This religious principle is universal; for if man had no intuitive idea of the Infinite, no argument could convince him of the fact. As well may we attempt to convince the blind of the idea of sights, or the deaf of sounds, as to argue a man into the belief of the existence of God, unless he has a corresponding sensation. This idea of God depends not upon argument; it is a fact in man's nature, inseparable from the consciousness of his own existence; for we cannot be conscious of our own existence except as dependent beings; it therefore depends not on reasoning but reason. Whilst religion and Secularism are two distinct things, they are as inseparably connected in life as body and soul; the beinggood and doing-good spring from the same source. How many persons are there (and we must class "Rolla" amongst them) who entertain the notion that Infinite Wisdom has endowed man with capabilities, the exercise of which will prove his ruin. Reason, conscience, and the religious feeling, are assumed by them to be, at the best, uncertain and dangerous: hence the Roman Catholic church distinctly claims for itself superiority over them; and most of the Protestant churches imply in their teachings a like authority; they all claim for the scriptures mastery over the soul. They seem to disregard the watchwords of the early Christians:-"Quench not the Spirit;" "Prove all things;"" Hold fast that which is good." Inspiration was then free to all, they "needed not that any man should teach them." going beyond, the other falling short of its requisitions. Some days after this meeting we find Paul and Barnabas had a "sharp contention," and separated. Without entering into the details of the historical writings of the New Testament, we will just inquire, -Why is miraculous inspiration needed in the case of honest men wishing to relate what they saw, heard, and felt? Were we to point out disagreements in these records it would in no way militate against the honesty of the writers. This is beyond doubt; their narrative is so full of simpleheartedness, so touching, and so beautiful. If these things be so, are we to reject this "precious treasure"? No, honest reader! Take each part for what it is worth; accept the true, the good, and divine therein; but do not bow down to the Bible as to an idol; let it be your servant and helper, stimulating and co-working with reason, conscience, and the religious sentiment. Some would make the Bible, in spite of reason, the master of the soul; they take it as an infallible whole, equally extolling the law of Moses with the gospel of Jesus, David's curse as Christ's blessing; and call men "infidels and atheists" who dare lift up their voices against the idolatry of the church. Does "Rolla" date religion and piety from the time when the stereotyped canon was "published by authority, and appointed to be read in churches ?" Were there no pious men before Peter and John? Is the written word the medium of communication between God and man? When the scriptures were written, was the canon of revelation closed? No; God is in- We cannot sympathize with those who are exhaustible. He is still as near the soul as always seeking to degrade nature, who are matter to sense. He still remains;-God's ever prating on the depravity of the human voice in nature-his word in the soul. He heart-who speak of this life as if it were a inspires man now as much as ever. The curse rather than a blessing--who look upon Christian of the present day can stoop and man as a child of the devil, and not as God's partake of that fountain of living water at child-who cannot trace in the wise and which Moses and David, with the holy- pure realizations of this life an analogy with hearted of all ages, have drank and been the world-truths of futurity. The secularfilled. Yet the Bible, if wisely used, is a ist considers this life a blessing, and wisely blessed teacher. It was made for man, not makes the best of it, in doing all the good man for it. Man is superior thereto. Its he can; he does not despise its pure delights; truths are old as the creation, and will endure he never speaks of it as a vale of tears, and for ever. Religion is superior to all institu- nothing but tears;" although he has his share tions, and can never fail-they shall perish, of sorrow and difficulty, he testifies to the but religion will endure. truth that the happiness and joy that exists far exceeds the misery. He feels an indescribable pleasure in feasting on the bounties of the earth, the garment in which God veils Secularism, we maintain, is not opposed to religion. It does not deny the religious sentiment, which is a part of man's nature. 