in future? And if in the right, am I desirous to manifest more forbearance to my erring partner?" These are questions that most of us are shy in putting to ourselves, but they are precious medicine, and if taken with a dependence on God's blessing, will do us great good. It will render us more humble, cautious, and forbearing; it will increase our affection, and it will do much towards influencing us to bear each other's burdens. Why cannot we always dwell in affection, and bear each other's burdens? Why should an aggravating or an angry feeling ever rise in our bosoms? It is because we have an enemy in the camp; a deceitful heart in our bosoms, influencing us to believe that we are always right, and that others are always wrong; teaching us to call things by wrong names, and persuading us that aggravation is merely thoughtlessness; selfishness, nothing more than prudence; and bitterness of heart, a virtuous indignation. In short, Old Humphrey's opinion is this, that we are all so bad that God alone can mend us; and that the only way to dwell in continual affection, bearing each other's burdens, is to live continually dependent on God, seeking the influence of the Holy Spirit continually, taking the blessed gospel of his beloved Son our Saviour for our guide, and seeking fervently at the throne of mercy for those heavenly supplies that our earthly infirmities require. Old Humphrey, had his object been to please you, might have spoken more pleasantly, but he wishes to do you good, even though it be against your will. Let not your affections, then, be a flower that opens and shuts in a day, but a tree whose deepstruck roots will bear the rocking of the wintry storm. You do not half love one another, if you wish not to love each other through eternity; and if you wish to love each other through eternity, you will desire through time to dwell in affection, and to bear each other's burdens. these few years they were common in Staffordshire. Some were of large size, and commonly hung at one end of the mantel-piece; others were smaller, and carried in the pocket. The days were denoted by notches, and the other records by figures, which are too numerous to describe. One of these Saxon almanacks may be seen in St. John's College, Cambridge. a very Almanacks, like books, were also written on parchment, brilliantly ornamented, or illuminated with colours: splendid collection of these, of the fourteenth century, exists in the British Museum. After the invention of printing, almanacks became generally used in Europe. The earliest English almanacks were and printed in Holland, on small sheets; these have occasionally been preserved, from having been pasted within the covers of old books. The almanacks most similar to the English are produced in Persia. In one of these, the first page contains a list of fortunate days, to buy, to sell, to take medicine, to marry, to go a journey, &c.: their predictions of earthquakes, storms, political changes, &c., being after the manner of the well-known More's Almanack.-Domestic Life in England. GOD'S GREAT DESIGN. God's great design, in the method of salvation, made choice of by infinite wisthat "no flesh might glory in his sight," dom, was to stain the pride of all glory, but that " he that glorieth should glory only in the Lord," Jer. ix. 24, 1 Cor. i. 31.Halyburton THE SAVIOUR. FROM the intimate conjunction that is between Christ and the church, it is just and equal in the sight of God, according to the rules of his eternal righteousness, that what he did and suffered in the discharge of his office should be esteemed, reckoned, and imputed unto us, as unto all the fruits and benefits of it, as if we had done and suffered the same things ourselves, Isa. liii. 5, 6.-Owen. JOHN DAVIS, 56, Paternoster Row, London. Price d. each, or in Monthly Parts, containing Five Numbers in a Cover, 3d. W. Tyler, Printer, Bolt -court, Fleet street. Fig. a, corolla, exhibiting the stamens, of which two are longer than the other. BOTANY.-No. XXIV. PEDICULARES. IN treating of this family, we cannot, as in many other instances, take our departure from some well-known plant, and bespeak the attention of the reader for the rest, by pointing out their relationship to their principal. But several of the plants belonging to it are, from their abundance in certain situations, very apt to engage the eye of the inquisitive, and excite some question about their nature and conformation. In moist places, where the water is stagnant for a good part of the year, especially in the VOL. III. neighbourhood of heaths and common pastures, we find the lousewort (pedicularis sylvatica) in great plenty. It may be known by its pink red flowers, and its leaves, which are prettily divided into roundish segments. A closer observation will show that the lobes of the calyx are notched in imitation of the leaves. This plant is very common in many places upon Hampstead-heath, where the frequency of its appearance, and the neatness of its outline, have induced persons but little interested in the pursuits of botany to ask by what name it was called, 3 B When we enter the glades of some shelving wood, a widely-branching plant, of a dismal green, with here and there a few yellow flowers, meets our eye. This is commonly the meadow cow-wheat (melampyrum pratense.) In the early part of summer, the grass in some meadows is diversified by the flowers of the yellow rattle, which has a peculiar feature in the swollen or puffed nature of the calyx. In fact, the enlarged calyx forms the leading generic character in the rhinanthus, to which the yellow rattle belongs, called rhinanthus crista-galli. Should our walk be directed over the springing soil of a marsh, or along the banks of a river, we shall, in the first instance, meet, under favourable circumstances, a specimen of the genus bartsia, which is distinguished as a genus by the dyed leaves of its calyx, which sometimes surpasses in freshness of colour the corolla, contrary to what usually happens in other plants, where the calyx contributes but little to beautify the flower; it is therefore generally neglected or overlooked by those who are chiefly pleased by its external comeliness. The red eyebright (bartsia odontites) | is very common in some places. It is a plant about a foot high, with many erect branches, and numerous small narrow leaves of a dull green colour. The flowers grow in