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of social man; and those who have done society more than the average good, according to their means and opportunities. The first is not so much a claim of right as a claim of pity, and should be voluntary on the part of the giver. The other is more a claim of right; but it is one which is very difficult to adjust and settle equitably. When the matter is left to be decided by the public generally, we but too often find that they award the prize to him who claims it in the most noisy and forward manner; and every day shews that the floating opinion of the public, which, after all, is nobody's opinion, because nobody is responsible for it, changes from praise to censure, or from censure to praise, without any reasonable cause for either.

Nothing, however, is plainer, than that all who can support themselves, are bound to do it; and that those who claim support from others, without being able to shew in the most clear and satisfactory manner, that they cannot support themselves, are not only guilty of an injustice to society, for which society may punish them, but that they are degraded in their own estimation, and thereby rendered incapable of the good which they otherwise might do, and the pleasure which they otherwise might feel. Even if the support obtained in this manner be of the most temporary nature, it destroys our confidence in our own exertions, and breaks down the manly tone of the character to a far greater extent than they who have not studied it, and watched its effects, would suppose. A man who readily finds charitable maintenance when out of work, will be less zealous in search of employment, than if starvation appeared in his view as the necessary associate of idleness. There may be cases, and numerous cases, especially in sickness, where those means of relief must be resorted to; but the experience of all ages has shewn them to be bad as a general system, and even worse to the relieved than to the relievers.

The cases of individuals and of nati is mutually throw light upon each other. Nations have their times of distress and of stagnation of business, just as individuals have theirs of sickness and want of employment. Though the cases are not quite parallel, a nation is a member of the world, just as one man is a member of society. Now, it has always been found that attempts to support a nation with any thing like character and independence, at the cost of other nations, has uniformly failed-ended in the degrading of that nation, and the blotting out of its name from the map. If England had to beg of France, or France of England, at every time of temporary distress, the begging country would soon come to an end. In like manner it has been found that all attempts to support classes of society upon the bounty of other classes, have failed-plunged the supported class into deeper and deeper misery, and, if long continued, worked its final ruin.

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One nation may help another, and so may one class of society; but then, in order that the help may do good-in order that it may not actually do evil, it must be mutual. Help us now in our need, and when your time of trouble comes, apply to us, and we shall not be backward," are the words which, spoken or implied, turn that which otherwise would be evil, into good.

Among individuals, the most noble and valuable of all help is helping one's self; and if that were in all cases possible, none other would be necessary. But there are cases, and those too of the most urgent nature, in which there can be no self help; and it is for these that society is peculiarly called upon to provide. On a future occasion we shall point out one

of the least exceptionable means of making that provision. We may anticipate so far as to say that BENEFIT SOCIETIES are the means to which we more particularly allude. But, as the subject is very important, and as the examination of it will require some extent, we shall bring it before our readers from time to time, in small portions; and we most earnestly solicit their candid and patient attention.

THE HYMN OF THE LANCASHIRE COTTON

SPINNER.

Oh, God! my God! from morn to night
I see thy guiding hand!
Through every hour I feel thy might,
I hear thy dread command!
How wild, unto the strangers' eye
These busy scenes appear!
What sights uncouth around them lie;
What jarring sounds they hear!

Yet I, who know each whizzing wheel,
Each dancing spindle know,
See skill, where they confusion feel
And Art from Discord grow.
I know their object, use, and end;
They act from hour to hour,
And to a glorious issue tend—
Impell'd by one great Power!
And, if with such a skilful eye
I could my being scan,
No doubt my spirit would desery
That such machine is MAN'
Confusion seems his steps to guide,
And discord haunts him still;
Yet one GREAT BEING rules his pride,
And bends him to his will.

Then let me learn, from what I see,
To credit what I hear,

And know my Saviour works for me,
While I am working here!

Teach me to feel my thread of life
By hands Divine is spun,
An still in sorrow, want, and strife,
To say "GOD'S WILL BE DONE!"

