to infinite knowledge they may be all perfectly known. There can be no such thing as contingency, strictly and metaphysically speaking, so long as the relation between effect and cause exists, which if annihilated, the whole natural and moral world must be subverted. Whatever is contingent may either be or not be; and it certainly does appear contradictory, to say that God has appointed events either to take place or not, or that he has ordained that there shall be some events which may either Occur or not. This hypothesis logically tends to the conclusion that God may not know what he may hereafter know, and limits the Divine perfections; and the hypothesis of some Calvinists that-because all the events that transpire in the world, were foreknown to God as what would certainly take place, they were appointed by God as what must necessarily this tends to the conclusion, that God is the author and instigator of human action, and makes him “altogether such a being as themselves," with regard to his moral

nature.

On the latter part of Onesimus' letter respecting the nature of the Divine subsistence, I have only to say, that the less we speculate on this subject, the better. We may reason a little on the Divine attributes, because there is much revealed respecting them; but of the nature of the Divine subsistence, we can know nothing, we can reason nothing, because nothing is revealed. We are just as much in the dark here, as were the ancient heathen philosophers; and as one said to his sovereign, who required him to define what God was, that the more he thought of the subject, the more he was confounded, and the less able to give a satisfactory answerso must it be with us, when we attempt to reason on the manner in which the Supreme Being exists. We know a little of our own powers and properties, and can reason certainly about them; but of the nature of our existence, or of what is life, we know nothing, and precisely on the same account as in the former case, because nothing is revealed or made known to us by Him that gave us being.

I must, however, just observe, in conclusion, that where Dr. Clarke says that "God dwells in every point of Eternity," he can hardly mean to be understood only in reference to the Divine attribute of Omniscience; if so, it is an expression that would be likely to mislead any one, with regard to his real meaning. And when the apostle John speaks of God as "He who is, and was, and is to come,"

I should understand him merely as asserting, that as God now exists, and has always existed, so he will always continue to exist; and not that the apostle intimates that the Divine subsistence has any relation to past, present, and future, which are terms applicable only to finite creatures. It is extremely difficult to divest ourselves of the tendency to think of finites when we are reasoning about infinites. We may speak of duration before time, and duration after time, that is, before and after that portion of it which is measured and divided into equal parts, but the metaphysical terms invented by the schools, eternitas a parte ante, and eternitas a parte post, are absurdities. It is dividing eternity into two parts, or rather, making two eternities. Eternity is duraration without beginning and without ending, and time is a certain measured portion of it. Eternity may be feebly represented to the mind by the idea we have of the circumference of a circle, in which there is neither beginning nor ending. By taking from the circumference of a circle, say an inch, and dividing it into a hundred parts, you do not divide the remainder into two parts; so neither does time divide eternity into two parts, that a parte ante, and that a parte post. Eternity, in another view, is a mathematical point, in which there are no dimensions, and of which no possible computation can be made; consequently, the uncaused and infinite Being must actually exist “in every point of eternity," and there can be to Him neither past, present, nor future. EUPHRONIUS.

GLEANINGS.

Dr. Heber.-An elegant sepulchral monument is erecting at Calcutta, to the memory of Dr. Heber. Christianity in Barbadoes.-The Rev. W. M. Harte, the rector of the parish of St. Lucy, in this island, the same individual who dared, two years ago, to intermarry the only couple of slaves ever married in Barbadoes, has given mortal offence to his parishioners by preaching the doctrines of Christian equality too broadly, without a sufficient mixture of exhortations to passive obedience on the part of the negroes! The parishioners have petitioned the bishop to remove this plain-speaking pastor.

Longevity.-Died at Falmouth, (Jamaica,) on the 7th of April, 1827, Rebecca Fury, a black woman, at the extreme age of 140 years, which has been correctly traced from the deeds of her owners. The descendants of her youngest daughter, consist of 10 grand-children, 34 great grandchildren, and one great great grand-child-45 in number, 25 of whom are still alive. Rebecca retained her reason entire to the last.

Activity." I have lived," said the indefatigable Dr. E. D. Clarke, "to know, that the great secret of human happiness is this: never suffer your energies to stagnate. The old adage of " too many irons in the fire," conveys an abominable lie. You cannot have too many; poker, tongs, and allkeep them all going."

Monument to Franklin.-On the 15th of June the first stone of the Franklin monument was laid at Boston. "This monument is ordered to be erected by the citizens of Boston, in the Granary burying-ground, to the memory of Benjamin Franklin, over the tomb in which repose the remains of both his parents." It is a pyramid, twentyfive feet high, and formed of blocks of granite of about six tous weight each, taken from the Bun kerhill monument quarry.-Literary Chronicle.