66 the brightness of his face;-there is the majestic mountain, the grandeur of the untamed forest, the rippling of the brook, the mighty sweep of undulated hills, the whisperings of the wind, and the music of the leaf, all give delight, and these all speak of God; and the profound solemnity of night, wrapped in her dark blue mantle, bedecked with beauteous stars, declare his glory. God hath not left himself without a witness within, and grandeur and grace press all around; then- "Be it ours to meditate, And to the beautiful order of his works Learn to conform the order of our lives." J. L. The Essayist. TRUE OBJECT OF HISTORY. THE true object of history is to teach nations their responsibilities, and to be a warning to such as would forget those great principles which must guide communities as well as individuals. This is equally the main object of all those studies and pursuits which are connected with history, otherwise they would be, to a great extent, idle and profitless. The antiquary, who toils to trace the relics of a past civilization, and to investigate ancient manners, and who digs into the bosom of the earth to seek the remains of long-lost empires; and the numismat, who collects and deciphers the coins of extinct dynasties, are little better than the schoolboy, who spends his summer holidays in robbing the bird's nest, or in picking up the many-coloured pebbles in the brook, unless their labours furnish a chapter to the history of man, and afford us some useful lesson, or some salutary warning. Had I been content to uncover the crumbling monuments of buried Nineveh to gratify an idle whim-had they afforded me no instruction-had they given rise to no earnest reflection-had they proved of no further use to this country than to satisfy a vulgar curiosity-I should indeed have been ashamed to allude to their discovery in such an assembly as this. I trust that even in the discharge of public duty, and in endeavouring to form my character as a public man, they will prove to me a continual warning, that the fate which befel Nineveh and Babylon may befall the mightiest of nations, when public virtue is no longer held in honour, when great principles no longer guide its councils, and when the public weal is sacrificed and made subservient to private interests. It is thus that archæology, when studied in a proper spirit, blends with history, and offers even a more instructive and solemn lesson than the most eloquent of writings. I speak from experience, as well as from deep conviction. Few men have had more occasion than I have had to reflect upon the fall of nations, to seek for the causes of their decay, and to muse over the worthlessness of riches, and the hollowness of worldly pomp. The plains of Babylonia, fretted with their numberless canals, now choked with sand, and no longer nourishing the thirsty soil-the vast monuments of Assyria, now buried deep in earth-the palaces of the kings of kings, now marked by a few solitary columns, and the resting-places of wandering tribes-the graceful temples of the Greeks, now hid by the rank grass-the colonial greatness of imperial Rome, its forums and theatres still standing majestically, but now silent, in a desert-what has brought about these mighty changes? to what are we to attribute this havoc? Surely these are no vain questions, at such a crisis as the present, in our country's history. For what good end has Providence permitted these solemn relics of fallen greatness to struggle with decay? for what good purpose has he permitted us, in these days, to recover from their long-forgotten graves the skeletons of great empires? Is it not that we should in time take learning by their fate, and that, having these solemn lessons before us, we should seek to avoid those vices and corruptions which led to their overthrow? When I see, as I have of late seen, minis ters of state in parliament seeking to justify disasters, and to extenuate fatal errors, disgraceful to us as a nation, and fraught with the greatest peril, by referring to calamities and events which occurred half a century ago, I naturally ask myself, Why is history written? Is it to afford us a justification or a warning? Are we to appeal to it, after national dishonour and ruin, or before they overtake us, that we may be saved from them? If to justify our national vices and misconduct is the only object of history, then I care not if every history that has ever been written be consigned to the flames. Of what use, then, the eloquent pages of Thucydides, the glowing episodes of Livy, the varied learning of Gibbon, the philosophic disquisitions of your own Robertson and Hume? If they be treasured but for the mere gratification of the fancy, or to excite the imagination, the romance and the Arabian tale would suit as well. No! History has a higher and a nobler aim-she has recorded on her imperishable tablets the deeds of the great, the excellence of national virtue, and the rewards of patriotism, that she might furnish the model, and be an