St. Abbs.

STEAM ENGINES IN 1543.

R. P.

Ir appears from a late valuable publication, Navarrete's Collection of Spanish Voyages and Discoveries, that the first known experiment of propelling a vessel by the agency of steam, was made at Barcelona, more than eighty-five years before the idea of procuring motion by means of it was first started by Brancas in Italy; more than a century before this power was applied to any useful purpose by the marquis of Worcester in England; and near three centuries before Fulton, adapting and combining the inventions of a host of contemporary mechanics, successfully solved the same wonderful problem in the United States. Singular, however, as the fact may be, it is fully established by various documents lately found in the archives of Simancas, and is so circumstantially stated as to be incontrovertible.

In the year 1543, a certain sea-officer, called Blasco de Gavay, offered to exhibit before the emperor Charles V. a machine by means of which a vessel should be made to move, without the assistance of either sails or oars. Though the proposal appeared ridiculous, the man was so much in earnest, that the emperor appointed a commission to witness and report upon the experiment. The experiment was made the 17th of June, 1543, on board a vessel called the Trinidad, of two hundred barrels' burden, which had lately arrived with wheat from Colibre. The vessel was seen at a given moment to move forward, and turn about at pleasure, without sail or oar, or human agency, and without any visible mechanism, except a huge boiler of hot water, and a complicated combination of wheels and paddles.

The assembled multitude were filled with astonishment and admiration. The harbour of Barcelona resounded with plaudits; and the commissioners, who shared in the general enthusiasm, all made favorable reports to the emperor, except only the treasurer Ravago. This man, from some unknown cause, was prejudiced against the inventor and his machine. He took great pains to undervalue it, stating, among other things, that it could be of little use, since it only propelled the vessel two leagues in three hours; that it was very expensive and complicated, and that there was great danger of the boiler's bursting frequently. The experiment over, Gavay collected his machinery, and having deposited the wooden part in the royai arsenal, carried the rest to his own house.

Notwithstanding the invidious representations of Ravago, Gavay was applauded for his invention, and taken into favour by the emperor, who promoted him one grade, gave him two hundred thousand maravedises, and ordered the jealous treasurer to pay all the expenses of the experiment. But Charles was then taken up with some military expedition, and the occasion of conferring an inestimable benefit on mankind was neglected for the business of bloodshed and devastation; while the honour which Barcelona might have received from perfecting this noble discovery was reserved for a city which had not yet started in the career of existence.

The fact that a vessel was propelled by steam as early as the sixteenth century thus rendered certain, the question next occurs, whether it in any way detracts from the honour due to Fulton, not for having made the first successful application of steam to purposes of navigation, (for he was even anticipated by Fitch, in the United States) but for having brought it into use over the whole civilized world. By no means. This experiment at Barcelona, owing to the absence of journals and newspapers, those modern vehicles and wings of intelligence, was unknown to the world generally, at the time of making it, as it ever was to Fulton. And, besides, who can tell but that in like manner many inventions, which constitute | at once the pride and profit of the present age, may have existed centuries ago, in countries of forgotten vivilisation. A Year in Spain.

THE LARK AND THE HAWK.

How nimbly doth that little lark mount up singing towards heaven in a right line; whereas the hawk, which is stronger of body, and swifter of wing, towers up by many gradual compasses to his highest pitch. That bulk of body and length of wing hinder a direct ascent, and require the help both of air and scope to advance his flight; whilst that small bird cuts the air without resistance, and needs no outward furtherance of her motion. It is no otherwise with the souls of men in flying up to their heaven. Some are hindered by those powers, which would seem helps to their soaring up thither; great wit, deep judgment, quick apprehension, send men about with no small labour for the recovery of their own incumbrance; whilst the good affections of plain and simple souls raise them up immediately to the fruition of God. Why should we be proud of that which may slacken our way to glory? why should we be disheartened with the small measure of that, the very want whereof may (as the heart may be affected) facilitate our way to happiness.-BISHOP HALL.