Slave Trade. This abominable practice, we regret to find, is still prosecuted with energy from the island of Cuba. By an arrival at Charleston we learn, that "a schooner from the coast of Africa, with 250 negroes, came to an anchor about four leagues off Trinidad de Cuba, on the 29th June, 1827. It is established, by authentic documents, that the slave captains throw into the sea every year about 8,000 blacks, men, women, and children, of whom more than half are thus sacrificed while yet alive, either to escape from cruisers, or because, worn down by their sufferings, they could not be sold to advantage.-New Harmony Gazette.

Mode of destroying Fleas in New South Wales.Mr. Cunningham says that when the blankets are infested with these vermin, the settlers spread them beside an ant-hill. To this fertile field the ants quickly resort, seizing and carrying off to their nest, as lawful prey, every flea they can find.

Musk Duck.-The same author also informs us, that in the same colony they have an animal called the musk duck, from its smelling strongly of musk. It is an inhabitant of the rivers, and has neither wings nor feathers, but a species of quill somewhat like the penguin.

Machine for Digging Potatoes.-Mr. Michael Bury, of Swords, New England, has invented a machine, simple in its construction and principle, by which, with two horses and the attendant, an acre of potatoes can be dug out in one hour.-Also, an acre of ground, previously ploughed for oats or other grain, can be harrowed by it in an hour with two horses and one attendant, thereby effecting, in the branch of harrowing, a saving of upwards of 93 per cent., or in other words, doing the work of 32 horses and six attendants with two horses and one attendant.

Elephant's Tooth. An elephant's tusk was lately discovered, imbedded about four feet deep, in a lime quarry near Coventry.

The Character of David. A Series of Essays, addressed to Youth. By John Newstead, 18mo. 1s.

Orme's (Rev. Wm.) Defence of Missions in the Sandwich, and other Islands, in Reply to an Article on Missions, in a late Number of the Quarterly Review, 8vo. 3s.

Part 2 (vol. 2.) of Keyworth's Daily Expositor, to be completed in seven Quarterly Parts.

Expository Lectures on St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians, delivered in the Parish Church of St. Helens, Stonegate, York, by the Rev. John Acaster, Vicar of St. Helens. 8vo. 9s.

Poems on Friendship, Sin the Cause of Misery, &c. by F. Edwards.

Anti-slavery Monthly Reporter for August,

1827.

A Father's Reasons for Baptizing his Children, &c. By a lay member of the Church of England. A few Practical Observations on the Bankrupt Law. By a Man of Business.

Carmen Natale, a sacred Melody, by H. John Gauntlett; the Words by the late Rev. Legh Richmond, 1s. 6d.

A Summary View of Christian Principles: comprising the Doctrines peculiar to Christianity as a System of Revealed Truth, by Thomas Finch, 5s. 6d.

A Vocabulary to the Edipus Rex of Sophocles, containing the English Signification, &c. on the plan of the Charterhouse Vocabularies, for the use of Schools, by George Hughes, A. M., 12mo. 2s. 6d.

An Introduction to the Knowledge of Engraved British Portraits; or, a Priced Catalogue of more than Three Thousand Prints described in Grainger's Biographical History of England, Bromley's Catalogue of Portraits, &c. 8vo. 12s.

Religion in India, a Voice directed to Christian Churches, for Millions in the East; Crown

Octavo, 9s.

A Poem descriptive of Henley-on-Thames and its immediate Environs.

Divine Hymns for the use of Children. By the Rev. Rowland Hill, M. A.

In the Press.

Second Edition of Cases and Observations on the Successful Treatment of Disorders of the Digestive Organs, Asthma, Deafness, Blindness, Lameness, &c., by Galvanism, &c. By M. La Beaume, Medical Galvanist and Surgeon-Electrician, F. L. S., &c.

A Treatise on the Cutaneous Diseases Incidental to Childhood, comprehending their Origin, Nature, Treatment, and Prevention. By Walter C. Dendy, Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary for Children, &c. &c. &c. Illustrated by Twenty-four coloured Delineations of the most important Diseases.

