society, which has also the care of the cantonal library. Four periodical papers are published in the same town. One of them, in German, the Swiss Messenger, had, a few years since, more than five thousand subscribers. The inhabitants of Arau, celebrate in the month of August every year, la Fête de la jeunesse. The houses and the streets, on this occasion,are ornamented with garlands of verdure and flowers; and after a solemn religious ceremony, and a sermon, the evolutions of the corps of cadets, and various gymnastic exercises take place, in which young people between the age of eight and eighteen, are engaged, presenting a very animated spectacle, and attracting crowds of observers. To this succeeds a banquet in the open air, in which the children of all the schools, instructors, mem bers of the government, and principal inhabitants take a part. These joyful repasts are sometimes followed by the flight of a balloon, or a hymn sung in concert, and the fete is terminated by a rural dance. Silliman's Journal. "We have been favoured," says the Christian Observer for October, "by the author, with the loan of a literary curiosity, entitled, "Divinity; or Discourses on the Being of God, the Divinity of Christ, the Personality of the Holy Ghost, and on the Sacred Trinity; being improved Extracts from a System of Divinity," by the Rev. W. Davy, A. B, Curate of Lustleigh, Devon. Printed by himself; fourteen copies only. 1823. The name of Mr. Davy will be familiar to our literary readers, as the indefatigable author, editor, and printer of the "System of Divinity," alluded to in the above title: a massy work of 26 thick volumes, compiled and printed under circumstances which well entitle the writer to a conspicuous place in Mr. D'Israeli's "Calamities of Authors." This work, the fruit of a life of labor, ("from the first maturity," says the author, "of my reason, 1763, to the present, 1823,") Mr. Davy was anxious to give to the world, fully expecting that it would not only be extensively purchased and read by individuals, but be "authoritatively placed in churches for the benefit of mankind in general." He began with a tolerable subscription list in 1786; but this failing him by desertion, and his pecuniary loss being heavy and himself poor, he resolved to become his own printer. He accordingly constructed a press with his own hands, and purchased a few old types, with which he commenced his protracted task. In 1795, he had completed forty copies of his first volume, all of which, except 14, he distributed to reviewers, public characters, and learned institutions, hoping by this specimen to ensure a large demand for the whole work. Disappointed in his expectation, he recommenced his manual labours, printing, however, only fourteen copies of the remaining volumes; because, as he says in the work before us, he was unequal to the purchase of a larger quantity of paper, being in the possession of only £40 per annum, in a ruinated and ruinous parsonage house; and, from the paucity of his types and skill, able to take off but one page at a time,-so that, working almost night and day, he would not, up to the present moment, at the age of 80 years, have more than half concluded his undertaking, if a considerable number had been to be struck off. The 26 volumes were completed in 1807; and the volume just printed consists of "improved Extracts" from them. The getting up is sufficiently curious; and among other novelties in typography, the author frequently sticks on sundry slips, riders, and codicils, wherever a new thought has occurred after the page was printed off. We recommend to his friends to consider, whether, under all the circumstances of the case, it might not be desirable to procure a liberal supscription-list, for the reprint of the "improved Extracts," to reimburse the worthy and aged author for a fraction of his life's labor." List of New Publications. RELIGIOUS. Notes on the Epistle to the Romans; intended to assist Students in Theology and others, who read the Scriptures in the originals. By Samuel H. Turner, D. D., Professor of Biblical Learning, and Interpreter of Scripture in the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church. pp. 120.-New-York.1824. VOL. VI.-No. 3. 22 The Cause of the Greeks. A Sermon preached in St. Andrew's Church, on Sunday, Jan. 18. By the Rev. G. T. Bedell. Philadelphia. A Survey of the Protestant Missionary Stations throughout the World; carefully prepared on a new plan, from authentic documents. By the Editor of the Christian Herald: New-York, 1824. The New Jerusalem Church Defended; being a Reply to an attack made upon her Doctrines and Principles, in the Christjan Spectator of New-Haven. By M. B. Roche. pp. 20. 