statements; one would have thought that the professed friends of religion would have rejoiced in the appearance of a work, which, though they might object to some of its statements, commended to men of science and rank the importance of investigations to which they are often but little inclined; which denounced and confuted those forms of scepticism to which philosophy, falsely so called, is so prone; and which, so far as it touched upon revelation at all, spoke of it with unmingled respect. One would have thought that a pure-minded man would have rejoiced that some scientific sceptic might be induced to read from such a writer what his prejudices (we admit them to be most unjust) would not have suffered him to read from one whom he would have been inclined to set down as a professional and hired advocate. One would have thought that at least no base attempts would be made to fasten a sinister motive upon the writer; that where it was thought he was wrong, the endeavour to rectify him would have been made, if only for the credit of that Christianity which it was the professed object to recommend, in something like the spirit of meekness; and that where it was thought he did not go far enough, the object would have been to allure him to go farther, not to repel him by exhibitions of temper and feeling, which only serve to show that whatever their avowed zeal for Christianity, those who can indulge in them know nothing of its spirit; and which, if they could be supposed fair exhibitions of Christianity at all, would justify Lord Brougham in saying, “I have seen enough of the religion they would recommend to me; for my part let me die a heathen."

The work of Dr. Turton is that of a mind diametrically opposite to that of Lord Brougham; the one is all ardour and rapidity of movement, the other all caution and deliberation ;-the one is contented with the general truth of his statements, without sufficiently guarding, limiting, or qualifying them; the other enters into the minutest particulars with microscopic exactness;-the one pays little attention to detail, the other pursues it with the most careful particularity; the one is distinguished by boldness and comprehensiveness, the other by minuteness and accuracy;-the one is, perhaps, too little disposed to pay attention to what has been said by others, the other perhaps too much.

For instance; Lord Brougham's representations of the sentiments and the opinions of the authors to whom he refers are not always correct; he seems to depend too much on his memory or to speak from a very hasty perusal. In these cases Dr. Turton proceeds by a painful and most exact collection of authorities to set him right. This often gives Dr. Turton the appearance of having achieved a signal triumph, when in reality the triumph is but small; for in a great number of instances, the substantial truth of Lord Brougham's statements is not invalidated, his opponent only shows that they have not been literally exact. For example; Lord Brougham complains that previous writers on Natural Theology have totally neglected the proofs of design which disclose themselves in the constitution of the human mind. Dr. Turton shows that in this respect Lord Brougham is not literally exact; that the ob

servation is too unqualified, and he adduces a long array of passages to show that previous writers have not totally neglected the subject. Still Lord Brougham's representation, with very slight qualification, is correct; since the few meagre and general statements which Dr. Turton adduces from those writers as to the wondrous powers and faculties of the mind, &c. cannot be regarded as at all approaching an adequate discussion on the subject. Again; Lord Brougham affirms that Paley does not even advert to the principle on which the inference from design is founded, Dr. Turton shows that he does advert to it, but then it is obvious, from the manner in which Paley has introduced it, that he never thought of its important bearing on the whole argument, and of the prominence which should be given it; since it is not adverted to until quite the close of his work, and is then incidentally treated of in the discussion of another subject.-We had intended to specify several other instances of a like nature, but our limits forbid. Upon the whole, however, we are bound to confess that Dr. Turton, though here and there somewhat too hypercritical, has prosecuted the subject with great fairness. His work may be read with great advantage as a commentary on his lordship's; it qualifies some unguarded statements, and corrects some minute inaccuracies. has the frankness to admit that there is, in all probability, but little difference between his opinions and those of his noble and learned antagonist, while he fully admits the value of many of his lordship's speculations and arguments, and the great eloquence with which he has defended and illustrated them.

He

Memoir of William Carey, D.D. late Missionary to Bengal; Professor of Oriental Languages in the College of Fort Wil liam, Calcutta. By Eustace Carey. Jackson and Walford. pp. viii. 630.

THE life of Dr. Carey is a most interesting page in the volume of divine providence. And it is wise in a creature so feeble as man sometimes to limit his attention to a small portion of that mysterious book. The whole scheme of the government of Jehovah lies beyond his spheres, both of space and duration. And even with reference to a large section of human history, the mind is soon bewildered by the number of the actors, the changes of the scenery, and the complication of the plot. A single character, indeed, in all its relations, will afford objects and lessons fully equal to our contracted and infantile powers. Who, for example, can trace the course of Carey, from his humble stall at Hackleton, to his final station as the Professor at Fort William, and the Translator of the Scriptures for India; who can mark the plan that brought him into contact with Scott and Fuller, and Ryland and Pearce, in Britain; with Buchanan and Ward, and Marshman in India, without recognizing the inimitable hand of God? And when to this view of his individual course, and his immediate connections, we add the influence of his example on the universal church; and, through India, on the heathen world, our

attention is rivetted and our homage secured. "He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."

