dark impenetrable cloud blackening the records of our national existence.

"The man that blushes is not quite a brute;'

but these men delight in their infamy; like the noble productions in the fable, they shout with an ecstacy of self-admiration as they float down the broad stream of time,

"Lo! how we apples swim!"

Their tergiversation is as wonderful as their imbecility; in the words of Young, the Conservative party may now ask these pirouetting gentlemen, with reference to the notorious Appropriation clause, which was the lever by means of which the Conservative Cabinet was overthrown, and the Whig clique vaulted into place

"Why thunder'd this peculiar clause against us?"

The spoils of office and the perquisites of place are the penates of this worthless crew;

"Semperque recentes

Convectare juvat prædas, et vivere rapto."

They promised much to their country when they took office; and they have certainly fulfilled that promise to the letter. They have done much; but it has been mischief and not good. Deputations wait upon them, and swelling words of promise are as plentiful as blackberries; the time comes to redeem their pledge, or fulfil their promise, and each of them thinks it no crime to fling his promise to the winds, and accordingly

"Projicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba.”

We are entitled to ask the question: how long is this to last? Where is the feeling of the country, its religious sense, its manly and consistent dignity? Is there life in the nation? or has the deadly virus of Infidelity benumbed alike its extremities and its heart? It is no mere question of party. It is far more. Everything that is great and illustrious, all that is pure and heavenly, every dictate of religion and morality, of patriotism and of loyalty, calls for the removal of Ministers. Their criminality is the result of a thorough absence of principle, and not the chance product of any fixed political opinions. They pos sess the property of the chameleon, and display to public gaze the profligate exhibition of a Cabinet changing hue with every pressure from without; assuming the complexion of every enemy of the state in rotation, and tinging their policy with an alternation of the leaven of Popery or of Infidelity, as their supporters may require or their Irish task-master demand.

What should we think of the man who, intrusted with the

care of a noble craft, walking the waters like a thing of life, should desert her in the storm, and leave her to the raging blast? who, when perils gathered round her pathless track, and the pealing thunder, the quick flash, the wild commotion of wind and wave, the raging fury of the hurricane, and the impetuous roar of the tempest strike terror into the heart of the bravest and every timber in the noble vessel groans as she toils through the foaming waters, should abandon her to the fury of the elements, and give her helm to the demon of the storm?

A far heavier weight of responsibility, and consequently a far weightier amount of criminality, rests upon the shoulders of the man who, intrusted with the guardianship of the first empire in the world, at a time when peril blacks the sky, and the deep foundations of the country rock to the centre with the accumulated violence of the tempest, can consent to leave the kingdom to its fate, and madly throw the reins of government to the man who has convulsed the empire and agitated the political elements

into strife.

Yet this is precisely our position; and the thought is tenfold embittered by the memory of former Cabinets. The Administration which, "noble in defeat," made way for these shadows of statesmen, was in every respect worthy the nation. What might not England have expected with a Cabinet headed by the living model of Britain's chivalry and the unrivalled Peel?* But we do not despair. The illustrious statesman who

* Unrivalled, as Sir Robert Peel certainly is, in talent; unmatched in eloquence, and without a rival in political experience, tact, and judgment; with a mind of vast capacities, stored with knowledge, and elevated by genius, and endowed with all the virtues that command our admiration and our love; we do not, and we never can, forget his fatal abandonment of principle, and betrayal of his country, in the year 1829. It was a severe lesson to his country not to repose confidence in "any son of man." We deeply deplore the fall of so eminent a statesman. It admits of no extenuation, and we offer none. His star was at its zenith, and in the full blaze of its meridian splendour sank in the turgid gloom of blind expediency. He has suffered severely for it. While he has seen men who were consistent to the last in their opposition to the claims of the Papists go down to their graves in peace and tranquillity, with the honours and the gratitude of their country, undisturbed and uncursed by the bigotry of the Papist; he has himself been the constant mark of the very men he admitted into the citadel of the constitution; their coarsest insults have been heaped upon him; and every opportunity to annoy, perplex, calumniate, and disgrace him, has been seized upon with eager avidity. He cannot fail to have perceived the hand of retributive justice dealing out its righteous judgment in the events of the last ten years. We trust that our confident anticipations

has guided the noble vessel safely through shoals and breakers, has been obliged to relinquish his post by a base intrigue, and the rudder has passed into a feebler grasp. Dangers thicken, and calamity and disaster crowd every section of the hemisphere. Ruin stares us in the face. Shall we sink? The thought were madness! What then? The alternative is at hand. Let the only men who can save the vessel from striking on the rock, or driving on the quicksand, be summoned to the helm. Let the voice of England be heard above the roar of elemental strife and the wild commotion of the storm, calling upon her former Ministry to re-occupy their posts, and save the rapidly sinking State. And they will return. Yes, and at no distant day. The necessity for their return is paramount, and its certainty is obvious. And they will re-enter upon their high and arduous functions with far greater applause, and with a more cordial shout of approbation from the British people, than had they never quitted office. Their names will live, the eulogies of history will be lavished upon them, and their memories be enshrined in the hearts of the myriads of posterity. Unborn generations will learn to lisp the record of their greatness, and their fame will be wafted down the tide of time, brilliant with the undying lustre of a nation's gratitude. But what is more than this, and what they will esteem as of far greater value, they will, in the sublime achievement of saving their country, their religion, and their Queen, have secured the grateful and the lasting admiration of the CHRISTIAN WORLD.

