bestowed upon them more than ordinary labour, we will just briefly state their substance. His theory, as far as we can comprehend it, seems to be this. Religion, in every country, is calculated to produce an effect on manners as well as on morals; and while in England this effect, among those who read little, or not at all, is accomplished by public preaching ;' in Spain it is produced, partly by sensible representations of the Gospel history,' exhibited in the churches at appointed seasons, and partly by auricular confession. He admits, indeed, that, when brought into comparison with this latter practice, the dignity of the pulpit makes reproof more severe, denunciations more alarming, advice more powerful, and consolation more soothing:' but still would be sorry to see auricular confession abolished, until it was replaced by something better. For, granting that the profligacy of the higher classes is not corrected by it; the main business of the confessors, in this quarter, being to prevent their genteel penitents from becoming refractory and heretical; yet with the other classes, who are perfectly orthodox on matters of ceremony, they are at full liberty to attend more immediately to the formation of their moral habits;' and, accordingly, their efforts to enforce the habits of sobriety, honesty, and veracity,' have been crowned with wonderful success; though in chastity,' says Mr. J., as far as I am able to judge, they have been less successful.' We are a little surprised that, in this statement of the advantages of auricular confession, our author should have paid so little regard to the moral efficacy of absolution, both as it relieves the conscience from a sense of past guilt, and renders the indulgence in future sins more easy and agreeable. He does acknowledge, however, that many of the ceremonial observances are not very intimately connected with religious feeling.'

In the midst of the gaieties, which commence about five o'clock in the evening, when the Paseo, or publick walk, is crowded with company dressed in their most splendid attire, and indulging in the liveliest conversation, the sound of a bell announces the approaching hour of sunset. At this signal, which is called oracion, every one, as if by magic, seems fixed in his place; every head is uncovered, and the whole company repeats, or is supposed to repeat, a mental prayer: after a few minutes devoted to these formalities, the lively scene is resumed, and the conversation continued from the point at which it met this pious interruption. This ceremony takes place in every part of Spain; and where theatres or other public amusements are open, the sound of this bell suspends the entertainment till the prayer is over; so great is its effect, that it is even said that assassins, at the moment of executing their horrid design, have held their hand at the sound of the oracion, and, after repeating the habitual prayer, have perpetrated their diabolical purpose.' pp. 89, 90.

However decorous the Spaniards may be in the performance of their public devotions, nothing can be more indecent and slovenly than the manner in which their domestic worship is conducted; a circumstance which I have frequently noticed in the family with whom I lodge. Towards the conclusion of supper, when seated round the table, the master of the house commences with repeating ten Ave Maria's; the wife repeats the Pater Noster and her ten Ave Maria's, others at table repeat in the same manner, while one of them with a rosary of beads keeps the account, till they have repeated the Ave Maria fifty times, and the Lord's prayer five times, the number being accurately corrected by the string of beads. They then say a litany, adding to the name of every saint of a long list,' "ora pro nobis ;" then a prayer for the dead, another for protection during the night, and conclude the whole with a Gloria Patri. The words are uttered with as much rapidity as possible; and if any employment calls away the person who is repeating, he performs the work without interrupting the prayer, or losing any time; in fact, the Spaniards appear to act slowly and deliberately in every thing they undertake, except it be in this single instance of family worship.' pp. 92, 93.

Some sensible remarks follow on the church revenues, particularly those accruing from tythes,-than which nothing can be more oppressive, either as it respects the exorbitance of their amount, or the rigid mode of their collection. In descanting on national manners, which then come under consideration, our author notices the marked deference paid to the female sex, even by the peasantry,-the universal prevalence of matrimonial infidelity, and a degree of familiarity exending through all relations of society, which, in England, 'we should deem rudeness, and find troublesome.'

'Servants converse while attending at table with the familiarity of friends. Centini, a valet de place, whom I have hired in this place, makes no scruple of helping himself to a glass of wine, taking snuff from my box, or lighting his segar at my candle.'-' The apartments of a gentleman, or the chamber of a lady, when you have passed the outer door, are always found open, and it is deemed no intrusion to enter without being announced. Even the cabinet of the minister is equally accessible.'In the first circles the practice of calling people by their Christian names, and even titled ladies, is very common. 106.