clusters at the top of each branch, and are all turned one way. The corolla is of a rosy red, while the calyx is violet-coloured. This plant, so common under every hedge-row, and in almost every pasture in many parts of Suffolk, was among the first that puzzled the attention of the writer of this article. It was by no means satisfactory to tread upon a plant in every corner of a field, or in any grassy strip of roadside, without being able to say with certainty by what name it was known among botanists. It was not unpleasing to find, at a subsequent period, that the plant had perplexed the minds of more experienced students of nature, some regarding it as a species of euphrasia, and others as belonging to bartsia. This general allusion to the red eyebright will point it out to most readers with greater facility than a more laboured description. Should any of our friends be in possession of a few dried specimens of the genera here enumerated, or, what is better, have the means of procuring the recent plants, the laying them side by side, for the purpose of mutual comparison, will afford an interesting and an instructive lesson. See the irregular shape of the corolla, which is generally so divided as to have the resemblance of an upper and nether lip, of which the former is variously shaped, and thus imparts a peculiar character to the blossom, while the latter is for the most part divided into five lobes. The stamens are, as in the labiaceæ, or plants resembling dead-nettle, disposed in pairs which differ in length. But the chief point of uniformity, and to which a final reference is made, is found in the structure of the seed-vessel, which is divided into two cells by a partition which rises from the centre; or, to speak with more propriety, from the middle line of the valves. Upon each side of this partition the seeds are borne. No difficulty will attend the exami nation of the seed-vessel, or in ascertaining the mark we have pointed out; for the seedvessel of the cow-wheat, which may be found in every wood, or of any of the rest aforementioned, will teach the unassisted eye, that it is composed of two flattened pieces or valves, joined together by a seam at their edges. If a horizontal cut be then made across, a partition, studded with seeds, connecting the valves by their middle line, will be exposed. There is nothing abstruse in the detection of this directing character in the pediculares, which, the reader may be assured, is as obvious to the eye of inquiry, as it is important in distinguishing this family. For the sake of illustration, we have given a figure of the orobanche major, or broom-rape, at the head of this article, as it affords a specimen, both of a family and of a genus, which is singular in growing in a parasitic manner upon the roots of other plants. This finds its abode upon the roots of the common furze, while another species selects a correspondent situation upon the clover. The mistletoe has become so familiar to our acquaintance, that we cease to feel any surprise when we see tufts of it about the branches of the oak; but when we observe that such humble productions as the furze, the broom, and the clover, are called upon to support a little intruder out of their owr proper store of nutriment, our surprise is awakened, and we feel an unusual anxiety to remember the circumstance. ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY. From Leifchild's "Life of Hughes." THE Committee meetings of the Religious Tract Society took place, for the first fourteen years, on the premises of the late Joseph Hardcastle, Esq., near Londonbridge. Mr. Hardcastle was at that period the treasurer of the London Missionary So ciety; a man of a princely spirit, and devoted to the promotion of religious knowledge. His rooms were gratuitously afforded to the committees of both these societies, with their morning refreshment, and every necessary accommodation. He had the gratification and honour, while he lived, of hearing his counting-house and offices adverted to as the birth-place or nursery of some of the noblest institutions that Britain or the world contains. This, too, is a heirloom in his family, which cannot but be highly appreciated. It will descend with the name of Hardcastle to future generations. "I scarcely ever pass over Londonbridge," said the Rev. John Townsend, "without glancing my eyes towards those highly-favoured rooms appertaining to our beloved friend's counting-house, at Old Swan Stairs, and feeling a glow of pleasure at the recollection, that there the London Missionary Society, the Tract Society, the Hibernian Society, &c., formed those plans of christian benevolence, on which Divine Providence has so signally smiled." There it was that the Rev. Joseph Hughes, the secretary of the Tract Society, and his colleagues, met together, from time to time, to transact the business of that institution; delighted as they must often have been at the increasing patronage it obtained, and, as the consequence, at its enlarged capabilities and prospects of usefulness. There, too, it was (at Old Swan Stairs) that the British and Foreign Bible Society took its rise. Previously to its formation, he could not but be aware of the lamentable fact of the great scarcity of the Scriptures in these realms, notwithstanding the efforts of several societies already in existence for their dissemination. He had conversed with individuals on the subject from the Principality; he had preached the sermon before the Scottish Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge in the Highlands and Islands, whose published reports told of the deplorable condition, in this respect, of the mountaineers of that country; and he was in the habit of hearing details from the associations belonging to the society, with which he was already connected, of the most affecting instances of such destitution. It was next to impossible that his benevolent mind should not be led to muse on these painful discoveries, and on the desirableness of some plan to remedy the evil. Such a sentiment, in point of fact, appears from his writings, to have been long operating in his thoughts, and waiting only for a proper occasion to burst forth into action. It was a spring under ground, accumulating its waters, and continually rising near the surface. That which revived and enlarged its operations, was the information brought to him, from