• 6 MR' [The Rev. William McClure, pastor of the Birgit Presbyterian church, of Londonderry, Ire land, who lately visited the United States, on the evening previous to his departure from America to his home, composed the following poem, expres sive of bis views and feelings with regard to this countm] From Erin's beauteous Isle I came, To, visit Western climes; To mark the customs of "the age, " The people and the times. And do you ask Ivhat I have seen, When roaming far abroad; - What Worthy to be told at home, Of all the paths I trod 7 I answer—Bright and fair - the land, From despotism free; And blessings richer yet await This land of liberty. The hearts of parents till with joy And swell with minions pride, To see their children walk in truth With wisdom:for their guide. So may the ,parettt Janda rejoice That gave these children birth; Who spread throughout the Western world, And cover all the earth. Their eons are generous and brave-- 'Their daughters full of grace; Fit objects , of esteem and love— A truly noble race. The forests bend before the axe, And yield their ancient reign ; Row fields are opening to the plough, New cities deck the plain: Tb e hum of commerce Meets 'the ear, From morn till setting sun; The busy tribes both far and near, The race for riches run. Fair soisneitlifts her 'tar& on high, Its brightness to increase; And wisdom points to yeti* the way Of pleasantness and peace. Crowds hasten to the house of prayer, And praise their lips employ; While heralds of 'the Cross proclaim Glad tidings of great joy. . Where'er the sysinger turns his steps, The doors are open wide; And - still the hospiiable board For ail his *aids provide. And warm affection's saoredzlow Burns bright within the heart, And overflowing kindness seeks That pleasure to impo.rt. May peace and plenty ever bless Columbia's favored land ; Exalted bigh by righteousness, May it conspicuous stand. Led by the social light that'beams From inspiration's page; Firm let the Word of God be held, Though impious zealots rage. • ..Thos may this mighty people be An instMnient for good; Thai may the Gospel be preserved From ; superstitloa's.flood. To new and ever widening fields, The teeming millions fly; And guide most sure for weal or Woe, "'This world's great destiny, Oh t , beaten then the glorious time, When Christ shall reign atone, And all the riations of , the earth, Be blended into one. And now'the gallant vessel waits— The crested billows swell— Soft gales will waft me to my home, 'Columbia, fare•thee-well. Oft will-my journeyings hero recur, ',leash% memories fraught; This green spot on the map of life, Will never be forgot. Soon will your fading shores, sweet hind, Be ,hiddenfrom my view, But never front my heart can fade, The kindness found in you. Oh, may the friends so'deei and laved, Who cheered the stringer'si breast, All meet in a far better land— The kindgom of the blest. littrarg THE STA f TE Or TUX EXTIUUTEXT DEAD. By AlvaX, Hovey, D. D, Professor of Christian Theology in the Newton Theological Irietitn tion. 18mo.. pp. 168. Boston: Gould i t Lincoln. 1851. This ii anlgesay which was read stAtonfer ence of the Baptist Ministers of Maiiiiiiktiette, held in Worcester, October 26th, 1858, and •it =is now published at the unanimous requeit of the ASsoCiation. ,We are glad- that this request has been made, for the Essay is one of the most sat isfaitory pieces on the subject which wi hive eier seen. There is .ad ostentatious - dliplay of learning, no offensive, garnishing of paged with fOot•notes bristling with German, Greek, or Hehrew ; but every scholar will see ~that the au thor is a Isarned man, and his knowledge is as conspicuous an the analysis of the subSiot and the arrangement of the topics, 'as 'in the actual reasoning. This is an excellent little volume, and we commend it; heartily to our miiiisierial brethren who have in their borders either tinite rian,,Oniversalist, or other opponents of the truth of the Gospel. MAr or, PArassrths.