The Literary Souvenir for 1828.-The Literary Souvenir for 1828 (being the fourth volume of the splendid series published under the superintendence of Mr. Alaric Watts,) is in a state of great forwardness, and will make its appearance on the 1st of November. This work, independently of other decorations, will contain the following, 1. The much admired picture of " Juliet after the Masquerade." By James Thomson, Esq., R. A. 2. The Duke reading to the Duchess, (from Don Quixote.) By C. R. Leslie, Esq. R. A. 3. The Thief Discovered. By A. E. Chalon, Esq. R. A. 4. Medora watching from her turret the return of Conrad. By H. W. Pickersgill, Esq. R. A. 5. The Return of a Victorious Army to a Greek City. By W. Linton, Esq. 6. The last, and most authentic Portrait of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. By C. R. Leslie, Esq, R. A. 7. The Stolen Kiss. By W. Allan, Esq. A. 8. The Jewel of the Philippine Isles (from Gil Blas.) By A. E. Cholon, Esq. R. A. 9. Archery By W. Danby, Esq. A. 10. The Conversation; a Scene Champetre. By T. Stothard, Esq. R. A. 11. The Declaration. By R. Farrier, Esq. 12. Psyche borne by the Zephyrs to the Island of Pleas sure. By John Wood. 13. An Indian Scene. By William Westall, Esq. A. 14. The Love Letter; or, Maternal Advice. By J. Richter. 15. Love Tormenting Soul. From a picture by John Wood, The literary contents will be from the first writers of the age, including several pens not hitherto engaged in publications of this class.

Preparing for the Press.

The Rev. John Whitridge is preparing for immediate publication, 18mo, price Two Shillings, for the year 1828, a Scripture Diary; or, Christian Almanack comprising, a Chronological Arrange ment of the Holy Scriptures in Daily Portions, for reading the whole Bible within the Year; &c. &c.

Shortly will be published, in one volume, 12mo. The Old Irish Knight, an historical tale, by the Author of A Whisper to a Newly Married Pair, &c.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE EARL OF LIVERPOOL, AND HIS FAMILY.

(With a Portrait.)

ACCORDING to some genealogists, the family of Jenkinson came from the northern part of the kingdom, while others derive its origin from Wales, and assert that the name was Ap Jenkin, which the first of the line who settled in England, altered, for the sake of euphony, to a compound of the like signification, in the same way as Ap Hugh first changed his patroninymic to Pugh, and next to Hughson. Be all this as it may, there can be no doubt that Anthony Jenkinson, a famous navigator and merchant, in the middle of the sixteenth century, was the first who laid the fortune of this stock, and gave it distinction. The history of this Anthony Jenkinson, who has been passed over in silence by all our biographers, is so curious and interesting, that we shall stand in no need of an apology for introducing some account of him in the present memoir.

In 1557 he was appointed to command a small squadron, then fitted out to convey home the Muscovite ambassador, who had accompanied the unfortunate Captain Richard Chancellor from Archangel to England, but was shipwrecked on the coast of Scotland, where the brave commander perished; but the greater part of the crew and passengers escaped. On his arrival at the bay of St. Nicholas, in the White Sea, Jenkinson proceeded with the ambassador to Moscow, where he was graciously received by the emperor Iwan Basilovitch, who bestowed upon him many favours, and sent him to England with some valuable presents for the queen. In 1561, Jenkinson went on another mission, having for its object the opening of a regular channel of trade with Russia and Persia. He reached the ancient capital of the former empire on the 20th of August, and was detained there till the 27th of April in the following year, when he set out with letters of license and recommendation for Persia. After a voyage of six weeks down the river Volga, he reached 107.-VOL. IX.

[1827.

Astracan, from whence he proceeded along the shore of the Caspian sea to Derbent in Georgia, the ancient Hyrcania. From Derbent he travelled to Shabran, where he secured his goods within a tent, and rested while the governor, who treated him generously, despatched a messenger to the court at Shirvan with the news of his arrival. On the 12th of August, the king of Georgia sent forty-five camels for the conveyance of the stranger's goods, and a sufficient number of horses for the accommodation of himself and his suite. Thus protected, the ambassador departed, and on the 18th of the same month came safely to Shirvan. The next day he was conducted to the tent of the king, on the top of a lofty mountain, where he resided during the summer, on account of the violence of the heat. By this prince he was most hospitably entertained, and indulged with every favour which he demanded. After staying there and at Shirvan until the 6th of October, Jenkinson travelled by land to Casbin, in Persia, where the sophy, or sovereign of that empire, then kept his court. Here a Turk, who had been sent as ambassador from the grand signior, did all that lay in his power to ruin the English agent. Jenkinson, however, notwithstanding the intrigues of this formidable opponent, succeeded in gaining an audience, and on the 20th delivered the letters and presents of the queen of England to his Persian majesty. Notwithstanding this, his reception was very different from what he had experienced at Shirvan, and had it not been for the good offices of the king of Georgia and his son, who came on a visit to Casbin, he and his associates would have fallen a sacrifice to Turkish jealousy, and probably have been sent in chains to Constantinople. Still struggling, with a manly perseverance, to surmount the difficulties which surrounded him, Jenkinson continued at Casbin during the whole winter; and having at last satisfactorily concluded his public negociations with the monarch, and completed his private commissions in regard to trade, he set out on his return, March

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