encouragement to great, virtuous, and patriotic men. She has described in burning words successful struggles for liberty, and the happiness and prosperity of free nations, that nations yet unborn might strive to be free. She has traced with unwilling pen the decay of public virtue, the dishonesty of statesmen, and the loathsome details of corruption, hurrying states to utter ruin, that nations yet to come might honour public virtue, be jealous of the character of those who guide their counsels, and abominate corruption. She has pointed with melancholy earnestness to the tomb of fallen greatness, as a warning for all time that the immutable laws of God, which govern both the moral and physical world, cannot be outraged with impunity. Such are the objects and ends of history. It is because they are such that her votaries have been ranked amongst the instructors and benefactors of mankind.-Layard's Inaugural Address as Lord Rector of Marischal Col· lege, Aberdeen. The Inquirer. QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS. 267. Would any of your kind readers do me the favour of furnishing me with a list of the studies required for the Indian Civil Service Examination, and informing me of the usual course to be adopted in going in as a candidate? Also any general information they may be possessed of concerning it would be equally acceptable, and for which I should feel much obliged.-Yours truly, TELEMAQUE. wegians, Icelanders, &c.) had a nose tax? i. e., a payment calculated by the number of noses, like the English poll-tax, by the number of heads? There seems a clear allusion to such a tax in the following quotation from the " Ynglinga Saga:"-" Um alla Svithiod guldu menn Odni skattpenning fyrir nefhvert." It is translated by Laing, on "each head;" does it not mean, on every nose"? It also seems alluded to in the "Forus feasa avi eirinn," and also in the "Leabhar na g-ceart" (edited, with translation and notes, by Donovan). I should also be obliged if any correspondent would give me an account of the kind of chess played by the ancient Irish. Chess boards are frequently mentioned throughout the latter work-THRELKELD. 268. I have a Gregorian telescope, of nearly three inches aperture, but from the reflectors being scratched, and, I think, not possessing the necessary brightness, the object is not shown clear, but very misty; for instance, if we direct the tube towards "Jupiter," or any other planet, 270. While reading the Controversialist a the reflection appears zigzag and spotted. If second time, thoroughly, and in earnest (which this proceeds from the reflector being out of we would recommend to all who merely skim its order, can any correspondent give me an idea of valuable pages each month), I have studied the how much it would cost to polish it, and the best "Art of Speaking" in volume for 1851. "Cruelty place to get it done at? One "mathematical in- (p. 272) is therein described as "a compound of strument maker" has startled me by saying- anger, envy, and malice." Now, is not cruelty a Five pounds! Do you think that a telescope of passion which, though almost invariably united the above mentioned size would render the inoons with anger and its modifications, yet in certain and rings of Saturn and moons of Uranus visible? depraved and tyrannical wretches becomes an -SOCIUS. evil spirit in itself, evoked without any corre269. Can any correspondent oblige me by point-sponding feeling of anger, and indulged in for the ing out where I may find any passage proving cowardly gratification of inflicting pain, even withthat the ancient Northmen (Danes, Swedes, Nor-out deriving any interest or advantage thereby; as witness Nero, who fiddled while Rome was burning, and the Roman emperor of whom it is recorded, that he loved to gratify his cruelty alone from the satisfaction with which he beheld the sufferings of his victims? Is not also the description of malice (p. 271) more applicable to the character of cruelty? viz., “It is no sudden outburst of passion, but a cool, cautious adaptation of means to the attainment of an end-the infliction of pain, whether deserved or not: it is a wanton and gloating delight felt at beholding others miserable." Or, may not malice rather be said to be a modification of and lesser than cruelty? for instance, the passage quoted would as well apply to the latter; the part I have italicized reading, “it is a WANTON and gloating delight felt at inflicting pain on others." Would the able author of the "Art of Speaking," or any of your readers, kindly write in answer to these inquiries ?-A FRIEND. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS. 229. Red-Haired Men of Genius.-In further reply to Enitor's question, vol. v., p. 273, I would add to Mr. Redhead's list (ib., p. 433) Galileo, whose hair was of a reddish hue, and Tycho Brahe, whose was of a reddish yellow.