning kind occurred at a farm-house in the neighbourhood of Falkirk. A number of fowls were missed one evening at the hour when they usually retired to their roost, and all conjectures were lost in trying to account for their disappearance. While sitting around the kitchen ingle, the attention of the family was roused by the entrance of the house-dog, having in his mouth a hen, apparently dead. Forcing his way to the fire, the cautious animal laid his charge down upon the warm hearth, and immediately set off. He soon entered again with another, which he deposited in the same place, and so continued till the whole of the poor birds were rescued. Wandering about the stack-yard, the fowls had become quite benumbed by the extreme cold, and had crowded together, when the dog, observing them, effected their deliverance. They had not lain long before the glowing ribs, ere they started to their legs, and walked off.

Antediluvian Remains. At three hundred feet below the sand-bank of which the island of Sheppey is composed, there is a prostrate antediluvian forest; and, when digging the well for the garrison, it was found necessary even to blast the fossil timber!

Heretics. The early church used Grecian language, and the word "heresy" is Greek, literally signifying "choice." So then, the crime of heresy is the crime of making a choice. When, therefore, ecclesiastical domination had established itself upon the prostration of the judgment, and

.382

it became execrable to make, and he became execrated who chose, the principles reason approved, this essentially harmless name became a term of reproach, and a stigma of crime. In the cruelty of priestly tyranny, its object was persecuted to death, and a degraded people assisted at his execution. Thank God, the spirit of the age, or, if you please, the "march of intellect," has forbidden these holy murders, but though the giant evil is unnerved and paralyzed, he still prolongs his existence in the form of excommunications and expulsions, by which the most sincere, the most truly pious, and excellent of the earth, still have their names cast out as evil, whilst ignorance, bigotry, or craft, shakes against them the head of affected pity, or points the finger of holy scorn! "Tis well when men in this situation have the virtue to exclaim, "None of these things move me," and sternly maintain the truth, through evil and through good report.

A Lesson for Drunkards.-A brewer, in a certain town in the north, had lately an animal of the swine tribe of uncommon fineness of symmetry and appearance. He seemed conscious of his own attractiveness; and, almost every day, was seen exhibiting the beauties of his shape and size on a promenade in the neighbourhood of the place, where the other fashionables of that good town were wont to recreate. It happened, however, that the quadruped had his own besetting weaknesses; and when certain operations of the brewery brought periodically to his share some of the good things of potent nature, the Corinthian boar got tipsy. But the sensible beast had a feeling of the degradation he thus brought upon himself; and let the day be ever so fine, or the promenade ever so brilliant, he would never be found among the company when he had exceeded at the inebriating trough. He skulked among the darker lanes and closes, and fairly shunned all observation and notice.-Inverness Courier.

A great and venerable curiosity.-About 98 or 100 years ago, the wife of Lord Kilsyth, and her infant child, were smothered in Holland, or in some other part of the Netherlands. There they were embowelled, embalmed, and placed in the same coffin; and, a short time afterwards, brought to this country, and laid in the sepulchral vault of the family, below the floor of Kilsyth church. In this subterraneous chamber, they lay undisturbed, till about two months ago, when some persons, prompted by a forward curiosity, tore open the chest, and, to their surprise and astonishment, saw the lady and her child as fresh as when newly coffined. The skin and the flesh were firm and hard; the face white, and the features distinct; the fine muslin with which they were dressed, was fresh and fair; and the yellow or orange ribbons, with which they were adorned, were stiff and good.-At the same time, the cell in which they were lying was filled with an agreeable odour, arising from some sweet-smelling drugs which had been put in the coffin. But, the vault and the coffin being open, the admission of the external air, and the breath of hundreds of visitants, soon produced a great alteration. When the vault was shut up, the clothes were dark and wettish, the complexion of the lady especially was much embrowned, a mouldiness was collecting on the face, and the aromatic perfume was nearly gone. Had these venerable remains not been exposed, they might have lain undecayed for several ages more. The lady, whose body lies in this state, was formerly the wife of viscount Dundee, who commanded the troops of James II. at the battle of Killicrankie, 1689, and who fell there; and was married afterwards to lord Kilsyth. She appears to have been a stately-looking woman, red-haired, full faced, and of agreeable features; and, at the time of her death, seems to have been thirty or thirty-six years of age. There is something very engaging in the child, who is lying at the foot of the coffin, and leaning on his mother's legs. The babe, about six months old, looked well, plump, and full, and seemed as if he were smiling.