--.lames" dhallen & Si have'pripiii'ed, in , a separate manner, the atlzni-' rable Map; of Palestine which accompanies the great work of. Osborn on Syria, so as to be folded up for the, pocket ,or the 'traveliug,case„ Tt is' also sketched on canvas, and fitted. np with rollers, for the °lase-robin, the hall, or the :Library. No , ordinary palm§ have been, taken in -the projection of this map, and in the verification of the localities mentioned: vie doubt not, be found exceedingly faithful. Tae. 0 BURCH le THY SORIPTITRea. A discourse delivered in the Bridge Street church::GesirgS tow n, (D. C.,)' at the Ordination of Deiteons, October 80th, 1868. By Rev. J. H. Beceek, D.l) Philadelphia:: ' This discourse appears by request of tits audience. that heard it delivered, It is a strong defence of - Presbyterianism agginst the theory of the Episcopalians, and in the same COMMIS it would be diAnelt in modern literature to find more arguments condensed and happily met. Mr. Wilson sends it' out with his usual taste. T HE ' ,SLonan Lynn; New Collection of liymns and Tunes, for Family and Social Worship. By Air). Aldrich, if. 12,m0., pp. 282. Bpstni:, Anckew Graves. New York: Skeldoni Blakenum f t Co. Philadelphia: Cha t/et Son.t We have examined this volume , oinsidera ble ciiie, and as we flatter , ourselves that we have some knOwledge of what at Sacred Lyre should be, •we•state with ranch confidence that 'this is a valuable collection. There' are a considerable number of light movements in the book; such airs we do not desire to see introduced into our Presbyterian Psalmody; but, on the tither hand, the solid matter, the 'grave, sweet melody, and excellent harmony, that abounds in the work, are ouch is to make it an attractive and rueful book. CHRISTIAN MORALS. By lama OWlen, author of " The Gospel and its Elements," " Christian Evidences," "Cave of Machpelah," 18mo., ;pp:,199. Philadelphia: Ames Mallen if Ran. ; Itoston Crosby, Nichols ' This is not a formal treatise on Ethics, and yet it covers the - .greater portion of the territory usually traversed by. such works. The object of the writer is rather to show the influence of the authority and;example of the,; Great . Teacher in - the ; school of morals.„ The. style ;is 11.10 id and forbible, ,and the great variety, of topics intro dnoed, show the ,writer's acquaintance with. the question which he has undertaken to discuss. , CHAMEN I II ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY. VOl. VIII, The first number of this serial is on otir table. It is neatly`printed, beautifully illustrated, as all the bookti of this firm are, and-the matter le ra iled and initrnetive. A Wolin TO PABENTS ;1, or 'The Obligations ,and Limitations of Parental Authority. By the Bulkeley,' Ballstott, N. Y. 18mo., pp. --. Philadelphia : Presbytdiah Board of Publication,: 821 Chestnut Street. 1869. This is An admirable.. Tract for parents. and ,heads of ,families. oyFrAT,i's January,: .New Year's Greetiug.,'Judi= end Longevity. . Ettekirhatit °Ara:. Pork as Poo& • • Wearing: Blannei. The Haman Hair. ' Growlore. " Self Medication., Warming Hones : • • How;He Lived Real por n Bread. Softening of the Brain. Dieting for Health. I • , One Dollar per year.: Specimen numbers, ten Mitts. Address Hall's Journal of Health, New. York. . : Ett Par the Presbyterian Balmer and advocate. 'The Laws Crams. As was intimated in 'ray s{ lasi article on this subject, I now proceed to notice some of those provisions of the judicial law which, as it appear to me, are sometimes Misunder stood, and from 'which, in • consequence of that 'misunderstanding, unirarranted infer ences; bearing on ~certainquestions of mor als or duty,. are drawn. • •• •To guard :against' any miaconception , of my:meaning, let me say at the outset, that the surpassing excellence of the judicial code,. whether ;considered:in itsell,,or comparison ~ with: t he laws of other ancient nations, is admitted. And the further we , pursue:our inquiries in this, direction, the better will we:be Prepared to appreciate the insttuction_conveyed in the, question which Moses addressed to the people whom he had beep. appointed to gevern : " What nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judg ments so righteous as this law, which I set before you this day ?"---:-Dent. iv :8. Bat this aspect of the subject has been presented much" better than I could do it, in works that are aeoeSsihle_to all. Those who desire to see the excellence of the constitution and laws evento the Hebrews, ' exhibited in a very lucid' and satisfactory Manner, are re ferred to Wines' Commentaries on the Ha bra • ' It is fully # adinitted; aleo, that Moses en joyed' the :same plenary inspiration' in ivii tingtthe judicial law, that he didin writing the moral—the Author of both is the same. But if the distinctions which I have en deavored to establish in former numbers, are 'carrot, all this is .'perfedly?consistent with the position which I am now about to take, viz.,,that the same kind of .excellence or perfection ; which is,properly attributed; to the. moral ;law, does =not belong to. the ju dicial node, nor can; in the natures of the case, belong to it. , • The. goodriese ,or