-Brewster's "Martyrs of Science," second edition, pp. 94 and 146. I think also something might reasonably be put down on the score of there being comparatively but few persons of either red or light hair. B. B. B. 256. The Meaning of Names.-The derivation of the names Henry and William has already been given in this magazine; they mean respectively, rich lord, and defender of many. A young lady, who was told by her brother William that his name bore that signification, replied, "What a mistake, offender of many, you mean!" The name London, which town probably existed before the invasion of Cæsar (though it could not have been of much importance, since, although he passed very near to it, it is not mentioned in his "Commentaries "), is most probably derived from the Celtic; Londinium being the Latinized form of llyn dun," town of the waters."-THRELKELD. 262. Roman Coins. - The difficulty which "Cæsar" has met with is explained by the discovery of moulds for casting coins in different parts of the Roman empire and the continent; and from which it seems evident, not only that considerable forgeries of coins were made in the latter periods of the empire by unprincipled men, who then, as now, risked their lives for gain, but that the Roman emperors themselves were forgers, and that, while they punished the culprits, they themselves shared largely in the disgraceful theft; imitating, however, the money of their predeces sors, especially those emperors who had in some degree lowered the metallic standard; by means of which their own departure from all standard would be less likely to be found out. About twenty-five years ago an extensive manufactory was discovered while making some excavations near the old Roman road which passes by Damery, in France, said to be the site of ancient Bib, which, to all appearance, had been anciently a mint. The most satisfactory evidence was the finding above three hundred moulds for casting a number of coins all together, bearing the heads of different emperors, and names of different places; these moulds were made of hardened clay, and the blundered reverses were evidently occasioned by making up a pile of clay moulds, hastily and inadvertently misplacing the pieces, so that the reverse of one coin, when cast, was found opposite to the head of one which belonged to a different emperor. The great extent of the establishment, and its situation near a military road, evidences that it was not carried on by obscure coiners; it was certainly maintained at least with the connivance of government, but most probably it was a government establishment.-JAMES HIX. 265. The Collodion Process,-Collodion is a preparation formed by dissolving gun-cotton in ether. It is a very mucilaginous solution of a volatile character, and the ether evaporating leaves a film of the utmost transparency behind; by means of which, from its extreme sensitiveness to light, when properly charged with certain salts of silver, most beautiful pictures can be obtained, capable of multiplication to an unlimited extent, and of surpassing delicacy and truth. The most useful works on the subject are the following: Professor Hunt's "Manual of Photography," fourth edition, 6s., Griffin and Co., Finsbury Square; "The Collodion Process," by T. H. Hennah, second edition, 1s., Knight and Son, Fosterlane, London.-JAMES HIX. In answer to " Scipio's" question respecting "the collodion process of photography, I beg to state the following, which is an abstract from a paper on "The Preparations and Uses of the Chemicals employed in Photography," by J. B. Edwards, Ph. D.-Six drachms of collodion is mixed with two drachms of spirits of wine, saturated with iodide and bromide of potassium; when clear it is applied to a clean glass plate, and allowed to drain, till no streaks or ripples are to be seen; it is then plunged steadily into the nitrate of silver bath, which is prepared by dissolving the nitrate in a small quantity of water, and adding moist iodide of silver; boil them till no more iodide dissolves, filter, and then make up with distilled water till the bath contains thirty grains of nitrate of silver to the ounce. When the plate is evenly coated it is transferred in the dark to the camera and then exposed to the light; a few seconds is sufficient, and the picture is then developed with a solution of sulphate of iron (ten grains to one ounce, and three drops of nitric or sulphuric acid). A small quantity of spirits of wine improves this developing fluid. It is then washed and the iodide of silver removed by a solution of hypo-sulphate of soda, or cyanide of potassium (twenty grains to one ounce), the plate is then again well washed and dried; it is varnished black over the collodion, or with a varnish composed of chloroform and mastic; poured over it as the