ed on a literal interpretation of the Mosaic account, pointed to a heap or a column of salt, which bore, perhaps, some resemblance to a human form, and was believed, even by the historian Josephus, who had seen it, to be the pillar into which she was transformed."

We are amused with the confident manner in which the writer here describes the death of Lot's wife, just as if he had been an eye-witness of her fate. It is not impossible, indeed, that she might have been suffocated, as Mr. Milman relates; or she might, in her great haste, and while looking back, have fallen into a pit of salt or bitumen; but who will dare assert this? We have a very plain historical account by the inspired writer,-and why not believe it as it stands?

In his account of the passage of the Red Sea, Mr. Milman apparently imagines that a literal acceptation of the words of Moses, is altogether out of the question.

"Still, wherever the passage was effected, the Mosaic account can scarcely be made consistent with the exclusion of preternatural agency Not to argue the literal meaning of the waters being a wall on the right and on the left, as if they had stood up sheer and abrupt, and then fallen back again; the Israelites passed through the sea with deep water on both sides; and any ford between two bodies of water must have been passable only for a few people, at one precise point of time."

He says likewise, with singular carelessness, that they began to pass over at night-fall, probably about eight o'clock! In regard to this miracle, let us hear the statement of a critic, who does not merely conjecture. We refer to professor Stuart, and quote from one of the valuable excursus, to be found at the end of the second volume of his course of Hebrew study.

"But in addition to all this, it should he stated, that the waters were miraculously divided by the power of God, and stood up, on the right and left of the Israelites, as they passed through, like a wall or ridge, Ex. 14. 22. This took place after the operation of the strong east wind upon them during most of the night, Ex. 14: 21. Of course, when the sea returned to his strength, (Ex. 14. 27.) these accumulated and elevated masses of water, suddenly flowing down, with the addition of the water that would be accumulated, in case the wind came round into the south quarter, would be amply sufficient for the accomplishment of all which is stated by Moses to have happened.

"I know, indeed, that the French legation, and Du Bois Ayme in partieular, make the supposition that the passage of the Hebrews may be accounted for from merely natural causes; and that the accumulation of waters on the right and left of the Israelites, is merely a "poetic ornament," added by the writer of Ex. 14. 22. But then, our belief of facts like these must depend on the credibility of the sacred writers; for surely, the God who made the sea, can divide it. To dispute the question of their credibility, does not comport with my present design. I write for those who believe in the credibility of the narrations of the Bible."

The following passage in regard to the numbers of the Israelites, contained in a note, on page 119, of volume first, is still more exceptionable.

"It is by no means easy to reconcile the enormous numbers contained in the census, with the language of other passages in the scriptures, particularly, that of the seventh chapter of Deuteronomy.. The nation which could arm 600,000 fighting men, is described as the fewest of all people; as inferior in numbers,

it should seem, to each of the seven greater and mightier nations, which then inhabited Canaan. And it is remarkable, that while there has been much controversy whether the whole area of Palestine could contain the Hebrew settlers, the seven nations are 'to be put out by little and little,' lest the beasts of the field increase upon the new occupants. The narrative of the campaign in the book of Joshua is equally inconsistent with these immense numbers; e. g. the defiling of the whole army of 600,000 men, seven times in one day round the walls of Jericho; the panic of the whole host at the repulse of 3000 men before Ai. The general impression from this book is, that it describes the invasion of nations, at once more warlike and numerous, by a smaller force, which, without reliance on divine succor, could not have achieved the conquest; rather than the irruption of a host, like that of Attila or Zengis, which might have borne down all opposition by the mere weight of numerical force. We have not, however, thought fit to depart from the numbers as they stand in the sacred writings; though, if we might suppose that a cipher has been added in the total sum, and throughout the several particulars; or if we might include men, women and children under the 600,000, the history would gain, in our opinion, both in clearness and consistency!"""