8vo. Philadelphia. Sermons illustrative of the Influence of a life according to the Commandments, on our idea of the character of the Lord; delivered before the Boston Society of the New-Jerusalem. By Thomas Worcester. Boston. 37 cents. A Sermon, preached at Newark, October 22, 1823, before the Synod of NewJersey, for the benefit of the African School, under the care of the Synod. By Samuel Miller, D. D., Professor in the Theological Seminary at Princeton Trenton, 1823. An Examination of the Divine Testimony concerning the Character of the Son of God, by Henry Grew, Minister of the Gospel, in Hartford, Connecticut. MISCELLANEOUS. The American Journal of Science, and Arts. Conducted by Professor Silliman, Vol. VII. No. 2.-Feb. 1824. S. Converse New-Haven. A Winter in Washington; or Memoirs of the Seymore Family.-2 vols. 8vo.New-York, 1824. A Practical Essay on Typhous Fever. By Nathan Smith, M. D., Professor of the Theory aud Practice of Surgery in Yale College. pp. 88. 8vo. An Anniversary Discourse, delivered before the Historical Society of NewYork, on Saturday, December 6, 1823; showing the origin, progress, antiquities, curiosities, and nature, of the Common Law. By William Sampson, Esqr.—pp. 68. 8vo. Sketches of the Earth and its Inhabitants, with one hundred engravings. By J. E. Worcester, A. A. S.-Boston. Religious Intelligence. AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MELIORATING THE CONDITION OF THE JEWS. Our readers are aware that the plan originally contemplated by this Society was that of an extensive colony in the interior of New-York. We learn from Israel's Advocate for February, that this plan has been given up :-First, as being too extensive. The purchase of a tract of land sufficiently extensive for such a purpose would require not less than $75,000. This sum, with the expense of transporting them from the seaboard to the settlement, the ere tion of buildings for their accommodation, &c. &c. would far exceed the resources which the Society could hope to command. Secondly, as being unnecessary. The warm est friend to any plan of meliorating the condition of the Jews, does not suppose, that in many prospective years, converts will come to our shores in such numbers as to require the occupancy of 15 or 20,000 acres of land; or if they should, that any considerable portion of them would be prepared by inclination, or previous hab. its, to engage in agricultural pursuits. The plan now adopted by the Board is as follows: I. The object of the society is, to invite and receive from any part of the world, such Jews as do already profess the christian religion, or are desirous to receive christian instruction, to form them into a settlement, and to furnish them with the ordinances of the gospel, and with such employment in the settlement as shall be assigned them. II. The Jews who come to the settlement are to be principally employed in agricultural and mechanical operations. III. In order to facilitate this object, the Board shall procure as much land as will afford a site for the necessary buildings, and the contemplated mechanical and agricultural operations. IV. In order to afford the emigrants suitable religious instruction, a minister of the gospel shall be procured by the Board, whose duty it shall be to act as the general superintendent of the settlement. V. A schoolmaster shall be provided, to teach the children and youth such branches of the different sciences as may fit them for becoming intelligent, respectable, and useful members of society. VI. Theological instruction shall be provided in the settlement for such youth of piety and talent among the Jewish converts, as it may be deemed expedient to have qualified for becoming ministers of the gospel or missionaries. VII. On the contemplated settlement, a farm shall be stocked, and furnished with suitable implements of husbandry. The produce of the farm shall be considered common stock for the support of the different members of the settlement; and an experienced farmer shall be placed thereon to manage its concerns. VIII. All the members of the settlement are to be considered as a band of brethren, governed by the laws of our Divine Redeemer, and associated together for the purpose of aiding each other in the concerns of the life that now is, and of that which is to come; and if any of the emi grants should act inconsistently with their profession, the Board reserve to themselves the right, at any time to remove them; lest by their improper conduct they should eorrupt the morals of the other members of the settlement. The committee have not entered into the details of the internal regulations of the settlement. Many of these must necessarily be left to circumstances and experience. They have contented themselves with submitting a general plan, which may form