pretences, we fail to discharge this part of our facred calling, the blood of that family, and of every other neglected family in our parish which would have hearkened to our fuggeftions, will cry with great and exceeding bitter cry unto God' against us.' The fifth fermon is likewife written by the editor. As a compofition it is inferior, we think, to Mr. Clapham's other occafional difcourfes but this may be easily accounted for, as it was preached at the affizes at York, in 1785, when he was, we imagine, a young man. It is, however, a very excellent difcourfe, and cannot be too often, or too ferioufly, read by both jurors and evidence. We will prefent our readers with an extract from it, which will enable them to judge of its merits. "It appears, from what has been faid, that the fin of perjury is of the blackeft dye, and is fuch as can fcarcely admit of aggravation. In order, therefore, to avoid this moft criminal of offences, every man who confults his peace of mind, and defires the approbation of God, will always adapt his actions to his words, and his words to his principles: and when he is called upon to give evidence, he will not put his hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witnefs.' He will diveft himself of every principle of hatred, fear, or intereft, left he should defeat the end [which] his teltimony was defigned to answer; lett, under the fhades and colours of artifice and evasion, he should conceal the plain draught of truth. Should it be expected that his evidence fhould tend, unjustly, to favour a party, he will give the clearest and most impartial account [that] he is able, without regarding at all whofe intereft his teftimony will fupport. He may fubjec himself, it may be, by this liberal and ingenuous conduct, to the unjuft reproof [which] the prophet incurred, by his fincerity, of the king of Moab, I took thee to curfe mine enemies, and behold thou haft blessed them altogether.' And, as on all occafions, where confcience is concerned, more especially where he appeals to the God of heaven, he will reply with the undaunted fpirit of Balaam- if Balak would give me his houfe full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord my God, to do lefs or more, of my own mind." The following note may be thought, by many, to be worthy of legiflative attention. "The advantages of a trial by Jury are undoubtedly many and great. But it does not follow, that such a mode of trial, hath not, as Blackstone observes, defects to be removed. I once heard a cause tried of fome importance-indeed every caufe is of importance, if not to both, to one of the parties-and it was obvious, I believe, to every person in the Court, that the Jury did not know the difference betwon the plaintiff and the defendant. The uprightness of the judge fuggested a juft iffue. There is ano ther defect in the trial by jury. One obftinate and determined man fhall, and, we see every day, does, cause a verdict to be pronounced in direct oppofition to truth. Should the queftion be afterwards afked of any of the jurors, why a verdict was given fo contrary to the evidence-what is the reply? Such a perfon would not agree to any other. Was not this notorious in many of the trials for fedition and treason a few years ago? It is, therefore, greatly to be wished-fince daily experience assures us that a Jury is not always composed of twelve good men and true-that inflead of their unanimous concurrence, the concurrence of two thirds, or three fourths, might conftitute a legal verdict. I dread innovation as much as any man can do, but juftice is to often defeated by obitinacy or villany that neceffity calls loudly for an amendment of the prefent mode of trial." The remaining occafional fermons are on interefting fubjects, and, as eloquent compofitions, merit much praife. The volume concludes with an exhortation to attend public worship. It is printed feparate: for the purpose of diftribution, and we could wish to hear of its being diftributed in every parish. We conclude our account of this valuable felection by affuring our readers that it is replete with judgment and tafte, and the families,. for whose use it is chiefly intended, may derive from it improvement and benefit, infomuch as it honeftly propounds to them the doctrines of the gospel and of the church, and exhorts them to fulfil the. duties of religion by the most cogent and perfuafive arguments. Pinkerton's Modern Geography. R. P. in the opening of his fecond volume, gives two curious. tables, exhibiting the original population of Afia, and the colonies with which it has, at different times, inundated Europe. Then follows a very interefting difcuffion concerning the progrefs of European knowledge with refpect to Afia. In the geography of Ptolemy, the most authentic monument of the knowledge which the antients had attained of this illuftrious quarter of the world, the extreme points of difcovery are the town of Sina, towards the Indian ocean, and that of Sera, the metropolis of the Seres, in the parallel of the fouth of the Cafpian fea. The eminently learned D'Anville thought that the Sine of Ptolemy inhabited Cochin China; but our author controverts this opinion; and juftly, we think, concludes, with Goffelin, that their country was Janaferius in the western part of Siam. With regard to the pofition of Sera, fome have