Main. The conditions upon which he entered, and which were duly sanctioned and guaranteed by Don Mendez, the accredited agent of the Independents in London, were the following.

1st. That on arriving in South America I should retain the rank to which he Colonel Gilmore had appointed me. 2dly. That I should from thence receive the full pay and allowances enjoyed by officers of similar rank in the British service. 3dly. That the expences of outfit (with the exception of the passage to the Spanish Main) should be, in the first instance borne by myself; but, 4thly: That I should, immediately on my arriving in South America, receive the sum of two hundred dollars, towards defraying these expences.'

One is at a loss to conceive what possible inducement this mendacious Don could have, for the conduct attributed to him; unless, (which is not stated,) he has been carrying on a trade in Patriotic Commissions, and charges high for the appointments he sells. In that case, lenient as our laws are to gentlemen of the profession of swindlers, we should yet imagine that a check might long ago have been given to his levees.' It is upon this gentleman' exclusively, according to Lieutenant Hackett, that the

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responsibility must rest, of having excited hopes which he must have known would never be realized; of having guaranteed the performance of conditions, the fulfilment whereof he must have been aware was impracticable; and of having induced those desirous of embarking in this destructive enterprise, to believe that their services would be joyfully and gratefully accepted by the Independent Generals and their Armies; whilst he, at the same time, could scarcely have been ignorant, that the strongest hostility was manifested by the Patriots to the admission of foreign assistance; and that the jealousy of the native troops of those few British officers who had been tempted actually to join their armies was so rancorous, as to subject them to the perpetual hazard of assassination.' pp. vii, viii.

Not fewer than five distinct corps embarked at nearly the same period, on the same delusive enterprise.

An

1st. A Brigade of Artillery under the command of Colonel J. A. Gilmore, consisting of five light six-pounders, and one five-and-halfinch-howitzer, ten officers and about eighty non-commissioned officers and men. This corps embarked on board the Britannia, a fine ship of about four hundred tons burden, commanded by Captain Sharpe, with a crew of twenty-one able and well-conducted seamen. immense quantity of every description of military stores had been stowed on board this vessel, comprising arms, ammunition, clothing, waggons, and, in fact, every requisite for enabling the brigade to ener upon active service immediately on arriving at its place of desination.

‚' The uniforms and equipments of the officers were extremely rich,

very similar to those of the British Artillery, and provided altogether at the expense of the individuals who had accepted commissions in this ill-fated expedition. The equipments of the other corps were likewise in every respect extensive and complete, and the uniforms remarkably rich and costly, more especially in the regiment commanded by Colonel Wilson, one of whose officers informed me that his outfit amounted to upwards of two hundred guineas.

2d. A corps of hussars (called the First Venezuelan Hussars) under the command of Colonel Hippesley, consisting of about thirty officers, and one hundred and sixty non-commissioned officers and men; uniform dark-green faced with red. This corps embarked on board the Emerald, a beautiful ship of about five hundred tons, commanded by Captain Weatherly, with a crew of upwards of thirty men and boys.

3d. A regiment of cavalry (called the Red Hussars) under the command of Colonel Wilson, consisting of about twenty officers, and one hundred non-commissioned officers and men. Uniform-fulldress, red and gold; undress, blue and gold. This corps proceeded in the Prince, a vessel of about four hundred tons burden, commanded by Captain Nightingale.

4th. A rifle corps (named the First Venezuelan Rifle Regiment) commanded by Colonel Campbell, consisting of about thirty-seven officers and nearly two hundred non-commissioned officers and men. Uniform similar to that of the Rifle Brigade in the British service. This corps embarked on board the Dowson, Captain Dormor, a fine ship about the size of the Britannia.

5th. A corps of Lancers, under the command of Colonel Skeene, comprising, in officers, non commissioned officers, and privates, about two hundred and twenty men; who embarked on board the unfortunate ship Indian, and the whole of whom, together with the crew, perished miserably at sea, being wrecked on the island of Ushant shortly after their departure from England

These several corps sailed from England at nearly the same time, with the intention of acting conjointly on arriving in South America, and having previous to their departure appointed the islands of Saint Bartholomew and Saint Thomas, as places of general rendezvous, for the purpose of ascertaining the state of affairs on the Spanish Main, and determining the point at which it would be most judicious the disembarkation should take place.' pp. xii-xv.

We must now give a hasty outline of Mr. Hackett's narrative. The Britannia sailed on the 3d of Dec. 1817. On the 24th of Jan. she sailed into the harbour of Gustavia, in St. Bartholomew's, where the Prince and the Emerald had already arrived. Here they remained upwards of three weeks, without receiving any intelligence from the Spanish Main, on the veracity of which they could place the slightest reliance. A general feeling of dissatisfaction and uneasiness soon manifested itself, as the consequence of this painful state of suspense, and their situation was rendered still more critical by the spirit of dissension and jealousy which first began to actuate the of

ficers commanding the respective corps, and at length extended among the subordinate officers, destroying all exertions for the common cause. On the 21st of February, after many ineffectual efforts to obtain direct intelligence from the Continent, the three ships (the Britannia, the Prince, and the Dowson,) sailed from St. Bartholomew's, and arrived at Grenada on the Friday following. The account of the state of the Patriot armies given by Mr Guthrie, the Independent agent resident at this island, coincided so minutely with that furnished by Mr. Molony, the agent at St. Thomas's, that the supercargo at once determined against proceeding with the stores to the Main. The situation in which Colonel Gilmore was by this means placed, was, in his view, so irrecoverably desperate, as to leave him no alternative but disbanding the brigade.

