and all other writers, it consists of three sects. The first is that of Confucius The system of this remarkable man largely partook of a refined Atheism. While he did not much encourage the worship of the gods, he did not oppose it; he left the people very much to themselves. The disciples of this philosopher, if they were heedless of the gods, took special care to honour their master. Dr. Medhurst states:

They even go the length of paying him divine honours; for it appears, by reference to a native work, that there are upwards of 1,560 temples dedicated to Confucius; and, at the spring and autumnal sacrifices, there are offered to him, six bullocks, 27,000 pigs, 5,800 sheep, 2,800 deer, and 27,000 rabbits; making a total of 62,606 animals, immolated annually to the manes of Confucius, besides 27,600 pieces of silk; all provided by the government, in addition to the numerous offerings presented to him by private individuals. Thus, have these atheistical people deified the man, who taught them that matter was eternal, and that all existences originated in a mere principle.

Confucius gave himself little trouble about the gods, and seemed to think that their worship was a thing to be winked at rather than encouraged amongst the vulgar. Dr. Medhurst goes

on :

When one of his disciples asked him how he was to serve spiritual beings, he replied, "not being able to serve men, how can you serve spirits?" And when the disciple continued to enquire about the dead, the sage replied, "not knowing the state of the living, how can you know the state of the dead" His universal maxim was, "Respect the gods, but keep them at a distance;" that is, show them all due honour, but have as little to do with them as possible. It is customary with the Chinese, to attach a presiding spirit to each dynasty and kingdom, to the land and grain, to hills and rivers, wind and fire; while the four corners of the house, with the shop, parlour, and kitchen, of every dwelling, are supposed to be under the influence of some tutelary divinity. To these the sage considered it necessary to pay the accustomed honours, but was decidedly averse to what he called flattering the gods by constant services.

The next of the three sects is that of Taou. The worship of this class is more gross and suited to the taste of the millions:

One of these solemnities is celebrated on the third day of the third moon, when the votaries of Taou go bare foot over ignited charcoal, by which they fancy that they triumph over the demons they dread, and please the gods they adore. On the anniversary of the birth of the "high emperor of the sombre heavens," they assemble to

gether before the temple of this imaginary being, and having made a great fire, about fifteen or twenty feet in diameter, they go over it bare foot, preceded by the priests, and bearing the gods in their arms. The previous ceremonies consist of the chanting of prayers, the ringing of bells, the sprinkling of holy water, the blowing of horns, and the brandishing of swords, with which they strike the fire, in order to subdue the demon, and then dash through the devouring element. Much earnestness is manifested by those who officiate on these occasions; and they firmly believe, that if they possess a sincere mind, they will not be injured by the fire but alas! their hearts must be very bad, as both priests and people get miserably burnt on these occasions. Yet the benefit supposed to accrue from the service is such, that the public willingly contribute large sums to provide the sacrifices, and to pay the performers. The surrounding mob seem to take a great interest in this ceremony; and when they set up their boisterous shoutings, and rush through the fire, seem to be literally mad upon their idols.

What is called " dancing the god" seems to be a favourite amusement with

the people. Dr. Medhurst gives the following illustration :

The author happened once to be present when such a scene was exhibited; the house where it was enacted, was nearly full of spectators; and at the head of the room, near the altar-piece, stood a priest performing various incantations, and now and then striking the floor with a rope which he held in his hand. He then approached a bench, on which sat a native in a pensive mood, over whose head he blew a horn and rang a bell, and went through a few more ceremonies; when the man referred to began to move his fingers, hands, and arms, then his knees and legs, till his whole body became convulsed, and he sprang up and danced round the room like a madman. Just as he was in the act of falling, he was caught by the bye-standers, who listened attentively to what he might have to say, and stood ready to record every expression. The occasion of the ceremony was the dangerous illness of an inmate, for whom they wished to obtain an infallible prescription. The possessed soon announced the requisite remedy, which was something about three skeins of red thread, and half an ounce of carpenter's chips, to be boiled down in a pint of water, and a teacupful given occasionally. After the unfolding of this wonderful recipe, the individual sank down into a sort of swoon, and was carried out.