time to time, of the still more deplorable condition, in this respect, of the inhabitants of the continent, as well in protestant countries as in those avowedly catholic. He saw the whole of Europe, to say nothing of remoter lands, enveloped in shades of ignorance, which the sun of revelation had but faintly and partially pierced; in no place so completely as wholly to disperse them; in some not so much as in any perceptible degree to abate the gloom. Things were in this state, when an incident occurred, which can scarcely be looked upon in any other light, than as a direct interposition of Providence. The Rev. T. Charles, a clergyman of the church or England, but frequently officiating among the calvinistic methodists in Wales, paid a visit to the metropolis. He represented, with all the characteristic ardour and pathos of his native country, the dearth of Bibles in the native language of the Principality. He told of a scanty supply which had once been obtained from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; but which, by its inadequacy, had served rather to increase than allay the anxiety of the inhabitants; as the thirsty earth but pines and languishes the more for a few big drops only from the cloud, which had been expected to shower down an abundance of moisture. This individual being present as a visitor at the committee-meeting of the Tract Society, spoke upon the subject of a supply of Welsh Bibles, (Mr. Joseph Tarn, a member of the committee, having previously introduced him,) and urged it most earnestly upon the attention of the meeting. To supply Bibles was not the professed object of the society; yet he could hardly have been introduced to a circle of individuals in the whole world, more disposed to listen to his representations, to sympathize with his feelings, and to respond to his calls. The whole meeting instantly felt the desirableness of the object; but the mind of the secretary was warmed with the subject, his previous train of reflections was recalled and quickened into motion, and wrought, it may well be believed, into a high degree of energy. His views, probably, in connexion with those of the members present, went much further than the specific object proposed to therthe supply of the Welsh. The preciselanguage in which he expressed his views it is now difficult, if not impossible to ascertain; and we must, therefore, be contented with the fact. Some, indeed, of the individuals present at that meeting who survive, recollect nothing particular: others retain a sense of his distinct and emphatic utterance of this remark: "Why not Bibles for the whole country-for the whole world?" The minutes of that meeting, which were revised by himself and Mr. Tarn, under a concern to leave a perfectly accurate account of what had transpired, record that such an object, "AT THE SUGGESTION OF THE SECRETARY," was deemed worthy of attention, was suitable for the notice of that body, and should be placed on record for their consideration at their next meeting. This fact he himself, though careful of not having too much attributed to him, always admitted. It appeared in several printed accounts while most of the members of that committee were living, and all had access to the minutes as well as himself. A variety of particulars in his correspondence, as well before as after this period, and the part immediately and thenceforward assigned to him in all ulterior proceedings, confirm the idea. It may, therefore, be safely concluded, that the elements of the new institution were first of all deliberately conceived in his mind; that there its original seed was planted by the hand of its Almighty Author. The facts above related occurred in the memorable morning of December the 7th, 1802. The views and feelings of all present accorded with the suggestion or suggestions, made to that effect, above noticed. Mr. Hughes was requested by the chairman, in the name of the rest, to embody the sentiments then delivered, in a written address, to be read to them at a future meeting convened for the purpose. He readily complied, and after several meetings of the same kind, the address, with some few emendations, was ordered to be printed, with a view to its immediate circulation. The publication of Mr. Hughes's Essay took place early in 1803, and for something more than a year the project was repeatedly contemplated with serious and, it may be believed, with much prayerful thought, by the pious and benevolent men of various christian denominations, who then formed the committee of the Tract Society, with the assistance of a few others of a kindred spirit. At length its first general public meeting was called on March 7th, 1804, Granville Sharp, Esq., in the chair. The object-glass A B is the same as in the Galilean telescope, convex, whose focus is in F, where the image of a celestial object would be formed; then on the axis of the object-glass E G, we fit a small eye-glass c D, of much greater convexity than the object-glass A B, and so placed that its focus shall also be in the point E; then (as explained at page 381) the rays from the image at F, which strike upon the eye-glass, will become parallel, on leaving it and entering the eye; distinct vision will thus be obtained; and the magnifying power will be, as in the former case, a many times as the focal distance of the object-glass exceeds that of the eye-glass. When the telescope first came into use, and for a long time after, it was usual to make them of a very great length, to obtain a high magnifying power, as the focal distance of the objectglass could thus be made very much greater than that of the eye-glass; but the modern great improvements in optical science have quite supplanted those ponderous and cumbersome instruments, by placing at our command more portable and efficient ones, (the principle of the instrument remaining the same.) We are now enabled, with a telescope of five or six feet length, to do more service to the science of astronomy, than our ancestors could do with their unmanageable telescopes of one hundred feet. Hugens constructed an instrument, which he called an æriel telescope, of one hundred and twenty-tnree feet focal length, in which he dispensed with the tube altogether, thinking that, by such an arrangement, it would be more manageable; this telescope was presented by him to the Royal Society, and was used by Dr. Pound, and |