excellence, of any civil ; polity or code of laws, is relative to thepur eircunistancie, and. character -".of the people to be geverned. A code of laws which is;good for one people, may be utterly unfitted icr another people. If this were not so, if the'civil laws of the Jews as the product of Infinite Wisdom, wi r e as good for one community 'ine‘for another, na tions ought to adopt it,. and every common. wealth that 'departed 'from - this''inipired code, or attempted to improve upon it by enacting other laws, would be guilty of gross folly and impiety. It is Plaiarthat • the at tainments in knowledge' the Sentiments, the habits and customs, and even the-prejudicee of a people, must be taken into the account in determining the question whether a given code of laws ie - good for them: Because no law that Shocks their sentiments, violently interferen habits, of con. flicts with their prejudices, can ever be exe cuted by their magistrates, in such a way as to do that people any good, however excel lent in iteelf, or fora people prepared to re ceive it; And this remark his peculiar force in reference'to the Asiatics, who have, in all ages; been 'distingitished tor" their te nacity in adhering to ancient •laws and wages. Now, although God was the.author of the Jewish civil law, it was, as I had oc mien to ''remark before, tO'be administered or executed by. men. To be a wise and good law, therefore, for, them, it must be adapted to eircutestances, including their attainments in knowledge, their habits and sentiments, their previous laws and usages, and the influences which operated upon them---from the examples of surround ing nations. ' Nay, violent interference with their rooted prejudices, must be aveided. Thatihe law given theni was the best possi ble law for them, that it was 'adapted better than any. ether law wouldhave•been to-their circumstances, is undoubtedly4rue ; and:yet it may be -true that it contained • many pro visions which were not good i absolutely °On- • sidered, but onli.in a relative and qualified sense It must not be supposed that the Israel- Egypt, had ,no laws. We know= that before they left that—prob ably diming time, of 'their residenea there—they• had eldeis, which is milk an other name-lor magistrates,, or rulors; and there were, `of 'course, kis by which these magistrates were 'guided in; administering justice. Peihapc they had no written laws —no 'digested code of laws : their laws may have been rather of the nature of usages, tharn 'eintottnenta l —r common,' rather than statute.laws; but still,they had all the force and all the sanctity.Of laws in the minds of :the people. Nor can it be dotibted that, the Jaws and usages of the nations by which they were. surrounded, } had much to do in fixing the usages and moulding the institu tions-of the Israelites. Now, in adapting a midi of lewd to the circumstances, of this peopin, to be, administered by ) , their magi& trates,,true wisdom would require that some regard should be '.had, to existing laws and usagei. And,'aCcordingly i we ffa4 in, the judicial eode, not a few provisions which OURNAT, or:EvAram,for How'frequently do we read , in the 'news papers of the outbreak ,of conflagrationse more or less devastating in theircharacter, to Ivhieh it is difficult to assign an adequate origin - . -. gable of ` these 'may 11oubtletis be it! tributed to spontaneous combustion—mean ing by that term a conflagration occasioned by the contact of substances which, in nocuous in their normal condition, become fraught with danger when brought into col .liaion. few notes upon this curious sub ject will be intereeting. ' ; Cotton which has been wetted with pH speedily takes fire. It is well known how 4iffictilt, almost impossible, it is to' prevent rthe escape of oil- from casks; and yet, the slightest quantity of this liquid issuing from bettieen the staves upon cotton may produce combustion. - Upon this point the following occurrence is to i be found in the ",Philoso phical Transactions :" "Nr. (folding, an official of the East India Company, had left a bottle containing, oil, upon a table in , the ar5q41,11e51.4 a cheat filled with coarse cottons. The bottle was overturned in the night, probably by rats; it broke upon the lid of the cheat, and the oil penetrated the cottons. When the chest was opened, upen the ensuing morning, the cottons were , found .hurning and partially consunied, while the chest itself was upon the point' of bursting into flames. In his first alarm, Mr. Golding imagined, that an' attempt has been, made to set the arsenal on fire; but as no traces of