palm from every other similar effusion of innocent blood, how did we detest bis un our western muse. "Conversations on the Bible," unpretending in its claims, is so laudable in its purpose, and so respectable in its execution, that we think the fair writer entitled not only to indulgence but to praise; for her little work is both useful and agreeable; and we trust that young readers may learn from it, to add a knowledge of the Bible to that veneration which we all feel for it, before it can be understood. It is divided into five conversations between a mother and her children-each conversation embracing one of the first five books of the Old Testament. It exhibits obviously and happily those memorable examples, which are patterns for universal imitation, or warnings to caution the people of all times; and explains, clearly as the subject admits, a law, in many of its observances national and transitory, but well fitted to the age and the people to whom it was given, and agreeing in its spirit with universal obligations. We are pleased particularly with the manner in which the history of Joseph is introduced. It is necessary to the series of events that it should be related; and yet the narrator fears that it cannot be touched without mutilation, and feels that any altered representation must be tarnished by comparison with the inimitable, and perfect beauty of the original. It is that portion of scripture which least needs a single word to be said about it-which can least bear amplification or abridgement-which we have all read, understood, and felt without aid of comment or interpreter from our earliest years. There is nothing that we have seen represented by poetry, and assisted by stage effect, that was ever so powerfully addressed to the heart and the imagination. What sweet and fresh tears have we all shed for Joseph-with what apprehension and exultation have we followed his eventful fortunes.-So beautiful, and such an idol, we could not but love him from sympathy with his old father, as well as for his own charms;-so hated and persecuted even to the shedding of his how did we melt at the moving of his soul, when he suppressed, and when he gave vent to his sublime emotions; when he embraced and forgave his murderers, and clasped one innocent brother, his mother's "son of sorrow," to his great and generous heart-and how was our pleasure consummated, at the completeness of his felicity, when he made his whole kindred prosperous and happy, supported the infirmity of his father's age, and smoothed the pillow of his death. Such changes are enough of themselves to gratify the love of the marvellous; and such unity of design, and concentration of causes in a happy result, are sufficient to excite interest even in a mind unaffected by virtue, and untouched by sympathy-but we think the writer of the Conversations has imputed the exquisiteness of the feeling which this story inspires to the true principle. "To the fascinating power of such an assemblage of endowments, without the alloy of a single vice, as much as to the affecting vicissitudes of his fortune, we may ascribe the pleasure with which we contemplate the beautiful story of Joseph. Severely tried in a variety of circumstances, he was faithful. The lustre of his piety augmented the splendour of a throne, and illumined the gloomy cells of a prison. Diligent and submissive in adversity-active and beneficent brother-he was prudent, dutiful and genein prosperity-as a statesman-a son-and a rous; diffusing blessings while he lived, and erecting for posterity a monument of tran scendent virtue." Some qualifications, that are given to inferences most obvious to common minds, are wisely suggested to vindicate divine Providence, and to moderate a feeling of indignation, which the Jews generally excite through every period of their history. They seem on a superficial view to be appointed as the avengers of an angry Deity, and to be employed for the extermination of every individual and community that obstructed their path; it appears that their selfishness was authorised and exclusive, and that they were not required to practise the virtues of hospitality and general benevolence. One of the young auditors of the affectionate commentator on account of this mistaken impression which she has received, is surprised to hear of a stranger in the camp of Israel. The mother takes this occasion to commend the system of the Hebrew legislator. She says, "Not one of his laws bear an inhospitable aspect; on the contrary, a variety of provisions insured kindness and justice to the stranger who should either live in their cities or become proselytes to their religion Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the fatherless, nor take the widow's raiment to pledge. When thou cuttest down thy harvest, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward-it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and the widow,' was the compassionate language in which they were commanded to consider the stranger as one of themselves." To exculpate the Israelites in some measure, she remarks truly of them, that, "Bornand educated in slavery and amongst an idolatrous people, they necessarily partook of the moral debasement incident to that unhappy condition." When another of the children expresses her doubts whether any human creatures, so signally blessed and preserved, could be so forgetful of their benefactor as the Israelites were, the mother observes that "They are, in common with all other of fenders, objects of some lenity of judgment, and that they did not widely differ from the rest of mankind in their conduct and feelings. Self-love, my daughter, believe me, suggests your indignant doubt. The same power preserves us; the same beneficence bestows our daily bread; and if we forget our obligations, surrounded as we are by all the comforts of social life, shall we question the existence of unbelief in the poor Israelites, detained in a barren desert ?" This is a good lesson in that charity without which we may give our goods to the poor, and our bodies to the flame, and be neither just nor generous. The writer remarks in the preface that she is encouraged in her undertaking by the indulgence granted "in our liberal times" to the productions of the female pen; and very justly observes, that "the moral and intellectual sphere of women has been gradually enlarging with the progress of the beneficent star ofChristianity." This age of the world is unquestionably that in which female