• Our condition now may be readily conceived: deprived of the support of our Colonel, destitute of resources or friends, and unable to devise any means of extrication from our difficulties, we saw ourselves threatened with all the horrors of privation and want. Of the men comprising our late brigade, some joined the other ships, others enlisted in the Queen's Regiment, at this time garrisoned in Grenada, whilst a few determined on endeavouring to work their passage to the United States; the various artificers were put ashore at the same period. The printer, having been permitted to carry with him a portion of the types and printing apparatus, fortunately procured a situation in the newspaper office. The armourer afterwards returned to Saint Bartholomew's, with the intention of proceeding to New Orleans. The fate of the remainder I never learned, but fear their distresses must have been great, as they appeared totally destitute of money, and were consequently dependent for their subsistence on the manual exercise of their respective arts.

Some of the officers succeeded in providing for themselves, either through their own resources, or pecuniary aid from friends; the remainder, including Captain and myself, were still permitted to continue on board the Britannia.'

On the supercargo's resolving at length to proceed to Port au Prince, in the hope of being enabled there to dispose of the artillery and military stores, the remaining officers and men were put on shore, friendless, and destitute. Poor Lieutenant Hackett, however, obtained from the merchant to whom the Britannia had been consigned, the use of a ruinous waste room in one of his outhouses, of which he gladly accepted.' Having converted into cash every article of property he could possibly dispose of, his thoughts were now wholly occupied with forming plans for returning to Europe. At length he was informed, that an English merchant vessel, (the Hornby) which had been taken possession of by the Admiral stationed off St. Kitt's, (in consequence of having, together with several others, become subject to seizure.) was destined to return to Europe in ballast."

He

accordingly took a final leave of St. Bartholomew's, on the 3d of April, resolving, with some others of the unfortunate adventurers, to offer his services to the Captain, working his passage home on board his ship, as a common seaman. This proposal was, after some deliberation, acceded to, and 'those only,' he says, who have been similarly situated, can 'conceive of the happiness we now experienced, and the delight with which we on the following day availed ourselves of Captain 'W.'s permission to repair on board.' The Hornby being almost 'destitute of hands, was detained nearly three weeks at St. Kitt's after this arrangement, which allowed of Mr. Hackett's procuring intelligence of the proceedings of several of the vessels and officers attached to the South American enterprise, subsequently to his leaving the Britannia. The Emerald was purchased by Admiral Brion for the Independent service, and converted, under the name of the Victory, into his flag ship, manned by British seamen, about seventy of whom he succeeded in procuring from the West India Islands. The Britannia and the Dowson, after depositing their stores with merchants in St. Bartholomew's, being unable otherwise to dispose of them, took in sugar freights on their passage home. Of Colonel Gilmore's brigade, none ever actually landed on the Continent, with the exception of two officers, and about fifteen or twenty men, who joined Colonel Wilson's corps. This corps, though much reduced in numbers, finally proceeded for Bolivar's head quarters at the Oroonoco. The main body of Captain Hippesley's regiment likewise sailed for the same destination. Of their subsequent proceedings or fate, no information reached Mr. H. Colonel Campbell's corps, originally the most effective, became reduced by fever and resignation, to ten officers and a proportionate number of men, which small remnant intended also to proceed to Angustura. As for our poor ex-lieutenant, he soon acquired an intimacy with the haul-yard, and after a favourable passage, arrived on the 16th of June in Portsmouth harbour, when he and his Captain parted, with mutual feelings of friendship and regard. In conclusion, he disclaims any hostile feeling towards the cause of the Independents. That cause,' he remarks, must stand or fall 'upon its own insulated merits: confident in its abstract justice, 'I heartily wish its speedy and perfect success, but without 'the sacrifice of British blood, or the compromise of British 'honour.'

Art. VIII. Discourses suited to the Dispensation of the Lord's Supper. By John Brown, Minister of the Associate Congregation, Biggar. 12mo. Edinburgh, 1816.

CHRISTIANITY is equally distinguished for the plainness, purity, and value of its moral precepts, and for the simplicity, dignity, and excellehce of its positive institutes. It is not easy to determine whether the former has been more obscured and distorted by sophistry and self-interest, or the latter degraded and corrupted by ignorance and superstition. We cannot read the New Testament with attention and impartiality, without perceiving how far the great mass of professing Christians, in all countries, and through a long series of ages, have departed from that system of Divine truth, which its sacred pages so luminously display. For proof of this assertion, we need only refer to the records of ecclesiastical history, or glance at the state of the world around us. No religious rite has been more grossly misunderstood and perverted, than that ordinance which was designed to be a solemn and instructive memorial of the Saviour, and of his sufferings; that ordinance which clothes spiritual principle with visible form, and repeats to the senses, what the Scriptures had previously addressed to the 6 conscience and to the heart.' The devotees of Rome fancy it to be full of mystery, and their absurd doctrine of transubstantiation, offers an insult to reason and common sense. Even among Protestants, some have made it a political test, a door of admission to civil offices, and others have recourse to it in their dying hour, as an easy expedient to procure pardon and absolution of sin and peace of conscience, and consider it as a sure passport to heaven. Every judicious attempt to rescue so important and solemn an institution from flagrant abuse, and direct it to the valuable purpose for which it was originally appointed, merits commendation.

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In the volume before us, Mr. Brown has furnished some discourses and addresses, adapted to excite and promote a spirit of piety among those who feel it a duty and a privilege to hold communion with their fellow Christians at the sacramental supper of the Lord. In the arrangement and composition of the whole work, a regard has been paid to the manner in which this ordinance is dispensed in the Scottish Presbyterian churches; to promote a fervid yet rational devotion in their mem bers, when engaged in this service, is avowedly its primary object. At the same time, as there will be found nothing sectarian either in its sentiments or in its spirit, the Author has reason to hope that it will be of general use and interest, as a view of Christian doctrine and duty in reference to this ordinance. We have seen few works on the subject, in a compressed and cheap