the basis of future operation, and which may be expanded and improved, as the necessities of our Jewish brethren may require, and the means of the society will admit. It is the intention of the Board to purchase, for the present, from four to six thousand acres on the site of the intended settlement; and as a preparatory step to this, and that no delays may take place in the consummation of their views, they intend to procure immediately, near the city of New-York, a place of reception for those Jewish brethren who may seek the blessings of civil and religious liberty on our shores, American Colony at Cape Messurado. By the arrival of the Fidelity, at PhilaJelphia, from Cape Messurado, intelligence has been received that the colonists were generally in good health and spirits. Trade up the country was, in January, when the Fidelity sailed, obstructed by war between the Soosos and the Toulahs, but a more auspicious state of affairs was anticipated. The ten blacks, whom the United States' government permitted to return to their native country last October, bad all reached their respective homes. The fathers of three of them were trading at the settlement when the Fidelity arrived in Africa. Their mutual joy may be imagined more readily than described. It it also stated as a singular occurrence concerning another of the ten, that on their landing at the colony, he immediately met a native who had come down from the interior to trade, and who was the very person that had sold the now liberated man, as a slave. He had captured him in war, and, agreeably to custom, sold him as his own property; and now, (as soon as convinced that the free man disclaimed all intention of revenge) accompanied him home. From statements recently made by the agent of the American Colonization Society, (says the New-York Observer,) we learn that the whole number of colonists at Messurado, including 105 who sailed not long since in the Cyrus, is 245. The whole number of coloured people who have embarked for Africa under the patronage of the Colonization Society is 317. Several of these have returned to this country, and some of them have become settlers in the English Colony at Sierra Leone. The whole number of deaths among the colonists from the commencement of the settlement has been 42, of which number 22 were among the passengers in the Elizabeth, the first vessel which visited Africa. Since the settlement at Messurado in the spring of 1822, 20 deaths have occurred, and of these, four were killed in the war with the natives, and two were drowned. If we understand the statement then, there have been only fourteen deaths by sickness in a population of 140 persons, during a period of probably 18 months, and under all the multiplied hardships and privations incident to a new settlement in a tropical climate. Surely there is no foundation for all the alarm that has been excited about the mortality at the colony! Missionary Seminary at Basle in Swit zerland. The object of this Institution is the eduThe number of cation of missionaries. students, according to the latest accounts, is thirty-three. They are divided into The first class contains three classes. are engaged in merely preparatory stunine students, and consists of those who dies. The directors feel under no obligation to carry them through the whole The second course of their education. class is composed of eleven young men, who, during their preparatory studies, have shown themselves worthy of being employed in the arduous service of missions. The third class consists of thirteen, who are in the last year of their studies, and who expect soon to enter into the field of labor. The members of the two higher classes are subdivided into two divisions the first consisting of those who are intended for missionary preachers, and the second, of those who are considered as better qualified for missionary teachers and catechists. In the education of the teachers and catechists some of the higher exercises are omitted. The directors of the seminary state that numerous applications have been made for admission into the seminary, and that, although in some cases, the motive could be traced to the influence of mere wordly inducement, they have reason to believe that in by far the greater number of instances, the applicants are actuated by a deep-felt love to Christ.