The Confucians and Taouists are both eclipsed by the vast community of the Buddhists. Those miserable idolaters seem to cover the land. The Doctor's account is the following:

The empire is now full of Buddhist temples, and the priests of this sect, actually swarm. They profess to renounce all family connections-take a vow of celibacy-shave

their heads-dwell in temples-abstain from animal food-and subsist on the voluntary contributions of the people. The gods they worship, are the three precious Buddhasthe past, present, and future; Kwan-yin, the goddess of mercy, the goddess of the small-pox, the patroness of barren women, the god of wealth, &c. The three Buddhas are generally represented half-naked, with woolly hair, in a sitting posture; one holding the mundane egg in his lap; one adorned with the sacred thread; and one with his finger upraised, as though engaged in instructing mankind. In front of the three images, or in a separate temple, is an image of the goddess of mercy; in a niche, on one side, the god of war; and, on the other, the protectress of seamen. A high table, for candles and incense, stands before the images; and in the centre of the temple is a large iron caldron, for burning gilt paper in on either side the hall, are placed a bell and a drum, to arouse the attention of the god, when important personages come to adore him; and a few cushions and mats, on which the worshippers kneel, make up the furniture of a Buddhist temple. They have no Sabbaths nor periodical seasons of rest; but observe the new and full moon, with particular solemnity, and keep, on the whole, 162 fast-days every year, besides the matins and vespers of each day.

There is something remarkable in the fact that much of the mummery of Rome has been filched from the Buddhists. The following is the testimony of Dr. Medburst:

The points of coincidence are many and striking. The celibacy, tonsure, professed poverty, secluded abodes, and peculiar dress of the priests; the use of the rosary, candles, incense, holy water, bells, images, and relics, in their worship; their belief in purgatory, with the possibility of praying souls out of its fires; the offering up of prayers in a strange language, with their incessant repetition; the pretension to miracles; the similarity of their altar-pieces, and the very titles of their intercessors, such as "goddess of mercy," 66 holy mother," " queen of heaven," with the image of a virgiu, having a child in her arms, holding a cross, are all such striking coincidences, that the Catholic missionaries were greatly stumbled at the resemblance between the Chinese worship and their own, when they came over to convert the natives to Christianity; and some of them thought, that the author of evil had induced these pagans to imitate the manners of holy mother church, in order to expose her ceremonies to shame.

Such is a glimpse of the religious economy of this, the greatest and most ancient of Empires; such is the condition of the field which the Churches of England are about to cultivate. The differences of the three sects of religionists are of small importance. They all agree in that which constitutes the iniquity of

the system. Their differences are in words; in things they are agreed. Dr. Medhurst sums up his testimony as follows:

Another circumstance, in which the three religions of China resemble each other, is their atheism. The Confucians derive their diagrams, or mystic numbers. from the extreme point or nullity; the Taouists talk of myriads of concretions, producing emptiness, and the Buddhist system is founded in nonentity. "No first cause" characterizes all the sects; and the Supreme, self-existent God is scarcely traceable through the entire range of their metaphysics; and yet, the Chinese manage to combine the apparently irreconcileable principles of atheism and polytheism. "Gods many, and lords many," are adopted by every sect, and it is more easy to find a god than a man in China. Though they account no divinity to be eternal, yet they discover a god in every thing. Their temples, houses, streets, roads, hills, rivers, carriages, and ships are full of idols every room, niche, corner, door, and window, is plastered with charms, amulets, and emblems of idolatry: so that while they acknowledge no god, they are overrun with gods, and find it their greatest burthen to support and worship their numerous pan

THE CHINESE CHRISTIANS. SOME of the books issued by the Chinese insurgents, who have embraced Christian doctrines, prove the remarkable correctness of many of their views, though unhappily there is much error mixed with the truth. In the digest of their books made by the Rev. Dr. Medhurst, are the following prayer, doxology, and version of the Commandments:

"I, A. B., kneeling down with a true heart, repent of my sins, and pray the heavenly Father, the great God, of his abundant mercy, to forgive my former sins of

ignorance, in repeatedly breaking the Divine commands, earnestly beseeching him also to grant me repentance and newness of life, that my soul may go to heaven, while I from henceforth truly forsake my former ways, abandoning idolatry and all corrupt practices, in obedience to God's commands. I also pray that God would give me his Holy Spirit, to change my wicked heart, deliver me from all temptation, and grant me his favour and protection, bestowing upon me food and raiment, and exemption from calamity; peace in this world, and glory in the next, through the merits of our Saviour and Elder Brother, Jesus, who redeemed us from sin. I also pray that God's will may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Amen."