We scarcely know which to admire most in this passage, Mr. Milman's thoughtlessness, ignorance, or want of ingenuity. It seems as if he wrote merely to show that he possessed independence enough to doubt;-it is wanton irreverence to the sacred oracles, to huddle together such crude and unfounded objections, and set them before his readers, without an attempt even to obviate them. But the reader has only to glance at a few chapters in Numbers and Deuteronomy, and to examine with attention "the narrative of the campaign in the book of Joshua," and he will at once be convinced of the looseness of this writer, and the complete futility of the objections which he, with such a grave tone of infidelity, brings forward. Is Mr. Milman quite certain that the whole army defiled around Jericho: or has he given the reason which the Bible does, for the panic which he mentions? Or has he read the narrative of the second attack of Ai, when the history speaks of Joshua sending away by night, to lie in ambush, so large a detachment from the main army, as 30,000 men-mighty men of valour-picked men, chosen from all the people of war? Still more-is it possible that the author could have had the ignorance to imagine that the Hebrews used ciphers in their method of notation? Yet such is the meaning on the face of this passage: At all events it shows a carelessness and a want of research which is utterly disgraceful. How much easier it is to scribble such a note, than to submit to the labor of a critical investigation-to examine with patience and pronounce with humility! And what must be the effect of such a passage on the mind of inexperienced youth.*

*This is not the place for an examination in extenso of the point, in regard to which, Mr. Milman has so judiciously displayed his want of critical investigation; nor is such an investigation necessary. If the reader will turn to the twenty-second chapter of Numbers, he will find a striking corrobpration of the truth of the Scripture account. "Behold they cover the face of the earth," said the king of Moab, speaking of the Israelites; shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field." In Deuteronomy, several of the greater and mightier' nations are described as nations of giants-their enormous stature, as well as their numbers, struck the Israelites with dread.

now

"The Lord your God hath multiplied you," said Moses to the Hebrews, just before

We pass by his account of the miracle of the Sun and Moon arrested in the Heavens, at the command of Joshua, though it is open to severe censure for the doubtful, hesitating style in which it is related. We can scarcely learn his own opinion as to the reality of this supernatural and astonishing event.

The following are his remarks respecting the miraculous destruction of the Assyrian host.

"The destruction of Sennacherib's army is generally supposed to have been caused by the Simoom, or hot and pestilential wind of the desert, which is said not unfrequently to have been fatal to whole caravans. The Arabs, who are well experienced in the signs which portend its approach, fall on their faces, and escape its mortal influence. But the foreign forces of Sennacherib were little acquainted with the means of avoiding this unusual enemy, and the catastrophe taking place by night, (the miraculous part of the transaction, as the kot wind is in general attributed to the heat of the meridian sun) suffered immense loss."

Now it is not impossible that the Simoom may in this case have been the instrument employed by the destroying angel; though it is rare indeed that this wind occurs near Jerusalem, as its violent effects are always weakened by passing over cultivated land; but it is curious to see this author defining with such particularity "the miraculous part of the transaction," and with so much appearance of certainty in the limitation, when the fact only of a supernatural interposition is known to us, and the modus in quo is mere conjecture.

Mr. Milman's account of the death of Herod Agrippa, in the second volume, page 164, is liable to censure, because he passes by the sacred history of the same event with too little notice, and omits, indeed, one important particular in the narration of Luke.

"On the second day of the spectacle, at early dawn, the King entered the theatre in a robe of silver, which glittered with the morning rays of the sun, so as to dazzle the eyes of the whole assembly, and excite general admiration. Some of his flatterers set up a shout A present God! Agrippa did not repress the impious adulation which spread through the theatre."

He goes on to say that he was eaten of worms.' Luke, it will be remembered, relates in the Acts, that he made an oration to the people, and was smitten of the angel because he gave not God the glory. Jahn's account is much more calculated to confirm that of the inspired writer.

"On the second day of the games, he appeared in the theatre very early in the morning, arrayed in a magnificent robe of silver, to give audience to the

they were to pass over Jordan, "and behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for mul titude." Had not Mr. Milman been so anxious to avoid the tone of a theological treatise, the consideration would naturally have occurred to him that God intended, in all his dealings with the Israelites, to convince them that their strength lay not in numbers, however great, but in his assistance; 'not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.' The moment they were unmindful of the Rock of their Salvation, one of their enemies might 'chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight;" a truth which is confirmed not merely from the history of the Hebrews; for such has been the experience of the Lord's people in all generations.