inflammable mate rials were found, after the strictest search in the vicinity of the cheat, he communicated the matter, to Mr. Humphries, a brother "of- fteial. This gentleman had studied °herniae' works ' among others that of 'Hopson, in which various eases of spontaneous combus tion were= delailed. Struck by the similarity of the occurrence which .had just taken place, to some of those of which he had read, he determined upon essaying an exper- "For this purpose he moistened a piece of cotton of a similar. description =to rthat which had been burned, with: linseed oil, and placed it in a. small box, whioh-he then looked. Three hours - after, the -box began t . ) smoke, and upon ' being opened, the cotton in was discovered precisely the same condi-4 tion : as •31i. Golding had:found the contents; of 'his chest." In 1781, some Russian ships, at Cron-; etadt, upon which it was'weli known no .flre, had been lighted for five, years, suddenly: Iburstt into flames without, ostensible cause.l The Empress gave orders to the Academy' , , at St. Petersburg, ,to institute inquiries andl ,experiments upon the, subject, and it ap-1 peered tbat the soot proceeding .from ,vege- 1 -table substances-- 7 tbat is to say, pinetree, soot, and such as proceeds from trees con-t tabling resin—when wetted With hemp .oil, isi liable to spontaneous celebration, Which,* not the ease with soot arising from animali substances. : - The fearful conflagration, of the , large ropegnagazine at St. Petersburg; as well as a fire at the dockyard of RochfoN in 1757, were ascribed to similar causest In '1757, the' sail magazine at Brest; was , entirely Consumed in consequence`of heaping , waxed cloths upon one'another, which' had - been painted upon one sideand dried'in the, sun. lenthentic reports of experiments in stituted to discover - the•cause, ascribe •64 calamity to spontaneous combustion.- Sala, din and• Carette have , demonstrated 'that vegetable stuffs boiled in" oil or grease, and even 'some time afterwards placed ,upon one another, burst into flames t upon the -admitsdon of.air ; and it is very remarkable that the same, snbstances, if they were.darnp be. fore being. placed in , oil, speedily consume] ' HIE PRESBYTERIAN BANNER AND ADVOCATE. are known to have had a place in the laws of all, or nearly all the nations with which the Israelites had intercourse, before the de. livery of the law of Moses. And- in re. laden to some of them, we may safely affirm, that if they had not been firmly fixed in the sentiments and habits of the people to be governed, they would never have fOund a place: in the legislation of Moses. What he did in relation to these old estab lished laws, was to restrict and limit them so as to render them as unobjectionable as the circumstances of that people ,weuld per mit, and render the evils involved in them, ,in some cases, subservient to the purposes which God designed to accomplish, hy sep. crating them from other nations and' taking them into a peculiar relation to himself. For example, the law''Of blood avenge nient, as it hi sometimes called, was in force, it is well known, before the limb of Monti —it entered into the code. of all ancient nations, go far es known. smi c , law made the nearest male relative of the murdered person, both judge and executioner:: He was authorized to pursue the murilerer,.and put him to death wherever, he, might find him. , This law was not repealed, but modi fied, restricted, and limited iri the judicial law of the Jews. By providing pities of refuge, and restricting the rights- of, 'the avenger of blood, as .those rights weeeev , erywhere understood, the evils and abuses: to whiali such a law opens the way, were mitigated. But may: we not safely affirm that even in its modification, it wthild never have been found in the inspired, cede, had it not been deePly itebedded in the pablic•mind of that age as a righteous and necessary law. Our law, which requires •the, trit&of one who is accused of murder by a jury, according, to known and established _forms, and that when convicted, he shall' be exe dated a public' officer charged With 'that' duty, is undoubtedly a great improvement on the ancient laws and usages of the Asi atics in relation to murder. For us it is a much better law. And yet we may safely eon elude; that for:the Hebrews. under the vie e:umstancee,.the law which Moses gave.was better. The above : remarks will apply ,to.' the, jaw ,of :retaliation,.' ,an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tootk,", and many, others found in tee judicial code. They were,not original