On Sundays the following doxology is to be said or sung:

"We praise thee, O God, our heavenly Father;

"We praise Jesus, the Saviour of the world;

"We praise the Holy Spirit, the Sacred Intelligence;

"We praise the Three Persons, united as one true Spirit."

The above is followed by a verse of a hymn, namely:

The true doctrine is different from the doctrine of the world;

"It saves men's souls, and affords the enjoyment of endless bliss.

The wise receive it at once, with joyful exultation;

"And the foolish, when awakened, understand thereby the way to heaven.

"Our heavenly Father, of his infinite and incomparable mercy,

"Did not spare his own Son, but sent him down into the world,

"To give his life for the redemption of all our transgressions.

"When men know this, and repent of their sins, they may go to heaven.”

Then follow the Ten Commandments: "1. Worship the great God.

"2. Do not worship depraved spirits. "3. Do not take God's name in vain: his name is Jehovah.

"4. On the seventh day is the Sabbath, when you must praise God for his goodness." (Their Sabbath occurs on the same day as our Sunday.)

"5. Honour father and mother. "6. Do not kill or injure people.

"7. Do not commit adultery, or practice any uncleanness." (Under this command opium or foreign tobacco is forbidden.) "8. Do not steal.

"9. Do not lie.

"10. Do not covet."

THIS publication, we are satisfied, will be read with avidity by multitudes to whom Mr. Kettle's character and labours are known. The circumstance, also, of his friends having succeeded to enlist the popular pen of Mr. Reid-a magnate among the Temperance men of the North -will conduce not a little to the confidence with which the volume will be received, and the favour which will be accorded to it. The course of Mr. Kettle was, in several respects, remarkable: he was a self-made man. Talents, principles, position, pursuits, and associations, all contributed to make him what he was -an ornament to society, and a blessing to mankind. The sketch bere given by Mr. Reid is striking and graphic. Notwithstanding it is pressed into the closest dimensions, it comprises a large body of facts, and can scarcely fail to be read without the deepest interest, as well as much improvement, by young men. Endowed with a buoyant spirit, and a solid as well as active intellect, even his boyhood was susceptible of intellectual enjoyment. He was one of a multitude of young men that were aroused by the

fiery stream which issued from the mouth of Chalmers, astonishing old and young, small and great, in the Tron Church, Glasgow. The lad soon reached the conclusion, that "Chalmers was the finest preacher of the present age, and one of the ablest champions of the religion of the Bible that has appeared since the days of Paul." He was not very far wrong in this estimate; and when the great orator was assailed in the Glasgow Chronicle, he had the audacity to transmit a spirited reply, under the signature of "A Citizen.' This was his first appearance in the public prints. Some of his friends were not a little surprised when they ascertained the author; Mr. Kelly saying, Aye, Robie, I did na ken ye was a scribbler." Robie, however, having escaped after his first experiment, was not forward to appear again, observing, "It gives rise to disagreeable feelings, and my nerves are not strong enough for such warfare." Poor fellow! he little knew what he would ultimately be enabled to go through. But this shrinking modesty always bodes well for ultimate success.

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Mr. Reid minutely and vividly details the origin of the Temperance cause in Scotland, with the labours of Mr. Dunlop and Mr. Kettle, and the formation of the Society in Glasgow. This leads the way to many curious facts and narratives of battles about Toast-drinking, the Claims and Wrongs of the Stomach, Lunatic Asylums, the Free Church Report upon the State of Religion, and "The Drunkard in the Pulpit.' Mr. Kettle is then adduced, with great copiousness, stating his views on the Wine Question, the Short Pledge, the Traffic, and Legislative Interference.