The remarks with which Mr. J. has prefaced his letter on Spanish education, we humbly presume to think, are neither creditable to his judgment nor his liberality. Without entering into particulars, it may be sufficient to observe, that, in hinting his prejudices against a national system of education, he seems unconsciously to forget that the value of the system must entirely depend on two things,-what is taught, and the mode of teaching;-else, after noticing the impracticability' of the plan lately framed by a distinguished member of the house of commons,' he would never have immediately subjoined-' in Spain, however, such a plan has been adopted, and carried into execution.' From Mr. Jacob's own account it appears, that

the conduct of many of its ministers, and the abuses in its system of patronage. He contends that places exclusively appropriated to public worship, and protected by the Toleration Act, have not hitherto been considered as rateable to the poor; and that, as such, they ought to be exempt. We have always understood the turning point in questions of this sort, to be, whether there were any persons upon whom the rate could attach as occupiers, under the statute of the 43rd of Elizabeth. It has been decided, we believe, that mere trustees of a chapel who receive no rent or income from the pews, are not rateable as occupiers: but it has been commonly supposed they would be, if any profit were actually received, without regard to the purpose to which it might be applied. If this supposition is correct, and the trustees in this case are occupiers, it seems to follow of course that the individuals who hold the pews are not occupiers: indeed, this, we believe, has never been pretended; so that where no income is derived from the pews, no person can be rateable. In the same way, hospitals are exempt.

There may be a difficulty sometimes, to decide whether subscriptions to defray the expence of a chapel and provide for the minister, are to be considered as voluntary contributions (which clearly are not rateable) or as in the nature of rent for pews: and the particular plan adopted at Mr. Hill's chapel, does not very distinctly appear. We quite agree with him that if a claim of this sort could be maintained, even upon trustees for receiving pew rents, itmust in many cases bear exceedingly hard on some of the poorest and most meritorious persons in the community; and that there would be strong ground to apply to parliament for relief. If any thing ought to be exempted from taxation, it surely is public worship. Ministers of the establishment, who derive the whole or any part of their income from the rent of pews, undoubtedly stand on the same footing as the dis

senters.

The pamphlet discovers many traces of that warmth and benevolence of character, which both the friends and the enemies of the author concur in ascribing to him and part of it is disposed in that sort of dialogue with which his readers must be already familiar.

Art. XIX. Inducements to promote the Fine Arts in Great Britain, by exciting native Genius to independent Effort and original Designations. By John Cranch. 4to, pp. 40. Longman and Co. 1811.

IT might be enough to say of this important essay, that it is rich in common-place rant, that the paper is excellent, and that the printing is well executed by the Crockers." But we cannot persuade ourselves to close this protracted article without citing Mr. Cranch's opinion, that Sir Joshua Reynolds was a great artist; and that some solitary Corregio may, at this instant, be pining in our next village.'

Art. XX. Literary Information. Consisting of instructive Anecdotes, Explanations, and Derivations: calculated to interest and improve the opening Mind. By Mrs. Hedgeland. 12mo. pp. 200. Cradock and Joy, 1811.

THIS is, on the whole, a useful and agreeable miscellany, and contains, in a convenient form and compass, a good deal of literary informa

and subordination, the other of confusion, filth, and waut of discipline.' He represents the Spanish officers as a little infected with jealousy towards the British navy, and says it is generally supposed they are not very sincere patriots.