enaetnidnts, but modifications of ancient .laws, intended to guard against' abuses, and mitigate the evils 'involved in, laws which were every where considered just and necessary.. - In the lawsi and usages of , the Hebrews before the time 'of Moses, deriV6d, as they were to some extent, fieni the nations around them, it is but reasonable to suppose that there- were some which involved, not only: bonier and reilitical evils, such as 'have been noticed above, brit moral evils. elan.' That is to say, some of their usages which had the force of law, were morally wrong. How did He whom• they received at Sinai. as their King, treat such laws and usages in the civil code which he revealed to them,Y Did he utterly' abrogate all such laws, or, did he limit and restrict them, and arrange his providence -so as -to make these evils the occasion of bringing about hie most wise and holy purposes, in relation to that people? The question is 'not' what would we expect, him to-do in such eireunistances, but what has he actually done 7 To- this question I propose to call attention in my next. nen Spontaneous Combustion. while they smoulder away into ashes without flaming, if previously well dried. Papermakers know that the heaps of rags which lie piled up in their faotories, would speedily break out into spontaneous combus• tion, if precautionary measures against their bedoming unduly heated were not adopted in proper time. The danger of damp or wk hay kindling r is.a matter with which no farmer is .unacquainted. Wheat, also, oe casionally beopmes.inflammable, but far less frequently than hay, owing $o jka being sel-, dom istacked,in so Aamp a condition, as well as to greater carefie.ing exercised. Tobacco leaves in casks will likewise become heated at trines. Count:Narozzo relates a ease of spontan eous combustion . ; 'accompanied by an ex plosion, which took place in a flour maga zin`e at Turin. This was ascribed to a pan titi of flour dust, , whieb,'in consequence of the of 'some 'of the seeks, was float ing in the air, laving caught fire at the flame of an open lantern, and having thus communicated With the remaining 'contents of , the rnagazine ; but the cause of the con flagration was never accurately ascertained. Frequent instances have been known .of !tbe- speritaneous- combustion >of wools; par ticularly of thoee still in the ; pieces of cloth in,a greasyaoudition have also been seen to burst out f it:art flames. without ap parent cause. Occurrenens of this descrip tion, howeirer, ha,Ve only been observed to take place When 'the superincumbent sub stances possessed' Certain amount of damp ness, the decomposition 'of the` water by the ] increased• temperature - Occasioned by Armen:- tation feeding the conflagration. From this may ba'seen how:careful one, ,abonld be in heaping bales,of which;frequently. al., rive in a damp Icondition, one ~upon ,the other, arndrhow necessary, to their preserva tion it is that ,they should, be ,thoroughly dried before being placed in store. ; Cotton and oil should Oman be carefully aeparated-; the „former should, never .be preserved ; in cellars,,frnrn theirliability . ,to impart dainp nem, occasioning the very danger;it, is , desired to avoid. Wool and cotfon timOulder,, as long"as no free Current of air is admitted ; when this takes Place they, burst intellatnes. It is unnecessary', enter - Upon the many other eases which spontaneous combils-' tion may' occur. Its Causes are extremely diierse, tending- more lor less to the same conclusion—that the utmost care should be 4 Nerved lit 'magazines whioh 'contain inilam mable. 'substances. These should never be 'stored - in' large quantities, especially When in a damp condition; they should be frequently examined r - and measures of.: precaution adopted' if the slighteit tendency to heat be ananifeated, for the least - delay, may lead to conflagration. If the examination: is ander taken , at,ttight, it should sot be. by , the light of a naked flame, as the gases -which these substances ;develop, are frequently kindled. by the contaet:—Leisure Hair, 4 , isttligneous A New Nace of Human Beings. :Some:: time since, a paragraph appeared :in a Neiv• South; ales journal relative to ttbe Acseiiireliy; in the' far - interior, of a new • 'race Of blacks,' who had , io hair- on the top 'of their beads:- The :mount , lof this mbst eitraordinary 'ameovery "has been-• corrobo rated by. to ,eye , witness; a •Mr.'Thomsoni who has•arrived-from where the aboriginals ruralize. Thei:are, he - -Saye; of iv copper color, and arettall riusLathletie,..mnoh supe-, , riot in every: respect to