The career of Mr. Kettle was an upward as well as an onward one; public confidence increased at every step, and he became the familiar friend and ally of many of the wise, the good, and the philanthropic in the city of Glasgow. The portraiture drawn by Mr. Reid of his Christian character, personal appearance, intellectual power, happy disposition, benevolence, humility, and piety, is singularly captivating. He appears to have been born for friendship, and made to be loved. He is not, however, to be connected with a lady of the same name, who has attained to great distinction on the roll of Christian Biography; for he was never married. He seems altogether to have been a man richly adorned with the social graces, and to have left behind him, in every acquaintance, a friend and a mourner. He wrote well, spoke well, lived well, and died well.

To the Memorial Sketch is subjoined a very interesting batch of Temperance Memorials, consisting of seven parts, containing many important facts, much wholesome counsel, a stream of wellfounded remonstrance, and a valuable embodiment of moral statistics. The book is altogether a most valuable addition to the class of Temperance publications. Its study must be beneficial to all; and it will operate especially as a corrective to the hot-headed, misguided men who have, with the best intentions, done a world of mischief, and created the very obstacles they affect to deplore.

Memoir of Richard Williams, Surgeon; Catechist to the Patagonian Missionary Society in Sierra Del Fuego. By JAMES HAMILTON, D.D. Nisbet and Co.

THE friends of Mr. Williams have been happy in enlisting the accomplished pen of Dr. Hamilton, who can make much

of a small subject, and even add dignity to a great one. In the present case he has, in his own happiest style, embalmed the memory of an excellent individual, in a manner such as will not disappoint his numerous readers and admirers. But little hitherto has been known of the important Mission to which the volume directs. Those who desire more information concerning it are referred to "Hope Deferred not Lost: a Narrative of Missionary Effort in South America, by Rev. George Despard, Secretary of the Patagonian Missionary Society," who supplied Dr. Hamilton with valuable material for the present publication.

After a brief sketch of the early days of Mr. Williams, who was a native of Dursley, Gloucestershire, and born in the year 1815, we are treated to an interesting narrative concerning his conversion, experience, and usefulness, which opens the way for the Mission, to which the rest of the volume is devoted. After briefly sketching the Mission, we have an account of the voyage, which is copious and interesting. At length we reach a scene of toil, and trial, and suffering, summed up by a dreadful chronicle of sickness and famine. After stating his facts, Dr. Hamilton, in a brief but luminous conclusion, sets forth what may be designated the practical lessons taught by the subject. We admire the fidelity of the writer, who testifies against the initial blunder, which induced those men, divided between two little boats, to venture into a sea so wild, and among natives so treacherous, and in such an expedition that all men of sense will say that a strong ship, ably manned and well supplied, was the true economy. He laments the over-sanguine calculation, which, for an imprisonment of uncertain duration, provided supplies so very limited, and contends that it was by no means prudent generalship, but a foolhardy trust in the chapter of accidents, for its commissariat to draw on the uncaught fish and fowl of Fuegia, and the unpurchased beef of Montevideo. The volume, as a whole, presents a great lesson to all and sundry the friends of Missionary operations, and in particular to those who, like the late Mr. Irvine, affected to contemn the prudential arrangements of modern Missionary Societies, and who called upon men to go forth like the Apostles, "without either purse or scrip." With the Master's command, and miraculous provision, that might still be done; and Mr. Orme, in the

name of the London Missionary Society, in good faith, assured Mr. Irvine, that if he were disposed to go, the Society would be glad to accept his services.

Rambles of an Evangelist. By the Rev. JAMES KENDALL. Hamilton and Co.

MR. KENDALL is decidedly a man of genius, with a dash of eccentricity in the character of wit and sarcasm, and a strong spice of originality. While the present volume may be read with interest and instruction by all, it will be especially so among the Methodist Body. Johnson's Tour to the Hebrides is, in our judgment, incalculably inferior, both in interest and importance.