The spirit of missions, which had throbbed in the bosoms of apostolic converts, did not long survive the apostacy of the primitive church. It was transformed into the Mahometan zeal of a Clavis, or caricatured by the military prowess of the Teutonic knights. Pagans were discipled at the point of the lance; and the request for baptism was equivalent to a demand for quarter. Nor were the Dominican and Franciscan missionaries guiltless of heathen blood. Xavier and the Jesuits abandoned these barbarities; but their labours were blemished by superstition, by immoralities, by the toleration or the substitution of idolatry, by commercial speculation, by political ambition. Christian preachers, in their garb, were seen monopolizing the trade of heathen lands, or training their rude children to martial discipline. Among Protestants, indeed, the Moravians had awaked, and the slave and the Greenlander had become the trophies of the cross. The Dutch had proclaimed the gospel in Java, Amboyna, Sumatra; the Danes in Malabar. Elliott and Brainerd had taught the red man in his woods, Dr. Coke had set an example of foreign enterprize to the Wesleyan societies. But the mass of the churches, both British and American, were not only indifferent to these noble toils, but in many instances, theoretically opposed to them. Then it was that God lighted up in the heart of Carey a flame that, surviving the blasts of contempt and disappointment, was destined to communicate to other bosoms a kindred warmth, and to kindle a conflagration that promises to encircle and transmute the globe. We may take our station, therefore, on the history of this honoured Christian, and contemplate the receding darkness and the opening day and we may associate his name with every object of interest, whether terrific or delightful, that the light of modern missions has revealed.

The early years of Dr. Carey's life are simply and honestly described by himself.

"I was born in the village of Paulerspury, in Northamptonshire, August 17, 1761. My education was that which is generally esteemed good in country villages, and my father being schoolmaster, I had some advantages which other children of my age had not. In the first fourteen years of my life I had many advantages of a religious nature, but was wholly unacquainted with the scheme of salvation by Christ. During this time I had many stirrings of mind occasioned by my being often obliged to read books of a religious character; and having been accustomed from my infancy to read the Scriptures, I had a considerable acquaintance therewith, especially with the historical parts. I also have no doubt but the constant reading of the Psalms, Lessons, &c., in the parish church, which I was obliged to attend regularly, tended to furnish my mind with à general scripture knowledge.

Of real experimental religion I scarcely heard any thing till I was fourteen years of age; nor was the formal attendance upon outward ceremonies, to which I was compelled, the matter of my choice. I chose to read books of science, history, voyages, &c., more than any others. Novels and plays always disgusted me, and I avoided them as much as I did books of religion, and perhaps from the same motive. I was better pleased with romances; and this circumstance made me read Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress with eagerness, though to no purpose.

"My companions were at this time such as could only serve to debase the mind, and lead me into the depths of that gross conduct which prevails among the lower classes in the most neglected villages: so that I had sunk into the most awful profligacy of conduct. I was addicted to swearing, lying, and unchaste conversation; which was heightened by the company of ringers, psalm-singers, foot ball players, the society of a blacksmith's shop, &c. &c.: and though my father laid the strictest injunctions on me to avoid such company, I always found some way to elude his care.

"A very painful disease paved the way for my being brought under the gospel sound. From about seven years of age, I was afflicted with a very painful cutaneous disease, which, though it scarce ever appeared in the form of eruption, yet made the sun's rays insupportable to me. This unfitted me for earning my living by labour in the field, or elsewhere out of doors. My parents were poor, and unable to do much for me; but being much affected with my situation, they with great difficulty put me apprentice to a shoemaker at Hackleton."". pp. 7, 8.

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man.

"My master was a strict churchman, and, what I thought, a very moral It is true he sometimes drank rather too freely, and generally employed me in carrying out goods on the Lord's-day morning till near church time; but he was an inveterate enemy to lying, a vice to which I was awfully addicted: he also possessed the qualification of commenting upon a fault till I could scarcely endure his reflections, and sometimes actually transgressed the bounds of propriety. A fellow-servant was the son of a dissenter; and though not at that time under religious impressions, yet frequently engaged with me in disputes upon religious subjects, in which my master frequently joined. I was a churchman; had read Jeremy Taylor's Sermons, Spinker's Sick Man Visited, and other books; and had always looked upon dissenters with contempt. I had, moreover, a share of pride sufficient for a thousand times my knowledge: I therefore always scorned to have the worst in an argument, and the last word was assuredly mine. I also made up in positive assertion what was wanting in argument, and generally came off with triumph. But I was often convinced afterwards that, though I had the last word, my antagonist had the better of the argument, and on that account felt a growing uneasiness, and stings of conscience gradually increasing. The frequent comments of my master upon certain parts of my conduct, and other such causes, increased my uneasiness. I wanted something, but had no idea that nothing but an entire change of heart could do me good.