"Cuncti adsint, meritæque expectent præmia palmæ !

General Literature.

Beginnings of a New School of Metaphysies. By B. H. SMART. London Richardson. 1839.

THIS is a speculative work, capable of greatly interesting those who are devoted to metaphysical inquiries; but one of which, we suspect, the examination would scarcely be acceptable to many of our readers. It certainly displays a very considerable degree of ingenuity.

may be realized, and that his re-accession to office may be characterised by a manly avowal of his past sin. The stability of his Administration will depend upon it. Protestantism will prove his protecting ægis: political expediency will produce his speedy downfal.

A Key to the Hebrew Scriptures, &c. By the Rev. JAMES PROSSER, A. M., Perpetual Curate of Loudwater, Bucks. London: Duncan. 1838.

MR. PROSSER has constructed his work on the plan of the Clavis Homerica; consequently, a dictionary of the Hebrew will remain as necessary as ever for many purposes. The author has proceeded on the wild notions of Parkhurst, and considered the Hebrew not only as the most ancient, but as "evidently the parent of all other languages," than which no one theoretical notion is cherished which may be more easily overthrown. The proofs, which are offered of its philosophical accuracy belong also to the Hutchinsonian school.

We fearlessly affirm, that the short grammar, which is prefixed to the Vocabulary, will not enable any one properly to understand the Hebrew language; many indispensable rules are wanting, and others are not sufficiently developed. Although the writer has a rooted objection to the vowel points, the nature of many nouns and the reason of many inflexions cannot well be explained without their aid; and the deficiencies of his own grammar are strong proofs of their utility. We do not hold them to be infallible authorities in the interpretation of the Scriptures; but we maintain that they elucidate the grammar of the language. In the syntax, the adjective is shown to generally agree with its substantive in gender and number, and the verb to generally agree with its noun in gender, number, and person; but no instances are given where the adjective and verb disagree with them; but such, with the supposed causes of disagreement, are required in a grammar. No instance is given of the adjective standing before the substantive, and no cause for this construction is assigned;-none of feminine nouns being joined to verbs in the masculine, and no notice is even taken of the plural of excellence. The conversivum futuri is not mentioned yet in the praxis we have examples of it, which the grammar is not in a condition to explain.

The vocabulary itself is too short to allow the pupil to judge for himself of the truths of the interpretations given: examples from other passages should have been added; and even if the space was too limited for full extracts, references to such by figures should have been made. Some of the derivations are in our opinion wrong, as that of ELOHIM; and it is evident that errors of this description must occur, where the Hebrew is considered to be in a state to explain itself without the help of other tongues. We confess that we can perceive but little utility in Mr. Prosser's work.

Diatessaron; or, the History of our Lord Jesus Christ. Compiled from the four Gospels according to the authorized Versions. Oxford: Parker. 1837.

Lectures explanatory of the Diatessaron; or, the History of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Collected from the four Gospels in the form of a Continuous Narrative. By JOHN DAVID MACBRIDE, D. C. L., Principal of Magdalene Hall. Oxford: Parker. 1838.

THIS Diatessaron is formed on the model of that published by the late Dr. White; and the Lectures, which are written to explain it, although compendious, convey much original information, and condense or notice the more useful parts of other labours in harmonizing the Gospels. The history of the books, of the text, and of the versions is given in epitome; and if a full index had been added to the volume, its utility would have been greatly increased. There are many critical remarks of a peculiar felicity, much practical matter of deep importance, with discussions branching out of particular subjects, which deserve a high place in literary estimation. For instance, from the institution of the Lord's Supper, occasion is taken to enter into the doctrine of transubstantiation, which is first historically treated, and then most convincingly disproved. In the Gospels the events which each Evangelist relates, not to be found in the others, are set forth, and the apparent discrepancies in the different accounts of the same events are reconciled by a very clear and satisfactory process. The history of the crucifixion is detailed with singular ability, and the impelling causes are exhibited in a masterly way; but the most valuable portion of this branch of the general subject is the luminous demonstration of the very minute fulfilment of prophecy, and the explanation of many of our Saviour's motives. Thus, when Christ exclaimed Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, his object doubtless was to draw the attention of all to the Psalm, which these words commenced, because in it his sufferings and the circumstances attendant on them were most graphically pourtrayed. The appearances also after the Resurrection are determined with great care and proof is offered for every assertion, probability for every conjecture. The Lectures are in all respects superior to Macknight's work; and they will be found more generally useful than Greswell's, because the profound investigations of the latter seem to confine it to the learned. It is a summum opus, calculated to add to the evidences of Christianity, and to ground the Christian in his faith.