Russian Monument to Howard.-At the town of Cherson, in Russia, a monument has recently been erected to Howard the philanthropist, who died at that place, of an epidemic disease, in the year 1796. The monument consists of a quadrangular stone pillar, on two sides of which are inscribed, in the Russian language, the words:" Howard died January 20th, 1796, aged 65." On the other two sides appear the following lines." Alios salvos fecit-Vixit propter alios." In the centre of the monument there is a sun-dial.

Humble Scholar. Very lately died, at Spalding, Lincolnshire John Willcox, shoemaker, aged 65, a man of strong mind, vivid imagination, origi. nal ideas, and eccentric habits. He was a perfect Helluo Librorum, devoting nearly half his time and much of his earnings to books, although he depended entirely on his hands for support. He lived alone, and his house was filled with lumber, lasts, and literature, in mingled heaps. He read, studied, and digested the metaphysics of Locke, Steward, Read, Oswald, &c.; knew well the principles of natural and experimental philosophy, astronomy, geography, general science, and music-was well read in ancient modern history-a great admirer of all our best essayists, moralists, and poets; and, as regards English literature, might be considered a living catalogue of authors, editions, and prices. Adulation and flattery he detested. Of manners he knew nothing; was uncouth in dress; and so remarkably shy, that he was never known to approach even an intimate acquaintance, unless in a circuitous, sidelong manner, and very rarely looked any one in the face, except obliquely.

Literary Notices.

Just Published.

and

Hora Phrenologicæ, being three Phrenological Essays; on Morality, on the best Means of obtaining Happiness, on Veneration. By John Epps.

An Essay on the Cultivation of the Infant Mind. By James Robert Brown.

British Reformers: Writings of Hooper. Signs and Symbols, illustrated and explained in three courses of Lectures on the History of Initiation. By George Oliver. vol. ii.

The Divine Origin of Christianity, deduced from some of those Evidences not founded on the Authenticity of Scripture. By J. Sheppard. 2 vols. Pastoral Discourses on Revivals of Religion, with Facts and Documents. By Henry Forster Burder, M. A.

Principles of Natural Philosophy, or a new Theory of Physics, founded on Gravitation, and applied in explaining the general properties of Matter, &c. By T. Exley, M. A.

A Set of Psalm and Hymn Tunes. By H. Searle. Universal Education, considered with regard to its Influence on the Happiness and Moral Character of the Middle and Lower Classes, &c. By One of the People.

A Sermon occasioned by the Death of the Rev. Matthew Wilks. By G. Collison.

A Sermon on the Death of the Rev. Matthew Wilks. By Andrew Reed.

Practical Illustrations of a Particular Providence, &c. on account of some personal deliverances.

Hewlett's (now Copley's,) Scripture History,2 vols. Uniform with the Scripture Natural History with upwards of 130 Engravings, besides Maps. 16mo.

A Sermon preached at the Annual Meeting of the London Missionary Society, at Tottenham-court Chapel. By the Rev. W. Clayton.

An Address to the Public, drawn from Nature and Religion, against the unlimited Dissection of Human Bodies.

Three Sermons preached at Stepney. By J. Fletcher, A.M.

384

Account of the Edinburgh Sessional School, and the other Parochial Institutions for Education established in that City in the year 1812. By James Wood, Esq.

Miscellaneous Sermons, preached in the Parish Church of Cheltenham. By the Rev. F. Close, A.M. Heaven opened, or the Word of God: being the twelve Visions of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel, and St. John. By Alfred Addis, B.A.

Letters to a Friend, &c. on the subjects of Conversion and Salvation. By the late Rev. Thomas H. C. Henry, D.D. Charlestown America.

Anecdotes illustrative of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, &. By J. Whitecross.

The Panorama of London, &c. in a Tour through the Metropolis and its Environs. By T. Allen. With Engravings by Rogers.

Passion Week. Part the Second. The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine, No. I. Truth against Error, or the Christian's Ægis. Edited by Thomas Keyworth.

The great Importance of a Religious Life considered, &c. By W. Melmoth, Esq.

The Protestant's Companion, being a choice Collection of Preservatives against Popery, 1 vol. 12mo.

Letters to a Friend; intended to relieve the Difficulties of an anxious Inquirer under serious Impressions on the subjects of Conversion and Salvation. By the late Rev. Thomas Charlton Henry, D.D. Of Charleston, South Carolina. Revised and corrected; with Memoirs of the Author, and other prefatory matter. By J. Pye Smith, D.D. and the Rev. T. Lewis.

A Mother in Israel, or a Sketch of the Character of the late Mrs. Greville Ewing, of Glasgow.

Elements of Natural History, or an Introduction to Systematic Zoology. By J. H. Hinton, A. M. To the Irreligious, a Tract. By J. H. Hin. ton, A.M.

A Volume of Poems, entitled Lays of Palestine, founded on various events of Jewish History. By R. Shelton Mackenzie.

