he placed him in the garden of Eden "to dress and keep it," in other words, to be industrious. A far sterner necessity was laid on him after the Fall, as the earth was then doomed to a certain amount of sterility, which he had to overcome; thus, in truth, forcing him to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. We have only a very brief history of antediluvian industry; but it is sufficient to acquaint us that there were artificers in brass, iron, &c. Now, as the invention and first application of any art requires great industry, we are warranted to conclude that men were then industrious. But if they were ingenious and laborious in useful arts, they were not less artful and industrious in wickedness; for such was their impiety, that a holy and merciful God swept them off the earth, with the exception of one family. After the Flood, when man again began to multiply on the face of the earth, they resolved upon such a concentration of their industry as would preserve them from a similar visitation, and hence laboured for forty years to erect a tower "whose top should reach unto heaven." But any amount of industry is powerless to counteract the purposes of the Almighty. He introduced a confusion amongst the artificers, and scattered them over the face of the earth, while yet the result of their labour was much less considerable than other works of the ancient world, if we judge by the remains which have descended to us. After the dispersion of the population from Babel, and above four thousand years ago, when all the rest of the world was desolate or sunk in barbarism, arts and civilization took their rise in Egypt. Many monuments still remain of her ancient greatness, and of the wonderful architectural industry of her sons. One of these, the largest pyramid, is in perpendicular height four hundred and sixty-one feet, in each side of quadrangular base seven hundred and forty-six feet, thus occupying eleven acres of ground, and being composed of such enormous masses of stone that it may be truly considered a stupendous result of human industry. But according to the definition of industry with which we started, all such buildings, however wonderful, must be considered examples of misapplied labour. Of what utility have they ever been to mankind? The industry displayed in the construction of the numerous drains, canals, and other mechanism of artificial irrigation, by which the annual inundations of the Nile are rendered subservient to agricultural cultivation, is far more deserving of praise. As examples of art and industry, however, the pyramids of Egypt must yield to the great wall of China. This is probably the greatest result of human labour in existence. It is not only, however, in this that we see reason to applaud the energy and perseverance of the Chinese, for in the cultivation of their immense territory they show an example of skill and well-applied labour that may with advantage be copied by other countries. This has been achieved in defiance of the obstacles presented by tyranny, idolatry, superstition, and ignorance, and by their absurd veneration for what is ancient, combined with a resistance to the introduction of the knowledge and arts of more civilised countries. As it is not our intention to write a universal history of national industry, we only design to take a note here and there, confining our attention to the peaceful arts; for we have no sympathy with those who have expended their genius and toil on devastation and slaughter. The poet did not say, in the following happy lines, the worst that could be said : "War is a game, which, were their subjects wise, Kings would but seldom play at." The inhabitants of Tartary live partly on the produce of their herds, on agriculture, but principally by the chase. This precarious mode of existence-feasting one day and starving the next-arrests the progress of advancement, and condemns man to a perpetual barbarism. It is not so, however, with Russia, where the genius of Peter the Great gave an impulse to industry and civilisation, which has continued ever since to extend, although occasionally retarded by the aggressive wars of the Autocrats. Although agriculture is the principal employment of the immense population of that empire, yet since 1815 arts of all kinds have made great progress. The inhabitants of Poland, by their industry, rendered their country a vast granary, from which the rest of Europe in times of scarcity could obtain supplies. We are now, however, compelled to speak of it in the past tense, for geographers have blotted the name out of the map of Europe. The patriotic struggles of unhappy Poland, while expiring in the bloody embrace of Russia, Austria, and Prussia, rouse the sympathies of every correct thinking man. Nobly has the poet painted the sorrowful event in these magnificent lines : "Oh, bloodiest picture in the book of time! Found not a generous friend, a pitying foe, We consider it an axiom that industry, nationally and individually, will be productive of independence and happiness. The fate of Poland would seem adverse to the truth of our proposition, but logicians say that an exception serves to strengthen and enforce a general rule. Besides, a little reflection will shew that Poland is not an exception: she fell, not because her sons were industrious, but because her avaricious neighbours would not allow her to enjoy the rewards of industry. Perhaps the inspired writer had a prospective view of the miseries of Poland when he said,-" And I looked, and behold! on the side of the oppressor there was great power, and there was no comforter." We need not attempt to scan all the mysterious workings of God in his providential dealings with nations, but we may rest assured that the denunciations of His word against the oppressor cannot fall to the ground; as surely as God is just, the hour of retribution shall come. J. G.* THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CONVICT. I was born in London, of decent parents, who bestowed on my youth every care and attention that the most tender affection could suggest. By economising their limited means, they were enabled to keep me at school until I had acquired a fair knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic. At thirteen years of age I was apprenticed, according to my own desire, to a tailor, who carried on a flourishing business in the West End. I was then fond of play and idleness, and although the conversation of * Vide Note, p. 37. some of my associates had familiarised me with crime, my boyhood innocence was still unsoiled. I must confess, however unwilling I am to throw reflections on that loving mother who so patiently bore my caprices, and on that indulgent father who so studiously provided for my wants, that they did view my errors with too much lenity, and too seldom, by private admonition and personal example, tried to train and correct my unguarded impulses, or restrain my earliest aberrations from the line of rectitude. On this account I was placed in a slippery position, without any fixed support-neither a lowly dependence on the arm of God nor a proud self esteem; and thus tottering, I was liable to be impelled in a virtuous or vicious direction, according to the nature of the slightest external force or circumstance. This condition, without fixed principles, although often very temporary, with me endured for several years—the happiest of my life during which I was gradually losing the innocence of youth, without feeling the tortures of remorse. My apprenticeship being now finished, and having become a skilful workman, I was employed by my old master at high wages. This is the precarious point in the lives of most men, and, according to their conduct at this time, their future welfare or woe is determined. Unless when actually employed, earning the means of gratification—rather let me say ruin-my only object was the enjoyment of the passing hour. This I madly endeavoured to find amongst the degraded frequenters of taverns, or places more abandoned. There, in the company of persons equally or more reckless than myself, I squandered my wages, my time, and my character. Their insane dissipation had a kind of fascination for me, and I |