-N. Y. Observer, The Archives du Christianisme, a periodical work published in Paris, contains the extraordinary intelligence, that on the 6th of April last M. Henhoffer, the Roman Catholic Rector of the Parishes of Mullisausen and Steyneyg, in the Duchy of Baden in Germany, with the Baron de Gimdingen, his household and forty other families, making in all 220 persons, publicly embraced the Reformed Religion, in the Seignorial Chapel in Steyneyg; after which the adults received the Holy Communion, according to the rites of the Protestant Church. The affecting ceremony took place in a Roman Catholic country, in the midst of a vast assemblage of personages of different religious denominations, without the smallest interruption or disorder. GERMANY. Germany which a few years since contained a great number of infidels, has participated in an uncommon degree in the benefits resulting from the establishment of Bible Societies. Pure religion appears to be reviving. The Rt. Hon. Sir G. H. Rose, in a speech delivered before a Bible Society in England observed, "From the period of the active operation of these societies, infidelity has been giving way, and there is no other assignable cause for this but the increased attention paid to the holy scriptures. A pure spirit of religion is now rising in the north of Germany, and the missionaries lately sent thence to Sierra Leone, were among the first fruits of this revival of German piety." Intelligencer. MISSIONARY OPERATIONS, It appears from the N. Y. Religious Chronicle, that a union of the two principal missionary societies in this country is in contemplation,-that of the American Board of Com. for For. Missions, and the United Foreign Missionary Society. "Although the officers of the Societies may not meet before the middle of the next summer, yet there is a hope that the plan will eventually be carried into execution." ib. PALESTINE MISSION. (Extracted from the Missionary Herald for February.) Journey of Messrs. Fisk and King, from Cairo to Jerusalem, through the Desert. Messrs. Fisk and King were in Egypt about three months, during which time they distributed, or gave away for distribution, 3,700 tracts. They also gave away 256 copies of the Bible, or parts of it. and sold 644, (in all 900,) for 2378 piastres, or about 183 dollars. We now commence the description of their journey from Cairo to Jerusalem, in the course of which they passed through the same desert, though not through the same part of it, which the children of Israel passed through, when escaping from Egyptian bondage to the promised land of their inheritance and rest. Monday April 7, 1823.-Soon after sunrise, an Arab Shekh came with our camels. We had engaged 13, and were to pay six dollars and a half for each, for the journey from Cairo to Jaffa. Four were for ourselves and servant, one for our guide Mustapha, one for water, one for provisions, four for our trunks of books and clothes, and two for the books of the Bible Society and the Jews' Society. We had purchased four goat skins, and four leather bottles, in which to carry our water. We had hoped to find a caravan going through the desert, but finding it not likely that one would go for some weeks, we prepared to set out alone. At 9 o'clock we took leave of Mr. Salt and his family, and rode out of town; and after arranging our baggage, commenced our journey at ten, in regular order for Syria, As we started, a Turkish Dervish and two or three others joined our caravan. We passed a little way from Matarieh, and the obelisk of On, or Heriopolis. Till one o'clock we rode in the edge of the wilderness, with its immense extent stretching away to the right, and the fertile plains of the Nile to the left. At one, our road led us into the fields, but still near the desert. At nearly 4 o'clock, after riding more than five hours, course E. N. E. we pitched our tent on the sandy plain near the village Abu-Sabel. Here a number of Mussulmans and several Armenians joined our caravan. They had been waiting at the village for a caravan to pass, with which they might go through the desert. In the evening we observed the Monthly Concert of Prayer. Tuesday, 8th.-We arose at 5, and at 6, resumed our journey. At 8, we passed a village in a large grove of palm-trees.At half past eleven, having rode on with our guide, trotting our camels till we were almost out of sight of the caravan, we stopped to rest under the shade of a tree. Here we felt the force, and saw the beauty of the comparison, "like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." The caravan came up in half an hour, and we went on. At one, after riding seven hours, course N. and N. E. we pitched our tent on the road near the village Bilbes. Found the thermometer in our tent at 85°. In our room at Cairo it had been for some time from 70° to 76°. We have hitherto had fertile fields on our left hand, and the barren desert on our right. In looking off upon the desert, we have observed at a distance the appearance of water. The illusion is perfect; and did we not know that it is a mere illusion, we should confidently say that we saw water. It sometimes appears like a lake, and sometimes like a river. As you approach it, it recedes or vanishes. Thus are the hopes of this world, and the objects which men ardently pursue, false and illusive as the streams of the desert. Wednesday, 9th.