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On Anger, &c.-Soundness of Mind.

no abiding place here. But for a man to die before his time! As if a man should complain of having his shakles knocked off, and being discharged from a prison, before his time. We are not to look upon death as banishment, or causes of mourning, as punishments, but only as tributes of mortality. It is a senseless thing to fear what we cannot shun.

4. Let us take heed of being over confident, and venturing at things beyond our strength; for no man is more liable to miscarriages than he that presumes too much upon himself. All our sufficiency and strength come from above, and we can do nothing of ourselves, without God's assistance: our presumption arises from too high a conceit of ourselves, and too mean a one of our adversaries; together with a rash headiness of nature, that understands neither reason nor business. The wise man is cautious, and adventures upon nothing, without first taking the measure of his own abilities; whereas, he that is over hasty and presumptuous, falls on without any consideration; and, after the first effort, when he finds the difficulty greater than he imagined it, his courage falls and faints; and he comes, at last, to an acknowledgment of the vanity and unadvisedness of his mistake. | Security is the forerunner of calamity. 5. He that would govern his anger, must begin with a contempt of the pretended causes of it; for it is not the supposed injury, but the false opinion of it, that does us the mischief: we provoke, teaze, and inflame ourselves, and then cast the blame upon others. No man is injured but by himself. We should do well to coax and flatter our minds, as nurses do their children:-Be quiet, and thou shalt have it; be not angry, do not struggle and make a noise, and thou shalt see things will be well enough yet. I would have a man set apart some certain days, and say to himself, I am resolved that nothing shall make me angry this day, whatever it be. Let him then proceed from a day to a week, from a week to a month, and so on; he shall soon grow so much the master of himself, as to make that his diversion which was formerly his torment. A gentle and peaceable temper is a very great comfort in society; but to him that is endued with it, incomparably a greater blessing; No. 31, VOL. III.

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for in all difficulties it is still cheerful, and in all conflicts victorious.

ON SOUNDNESS OF MIND.

MR. EDITOR.

SIR,-In the investigation of this most interesting subject, it is natural to feel a considerable degree of anxiety to be made acquainted with those works which treat of it in the best way. I have never read a work with more satisfaction on this subject, than that recently published by Dr. Haslam, a work which I would most strongly recommend to the attentive perusal of those who feel, with myself, that we are shamefully ignorant of the various phenomena of the human mind.

I have read with no small degree of satisfaction the excellent remarks of your learned correspondent O-x, col. 393, vol. II. "On our Ignorance of the Human Mind ;" and I do hope that they will have the effect of inducing the various readers of your valuable publication, to commence the study with diligence and perseverance.

Perception is a faculty of the mind by which we discover surrounding objects. This feature of the mind is certainly of considerable-importance, though I believe it has never been clearly ascertained, how, and by what means, it is effected. The Supreme Being, whose knowledge is unbounded, is alone acquainted with it. We, however, from observing that the first efforts of the infant are to educate its senses, conclude that the organs of sense are the instruments of perception. The process of the human mind in acquiring a distinct knowledge of surrounding objects, is very slow, because the organs of sense require to be habituated in the investigation, before even perception can be properly clear. A superficial sight of an object to which we were utter strangers, would render our perception of it very uncertain. Without a clear perception, which is gradually obtained, there can be no knowledge. Perception may be considered the foundation of knowledge, and knowledge the foundation of reason.

There does not appear to be any reason why we should make a distinction between sensation and perception. To experience a sensation, implies consciousness; this is the evidence

3 G

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On Soundness of Mind.-Answer to a Query.

of perception. Perception cannot be properly accomplished, unless the person is perfectly free from external intrusion and internal perturbation. If any of the organs of sense are impaired by fatigue, age, or any accident, perception will be imperfect; witness the case of an aged person,-the sight is imperfect, the hearing is indistinct; none of the organs of sense perform their office so well in the old as they do in the young.