After noticing in a cursory manner the fortifications and commerce of Cadiz, our author takes another turn to Seville, enjoys a cheerful Christmas dinner with Don Antonio Pizano, at Chiclana, and then, on his re-arrival at Cadiz, proceeds to say a word or two on political matters. He bears witness to the universal hatred which pervades the Spanish nation, individually, against the French; but laments there is no sort of disposition to combine. At this, we confess, we have never been much inclined to wonder. Indeed, where a people have no definite object to fight for, and no men of commanding talent to concentrate their ardour, how can it be otherwise? A mere instinctive patriotism, it is true, may teach them to plunge their daggers,' at every cowardly opportunity, into the breasts of their invaders. But most men, we think, have, by this time, ceased to expect that the whole population should be up in arms to perpetuate a most hateful tyranny, under which they have hitherto dragged on a burdensome existence. The utter worthlessness of the upper orders of society in Spain, indeed, is now admitted by every body; and the only reasonable ground of hope for a successful resist ance, on the part of the mass of the people, seems to be, that they may, in the course of the conflict, work themselves into a state of veritable freedom,—a state in which they will spurn the impositions which any despotism may seek to force upon them, in which they will resolve not only to drive the French out of the country, but to emancipate themselves from the vile bondage of the former system of things. If they do this, their success may be confidently reckoned on; but we confess there appears to us but a remote probability, that they will do it.

The next place to which our author's business or inclination carries him is Gibraltar, from whence he proceeds through Marvella, Malaga, and Velez, to Granada. The sketch of the Moors in Spain, bearing date from this last place, Jan. 1810,was, as Mr. Jacob candidly acknowledges, produced in England. We are not quite convinced, however, of the necessity of the insertion. It enlarges the quarto doubtless; but, in general, we think it is quite as well for the traveller to abstain from intruding into the province of the historian, unless he draws his information from sources not easily accessible, or has reason to suppose that his performance will be blessed with a more than usual portion of longevity. It is not, therefore, without a secret satisfaction that we escape from our author's VOL. VII. 4 Y

The present

the regions of the dead; those who die before they are reconciled to God, die under the load of their sins, and perish for ever. is the only season in which you can flee from the wrath to come. Miserable, indeed, will be your condition, if, persisting in a course of rebellion against God, and wilful neglect of the Saviour, your own personal guilt should be aggravated by the criminal part which you have taken in the sins of your offspring. Can the power of language describe, or the human mind conceive, the poignant anguish of the soul of that parent who shall read in the piercing looks of his children, as they stand at the left hand of their judge, this keen reproach: "There is the man who was the instrument of bringing us into being only to sacrifice us. With unremitting care he sustained and protected our lives, till the season of safety was elapsed, till we became accountable and criminal, and then left us to the government of our own depraved dispositions, and the force of surrounding temptations, when he might have known that our death would be attended with our damnation ! And, as if it were not sufficient to expose us to danger, unfortified by good principles, both by the tendency of his advice and example, he hastened on our final doom! Oh that we had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen us! We should have been as though we had not been; we should have been carried from the womb to the grave." Men, brethren, and fathers! escape this dreadful censure. With all the importunity of effectual prayer, seek pardon and acceptance through the blood of the cross. Let the merciful nature of the Deity encourage your application. "He waiteth, that he may be gracious unto you. He delighteth in mercy. The blood of Jesus Christ, HIS SON, eleanseth us from all sin, Him that cometh to me I will, in no wise, cast

out."

Art. XXII. An Address on the excellency and facility of the Hebrew Language intended as a Motive to the Study of the original Scriptures. By John Shoveller. 8vo. pp. 61. price 1s. 6d. Longman and Co. 1811. THE design of this pamphlet is unquestionably good, and the author's

earnestness in pressing his point is commendable. His manner is desultory and declaiming, with an apparent fondness of display, and some symptoms of superficial and incorrect acquaintance with the topics which he introduces. He thinks that Hebrew was the primeval language of man; he boldly reproaches the Masoretic punctuation as an imposition; he seems to exercise a simple credulity in the Pseudo-Aristean fable of the miraculous origin of the Septuagint; he illustrates the meaning of the term root as applied to the Hebrew language, by adducing the word content as an English primitive; he maintains the wonderful ease with which a competency of Hebrew lore may be acquired; he advises it to be the first article in school education, &c. &c. &c. However, Mr. Shoveller appears to be a worthy and well meaning man; and as his book recognizes good principles, and tends to advance a most desireable object, valeat, quantum valere potest.