HOW MUST I DISPOSE MYSELF ON THE LORD'S DAY?

AVOID all servile work, and expend it only in such actions, as tend to the sanctifying thereof. God, the great Landlord of all time, hath let out six days in the week to man to farm them; the seventh day he reserves as a demesne in his own hand: if, therefore, we would have quiet possession, and comfortable use of what God hath leased out to us, let us not encroach on his demesne. Some popish* people make a superstitious almanach of the Sunday, by the fairness or foulness thereof, guessing at the weather all the week after. But I dare boldly say, that from our well or ill spending of the Lord's Day, a probable conjecture may be made, how the following week will be employed. Yea, I conceive, we are bound (as matters now stand in England) to a stricter observnance of the Lord's day, than ever before. That a time was due to God's service, no Christian in our kingdom ever did deny: that the same was weekly dispersed in the Lord's day, holy days, Wednesday, Fridays, Saturdays, some have earnestly maintained: seeing, therefore, all the last are generally neglected, the former must be more strictly observed; it being otherwise impious, that our devotion having a narrower channel, should also carry a shallower stream. - FULLER'S Wounded Conscience.

* If it rains on the Sunday before Mess,

It will rain all the week more or less. Popish Rhyme.

BUCKSTONE.

AMONG the many natural curiosities of our country, the admiration of the scientific, as well as of the ordinary observer, has long been excited by those huge single masses of rock, which, resting on a comparatively small pivot, and exactly balanced there, still stand as steadily as though the narrow part were uppermost, and the whole body were firmly lodged on its base. Such are the celebrated Boulder Stone of the North, and the Logan Rock of Cornwall. The woodcut on the next page represents with great accuracy the character of another called BUCKSTONE, on the borders of Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire.

Buckstone is by no means the largest of its kind; though in some respects, perhaps, it repays more than any other the visit of a tourist. Independently of its extraordinary form and position, the situation in which it is placed, gives it a very strong additional interest. Removed only a few yards from the summit of a high sugar-loaf hill, commanding one of the most varied and beautiful landscapes of which this country can boast, it is itself seen in some directions at a very great distance, conspicuous above the copsewood, which embosoms it on every side; and inviting us to examine only its own extraordinary character, it presents to us a view which would otherwise probably have escaped our notice altogether. This view would of itself amply repay us for the time required to make the excursion from any of the neighbouring places.

This rock is about three miles from Monmouth, near the village of Stanton. The tourist may reach it either by a footpath through beautiful woods and fields, or by a more round-about road in a carriage. The scene opening at this spot is very extensive and greatly diversified. It is bounded to the west and north by the mountains of Monmouthshire and Breconshire; towards the north-east and east, by the Clay Hills in Shropshire, and the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire; to the south-east, and south, by the long Gloucestershire range beyond the Severn.

Besides these counties, it is said, the experienced eye may discover points in Glamorgan, Radnor, and Somerset. The home views comprehend the Forest of Dean, some of the richest districts of Herefordshire, with one of the sweetest vallies of the Wye, whose silver thread is seen winding its way between the woods and rocks of the north-east, whilst immediately round the rock, and at the feet of the spectator, waves a noble ocean of oak woods, spread over a wide and undulating surface of hill and dale.

The rock itself is composed of a substance called millstone-grit, a plum-pudding stone, consisting chiefly of sand and quartz pebbles, familiarly known in the neighbourhood by the name of Jackstones. Its circumference at the top is above fifty-three feet, whilst its base is less than eleven feet in girth. Its perpendicular height from the extremity of the projecting point to the level of the centre of the base is nearly fourteen feet. The whole mass rests on the middle of a square even table of stone, corresponding in extent very nearly with the extremity of the rock itself, and composed of the same material. But what makes the balance in this rock still more wonderful is, that this large square smooth insulated stone, which serves for its bed, far from being horizontal, is an inclined plane, sloping at an angle of almost twenty-five degrees; consequently, many bodies that might be balanced, on a level ground must of necessity roll down this leaning stone, yet this huge rock has kept its place for ages.

in its stead, gave us the light of eternal truth. And
thus to the Christian this is still a sacred spot, a
temple, where the sacrifice of thanksgiving may be
acceptably offered.