The Speech of Viscount Palmerston, on the Catholic Question, delivered in the House of Commons, March 18, 1829.-Published by Simpkin and Marshall, Stationers' Court, Ludgate Hill. In the Press.

Ein Deutsches Lesebuch; or, Lessons in German Literature; being a choice collection of amusing and instructive pieces, in prose and verse, selected from the writings of the most celebrated German Authors, with Interlinear and other Translations. By J. Rowbotham, F. Ast. S. L.

Roman History for Youth, illustrated by seventy six Engravings, from original Drawings. By W. H. Brooke, Esq. engraved by H. White, Esq.; with a Series of Questions, and References for their Solution. By T. Rose.

The Bibliographical and Literary History of the Bible. By J. Whitridge.

Preparing for Publication.

The Rev. J. H. Hinton, of Reading, is preparing for publication a Treatise on the Nature and Necessity of the Influence of the Holy Spirit.

Miss M. A. Browne, the Author of "Mont Blanc." "Ada," &c. &c., is about to publish a small volume of Sacred Poetry. Dedicated to the Rev. H. H. Milman, Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford.

The Rev. Dr. Wait, (of Cambridge,) is about to commence a "Repertorium Theologicum," or Critical Record of Theological Literature; in which, Foreign Works on Divinity will be condensed.

In 12mo. uniform with his other works, a new edition of "Romaine's Law and Gospel."

The first part of Mr. Jones's series of Lectures on the Apocalypse, now delivering at Aldermanbury, will appear on the first of May.-To be succeeded by an additional part every other

month.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. MATTHEW WILKS.

(With a Portrait.)

IN what light soever death is surveyed by mortals, nothing can divest his countenance of an awful solemnity. As a messenger opening the door to immortal happiness, it assumes indeed a less forbidding aspect, yet even our most triumphant assurances of future felicity, derived from the promises of God, and our own experience of their fulfilment, can hardly clothe his visage with a smile.

To leave our present state of existence, to enter on a mode of being of which we can form no adequate or definite ideas, and to mingle with intelligences with whose history, attainments, and physical character, we have little or no acquaintance, are subjects of too much interest and importance to be anticipated without genuine seriousness and deep humiliation. Above all, a conviction that we must stand in the presence of God, to undergo from his piercing eye a scrutiny which nothing can elude, and, that the transactions of time must submit to a rigorous investigation, of which we must abide the consequences for ever, are too overwhelming for the mind of man to sustain, without feeling its utter helplessness, and want of aid.

The assistance required in this awful exigency, is found both recorded and promised in the gospel; and while on this account we highly value this last and greatest gift of God to man, we cannot but consider those ministers by whom it is faithfully made known, as standing in the foremost rank among the benefactors of the human race. Many of these we behold rising above our horizon, and shining like stars of the first magnitude; but after filling their stations for a season as lights of a benighted world, we view them declining from the zenith like all their predecessors, and, though setting in splendour, leaving us to regret that they will

[1829.

luminary. The sackcloth put on for one is scarcely laid aside, before it must be reassumed for another. The sable which was lately worn for a Bogue, a Waugh, and a Townsend, is now memorializing the departure of a Wilks, whose faithful services for more than half a century will cause his name to be long remembered by multitudes to whom his laborious ministry was made a peculiar blessing, and of which the beneficial effects will remain, when the present generation shall have passed away.

Of this venerable minister of Jesus Christ, whose praise is in all the churches, we have procured an admirable likeness, which ornaments this number of the Imperial Magazine. The memoir which follows, we copy verbatim from an excellently written article, embodied in a funeral discourse delivered at the Tabernacle, on the occasion of Mr. Wilks's death, by the Rev. Andrew Reed, on the 8th of February, 1829.

"MATTHEW WILKS was born at Gibraltar, on St. Matthew's day, 1746. His father was at that time on the staff of a regiment which was quartered there.

"The family afterwards came to England, and settled at Birmingham.

"At West Bromwich, in that neighbourhood, he heard, in 1771, the Rev. William Percy, the curate of that parish, and was converted under his ministry. The preaching of the same clergyman was also instrumental to the conversion of Miss Shenstone, who became his wife, and of his brother, Mark Wilks, for many years a minister in the Baptist denomination, at Norwich.

"On the urgent recommendation of Mr. Percy, he resolved to devote himself to the ministry, and reluctantly went to Trevecca College, then under the patronage of Lady Huntingdon.

"While a student there, a sermon delivered by him was heard by Mr. Robert Keene, one of the executors of Mr. Whitefield, and one of the managers of the Tabernacle, and of Tottenham Court Chapel. He was invited to preach in this connexion; and in the autumn of

C