ridiculously transferred it to Nan-king, while even D'Anville himself places it as far to the east as Kan-Tcheou, a town in the Chinese province of Shen-Si. Mr. P. however, in his general obfervations on Independent Tartary, or as he always writes it, Tatary, has produced, in our judgment, very powerful evidence that the Serica of Ptolemy is the country now called Little Bucharia. If on both the pofitions here mentioned his decifion be right, it will appear that not above one quarter of Afia was known to the ancients. This knowledge, however, was little increased till the 14th century of the Chriftian era, when Marco Polo, a man of intelligence, and of infatiable curiofity, laid open to the aftonifhed Weft the wonders of the empires of China and Japan, and conveyed fome faint intel ligence ligence of other regions, which has been confirmed by more recent accounts. The conquefts of Zingis, or Gengis- Khan, in the 13th century first excited the attention of the Europeans to thefe diftant parts of Afia. The victories of Zingis, and his Monguls, extended from Cathay, the northern part of China, to the river Judus; and thofe of his fucceffors over Ruffia, while their inroads reached even Hungary and Germany. The Monguls likewife penetrated into the receffes of Siberia. In 1242, Sheibani Khan led a horde of 15,000 families into these northern regions, and his defcendents reigned at Tobolfkoy for more than three centuries, till the Ruffian conquest. Carpini and Rubruquis, European travellers, were employed to inspect the power and refources of this new empire of the Monguls. The latter found at Kara-Kum, their capital, a Parifian goldfmith in the service of the Khan; and Carpini relates that from their brethren in Siberia they had received fome intelligence concerning the Samoeids. Thus the knowledge of Afia was confiderably extended in the 13th century, and ftill more, by Marco Polo in the 14th. Yet little proThe accounts of Polo ingrefs was made for two centuries more. deed began to be difcredited; though the great Columbus, by acting upon them, accomplished an ever memorable enterprize. After the discovery of America, and the navigation of Gama to the Eaft Indies, the maritime parts and islands of Afia were fucceffively explored. Yet the voyages of the Ruffians, of La Peyroufe, and above all, of our immortal Cook, fhow how much till remained to be done. Of the interior of Siberia little was known till Peter the Great, after the battle of Pultowa, fent his Swedish prifoners to that inhofpitable region, of which Strahlenberg, one of the officers, published an account. Our knowledge of it has fince been greatly increased by the well known journies of Pallas and others. The geography of Afia, however, is, even yet, far from perfect; particularly with regard to Daouria, and other regions on the confines of the Ruffian and Chinefe Empires to which may be added central Afia, in general, Tibet, and other countries more to the fouth. Even Hindoftan had never been defcribed with tolerable accuracy till the publication of Major Rennel's excellent Map and Memoir. "But," fays our judicious and learned author, "while many improvements are wanted in the geography of several European countries, it is no wonder [that] there thould be great deficiencies in that of the other quarters of the globe." (Pp. 4-8. Our author's account of the progreffive difcovery of Afiatic Ruffia is alfo very curious and interefting (Pp. 43-45.); but we cannot afford room for its infertion. We cannot, however, prevail with ourfelves to omit the following abridged detail of the manners of the Circaffians; which, as their women have been greatly celebrated for beauty, will probably be acceptable to many of our readers. It is copied by Mr. P. from Ellis's Memoir. "Girls "Girls are brought up by the mother. They learn to embroider, to make their own dress, and that of their future hufbands. The daughters of flaves receive the fame education, and are fold, according to their beauty, from twenty to one hundred pounds, and fometimes much higher. These are principally Georgians. Soon after the birth of a girl, a wide leather belt is ewed round her waist, and continues till it burfts, when it is replaced by a fecond. By a repetition of this practice, their waists are rendered aftonishingly fmall; but their fhoulders become proportionably broad, a defect which is little attended to on account of the beauty of their breasts. On the wedding night the belt is cut with a dagger by the husband, a cuftom fometimes productive of very fatal accidents. The bridegroom pays for his bride a marriage prefent, or kalym, confifting of arms, or a coat of mail; but he must not fee her, or cohabit with her, without the greatest myftery. This referve continues during life. A Circaffian will fometimes permit a ftranger to fee his wife, but he muft not accompany him. The father makes the bride a prefent on the wedding-day, but referves the greater part of what he intends to give till the birth of her first child. this occaffion the pays him a vifit, receives from him the remainder of her portion, and is clothed by him in the drefs of a matron, the principal diftinction of which confifts in a veil. Until this time the drefs of the women is much like that of the men. Before marriage the youth of both fexes fee each other freely at the little