Domestic and Foreicrn. 



isao.] 



(loiiitt but such would be the case- If it 

 should be the will of Providence tliat 

 another scourge like Napoleon should come 

 into being, and deluge the earth with faction, 

 blood, and misery, it would only be com- 

 mon prudence to remove the arena as far 

 from our homes as possible. If all our 

 oiTicers were to demand their discharges, as 

 Captain Thrush has done, and all our sol- 

 diers and sailors were to declare their de- 

 termination to serve no longer, what would 

 become of England ? Let Captain Thrush 

 consider this point deeply, and see if lie can 

 justify the example he has set. His reason- 

 ing is not sound ; and, with pious feelings and 

 good intentions, we do not think that he 

 has acted the part of a patriot and a chris- 

 tian. He has quoted Scripture \cry freely, 

 and made it the ground-work of his rea- 

 soning ; but he has forgotten, that the cen- 

 turion Cornelius was a soldier, and has 

 not mentioned the admonitions to men of 

 the cohort to be contented with their wages, 

 and to do their duty. We all know that 

 the details of war are horrible, disgusting, 

 and demoralizing. 



The excesses committed by soldiers of 

 every nation, when opportunities offer, are 

 almost incredible, excepting to those v.-ho 

 have witnessed thera. We could refer to 

 some Spanish pamphlets, on the excesses 

 of our own troops after capturing towns 

 from the French in Spain, which would 

 astonish some of those who suppose our 

 countrymen incapable of enormities. We 

 liave heard the Duke of Wellington con- 

 demned for his unrelenting severity on all 

 breaches of discipline, which tended to pan- 

 der to the natural recklessness anil ferocity of 

 armies ; but, with diffidence, we presume to 

 say, that, in so acting he proved his wis- 

 dom and added to his glory. He would be 

 a monster who would not rejoice if the 

 heavenly love of peace existed in every 

 bosom, and had extinguished the last 

 sparks of the desire for war. But that is 

 not the case ; so we must submit to the 

 necessity of existing circumstances, and 

 stand ready prepared to defend our religion, 

 our laws, our homes, and our families, and 

 all the blessings Providence has bestowed 

 on our country. All offensive wars for the 

 purposes of aggrandizement we deprecate, 

 and believe, that the terrible means of de- 

 struction by elastic vapour will be a means 

 of terminating the accursed game ; for no 

 men will bear to be swept by thousands 

 from the earth, by machines against \^•hich 

 no human valour and activity can avail. 



The instances of infernal conduct and 

 appalling miseiy, quoted from various au- 

 thors by Captain Thrush, are very striking, 

 and should be read by all who love, or ra- 

 ther pretend to love (for we never knew 

 any who had seen much service that did 

 like it), the game of war. 



Captain Thrush talks childishly when he 

 terms our great seminaries of learning, 

 " fighting and classical schools," and be- 



71 



comes anile when lie writes, " Can we ex- 

 pect that the professed admirers of the 

 heroes of Homer, will be the sincere and 

 humble followers of Jesus?" We respect 

 the writer's conscientious actions, though 

 we think the foinidation on which he has 

 acted weak and ])rejudicial. His remarks 

 on that disgrace of a free countrj-, the im- 

 pressment of seamen, are worthy of conside- 

 ration. We only know one instance in which 

 it would be justifiable : a ship weakened by 

 battle, or some other cause, on a foreign sta- 

 tion—the ca|)tain having certain intelligence 

 of an enemy of equal size not far off, and 

 conscious that if he is captured it would 

 be highly injurious to his country, fulls in 

 with merchant shijis, lie might com|)lete 

 his complement of men by impressment, if 

 he could not induce them to volunteer for 

 a limited period. We have carried our re- 

 marks to an unusual length, the peculiarity 

 of the subject must be our excuse. 



Sermons and Plans of Sermons on many 

 of the moat intjiorlant Texts of Scripture, hi/ 

 the late Rev. Joskph IJi:nso.v. Parlx 1, 

 2, 3, and i. — This, as an elaborate and use- 

 ful work, is admirably calculated to assist the 

 divine in the compilation of his parochial 

 sermons. Although there appears no at- 

 tention to general arrangement, each sidv 

 jcct is clearly dcfinetl, and the different 

 parts systematically arranged, so as to lo- 

 gically lead to a conclusion, usually turned, 

 with much skill, to an admonitory " Appli- 

 cation." Mr. Benson has i)roved himself 

 to have been a scholar, and a man of great 

 retiection, as well as of great compass of 

 thought. The feelings exjiressed in these 

 volumes are pious and noble, and cannot 

 fail behig productive of good. The refe- 

 rences evince much patient industry, and 

 considerable acquaintance with the great 

 standard di\-ines. We have not space to 

 enter into a detailed examination of thi* 

 work ; but we must say, that we should 

 not be inclined to accord with him on the 

 subject of the "covenants." His opinion, 

 that there have been several co\-enants, is 

 the general one ; but some of our pro- 

 foundest writers, who Ijave carried convic- 

 tion to our own minds by the profundity 

 of their researches and closeness of argu- 

 ment, hold that there lias been but one 

 covenant, which, when broken by man, was 

 graciously renewed by the Almighty, with 

 those additions which he, as the Grantor, 

 pleased to annex. Christ came not to 

 abrogate the law, or Mosaic covenant, but 

 to fulfil it. 



In the 4th Part, the remarks on the in- 

 termediate state, are sound and judicious, 

 but are not so full as they might have 

 been. * 



In Part iii., p. 64, is an admirable por- 

 tion, on " what it is to be a disciple of 



* The notes to a little work, lately published, 

 entitled " The Vision of Hades, or the Region in- 

 habited by the departed Spirits," have gone much 

 farther into this curious and intel■e^tinp sul)ject. 