collodion was at first. By this process beautiful positive pictures are obtained for negatives. Albumen is used instead of collodion as follows:-Two grains of iodide of potassium are added to the white of an egg, and the whole beat up into a froth. It is then set by for a short time to settle; the clear portion is preserved and spread over the glass plate, in the same manner as the collodion, and dried with heat; immersed into a bath (of sixty grains nitrate of silver and one drachin of glacial acetic acid to the ounce), dipped into water once or twice, and then exposed in the camera, and developed with gallic acid, and fixed with hypo-sulphate of soda and water. As a good manual on the sub-fated line of Stuart, stand the ruins of what originally constituted the Scottish Mint." Here, from native metal, was first coined the "bawbee" of which we are now speaking. This coin was instituted during the regency of Mary of Guise, while the future beautiful but unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots, was a mere child. The superscription on the new made coin was that of the infant queen as she appeared at the coronation. She was represented as a child, nine months old, fat-faced, holding the crown of Scotland in her hand, and dressed after the fashion of the times, with large frills about her neck and wrists. Whether the coin had originally any definite name is perhaps impossible to tell; but the representation of their infant queen most naturally conveyed to Scotchmen the idea of a baby; and it is easy to perceive how that English word would, in passing the border, so to speak, which divided the two languages, be converted into " bawbee." Of all the coins that have ever existed, is there one more numerous than the family of the halfpennies? I have read most amusing and instructive articles on the history of several external objects, such as a lookingglass, a hat, &c.; but could any defaced halfpenny become its own biographer, it might tell many a tale fraught with instruction. The little ragged boy fondly holds thee in his clutched hand, which ever and anon he opens, to assure himself that thou art there, and that the source of his happiness is a reality. Joyously he threads his way through crooked lanes and winding alleys, till at last he resigns thee for the baker's roll. Being thyself of the lowest grade in the world of coins, thou art most frequently found in the pockets of the poor. The poor man thinks himself fortunate if he can claim as his a thing so trifling. But it would be impossible to tell all thy wanderings. Thou hast had thy share in adding both to the happiness and the misery of mankind. Although thy value is so insignificant, I can scarcely express a better wish, either towards the reader or myself, than that neither of us may ever be without thee. PAX. ject, I refer "Scipio" to a small publication, entitled" Practice of Photography," by M. de la Motte, published by Cundall, price 4s. 6d.-J. W. S. In answer to the question from "Scipio," relative to "the collodion process," it would take up too much space in the British Controversialist, and perhaps would not be palatable to all our readers, I therefore recommend "Scipio " to get the manual called "Practical Photography," by Charles A. Long, published by Bland and Long, Fleet-street, London.-THESUS. The Scotch Bawbee.-An able contributor has given in the pages of the British Controversialist, an exposition of the doctrine, so to speak, of Decimal Coinage. As a sequel to the articles on that subject, it may not be altogether amiss to say something concerning a coin in present currency, namely, the "Scotch Bawbee." I say Scotch, because, as I shall show, that coin was originally a purely Scotch one. Its value being exactly half the value of a penny, the coin, when imported into the sister kingdom, received the name of "halfpenny." As it may not be uninteresting to some of your readers, and especially those who, like myself, owe their birth to, and love to hear anything intimately connected with, old Scotia's land, I would take the liberty of giving a short account of the origin of the "Scotch Bawbee." Any Scotchman, coming in contact with Englishmen, cannot fail to perceive the confusion which our southern neighbours, unacquainted with "the gude braid Scotch," make between the words "baby" and "bawbee." An English lady, on hearing a beggar-woman ask for a" bawbee" as alms, came running to me, with eager look, and said, "Has that woman lost her baby; she says she wants a baby?" That there is a relation between the words "bawbee" and "baby,"-that the one is, in fact, a corruption of the other, I assert, and think I can prove. Strange indeed, but true it is, that such a relation should exist! In Stirling, a beautiful town on the banks of the river Forth, and long the place of residence of the ill |