minerals that resemble it, is "its opacity." The Greek word, as used by the apostle, undoubtedly designated the stone now called heliotrope or bloodstone.

Murray, in his Encyclopedia of Geography, one of the first works of its class, says: "To the fig tribe belongs the famous banyan of India, commonly called peepul tree(Ficus religiosa)." But the famous banyan is not commonly called peepul, but bir; and the peepul is not the banyan, but the Ficus religiosa; and the banyan is not Ficus religiosa, but Ficus Indicus.

With teachers such as these Europeans and Americans go to India, and find themselves in the midst of a fauna and flora with which they are utterly unacquainted. In ordinary circumstances, the professional duties of most men preclude them from bestowing the time and attention to the natural sciences, necessary to enable them to determine accurately the character of the objects of nature with which they are unacquainted. It is not remarkable then that Indian literature abounds in errors. Wherever there is European society, there is found a numerous class of English names incorrectly applied to Indian productions, which almost unavoidably leads the translator or author astray, when unable to make a scientific examination for himself. In Burmah, for instance, it has passed from conversation to books published within the last ten or fifteen years, that tumeric is saffron; the flower of the thorn-apple, the trumpet flower: the euphorbia plant, a cactus; the tamarind tree, the tamarisk, and its timber, iron wood; millet, barley; the ebony tree is the cabbage tree of one author, and the fig tree of another; while ebony, not being supposed to exist, though abundant, is defined "a kind of a tree;" the fennel-flower is a "kind of rice;" nettles, a kind of thorn;" sweetflag, sugar cane; the date tree is the Palmyra palm, and the Palmyra, the talipot. Tin is lead; mica, tale; serpentine, jasper; the camelian, a garnet or ruby; gamboge, realgar; natron-—the carbonate of soda is saltpetre-the nitrate of potash; and antimony is bismuth, according to one authority, and James' powder, according to another. The porcupine is a hedgehog; the shrew-mouse, a musk-rat; the sand-badger, a

hyena; the deer, an elk; the monitor, a guana; and the bloodsucker, a chameleon. The adjutant is a gull; the eagle an adjutant, or, according to one writer, a swan; the hornbill, a crane; and the sunbird, a skylark.

Writers like these furnish the material with which the savans of France and Germany construct some of their learned dissertations. Indeed the ablest naturalists, if they have not travelled, are necessarily shut up to such sources for their information. Prof. Agassiz, probably the best read as well as the most skilful naturalist of the age, wrote on 'Cyprionides," in his work on Lake Superior: "They do not seem to occur in the northernmost fresh-water streams, nor anywhere in the tropics, except in very high altitudes, where recently a few have been found in the Andes." Yet, between twelve and seventeen degrees of north latitude, I have noticed and recorded between thirty and forty different species of Cyprins, all found at inconsiderable altitudes above the sea.

ART. III. THE REV. SPENCER H. CONE, D. D.

The Funeral Sermon on the Death of the Rev. Spencer Houghton Cone, D. D., late Pastor of the First Baptist Church, New York. Preached by the Rev. THOMAS ARMITAGE, D. D. Published by request of the Church. New York, 1855.

"THE wheels of nature," said the eloquent Robert Hall, in the closing paragraph of his funeral sermon for the beloved Dr. Ryland, "are not made to roll backward; every thing presses on towards eternity: from the birth of time an impetuous current has set in, which bears all the sons of men towards that interminable ocean. Meanwhile heaven is attracting to itself whatever is congenial to its nature, is enriching itself by the spoils of earth, and collecting within its capacious bosom whatever is pure, permanent, and divine; leaving nothing for the last fire to consume but the objects

and the slaves of concupiscence; while everything which grace has prepared and beautified shall be gathered and selected from the ruins of the world to adorn that eternal city, which hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God doth enlighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.' "

This great change, which is conveying our fellow-Christians in rapid succession to heaven, ought to be attentively regarded by us, as full of instruction, admonition, and encouragement. If "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints," this removal ought to be of interest to us also; if their excellences blessed the world they have left, we should imitate their example; if their labors have ceased to impart blessings to mankind, our diligence should be increased, that the cause of righteousness and happiness may be still extended; and if they have entered on the eternal Sabbath, we also should be hasting to that day of God. Influ enced by these views, we propose to write a few paragraphs on the life and character of our late estimable brother and fellow-laborer in the kingdom of Christ, Dr. Cone. He has "fulfilled his course," and from the zeal and ardor with which he pursued it, there are many important lessons to be learned.