rejoicings which take place on festivals. Be"fore the ball the young men fhew their activity and address in a variety of military exercifes; and the moft alert have the privilege of choofing the most beautiful partners. On "The Circaffian women participate in the general character of the nation; they take pride in the courage of their husbands, and reproach them feverely when defeated. They polift and take care of the armour of the men. Widows tear their hair, and disfigure themselves with (cars, in testimony of their grief. The men had formerly the fame cuftom, but are now grown more tranquil under the lofs of their wives and relations. The habitation of a Circaffian is compofed of two huts, because the wife and hufband are not fuppofed to live together. One of thefe huts is allotted to the husband, and to the reception of strangers; the other to the wife and family: the court which feparates them is furrounded by pallifades or stakes. Át meals the whole family is affembled, fo that here, as among the Tatars, each village is reckoned at a certain number of kettles. Their food is extremely fimple, confifting only of a little meat, some paste made of millet, and a kind of beer composed of the fame grain fermented.” (Pp. 20,-22.) Of the Tartars who are subject to the empire of Ruffia our author has delineated the manners and cuftoms with much impreffive effect; and, in conclufion, observes, (p. 53.) that Rouffeau, the crude and vifionary reveries of whofe diftempered brain, with regard to the fuperior happiness and virtue of favage life, Mr. P. every where defervedly fcouts, "might, with far more plausibility, have enquired concerning the perfection and happiness of man, among thefe fpirited and gay tribes of barbarians, than among the favages of Africa or America." Indeed the whole account of Afiatic Ruffia, especially the fourth chapter, which, as our readers have been already informed, is dedicated to the natural geography, is highly entertaining, and not lefs inftructive. In that part of it, however, which treats of the religion of these wandering wandering hordes, we meet with a remark of which we are unable to comprehend the tendency, or, indeed, the fenfe. "The eastern Tatars," our author observes, are generally addicted to the Schaman religion, a fyftem chiefly founded on the felf-existence of matter, a fpiritual world, and the general reftitution of all things. The Schamanians even believe that the Burchans, or gods themselves, arose from the general mass of matter and fpirit. Their epochs of deftruction and reftitution fomewhat resemble thofe of the Hindoos. While common fouls immediately receive their final decree, the virtuous become chubils, or wandering fpirits, who are purified by tranfmigration, fo as alfo to become Burchans, or gods. Between men and gods are the Tengri, or spirits of the air, who direct fublunary affairs, and all the trifles fo important to man, but beneath the moft remote attention of the gods. The infernal regions chiefly contain those who have offended the priesthood." (Pp. 47.) After mentioning fome of the other tenets of Schamanism, and the wide extent of country over which it is diffused, infomuch that "fome have afferted it to be the most prevalent fyftem on the globe," Mr. P. adds: "But as the Schamanians admit one chief infernal deity and his fubalterns, authors of evil, fo they believe in one fupreme uncreated beneficent being, who commits the management of the universe to inferior deities, who delegate portions of it to fubaltern spirits. With more philofophy they might fuppofe that evil cannot exift except in matter, and that an evil fpirit is a contradiction in terms." (P. 48.) Now what philofophy there is in the fuppofition that evil cannot exist but in matter, or why an evil fpirit fhould be a contradiction, our ingenious geographer has not explained, and we confefs ourselves totally at a lofs to conceive. Evil, in our opinion, has no existence; but as it relates to fentient beings. With regard to thefe, matter, confidered as a cause, or rather as a means, may be equally the fource of both evil and good; but certainly, when good and evil are confidered as effects, matter is equally indifferent to both. The ancient philofophers, indeed, who believed, like the Schamanians, that matter is felf-exiftent, and eternal, talked of it as the parent of all evil; but if, in their fubtile difquifitions on this fubject, they meant any thing by evil but what has been called "the evil of imperfection,' their theory is unintelligible. The evil of imperfection, however, is as easily affociated with the idea of spirit as with that of matter. And with regard to the existence of evil fpirits, taking evil in the proper fenfe of malignant, we have no occafion for refined fpeculations in order to afcertain the fact, whatever hypothefis we may chufe to adopt with a view to account for it. A very fmall acquaintance with human life is fufficient to furnish most indifputable and diftreffing proofs of it. It is not often that we meet in Mr. P. with fentiments of this equivocal kind. In another part of his book, however, he has dropped, with regard to this very fubject, a reflection which we think it would be altogether inconfiftent with our duty to the public to pass without proper animadverfion. In fpeaking of the Mandfhurs, or Tungufes, M 2 |