influence has been most happily exerted, and generally acknowledged; but we are not among those who believe, that in civilized society, this half of the species has ever been greatly and peculiarly defrauded of its true power and real felicity. We know and feel that the lot of mortal existence is often a few and evil days; that it frequently abounds in vexations, oppressions, and injuries; and that in all ages, though a great portion of mankind have enjoyed external competency, and many domestic and social comforts, yet we know that slaves have laboured without hope; that poverty has pined without relief; that soldiers have bled without just cause; that merit has languished without encouragement; that guilt has triumphed, and innocence has suffered; that ignorance has degene, rated into crime; and punishment has destroyed many whom lenity might have preserved. We believe that women have had their participation of these calamities, but not a disproportioned part; and we reason from the testimony of history as well as from observation. Madame de Stael has remarked that the Greeks did not understand nor reverence the female character; that Homer, the earliest historian of their manners, makes the young Telemachus, taught by heavenly wisdom herself, speak disreWe remember spectfully of his mother. two instances recorded in the Odyssey, in which the prince interfered with his mother's will: once when she checked the song of Phemius; and once when she offered to dispose of his father's arms. This arrogance was not unnatural to a young man jealous of personal rights, and at an age which spurns at a counter-influence, even if it be that of a mother and a queen. From the general character of Homer's narrative, it can hardly be expected that he should celebrate the genius or virtues of women. If the epic musc should commemorate the achievements of this age, would the graces of the drawing-room, and the virtues of the fire-side wreath their roses and myrtles round the sceptre of power, or the garland of victory? Yet this great poet has not been unmindful of the peaceful as well as the martial character of his age; and has shown that there existed affections and virtues, which partially recom pensed the ravages, and allayed the fierce passions of the barbarian warriors. The esteem which women enjoyed, and the influence they commanded, is amply exhibited in the Odyssey, not only in some charming examples, but in those general expressions which indicate the sentiment entertained by the men. The suitors, without regard to decorum in their actions, were not insensible to female merit; they declared that the soul of Minerva dwelt in the breast of Penelope; that Greece abounded in rich and beautiful women, who were yet surpassed by her in the attraction of more alluring virtue; and Minerva anticipates the growing excellence of Telemachus, from the hereditary infusion of maternal character. The whole court and kingdom of Alcincus, displays a fine state of society, of arts, of happiness, and of manners-of manners that derived their refinement and their charm from the delicacy and dignity of women, and the deference with which they were regarded. The discretion of Nausican, and the modesty of her conversation, is not at all exceeded in modern society; and the elevation of her mother's character, and the effect of it, are still inore conspicuous. She was not only the partner of the throne, admitted to equal sway, the bencfactress of the miserable, the arbitress of the contentious; but the public wonder and the public love." Nor are we surprised when we So true it is that the exaltation and influence of female character is exactly commensurate to all that adorns and illustrates the perfection of civilization. The ascendancy of an individual female over one of the most accomplished and powerful of the Athenians, and through him over the state, is well known. Even in Sparta, where arbitrary institutions were fitted to counteract all genuine sentiment, women had their authority. "My son," said the Spartan mother, as she gave the shield to his youthful arm when he went to battle, "return with it, or upon it." The veneration the son cherished for his mother, must have furnished the motive to this injunction, because her happiness was concerned in his glory, and made a part of it; she spoke confidently and with force; she was not a creature ignorant and unfeeling-overlooked and unhonoured. She knew and felt the genius of her country; and she could only have done so, as she was cherished by its protectors and admitted by sympathy to the pride of its fame. Two revolutions of Rome originated in the jealous susceptibility with which a provd people regarded female honour. The excesses of brutal tyranny, with all its abuse of law, and insolence of manly spirit, were patiently endured, till impunity encouraged guilt to assail matron purity and virgin innocence; then "a thousand swords leaped from their scabbards," and cut off every vestige of the name and the power of the execrable offenders. Nor are there wanting other instances of high consideration for the sex: the remonstrance of the matrons to Coriolanus; the love of Brutus for Portia; the grief of Cicero for the death of Tullia, are among the most affecting of our recollections. The Jewish history celebrates the courage, the wisdom, and the politi cal capacity of its heroines; it represents them, too, in a more endearing light-as inspiring affection which toiled without weariness; exhibiting hospitality and cour tesy, not shamed by modern manners; friendship which followed the fortune, and adopted the country and God of its object; devotion clothed in humility, and glowing with zeal; all that is ardent in patriotism and lovely in domestic life. Christianity doubtless is eminently favourable to women; but for them alone Jesus came not to propound a new law to his countrymen-it did not astonish them that women were objects of his mercy,aids to his cause, and friends of his heart; it was not strange to them that he loved the sister of Lazarus, or that Mary of Magdala was the first to whom he showed himself alive again. The ages which have succeeded, have produced women of great talent-of that species of talent which distinguishes men, which they acknowledge, and by which they are governed. It may be asserted that political management and influence are not the highest distinction of the human mind; that its attainments and its productions, the arts it has invented, and the sciences it has developed, are