-Bilbes being the last village before crossing the desert, our attendants were employed in getting things for themselves and their beasts, and we did not set off till half past nine. Several Turks, Arabs and Armenians here joined our caravan. After entering the desert, we counted the persons belonging to the caravan, and found the whole number 74, with 44 camels, 57 asses, one mule, and one horse. Several of the camels are loaded with merchandize, and most of the camel-drivers perform the whole journey on foot. It may be interesting to some of our friends to see a list of oriental names, and to learn with what a "mixed multitude" we passed through the "great and terrible wilderness." There were Mussulman Dervishes; viz. Hadgi Mustapha, of Jerusalem; Hadgi Abdool, Hadgi Khaleel (i. e. the beloved,) and Hadgi Saveer, from Bokkaria; Hadgi Kahman (ie. the merciful.) Hadgi Mohammed, and Abdallah, (i. e. the slave or servant of God,) from near Astrachan. Arabs-Mustapha, our guide and the Shekh of the caravan; Ismael (Ishmael) and Abdool Assiz (the slave of the Excellent,) who own a part of the camels; and Hadgi Ahmed, the conductor of a part of the caravan. Among the camel-drivers on foot were Moses, Mahommed of El Arish, Hassan, Hadgi Ibrahim (Abraham,) Mahommed of Gaza, Said, Khaleel, Mahommed, a lad, and Selim and Salina, two Bedouins. Turks.-Hadgi Ibrahim, of Damascus. [He was attended by a black eunuch, and his form and size would seem to mark him out as a son of Anak. "He seemed built like a tower.' Three soldiers from Erzeroum: Hadgi Suleiman (Solomon,) of Dearbeker; Hadgi Younas (Jonas,) of Bagdad; and Hadgi Mahmoud. Armenians.-Boghas (Paul,) from Smyrna; one from Constantinople; Boghas, and three others from Koordistan; and Tameer, who passed for a Turkish soldier, but told us privately that he was an Armenian. Greeks.-One from Tocat, where Mar. tyn died, one from Anatolia, (neither of whom speak any thing but Turkish,) and Elias, a Catholic Maronite from Naza reth. There were, also, eight women; one the mother of Elias, three Turkish, one an Arab, and three negro slaves. "Are At half past 2, after riding five hours, we pitched our tent on the plain called Rode el Wolten. Thermometer in our tent at 79°. Asked the Dervish Hadgi Mustapha, what a Dervish is. He replied, "One that eats what he has to day, and trusts to God for the future." they priests." "They are among Turks what priests are among Christians." "Are they Monks; or can they marry?" "Some marry, others not, as they please." The term Hadgi, which occurs so often in the above list of names, means pilgrim, and is a title given by the Turks to all who have performed the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Greeks have adopted the word into their language, and bestowed the title upon all who have made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Most of the time to day we have been rising a gentle ascent, course E. and N. E. We are now in the desert, out of sight of the inhabited world. Its appearance, however, is not so perfectly barren, as we expected to find it. Almost every where we see thistles, grass, and flowers, growing out of the sand, though thinly scattered, of stinted growth, and of a dry and withered look. When we stop, we select a good spot for our encampment, raise our tent on its two poles; and stretch out the ropes and fasten them to the earth with pins, and then arrange our trunks and boxes of books, so that they serve us for tables, chairs, and bed-teads. Thursday, 10.-When the caravan stopa the camels are turned out to feed on the thistles, weeds, and grass, which the desert produces. At sun-set they are assembled, and made to lie down around the encampment. Yesterday afternoon four of them, which carried merchandize for an Armenian, went off, and could not be found. Two or three men were despatched in search of them. This morning they were not found, and we arranged our baggage so as to give the Armenian one of ours. The rest of the company, also, gave him assistance in carrying his baggage, and we set off at seven. mountain at a great distance on our right, and a village far off on our left. In the course of the day the four camels were found at a distance, and brought into the encampment at evening. At 2, after seven hours travelling, we pitched our tent at Mahsima. Thermometer in the tent 84°, in the sun 104°. Here is a well of what we call here in the desert, good water. The goat-skins, which we took to carry water in, were new, and have given the water a reddish color, and an exceedingly loathsome taste. Saw a |