We cannot perceive the form or colour of an object, unless the eye is in a perfect state. We know not the nature of any sound, unless the ear is in a proper state. We know not how to perceive the difference between distinct odours, unless the organs of smell are in a healthy state. We know not how to distinguish between the qualities of bitter and sweet, unless the organs of taste are in a perfect condition. We know not how to distinguish between hard and soft, heat and cold, except the organs of touch are unimpaired. The internal senses may be excited spontaneously, such as memory and imagination, although I think, if we were to watch the proceedings of our mind, we should generally find, that recollection, or memory, is not perfect without the intervention of those means which originally induced perception. If I endeavour to recal to mind the nature and colour of an object which I saw and distinctly understood ten years ago, it is more than probable that the ideas I may form of it will be erroneous, because we universally find that the absence of an object does, in a great degree, obliterate its image from the mind.

If a human being were gifted with

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animal, and given sufficient attention accurately to perceive its construction, so as to have a complete perception of the different parts or members of which it is composed, he would, in the absence of the animal, be enabled to remember it. To recollect, is only a different figure for the same process, and implies, to re-gather, or collect, those parts which have been scattered in different directions. The perceptions we obtain by our different senses are all capable of being remembered, but in different ways. Those which may have been received from sight, may be collected by the pictures of the object which originally induced perception, and thus we might make a durable record of our visible perceptions. This does not apply to the other sensations. We can exhibit no pictures of odours, taste, sound, or hardness; these admit of no picturesque representations as their record.

The memory of animals seems to be in a simple state. They have different perceptions through their organs. In many instances, these organs are more sensible than they are in the human species, but they are incapable of recording their perceptions by any signs or tokens. Their recollection can only be awakened from the recurrence of the object by which the perception was originally excited. Whereas man, by the possession of speech, and of the characters in which it is recorded, can, at all times, renew his recollection of the past.

Your's, respectfully,
LEO. LEDBROOK.

August 12, 1821.

(To be continued.)

his five senses, in a proper state, for Answer to a Query on the Consequence

the conveyance of those perceptions which they are destined to receive, and if he were allowed to exercise them for many years, what would he be without the power of recollection? no better than the walls of Westminster Abbey, after the commemoration of Handel. The nature of memory has received but little elucidation from the aggregate of works which have been written on the subject. There are two words, remember and recollect, of a similar meaning with the word memory, Anglecised from the Latin word memoria. Thus, if an individual have seen any particular

of Adam's Fall.

MR. EDITOR.

66

SIR, The Query proposed by your Huddersfield correspondent S. (col. 650,) has frequently occurred to my mind;- Will the fall of mankind by Adam, and their redemption by Christ, be the means of procuring them greater felicity than they would have enjoyed, had Adam not transgressed the divine command?"

To this question, in a rather different form, an answer in the affirmative may, I think, with probability, be

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Answer to a Query.-Observations on the Leech Worm.

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Worthy the Lamb that died,-
To be exalted us,"

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given. Though firmly convinced, that, ed Lord, not only may we regain our through the redemption by Christ, we loss by Adam, but, the cause, or sources, may attain higher degrees of felicity of our love being greater, may rise prothan we otherwise should have done, portionately higher in the scale of had man continued to live in sinless bliss; yea, whilst angelic beings, obedience to his Maker, yet I can in clothed with holiness and purity, surno wise conceive that we are warrant-round the eternal throne, and exulted to view the fall of man as a pro-ingly exclaim, curing cause, or mean, of this increase of happiness. By sin we became the subjects of misery, wretchedness, and death; through the redemption by Christ, we may become the inheritors of happiness and everlasting life: by the fall we became fit objects of the Divine mercy; by the love of God in Christ, we may be raised from the ruins thereof, and reinstated in that holy image wherein man was originally created.

To what degree of happiness our first parents, or their posterity, might have attained, had sin not entered into the world, must, perhaps, remain a mystery; being formed in the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness; -having the tide of their affections and desires turned towards Him as

their source ;-dwelling in God, and God in them;-pure from every species of defilement ;-loving God with all their heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, they must have lived indescribably happy;-formed from such a model, they must have partaken largely of the Divine nature, and consequently of that felicity which none but Deity can impart.