"The place where man his God shall meet,
Be sure is holy ground."

EXTRACT FROM A BOTANICAL DIARY.

* * * * How often as a child I have played with the catkins of the hazel, (pussy-cats, as we used to call them) without dreaming that within were the embryos of the future nuts; and that in picking to pieces the blossoms of the hazel, I was idly destroying the promise of future fruit. Yet such is the fact! An examination of this plant shews the careful contrivance by which an Almighty Creator has preserved these seeds from the accidents of weather. The stamens, which contain the fruit-bearing principle, are disposed in clusters, from one end to the other of the catkin; and each cluster is sheltered by a little pent-house, which overshadows and protects them, tier above tier, in their snug retreats. While thus hanging upon the bough, not a drop of rain has the power of penetrating to the precious deposit within; although when the same catkin is surveyed in the hand, all the stamens are exposed to view. Had they been thus placed within a calyx or cup which grew, or which was liable to be turned into any other position, what frequent accidents might have happened to them. But the upright position of the catkin protects them from rain which falls steadily and downright; while its pliancy and suppleness enable it to bend from the wind, and thus secure its contents from the accidents of a side breeze, or the drifting shower. Thus deals the All Good Creator with all the objects of his care. And thus full of wisdom and contrivance is the structure of every plant we see!-E. Т.

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NATURAL HISTORY is no work for one that loves his chair or his bed. Speculation may be pursued on a soft couch, but Nature must be observed in the open air. I have collected materials with indefatigable pertinacity. I have gathered glow-worms in the evening, and snails in the morning; I have seen the daisy close and open; I have heard the owl shriek at midnight, and hunted insects in the heat of noon. -JOHNSON.

THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE

AND EDUCATION,

In compliance with the recommendation contained in the Report read at the Special General Meeting of the SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, held on the 21st of May, have made arrangements for the publication of a Series of Works on Education, History, Biography, Natural History, the Elements of the Sciences, &c. particulars of which will speedily be announced.

Geologists probably will almost unanimously agree, that the hand of man never interfered in either placing this rock on its present site, or in hewing it into its present form, that it is the work of nature only. The imagination of the tourist indeed has often regarded it as the work of art, and pronounced it to be nothing less than a Druidical altar; and fancy may discern in an adjoining stone, the solid basin to receive the blood of the victim, or to cleanse the hands of the sacrificer. Certainly no place can be imagined more fitted for those priests of the oak and the mountain, who raised their altars "upon every high hill, and under every green tree,' than Buckstone. And perhaps there is nothing absurd in conceiving that they employed this natural altar, like many Being the FIRST of the MONTHLY PARTS, which will be regularly con

others which tradition assigns to the same purpose, in the performance of their cruel rites. All such inquiries, however, must at last end only in speculation; harmless it may be and amusing, but leading to no satisfactory result. Be this as it may, one can scarcely visit this spot, and have the mere question suggested to us, by the recollection that so gross a superstition for ages prevailed in our own island, without feeling a glow of gratitude to that Father of us all, who rescued us from its thick darkness, and

THE FIRST SUPPLEMENTARY NUMBER OF THE

SATURDAY MAGAZINE

is ready for delivery with the present number; and on the 30th inst. will be published

THE SATURDAY MAGAZINE FOR JULY, price, with the Supplement. Sixpence, sewed in a Neat Wrapper,

tinued on the last day of each succeeding Month, so that Subscribers in all parts of the Country may receive them with the Magazines, &c. from London, by giving the necessary orders to their respective Booksellers.

LONDON:

JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, 445, (WEST) STRAND.
Sold by all Booksellers and Newsvenders in the Kingdom.