"At the close of his oration, the multitude saluted him Syrians and Zidonians. as a God, according to the customs of that period. *** Both Luke and Josephus concur in the statement, that the disease of the intestines, with which he was attacked, was a divine judgment."

To some, the points we have now noticed, may seem to be of little importance; but they forget the inexperience and susceptibility of the youthful mind, and the necessity of an early and unshaken confidence in the truth of the Bible. Things that are trifles to mature and ripened judgment, may be full of danger, when opinions are forming, and the soul is receiving a bias, to determine perhaps its eternal welfare.

We were grieved and disappointed to find, in this history for the perusal of families, the birth, the life, the miracles, the teachings, the example, the sufferings, and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, all glanced over in the short space of a solitary page-noticed, indeed, in so abrupt, hasty, and general a manner, that the mind is scarcely conscious of the presence of Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write ;-him, because of whom Abraham was called, and the very Israelites were constituted a people, and sustained in their national existence through so many ages and so many changes, by the miraculous interposition and the over-ruling providence of God. The author seems to imagine that this subject belongs to the Christian, rather than the Jewish historian ;--but its place too, is here,--and a man of deep piety would have made it the most interesting, solemn, and instructive chapter in the whole work. Instead of this, the reader is turned aside, with a dry reference to the pages of the Evangelists ;and Christ and his cross, the very life, centre, energy of all revelation-the story which the genius of the poet and the heart of the Christian might have united to display-they are lost from the volume; the reader expects them in vain, and the work goes on in the same vivid, indeed, and highly coloured, but soulless and secular strain. Others may regard the omission with a different feeling, but we deeply regret it.

It is easy enough to see, that Mr. Milman's opinions, in regard "A late writer," he remarks in his to inspiration, are very loose. preface," of great good sense and piety, seems to think, that inspiration may safely be limited to doctrinal points, exclusive of those which are purely historical. This view, if correct, would obviate many difficulties."

We should more than doubt both the good sense and the piety which could dictate such an opinion. It is however the clue to our author's style of narration, particularly his manner of relating the miracles. The history gains, in his opinion, "both in clear-. ness and consistency," by considering it in some respects erroneous. It obviates also many difficulties, to regard the purely historical parts of Scripture,as uninspired! These are creditable max

ims, truly, for a minister of the Church if England, and equally so, for the Professor of Poetry in Oxford University! The venerable Lowth, who long ago adorned that office with so much dignified piety and learning, would have looked upon them with equal astonishment and reproach. We desire to keep aloof from the library of our family, a history of the Jews, written under the influence of such opinions, however interesting it may be in other respects.

SPEECHES ON THE INDIAN BILL.*

ACTUM EST DE REPUBLICA! The contemplated perfidy is accomplished; the constitution has been violated by its appointed guardians; and whatever may be its consequences to the Indians, a page of the darkest guilt is already written in our country's history. The passage of the Indian Bill has disgraced us as a people, has wounded our national honor, and exposed us to the merited reproach of all civilized communities in the world. If we go on in this way, we shall become a by-word to the nations. It will no longer be Punica fides, that points the moral of the schoolboy, and tips the arrow of the public satirist with gall. The memory of the wicked shall rot;-but the memory of a faithless nation cannot mingle itself with perishable elements; can never stagnate in the forgetfulness of contempt. Ours will be embalmed, unless we prevent it by a timely interposition, in curses that can never lose their energy, or weary the tongue which utters them.

The world may now see what reliance can be placed upon the faith of a republic. Had we been dealing with a European community, instead of an Indian tribe, who would have dared mention the claims of selfishness, or the clamors of party, against the solemn obligation of treaties? The frown of the eastern continent alone would have intimidated the most reckless politician. But a nation that will cheat an inferior, will also, should a fair opportunity occur, overreach and violate justice with a higher power; nor can any confidence be placed, either in an individual or a community of individuals, proved to have acted, on a great and important occasion, rather as a furious partisan, or an unprincipled marauder, than from a sense of duty, or a knowledge of the truth. This is not the first time that the American Republic has shown a disposition to trifle with the sacredness of its plighted faith; it was all that the eloquence of an Ames could do, to keep his countrymen, in

The speeches against this Bill are now in press in this city, and will shortly be published in a neat duodecimo volume.