Our worthy

author, after a few racy and characteristic pages of an introductory nature, commences with a chapter on British Scenery, after which his commission, properly speaking, opens; and here we are treated to a succession of chapters ranging throughout England and Scotland, terminating with Leyton and London. Every page of the book is replete with fascination and amusement. It abounds in facts calculated to illustrate not simply Methodism, but British society, throwing not a little light both on men and books. It is interspersed with biographical touches of a happy and curious character. Mr. Kendall, although an Englishman, seems superior to a pitiful nationality, and hence he does excellent justice to Scotland, with whose people he appears to have been peculiarly at home, finding among all denominations men congenial to his tastes and mental habitudes. The book is one of a class that a man could read interminably; and, perhaps, there are few who will not regret when they reach its close, for it presents a laudable example of condensation. The writer's study has been, not how much, but how little, he could say, doing something like justice to his subject. When he got to London, amidst a multitude of curious things and important people, he was anxious to see an editor, real live editor, in his own proper place -his official study, and at his proper work;" and he adds, I succeeded in my attempt, and realised what, to a reading man, as such, is a greater enjoyment than the sight of all the menageries, museums, and picture-galleries in the world." Our wit saw a number, and he testifies that he found all of them free and hearty in their conversations; "criticism," he says, had of course, of the best sort; for where should a man get this commodity pure and genuine, if not in the official study of an editor? Oh! how we did talk! and how warm and comfortable to my feelings was the fact, that I-yea even I-with all my infirmities, was recognised, thanked, and encouraged to go on in my own peculiar department of book writing." Just so, by all means, worthy man, go on, and all success to you!

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We should like, as we have said before, to a uniform edition of Mr. Kendall's writings; for they possess a freshness, a raciness, an originality, a point, a wit, and a vivacity such as belong to those of no other

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Methodist writer in these realms. Mr. Kendall may claim descent from Dr. South, relationship to John Berridge, Rowland Hill, and Matthew Wilks. It is impossible to give the honest man higher praise. has never been allowed to take rank with th magnates of Methodism; but we predict for him respect and usefulness in the generations to come, when the bulk of them shall have been forgotten.

The Globe Prepared for Man. A Guide to Geology. W. J. Adams.

THERE was room enough for this very interesting publication, by which a great subject has been, to a large extent, simplified and popularized. The volume is framed with a view to public schools; and it cannot too soon constitute a portion of liberal education. The book was avowedly framed, in the first instance, in the shape of Notes for the instruction of a learner, whilst examining a small cabinet of fossils. In collecting information for the purpose, the most important authors were read, and the results at last expanded into the present volume, which offers the essence of Lyell, Mantell, Buckland, Miller, Bakewell, Richardson, and Anstead. The Author has done a really good service to the cause of public instruction. Time was, and that but lately, when the discoveries made in Natural History, by the study of Geology, excited alarm in the public mind, lest, forsooth, they should lead to statements at variance with the revealed account of the Creation! The brag and bluster of Infidelity tended to aggravate this solicitude. But there is now an end to that; and Geology, instead of being the antagonist of Revelation, is its handmaid.

Successful Men of Modern Times.-Monthly Series. Tract Society.

THIS is another of those invaluable Biographical digests, for which the public are already so much indebted to the Tract Society. The range is limited; but the subjects are great, and the principles which pervade it those of the best description. After some suitable introductory observations on the general subject, and the advantage to be derived from examples, we have Successful Merchants, Tradesmen, and Manufacturers; Engineers and Inventors; Artists, Painters, and Sculptors; Poets, Scholars, and Men of Science; Public Men; Warriors and Philanthropists, to which are added, Hints on Habits of Reading and Observation, as a means of social elevation. We have only to say of this, as we have often said of its predecessors, a better sixpennyworth is nowhere to be found.

Outlines of Universal History. Edited by HENRY WHITE. For the Use of Schools. Oliver and Boyd; Simpkin and Marshall. THIS masterly compend exhibits the subject under three heads: Ancient History-History of the Middle Ages-Modern History. Mr. White, in conjunction with Messrs. Oliver and Boyd, is doing admirable service to the cause of public instruction. We have now Great Britain and Ireland, France, Scotland, England, and Sacred History, t