Hawkers and Dealers in Periodical Publications supplied on wholesale terms by
W. S. ORR, Paternoster-Row; G. BERGER, Holywell-st., London;
And by the Publisher's Agents in all the principal places

throughout the Country.

C. RICHARDS, Printer, 100, St. Martin's Lane, Charing Cross.

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UNDER THE DIREC ION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

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It is with great pleasure and some pride that we submit to our readers this week a woodcut, which, although it appears in our own pages, we may with good right call a miracle in that particular line of the art. It is a copy of Mr. Roberts's magnificent picture of the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt, under the guidance of Moses and Aaron; and is reduced, from the original size of six feet by four feet eight inches, to the little gem which our readers now see. It is worth while to reflect for a moment how greatly the power of painting, in giving pleasure and instruction to mankind, has been extended by the marvellous advances which we have of late years made in the kindred, although subordinate, art of engraving. In general, a picture can be seen but by few, and possessed as private property but by one; a large steel engraving, although expensive, is yet to be found in the shop-window of almost every principal stationer or printseller in every town in England; and lastly, our readers may here for one penny get to them and their heirs for ever an engraving on wood, which, although of course it cannot convey a complete conception of the details and splendour of the original work, will, nevertheless, give a very competent impression of its general design, and of its total effect.

The subject of this picture is one of the most memorable events recorded in the history of the Israelites. In the space of 430 years, the single family of Jacob had increased to about six hundred thousand men, besides the correspondent women and children. If, in round numbers, we allow an equal number of women, and assume, as was generally the case with VOL. I.

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the Jews, marriage at the earliest manhood, and give four children to a marriage, we shall find that the total number of the Israelites at the time of their departure from the land of Egypt, must have amounted to not less than three millions and a half ;-that it must have exceeded two millions is quite certain, even upon a very low calculation; that is supposing the population not actually at that time on the decrease. For a considerable period after the first settlement of Jacob's family in Egypt, it is clear that they were a favoured race; but we are told, that in the course of time, their numbers, and wealth, and power became so remarkable, that the jealousy of the reigning princes was excited; "the children of Israel," says Moses, in the book of Exodus, were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph, (that is, who neither bore in mind the benefits conferred on Egypt by the wise administration of Joseph, nor regarded the members of his kindred with that distinguished protection and favour which we read of as being lavished upon them on their first settlement in the land of Goshen.) "And he said unto his people, Behold, the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: come on, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth ut any war, they join also, unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land." Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens, but the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. "Making

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bricks and building are the works specified by Moses as those in which the Israelites were principally employed; and hence it is, in default of any certain knowledge upon the subject, that many persons have conjectured, that some of the great Pyramids which still existthe wonders of Egypt-were erected by their labour. This, however, must apply to their labour in erection alone; for, if we remember rightly, the pyramids are all, or for the most part, built of stone.

Now when the measure of the appointed time was full, it pleased God to raise up Moses, an Israelite of high birth and of surpassing wisdom, to be the leader of his oppressed brethren out of the bondage of Egypt into the borders of that district of Syriacalled Palestine, which God had long before promised to Abraham as an inheritance for his descendants. For a long time Pharaoh-which was the common name of the Egyptian kings-refused to let the Israelites go; his unwillingness was indeed natural, as the loss of so considerable a part of the population and wealth of the kingdom must necessarily have threatened to shake his temporal power to the bottom; and hence it was that although he could not but recognize the hand of God against him in the fearful wonders of loathsome reptiles and insects, diseases, blood, lightning, and darkness which visited the land in rapid succession, as he still, after the removal of each particular plague, hardened his heart anew, and recalled the permission to depart, which in his terror had been wrung from him. But the will of God must ever have its due course, and Pharaoh's abuse of the long-suffering and merciful patience of the Almighty, served only to draw down upon himself and his people a more destructive punishment in the end. For it came to pass, as it is written in the book of Exodus, "that at midnight the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Then the king called for Moses and Aaron by night, and bade them and the children of Israel depart, with their flocks and their herds, and all their possessions."