These might then have adored their Maker as the great creator and upholder of all things; they might have viewed him as the God of providence, imparting, with a liberal hand, the various blessings they enjoyed ;as a God of goodness and love, they might have marked his varied operations to promote their welfare and comfort; and, in worshipping him as such, have derived that satisfaction and delight which alone result from the strict performance of every moral obligation; but they would have been utterly unable to have adored him as the God of mercy and forgiving love, the Saviour of mankind!

we, in far more animating strains, may vie with the celestial hosts, and chant a nobler song ;

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Worthy the Lamb, our hearts reply,
For he was slain for us!"
"Was slain!" O love immense! O
condescending grace! What cause
for love, for endless gratitude, is here!
Say, if in the exercise of affections
such as these, in being the recipients
of such amazing grace, being raised
from such a depth of misery, in re-
flecting back such wondrous love, we
do not derive a greater degree of feli-
city, than if no such affections had
been called into action, or no such
display of the loving kindness of our
God been given? "To whom little is
forgiven, the same loveth little.”"

I am, yours respectfully,
AIZEOS.

125, Oxford-street, London,
August 15, 1821.

Observations on the LEECH WORM, by a

Gentleman who kept one several years for the purpose of a Weather Glass.

A PHIAL of water, containing a leech, I kept on the frame of my lower sash chamber window, so that when I looked in the morning, I could know what would be the weather of the following day.

If the weather continues serene and beautiful, the leech lies motionless at the bottom of the glass, and rolled together in a spiral form.

If it rains, either before or after noon, it is found to have crept up to the top of its lodging; and there it remains till the weather is settled.

If we are to have wind, the poor prisoner moves through its limpid habitation with amazing swiftness, and seldom rests till it begins to blow hard.

If a remarkable storm of thunder

To us, who are redeemed by Christ's most precious blood, belongs this sweeter and more glorious theme; 'tis our's to view the grand display of those endearing attributes of Deity, and rain is to succeed, for some days and share the glories of redeeming before it lodges almost continually grace. By the mediation of our bless-out of the water, and discovers great

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On the Impropriety of trifling with Females.

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uneasiness, in violent throws and con-¡ These are men whose natural ardency vulsive-like motions.

leads them to express more than they intend. They are enthusiastic in their

In frost, as in clear summer-like weather, it lies constantly at the bot-friendship with females, which is too

tom. And in snow, as in rainy weather, it pitches its dwelling upon the very mouth of the phial.

readily converted by them into a warmer sentiment. A man of this character entrusts his female friend with the secrets of his heart; he pro

What reasons may be assigned for these changes, I must leave philoso-bably states the obstacles which imphers to determine.-It appears to be affected in a way analogous to that of spirits and mercury in the weatherglass; and it seems evident, from the surprising sensations which it manifests, that an approaching change of weather, even days before it takes place, makes a visible alteration upon its manner of living.

Perhaps it may not be amiss to note, lest any of the curious should try the experiment, that the leech is kept in a common eight-ounce phial glass, about three-fourths filled with water, and covered on the mouth with a bit of linen rag. In the summer time, the water is changed once a week, and in the winter once a fortnight. This is a weather glass which may be purchased at a very trifling expense, and which will last a number of years.

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peded his wishes with respect to a once favoured object of his attentions; and even hints that the written documents which had passed between them are consumed. The friend would naturally construe this to her own advantage, and conclude that she is not herself indifferent to him, otherwise he would not have made her his confidant. Thus she reasons: and if invectives against his former friend should escape his lips; if he names a quality of which he says she is defi cient, and which the friend is conscious she herself possesses; if a countenance expressive of tenderness accompanies this acknowledgment, the work is finished,-her affections are his, but his are not hers; though perhaps he might sometimes find it difficult to determine to which of his female friends the balance of his preference preponderated.

