provements would have had such an effect upon the computation of distances, that by this time, to the great dismay of all Malthusians, the world would not only have seemed as though it had dwindled to half its former size, but also to be undergoing a certain process of still farther diminution. Time was when a journey from Edinburgh to London was a formidable undertaking; and the tradition, (which from its general existence must really have had some foundation,) that our great-grandfathers were accustomed to make their wills, and take a solemn leave of their friends, before they commenced it, proves, at all events, the sense that was entertained of its difficulty. But now, the distance between the metropolitan cities of England and Scotland is reduced from twenty to less than two days; and New-York, once situated in a distant land, is brought, in the progress of events, as near to Liverpool, as formerly Edinburgh or Penzance was to London. Well is it that we happen to know that a mile is a mile, whether traversed in twenty minutes or two. If this point had not been ascertained beyond doubt, we should have feared for the wits of good Miss Martineau, and all else, who fear that by and by the world will be so crowded that neither grass nor corn will be able to grow under the feet of the dense population. And then, to carry on this diminishing process, our modern travellers step in. All unknown things, says the proverb, are taken for magnificent. Objects are sometimes strangely magnified by obscurity. We ourselves have seen a small schooner coming out of a dense transatlantic fog, and looking, in its marginal haze, like a seventyfour in full sail. Formerly, Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, were strange as well as foreign countries. But what a difference now! We seem to know almost as much of the Ganges as of the Thames, of Mont Blanc as of Mam Tor, of the mines of Mexico as of those of Cornwall; and perhaps quite as much of the isles of the Pacific as of the Western Islands of Scotland. It seems as though an atmosphere of Italian

clearness were spreading over the world, and that, as with telescopes of the highest magnifying power, we could look through our "loopholes of retreat," and have the most distant objects brought within our ken. Time was when Sir Thomas Roe, Sir John Chardin, Tavernier, Niebuhr, Hasselquist, Maundrell, were looked up to as mighty authorities. They moved across the field of the past with venerable aspect, as the very sages of geographical research. But now, alas for human honours! they stand with but the shadow of a name, only remembered by the few who refuse to forget the vast achievements of the pioneers, in the more splendid discoveries of their followers.

Nor is Christianity without her share in promoting these important advancements. Who that has passed the summit of the mountain ridge of life, does not recollect the intense interest excited in his younger days by the volumes of Park or Vaillant?

But now, the readers of the reports and notices of Christian Missionary Societies are made (while, perhaps, they scarcely advert to the fact) familiar with places and people not known at all to the oldschool travellers, or known but very imperfectly.

We must not forget Mr. Hardy; but, lightly as we may seem to have treated the subjects at which we have glanced, we yet feel their vast importance, their wonderful connexion with the rapidly developing plans of Providence for realizing the glorious visions of prophecy. Not only the wrath of man, but his curiosity and enterprise, shall praise God; and thus are travellers (albeit many of them with no such design) exploring the world, and spreading its whole case before the church of Christ. By various agencies is divine Providence exalting the valleys, and bringing down the mountains and high hills, making the crooked places straight, and the rough places plain. Up and down the earth's wilderness the heralds of their Lord's approach are proclaiming, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand; repent ye, and believe the Gospel: " and who can

the backs of the women, but more commonly upon asses and camels."

Medical science does not seem to flourish very greatly in Mohammedan countries. What science, indeed, does? The brilliant eras of Bagdad and Grenada, though they shone with meteoric splendour, yet shone in the night, and soon vanished in a darkness even deeper than that which they had so briefly illuminated.

"Wherever I went I was saluted with the cry of hakkim, 'doctor,' with many imploring signs from the people that I would enter their houses; and from that time until my last departure from a Mussulman shore, I might have been constantly occupied in listening to details of disease, and prescribing remedies, had I known any thing of the healing art." (Page 8.)

An interesting incident furnishes a brief notice of Abyssinia, and its spiritual condition :

"When we approached the port of Djuddab, there came from the shore in the same boat with the pilot, a tall man with a flowing beard, in the costume of the country, and of an appearance so interesting that we all crowded to the gangway of the ship to gaze upon the stranger. He stepped upon deck, and after making a salaam, we were surprised to hear him address us in English, though with a foreign accent. He informed us that he had come from Abyssinia, and as I soon discovered that he was a Missionary, our mutual delight in meeting a Christian brother at such a time, and in such a place, may be more easily conceived than described. I gained from this excellent man, the Rev. J. Gobat, some information concerning the present state of religion in Abyssinia. He is a native of Switzerland, and was sent out by the Church Missionary Society about five years ago. He speaks Arabic like a native, as well as Tigré and Amharic, and several European languages. He visited the country at first to see what prospects there might be for the establishment of a permanent Mission; and, not having heard from his Committee for two years, in consequence of the difficulty of communication, he proceeded by the steamer to Suez, from thence intending to make the best of his way to England. Mr. Kugler, his only fellow-labourer, died from a mortification in the arm, produced by the bursting of a gun, and departed happy in

Christ. Mr. Gobat reported favourably of the people, and lived among them in perfect security, though Gondar, the place at which he principally resided, was the seat of war. There are some in whose hearts, principal access to the people is by means he trusts, a work of grace is begun. The of familiar conversation, as they know nothing of regular preaching. The Priests administer the sacrament daily, and in this consists nearly the whole of their religion. (Page 25.)