Mr. Roberts's picture represents the act of departure. He supposes the dawn breaking, and first lighting up the summits of the gigantic pyramids in the distance, and then falling in slant lines across the stately obelisks and pinnacles which adorn the prodigious exhibition of palaces and temples which he has very richly imagined and very exquisitely drawn. Of course the Painter has here used his licence largely; in strictness such a heaping up of colonnades piled story above story to the skies, is so improbable, perhaps impossible, that a severe criticism might condemn the design altogether; but for our parts, we are rather disposed to consider this picture, and some of Mr. Martin's, which are liable to the same judgment, as belonging to a particular class of design, in which the striking effects of light and shade and of an endless profusion of faery architecture, are principally studied, to the partial neglect of the higher and more truly imaginative objects of the art. We should be sorry to see this style of painting more generally pursued than it is at present, because we much fear its ultimate tendency to lower the character of the art as an exponent of Beauty and Moral Power; nevertheless we willingly acknowledge the pleasure we have received, and the admiration we have felt in musing upon this wondrous scene, and letting the eye swim, as it were, over sculptured temple and tower,

such as sometimes appear in surpassing splendour in the dreams of the night.

In the left corner of the picture is the royal party, witnessing the departure which no heart any longer dared to oppose. Opposite, in front of a huge Egyptian statue, are the two leaders, Moses and Aaron, in shade; and the space between the buildings is entirely filled with the continuous mass of Israelites marching out in order with their banners and ensigns, their camels, and flocks, and elephants. How these last animals got there, we confess we cannot explain. The outward passage must be supposed to lie between the platform on which Pharaoh stands, and that on which Moses is seen extending his rod. Perhaps it is to be regretted that Mr. Roberts did not work the figure of Pharaoh more powerfully, and dispose the royal attendants in a way more clearly shewing their interest in the astonishing event which is taking place before their eyes. We cannot help thinking that the harpers and the ladies are a good deal out of place upon such an occasion as this.

But as we have intimated before, this picture must be looked upon as a whole; its total effect is the standard by which its merit must be tried, and so regarded, its merit must be acknowledged by every one. The lights and shades are particularly beautiful, and managed with accuracy and taste, and we need not add that the drawing and perspective are faultless. We wonder Mr. Roberts did not let in a view of the river, which we must presume was very near the palace of Pharaoh; it might with care have been made eminently conducive to a variety of effect.

The splendid engraving from which our woodcut was taken is by Mr. Quilley; the picture itself was painted for, and is now in the possession of, Lord Northwick.

RELIGION NOT SELFISH.

THE first act God requires of a convert is "Be fruitful." The good man's goodness lies not hid in himself alone: he is still strengthening his weaker brother. I am persuaded to be a means of bringing more to Heaven is an inseparable desire of a soul when in a right state. Good men wish all they converse with in goodness to be like themselves. How ungrateful he slinks away who dies and does nothing to reflect a glory to Heaven! How barren a tree he is that lives, and spreads, and cumbers the ground, yet leaves not one seed, not one good work to generate after him! I know all cannot leave alike; yet all may leave something answering their proportion, and kind. Withered and dead are those grains of corn out of which there will not spring one ear. The physician who has a sovereign receipt, and dieth unrevealing it, robs the world of many blessings which might multiply after his death; leaving this conclusion to all survivors, that he did good to others only to do himself greater. Which how contrary it is to the Gospel, and the nature of Christian love, I appeal to those minds where grace hath sown more charity. I doubt whether he will ever find the way to Heaven that desires to go thither alone. They are envious favourites who wish their king to have no loyal subjects but themselves. All heavenly hearts are charitable. Enlightened souls cannot but disperse their rays. I will, if I can, do something for others and for heaven-not to deserve by it; but to express myself and my thanks. Though I cannot do what I would: I will labour to do what I can.-OWEN FELTHAM's Resolves, 1636.

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