506 Mr. Weekea'a Description of 



of tha principle of witchcraft as these 

 poor dehided women. In his judici- 

 ous remarks, however, he does not 

 appear to me to have adverted to t/ie 

 cause of witch and some other crafts, 

 moral as well as physical, — that phan- 

 tom of a being called a Devil. The 

 agency of this omnipresent author and 

 promoter of all craft is maintained in 

 this country both by cliurch and state; 

 and, while in our courts of law crimes 

 are publicly denounced as being com- 

 mitted at the instigation of tlie devil, 

 can it be expected that either his influ- 

 ence or that of his imps will entirely 

 lose their hold on the minds of the 

 uneducated? If King James had not 

 been so fond of contending against 

 witchcraft, we should not have read, 

 most likely, of the witch, but of the 

 ventriloquist, of Endor; nor would the 

 tctmwitch have been in tlie translation 

 of the Scripture, since it is not the 

 proper rendering of any words used in 

 the Hebrew writings. It was this 

 king's fondness for demouology, as 

 originating in the devil, which occa- 

 sioned this term to be so frequently and 

 so improperly introduced by his sub- 

 servient translators. The religion of 

 Jesus is wholly free from any such 

 absurdity, as that of inculcating a 

 belief in any such beings as witcliet, 

 devil, or devils. This, so far as I am 

 capable of judging, has been most sa- 

 tisfactorily ascertained and proved in 

 some discourses which I have lately 

 read, delivered at Portsmouth, and 

 published under the title of "an Ana- 

 lytical Investigation of the Scriptural 

 Claims of the Devil," by a preacher of 

 that town of the name ot Scott. I 

 think, if I were accused of committing 

 any crime at the instigation of the 

 devil, I should demur against the count 

 which contained the charge, on the 

 ground of its impossibility. 



An Admirer of Common Sense. 



To the Editor of the Mmtthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



AN inordinate rate of usury I take 

 to have been the main spring of 

 the distress of nations ; inevitably in- 

 ducing the distress of individuals, both 

 borrower and lender ; and, yet more, 

 the distress of the active or labouring 

 classes of the people, — the genuine 

 strength and support of all. By inor- 

 dinate, I mean to express any thing 

 beyond three per cent. ; in the which 

 sentiment I am waiTauted by Sir 



the Musicui Ventusorum. [July '» 

 William Petit, and by many other 

 subsequent writers on trade and com- 

 merce, as connected with political 

 economy. In the Universal Magarine, 

 1749, I see the price of three percent, 

 stock quoted nearly at par, and of 

 wheat under 3s. 6d. per bushel : this, 

 I think, looks a little like peace and 

 plenty. 



The remedy seems to be, a legisla- 

 tive Act to limit the rate to two and a 

 half, or at the most to tliree, per cent, 

 in all cases ; and this, as it appears to 

 me, would be the most unexception- 

 able mode in which an equitable 

 adjustment, now so generally required 

 on all sides, might be accomplished. 

 Nehemiah Bartley. 

 Cathay, Brittol; June 10, 1823. 



For the Monthly Magazine. 



A DESCRIPTION of the ML'SICl'S VEN- 

 TUSORUM, an INSTRUMENT on the 

 PRINCIPLE oftheaLOV\KS LYRE. 



ACCUSTOMED to experience the 

 charming influence inspired by 

 most speciesof music, there is none so 

 capable of throwing over me that sola- 

 cing mantle of exquisite pleasure which 

 invariably succeeds to the soothing, 

 consolatory, and etherial-born, strains 

 of the JEoMdca lyre. I have often as- 

 sociated with minds of a similar cha- 

 racter and feeling ; the sympathies of 

 our nature have, as it were, expe- 

 rienced a re-action, and expressions 

 of regret have as constantly succeed- 

 ed that an instrument fraught with 

 such sweet influence should be so pe- 

 culiarly limited in the diffusion of its 

 melodious powers. The ancient ^o- 

 lian Ijre in common use is for tho 

 most part confined to the window of a 

 house, or particular chamber ; and thus 

 its possessor is often shackled in bis 

 desires for this delightful species of 

 melody to the blowing of a particular 

 wind. 



I flatter myself, that by tho contri- 

 vance of a portable machine, which 

 combines the principle of tlie .£olian 

 lyre, (to which I iiave ventured to ap- 

 ply the name of Musicxis Ventutorinn, 

 and am now about to describe,) I have 

 succeeded in obviating these difficul- 

 ties and privations, by producing an 

 instrument of universal capacity in its 

 kind, and shall thus gain an addition 

 to my happiness, if I succeed in con- 

 veying one more pleasure to the scale 

 of human enjoyment. 



The exterior parts of this machine, 

 Tie. 