its true boast; and that there is, in these respects, no comparison of number or of excellence between the sexes. This is undoubtedly true; but the defect of numbers among eminent women, may be attributed to the different direction and destination of female mind, rather than to inherent inability. Women have exhibited no parallel powers to Shakespeare, to Michael Angelo, or to Sir Isaac Newton; but we know not all the excitements, all the external facilities that have aided the internal impulse of these exalted souls. Nor do we know all the counteracting influences that may have impeded the daring flight, the expanded thought, and the palpable exhibition of an equal or a kindred talent in the female sex. We cannot but agree with a writer, who is acknowledged by every class of mind that comes within the comprehension of her talents to have taken her rank with the very first of our contemporaries, that the acknowledged and diffused influence of women over literature has been the most powerful agent of its extension; and that the first rewards of female discerament are more important to the developement of mind, than the superadded aids without them. One of the greatest scholars and most admired authors of the last century, has declared his venerable aunt to have been the mother of his mind→→ the individual whose various knowledge always excited and gratified his curiosity; and who, indulging him in the freedom of discussion and of thought to which he was inclined, and which led him to the independent inquiry and persevering studies on which his fame rests, has laid society under an obligation for his eminence; and he has taught us to honour his sensibility no less than his "good aunt," understanding that her name always called forth tears from his gratitude. We have no doubt that where circumstances divert the female mind from ordinary avocations, leave it to the inspirations of fancy, or direct it to pursuits of science, it will be found equal to the first inventions, and the most profound knowledge. In this opinion we have the happiness to coincide with some of the most We remember that enlightened men. the philosopher, whose delineation of the laws of intellect has caused his writings to be termed "the natural history of the human mind," has classed the daughter of Sir Thomas More along with her father, Erasmus, and other great men of their age; and that the first of our living poets has acknowledged "Otway's, Rudcliffe's, Shakespeare's, Schiller's art," to be one, and to have the same power in impressing his imagination. The facts we have enumerated are perfectly well known; but they do not appear to have their genuine efficacy in confuting an opinion that the female nind has not been, and is not properly appreciated and developed: we do not believe that it is universally; but we believe that the disadvantages from which the sex suffer, are fully balanced by disadvanta- of life freed from the shackles of adventitious opinion, and private judgment; and regulated by the most enlightened and disinterested influence alone. We know that the true destiny of women, like that of all rational beings, is to cultivate all their faculties; and that the more completely this is done, the more capable they are of adorning and enjoying all the relations of domestic life; and are fully of opinion, that "If women are devoid of knowledge, destitute of an elegant education, and literary taste, they are a nuisance and not an ornament to society; they introduce only slander, and insipid gaiety, which effectually banishes sensible men from their society, and reduces the assemblies of the drawing-room to young men who have nothing to do, and young women who have nothing to say." ges peculiar to the men; and that the melioration of their condition and the elevation of their character, depends upon moral and social causes, operating through the whole mass of society. We are sensible that the present system of female education requires radical reform; that more uniform methods, and more definite objects are necessary to produce the best results; that the ornamental parts of education should not be neglected, but be even more laboriously and scientifically pursued than at present; that talents, various knowledge, and liberal views are requisite in teachers; that discipline, manners, and certain connexions make only part of their qualifications; and that taste, accuracy, and philosophical arrangement, should be considered indispensable in instruction. And we could wish to see this most important business R. E. ART. 3. The Genera of North-American Plants and a Catalogue of the Species to the year 1817. By THOMAS NUTTALL, F. L. S. &o. &c. 2 vols. 12mo. Philadelphia. 1818. ANOTHER work on the general bo- Elliot's Botany of the Southern ones, tany of the United States, has made its appearance under the above title, and we perceive with much satisfaction that it is superior in many respects to any other yet published on either side of the Atlantic ocean. Michaux's and Pursh's Floras, although professedly intended to illustrate the species rather than the genera of plants, were at the time of their publication, each a synopsis of the genera actually known by their authors; but the discoveries and improvements made since in American botany, have left much to add to their labours. Muhlenberg's Catalogue was also intended as a generic manual of the plants of North-America; but it is in a peculiarly concise shape, not always well calculated for practice. Rich's Genera of the Plants of the United States was merely a compilation, and not grounded on actual observations. Eaton's Botany of the Northern States, and were calculated merely as local works. A good work on all the genera of the United States, was therefore a desirable acquisition, and it is such a labour that Mr. Nuttall has attempted. How far he has succeeded in fulfilling our expectation will be the subject of our inquiry. Impartially devoted to the cause of science, and the progress of knowledge, wę shall endeavour to notice with due praise what Mr. Nuttall has done, and if we find that a portion of his labours is not calculated to aid those objects, we shall not hesitate to censure, and to point out those parts that we may conceive to be erroneous in themselves, or likely to lead into error. On perusal of this interesting work, we were in the first instance peculiarly pleased by the neatness of its execution, its appropriate plan, convenient shape, and cheap price; qualities seldom united |