Spencer H. Cone was born at Princeton, New Jersey, on the 30th of April, 1785. We are informed by Dr. Armitage, that his ancestry, on his father's side, can be traced to the first settlers of New England; and on his mother's side, to the first colonists of Virginia. His father was a stern republican, of polished manners, high-spirited and fearless, and fought with great bravery in the Revolutionary war. His mother was remarkable for great personal beauty, vigorous intellect, and indomitable inoral energy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cone were members of the Baptist church at Hopewell, N. J., the latter uniting with it a few months after the birth of Spencer. Speaking of his mother, and of a narrative of facts he received from her, he says:-"As I was sleeping in her lap, she was much drawn out in prayer for her babe, and supposed she received an answer, with the assurance that the child should live to preach the gospel of Christ. This assur

ance never left her; and it induced her to make the most persevering efforts to send me to Princeton—a course, at first, very much against my father's will. This she told me after my conversion; it had been a comfort to her in the darkest hour of domestic trial; for she had never doubted but that her hope would be sooner or later completed." She happily lived to see him successfully laboring in the ministry.

It usually happens, that those who become subjects of divine grace, are more or less impressed with the importance of religion in early life. This was the case with Spencer H. Cone. At eight years of age he accompanied his grandfather Houghton to the "Hopewell Great Meeting," an annual assembly at that time very common, and even now not unfrequently to be met with, when several days were devoted to worship and Christian intercourse. Among the preachers on that occasion was the late Rev. James M'Laughlin, a name which even yet calls tears of love and joy from many eyes; he preached from one of his favorite texts-"Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there?" Jer. viii. 22. Our departed brother wrote, "This sermon deeply affected me; it left upon my mind an impression never eradicated—a system of theology never forgotten-namely, 1. Total depravity. 2. Universal condemnation. 3. Salvation alone by the balm of Gilead-the blood of the Lamb. I was so affected by this sermon, that for months I was afraid to go to sleep without saying the Lord's prayer, as it is called, or some other little form taught me by my mother. But the impression wore off, and left me thoughtless and playful as it found me."

"About two years after this," says Dr. Armitage, "he accompanied his mother to hear a sermon, from Dr. Ashbel Green, of Philadelphia: Dr. Green preached very powerfully from John i. 29. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." His mind was again seized with distressing convictions of his ruined condition as a sinner, of his base ingratitude, and of the efficacy of the blood and righteousness of Christ alone to save him. For a time, he strove again to do good, but strove in his own strength; and evil, and only evil was present with him; so that he soon ceased to pray, and gave himself up again to folly.

"At twelve years of age he entered Princeton College, and at fourteen was pursuing his studies with avidity, when his father was unexpectedly taken away by death. This distressing affliction threw upon

him the necessity of retiring from college, that he might devote himself to teaching for his own support, and the support of his mother, his brother, and three sisters. He spent seven years as a teacher, in Princeton, Springfield, and Bordentown, in N. J., and in the Philadelphia Academy, which was then under the supervision of Dr. Abercrombie. His favorite department was in the Latin and Greek languages, and in the Bordentown Academy he had the entire charge of the department." Page 8.

It would seem that by this time his religious impressions had been entirely removed, or at least, he had never yet become decided for Christ and his cause. In the good providence of God he was restrained from any "excess of riot," and maintained a high reputation for sobriety, manliness, and perseverance; we see him, however, at twenty-one, entering on engagements which must have grieved the soul of his pious mother.

We confess to having felt some difficulty as to whether we should make more than a passing reference to the six or seven years which Mr. Cone passed on the stage, and have at length resolved on stating a few facts, derived from the best sources, partly because they are illustrative of his character, and chiefly because some very erroneous statements of the matter have for several years past been prevalent.

It seems, then, that in very early life, Mr. Cone had no strong predilections for theatrical amusements; it is even said that he had never been at a theatre a dozen of times till he appeared as an actor, and that he entered the profession partly because some of his friends thought he would excel in it, but principally because a larger income than he now had was necessary for the support of his mother and the family. From Durang's Philadelphia Stage, from 1749 to 1821, we copy a few sentences relative to his debut in 1806. He says, "During this season a young gentleman made his first appearance, June 27, as Achmet, in Barbarossa, with much success. This debutant was Spencer H. Cone. He was a young gentleman of fine education and manly figure. Flattered with his success, he enrolled himself among the regular sons of Thespis, and steadily ascended. the devious theatrical path with credit, playing juvenile tragedy and second gentleman of comedy very respectably."