"There was a place of worship and a small body of dissenters in the village; but I never attended it, and thought myself to have enmity enough in my heart to destroy it. As my uneasiness increased, my fellow-servant, who was about this time brought under serious concern for his soul, became more importunate with me. I was furnished by him now and then with a religious book, and my opinions insensibly underwent a change, so that I relished evangelical sentiments more and more, and my inward uneasiness increased.

"Under these circumstances I resolved to attend regularly three churches in the day, and go to a prayer-meeting at the dissenting place of worship in the evening, not doubting but this would produce ease of mind, and make me acceptable to God. I also resolved to leave off lying, swearing, and other sins to which I was addicted, and sometimes when alone I tried to pray; but was at present unacquainted with the wickedness of my heart, and the necessity of a Saviour.'"-pp. 9—11.

After this period a sermon preached by Mr. Chater, of Olncy, seems to have been instrumental in deciding Mr. Carey's adherence to a dissenting form of worship: and under the ministry of this gentleman, Mr. Scott, and other evangelical preachers, his mind was gradually enlightened, and his heart subdued. Hall's " "Help

VOL. 1. N. S.

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to Zion's Travellers," also, proved exceedingly useful in removing from his path those doctrinal obstacles which commonly impede contemplative inquirers.

At the age of twenty, Mr. Carey married, began occasionally to preach, and ultimately settled at Maulton, where, notwithstanding his efforts, first in a school, and afterwards in his business, his temporal circumstances were painfully contracted. His labours in instructing the young were, however, divinely overruled to foster his missionary zeal. The impressions he had received in early life from the statements of our great circumnavigator, which had been cherished by his reflections on the wrongs of our West Indian slaves, were deepened by the geographical lessons he communicated to his pupils, and finally became absorbing and irresistible. The uncourteous reception of his plans by the elder Mr. Ryland did not damp his ardour; but led him to embody his ideas on missionary topics in his" Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen." His removal to Leicester in 1789 augmented his means of support, and his opportunities for intellectual improvement. It did not, as a similar change has sometimes operated, quench that zeal for distant labours which had been the companion of his poverty.

"Though the church at Leicester was comparatively small, and in much derangement when he succeeded to the pastorate, he nevertheless restored it to order, and much increased the communicants and the attendants upon his ministry. His consistency of deportment both as a Christian and a public character became generally known, and speedily advanced him in the estimation of the inhabitants, as well as that of his immediate religious connections. He enjoyed the intimate friendship of Mr. Robinson, an eminently successful minister in the establishment, the author of Scripture Characters,' whom he frequently accompanied in his pastoral visits, from whom he always spoke of himself as deriving much benefit.

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"But nothing in his present labours, or in the cheering success with which they were crowned, could divert his mind from the design of a mission to the heathen. By degrees, he succeeded also in exciting the attention of his brother ministers to the same object. By frequent discussion, free interchange of thoughts, accompanied with united importunate prayer, their sentiments assimilated, and their zeal and benevolence were soon provoked into some external demonstration. So early as 1784, a few of these devout servants of God met in association at Nottingham, resolved to set apart an hour on the first Monday evening in every month for extraordinary prayer for the revival of religion, and for the extending of Christ's kingdom in the world.' Thus commenced the united missionary prayer-meetings, now prevalent through every part of Christendom. No one can calculate the ultimate good to which a single attempt, justly principled, and wisely directed, may lead. Within half a century, some of the most potent and comprehensive agencies that ever influenced the moral world, have originated in the devotions and unpretending efforts of a few individuals, or of a single mind. Thus the design, simple as it was devout, of circulating the volume of inspired truth, entire and without human accompaniment, within a very few years, has multiplied its copies as the sands of the sea-shore,' rendered it available to every nation on earth, and placed it within reach of almost every soul of mankind. The projection of the monitorial common sense method of instruction by Joseph Lancaster, has antiquated the stupidities of former ages, and laid open the blessings of a sound elementary education to the whole globe. The pious, and at first almost unaided, labours of Mr. Raikes, to rescue from profaneness the juvenile poor, to imbue them with scriptural knowledge, and train them to