his ground only by the same means. He carried forward the system of French aggrandizement which` the republic had commenced, till the greater part of Europe was, directly or indirectly, under his control. Meanwhile · England offered to him a determined resistance, and, by her command at sea, at once confined him to the continent of Europe, and obtained possession of a large proportion of the commerce of the world. The powers of Europe had been repeatedly roused to resist the encroachments of Bonaparte, but in vain; till he broke the power of his own arm, by a mad attempt to conquer Russia. The Russians retired before him. He advanced as far as Moscow, which the Russians evacuated and burned. The winter was approaching; he could neither maintain himself in Moscow, nor advance further. He was at length compelled to retreat, surrounded and harassed by the unbroken armies of Russia, and an inveterately hostile population. Winter assailed him in all its rigour, and the consequence was, that of nearly half a million of men, whom he had led into Russia, but a few thousands found their way back to their own country.

The European powers saw this to be a fit opportunity for regaining their own authority and influence, and assailed Bonaparte on every side. He continued to offer a vigorous and dexterous resistance, till, overpowered by numbers, he was subdued, and forced to resign the crown. He' was permitted to retire to the island of Elba, in the Mediterranean. From that island he very soon issued, marched to Paris, was hailed by the French soldiery, and reinstated in the empire. The other powers of Europe were again leagued against him, and began to assemble their armies on the northern frontier of France. He marched against them, defeated the Prussians, but was almost immediately afterwards met by the British army at Waterloo, and there totally routed, A. D. 1815. The result was, that he again resigned the crown, surrendered himself to a British ship of war, was sent to confinement to St. Helena, where he remained till he died, A.D. 1821. The Bourbons were then recalled to the throne of France.

This century has already also been distinguished by the rise of several independent states in South America. The colonies of Spain and Portugal, which had long been impatient of the rigorous control exercised over them, finding that the convulsions of Europe opened a favorable opportunity of attaining to independence, promptly availed themselves of it, and successfully resisted all attempts of the parent countries to maintain authority over them.

There are three features of this period, which must not be overlooked.

The first is the rapid advancement of science, and of the useful arts. Mathematics have been carried to an extent, and have attained to a power and facility of investigation, of which the ancients formed no conception. Astronomy, by the aid of Mathematics. and of Optics, has opened up the system of the universe; subjected the various heavenly bodies to weight ånd measurement; and accounted with mathematical precision, not only for all the phenomena known to the ancients, but for ten thousand other phenomena, that have been discovered by the more powerful instruments which Optics have placed at her disposal. Mental phenomena, also, and all departments of knowledge, that relate to the direction and cultivation of the understanding, have been investigated on the principles of sound philosophy; and many important practical truths have been established. Natural history, in all its branches, has been cultivated with a zeal and success altogether unprecedented. New subjects of investigation have been opened and pursued to a surprising extent. The sciences of political economy and of chemistry may be regarded as the creations of this period; and Geology is only yet attaining to the form and consistency of a science. Geography, also, has explored the surface of our planet in almost every direction. And along with the increase of knowledge, have come increase of human power, and addition to human cornfort and convenience. Machinery, in every department

of labour, has been carried to great perfection. The invention of the steam-engine has placed a power, to which it would be difficult to assign limits, at the disposal of men; and this mighty instrument has been applied to manufactures, and latterly to water and land carriage, with the most gratifying results. The more delicate machines, too, such as clocks and watches, although not the invention of this last period, have been brought to high perfection in it; and the recent discovery of gas-light has added much to the comfort and safety of cities and towns. The power of intellect, that is still employed in improvements in every department of art, is unexampled in the history of mankind.

The second feature of this period, to which we have alluded, is the great progress that has been made in translating the Sacred Scriptures into the various languages of the world. The Scriptures had been previously translated at different times, into most of the languages of Europe, and had existed from a very early period in Syriac, Arabic, and Coptic; but a great addition to such translations, chiefly into eastern languages and dialects, belongs to the present period. Men of different nations have thus been furnished with opportunities of becoming acquainted with each other's languages; and of learning to act on similar principles, to a greater extent than has ever before been witnessed. And when this fact is connected with the amazing facilities for communication among the different nations of the world that are now in progress, it is impossible to form any conception of what may be the result.

The third remarkable feature of this period, is the abolition, first of the slave trade, and afterwards of slavery in the British colonies. A traffic in human beings, from the west coast of Africa, to the American continent and islands, early commenced. The cupidity of the European settlers in the New World, impelled them to seek for labourers to cultivate the land, to work the mines, and otherwise to render their new acquisitions profitable, before a sufficient population had grown up on the soil for these purposes. With this intent, they sent their ships to the coast of Africa, to get, as they

could, men, women, or children, and convey them across the Atlantic, to the European settlements. The prosecution of this nefarious traffic created a mass of human misery, partly in Africa, partly during the middle passage, and partly in America, such as scarcely had at any former period been known: and it is humiliating to think, that the agents and abettors of this traffic were natives of countries professing to have adopted the benign principles of Christianity.

And,

The zeal of a few benevolent individuals was chiefly instrumental in opening the eyes of the British public to the enormous crimes, to which they were rendering themselves parties, by sanctioning the slave trade, and by the condition of the slaves in the British West India islands. The result was, that the nation was roused to indignation at the fearful recitals, and became determined to wash its hands of the foul stain. after a determined struggle against the parties interested, humanity triumphed, and first the slave trade, and afterwards slavery itself was abolished. The manner, in which this last act of justice was effected, is, perhaps, unique in the history of the world. The British nation purchased the freedom of the slaves from their masters, subjects of the empire, and has actually agreed to advance to them twenty millions of pounds, sterling, to set the wretched captives at liberty.

These

THE first distinction to be attended to between minerals, and beings endowed with life is, that the latter are formed with organs, adapted to fulfil the several functions for which they were destined by nature. organs differ, not only in form and structure, but more or less, in the materials of which they are composed : organized beings are generally of a smooth surface, rounded, and irregular; whilst minerals are rough, angular, and, in their chrystalline state, of geometrical regularity.

One of the principal functions these organs have to perform, is nutrition. Unorganized matter may be enlarged or diminished, either by mechanical or chemical changes; minerals may be augmented by the addition of similar particles, or by chemical combinations with substances which are dissimilar; but they have no power to convert them into their own nature. Organized bodies, on the contrary, are increased in size, by receiving internally, particles of matter, of a nature different from their own, which they assimilate to their own substance.

Let us now proceed to enquire, what is the principal distinction between the two classes of organized beings-the animal and the vegetable creation.

Animals are provided with a cavity, called a stomach, in which they deposit a store of food, whence they are continually deriving nourishment. This organ is essential to animals, as they are not constantly supplied with food: they find it not always beneath their feet; they must wander in search of it; and were they not pro