Mr. Hardy is, in general, a good matter-of-fact traveller. In one instance, however, the speculative fit was upon him, and he fell into a curious reverie. If the deserts of Africa can thus be won from sand for the use of man, as the Lincolnshire fens have been reclaimed from the water, a fine prospect is presented for a large increase of the means of subsistence for ages to

come.

"The Nile may be designed to impart far greater blessings to the world than have yet been drawn from its beneficence. The desert that commences on its western bank extends nearly to the Atlantic Ocean, a distance of more than three thousand miles. The waters of the Nile and the Niger may in part be one day turned upon this desert."

The Niger must be given up. The enterprising Landers have carried it too far to the south. But Africa has central deserts, so that even the Niger may be useful after all.

"That which is now lost in the sea may supply nourishment to millions; and Egypt may still be as the garden of the Lord,' from the advantages that will be derived from new improvements in machinery, and new discoveries in hydraulics. In places where a human being never yet breathed, there may thus arise a countless population." (Page 41.)

his own feelings while gazing upon it. We hasten on with him, not even pausing at his reflections on the past degradation of Egypt, and its present prospects under Mohammed Ali, an his son Ibrahim, till he has landed us in Syria, and we find ourselves with him on the journey to Jerusalem.

"The road became more and more rugged and dreary as we approached Jerusalem. The rocks had gained the mastery, and refused to cherish the little earth that at a lower range still maintained its disputed possession, and tried to cheer the eye with a flower, or refresh the traveller by a fragrant shrub. An eminence was before us, and I was told that when this was gained, we should see the holy place. I hastened on to the head of the party, but was disappointed. There were yet other rocks to be scaled, and the road was all but impassable to our jaded animals. The moments seemed to be hours, and brought with them almost a feverish excitement. I felt that the most interesting period of my travels was now arrived. Still, all my former feelings had been so much at variance with the reality of the scene, that when I did catch the first sight of the actual walls of the city, I felt little of that emotion that might be supposed to arise at such a moment. There was nothing in keeping with the solemnity of the time. The pilgrims were discharging their tire-arms, that had happily never been called into more serious play, and the only persons we saw consisted of a group of dancinggirls, who assailed us with rude and unseemly gestures. As we came nearer, all appeared to be wrapped in silence and solitude, there not being a single thing that had life. Of Jerusalem we could see little more than a high wall, built of light-coloured stone; and the deep stillness seemed to me that it was protected by other powers than the common defences of man. I did not inquire which was Calvary, or which was the scite of the temple; the crowd of thoughts that rushed with confused impetuosity into my mind prevented my attention to localities." (Page 134.)

We cannot follow Mr. Hardy through all his descriptions of the once holy city. He visited all the places about which Christians espe

Throughout the volume Mr. Hardy gives us scite. Why not the old-fashioned and correct, site? Is the c to be added to situate and situation, too?

VOL. XIV.

cially feel so deep an interest. He conducts us not only through its immediate vicinity, but to Bethlehein, Nazareth, Tiberias, and the Sea of Galilee; to Jericho, the Jordan, Bethany, and the Dead Sea. In this he bathed. He says,―

"The water was so buoyant that, in swimming, we had great difficulty to keep our legs under it, and I had to hold my head back like a sphinx, in order to breathe. It was so dense that we could not swim to any distance without using great exertion. We could remain in the water without the least motion, and did not sink. The taste is most nauseous; and in places where my skin was excoriated by exposure to the sun, the smart was excessive." (Page 203.)

His delineations of the moral condition of the inhabitants of Jerusalem are exceedingly affecting. The Mohammedans are there what they are every where else. And there are the Jews, fondly clinging to the very soil which the fect of their ancestors trod, and where the fathers and princes of their race are buried. Christians, too, are there; but not such, alas! as may be expected to win the unhappy Jew to the faith of Christ, or to reclaim the Mohammedan from the imposture of his false prophet. What can either Jew or Mohammedan think of scenes like the following?

"On the Saturday before Easter, the farce of the fire is exhibited to the pilgrims. I went early that I might secure a good place for seeing the exhibition. The church was crowded in every part. The scene had very little resemblance to a Christian assembly, met together in a Christian place of worship. The Turks were quietly smoking their pipes, and smiling in derision; and others were beating the people, without fear or favour, to preserve order. Bread and water were carried about for sale, as some of the pilgrims had been all night in the church. The noise was like the uproar of an alebench at a village feast. All eyes were directed towards a sma hole in the side known that the fire would appear. The of the wall of the sepulchre, where it was miracle at last appeared, and in a few moments every taper in the place was lighted by the senseless multitude.

I

cannot describe the scene. I have attead, ed many descriptions of heathen festi2 T