But the time may arrive, when he (perhaps after an absence) meets the object of his former regard. They compromise their disordered concerns, and again all is amicable. But where is the newly-made friend? She is passed by with a nod ; and in order to exclude any suspicion of attachment to her from the mind of his present mistress, he sometimes behaves to her with incivility, or perhaps asperity. She now feels herself neglected, and spends her days and nights in unavailing grief, while he is blessed with the esteem of her now considered rival. She ventures to speak; but he answers her with indifference, and coldly thanks her for the "good advice" she has frequently given him. This is a stroke she little expected. She says no more, but calls to mind the many kind offices she has done for him; the many feeling expressions he has used, the many words, the many ac tions, from which she naturally inferred she was the next if not the only object of his affections. Sometimes she secretly upbraids him with ingratitude, and sometimes herself with folly and credulity.

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On the Impropriety of trifling with Females.

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These remarks drawn from evidence, may be considered a proof of the instability of man; and it is to be lamented, that even those who possess religious principles, are not exempt from this propensity. This demonstrates the revolution which the fall of Adam produced in human nature. But is there no remedy for this evil? There may be; and to attain the happy art, of which a poet admirably speaks, and has placed in the form of a maxim, "In fixing, fix," nothing is more efficient than mature and deliberate reflection. For want of this, too many men are dazzled by a beautiful form, and a pleasing address.

Though there may be some blame | attracted him. He is delighted with attached to her, yet but little is her her, and leaves her with feelings of due; and for merely believing she the highest regard; then meets the recognized a lover under the title of second, and retires from ber company friend, it would be the highest injus- with the same impressions. Thus his tice to treat her with contempt, or mind is alternately drawn from one brand her with ridicule. Females make object to the other, till a third or a so slight a distinction between friend- fourth intrudes, and then the former ship and love, that they almost natu- are forgotten. rally incorporate them, and not without reason, for a man who makes a friend in the strictest sense of the word, cannot ask her advice, find pleasure in her company, and seek it every opportunity, without feeling an esteem for her; and none will disputo, that esteem is the foundation of pure and rational affection. All are liable to err, but some have a greater propensity to this failing than others. In this class may be placed the unwary unsuspecting female. She sometimes fixes a standard of preference in her affectionate heart, and wishes for, and therefore easily imagines she sees the object of her partiality advancing towards it. This is a weakness for which it is feared there is no palliative. Yet it cannot be supposed that she has no foundation for her hope, real or imaginary. If real, (of which she is not a proper judge, unless something explicitly has been said,) her conduct towards him should be as spirited as her conscience would warrant. Or at least it should be opposed to any thing cringing or servile, which would only disgust him, and at the same time feed his vanity. If merely imaginary, (which may perhaps be equally difficult to prove,) she should be retired, and avoid his company. Her own reflections upon her want of penetration, will aid her in conquering her feelings, but in both these cases, happy is she if she possesses real religion; she will find it both a consolation and a directory.

On the other side, the error and weakest propensity of a man is volatility. Indecision too often marks his character; and he too frequently wavers in his choice. Sometimes his admiration is attracted, and he imagines all other females are not to be placed in competition with the one which engrosses his thoughts and attentions. But a little while, and "another face another flame imparts," and when he enjoys her company, his attentions towards the former object begin to abate. But again he sees and converses with the one who first

Religious characters, and sometimes ministers of the gospel, (though it is hoped this is not often the case,) pass by or discard pious females who do not possess external accomplishments or fine persons, for such as are favoured with these embellishments, yet are destitute of vital religion. It is sufficient for one of these, if she has evangelical views, without a change of heart. And to render this preference agreeable to his conscience, he looks through the flattering and imposing medium, at her moral deportment. He converses with some who make a more flaming profession, and persuades himself she is quite as spiritually minded as they. When this is the case, religion, with respect to himself, most certainly is at a very low ebb, or he would not for his own gratification permit beauty and accomplishments to supersede the glory of God. It is true she may be a pleasing companion, but not a helpmate for a Zion traveller. Should it please the Giver of all good to bestow upon this wayward Christian a double portion of his grace, he would then find no satisfaction in the splendid endowments of this object of his regard. These accomplishments would be too mean a substitute for genuine experimental religion, and he would consequently feel his affections withdrawn. Love to God would be the ruling principle; and he would feel as

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