that the broken state of his health rendered his continuance in this world uncertain in the extreme; and an apparent melioration about the middle of the month of March, in the more distressing symptoms, afforded good ground of hope, that the present attack would not terminate fatally. Dean Milner's mind, at this period, was occupied, almost exclusively, by religious contemplations; and on the essential and distinguishing doctrines of the Gospel, he spoke to some valued friends, with a force and animation which left an indelible impression on their minds. In one of his last conversations with the present Bishop of Calcutta, he expressed, in the strongest terms, his conviction of the importance of what he usually called the doctrines of grace; adding, that all religious reasonings which did not proceed on those doctrines, were essentially erroneous, and that the common ways of evading their force got rid of no one real difficulty, but only left greater difficulties in some other step of the argument. He likewise spoke feelingly on the importance of solid personal piety,' and humble submission to the will of God. Afterwards, as his end drew very near, he became incapable of continued conversation; and being now told, that he was in danger, he grew more composed and calm than he had been before. During the last week of his life, the Rev. Mr. Spooner saw him for a few minutes; at parting from him, the Dean said, in his own emphatic and 'ponderous' manner, God bless you: take care where you and I meet again: THAT is everything.' A day or two later, having occasion to take leave of a friend who was about to set out on a long voyage, Dean Milner, after bidding him farewell, in the presence of, and in common with the rest of the company, called him back, and shook hands with him a second time, saying, Farewell: may God bless you. My heart will be with you, and, I trust, with all who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity. Time is short. Let us hope to meet again on DURABLE ground.'

"On the day before his death, he made an attempt to engage in prayer with the servant who attended him; and subsequently desired the same servant to read to him the 14th chapter of St. John's Gospel, a chapter upon which he had, for years, loved to meditate. When the reading was over, he put his hand to his forehead and said, I cannot tell what is the matter with me, but I cannot

think; my mind is gone. Of bodily

pain, this excellent man suffered, during the closing scene of his life, very little; and it is most satisfactory to find him

thus, in the extremity of weakness, and on the very threshold of eternity, reposing his trust on those same promises of his Saviour, upon which he had so often meditated in faith, while possessed of the full powers of his colossal intellect.

"The night before his death, speaking with much weakness and difficulty, he uttered a few words, conveying to Mr. Wilberforce, who was by the side of his bed, the idea, that he was looking to a better world. On Saturday morning, April 1st, he became decidedly worse; and Mr. W. being called to his room, he said, 'My dear friend, I am leaving you; I am dying.' On the same day, about 11 o'clock, he suddenly extended his limbs, uttered three sighs, and ceased to breathe."

"As an author, Dr. Milner is known to the public by his papers communicated, between the years 1777 and 1800, to the Royal Society, and published in the Transactions of that learned body;-by his Life of [his brother] the Rev. Joseph Milner, published in the year 1800; an exquisitely beautiful and touching piece of biography, and a permanent memorial of an instance of pure and fervent fraternal affection;-by his Animadversions on the Ecclesiastical History of Dr. Haweis;-by his powerful work in defence of the Bible Society, published in the year 1813;-and by his able and elaborate continuation of The History of the Church of Christ, an undertaking designed and begun by his brother, and one that will assuredly perpetuate the name of MILNER. Since his death, two volumes of his Sermons have been given to the public, and also an Essay on the subject of Human Liberty."

We have dilated less than we might upon the character and writings of Dr. Milner, both because much has been said in our former volumes upon the subject; and because we thought the best exposition was the narrative itself. He was indeed a man of colossal powers of mind; he thought deeply, and reasoned closely; his judgment was profound, his memory was retentive, and his conversational and pulpit eloquence impressive and irresistible. He was, above all, a man of solid, deeply-rooted piety; eminently truth; and practical, simple, and clear in his views of scriptural cogent in its application to the conscience and the life. With a

somewhat rough exterior-a sort of massiness of character that rather rose above the graces than cultivated them-he possessed a tender heart and self-abasing humility of soul. His constant ill health and bodily sufferings prevented his achieving all that might have been hoped for from his powers, his ardour, his perseverance, and the conscientious devotion of his talents to the glory of God and the good of mankind.

Since writing this review, we have received a cancel leaf of the volume, correcting a trigonometrical blunder which afforded us some merriment on account of the complacent remark added to it; but which we did not notice, as the transcriber being a lady we thought it possible that the mistake might be in her misreading of the passage; but as the words as well as the figures are wrong, we must give Colonel Thompson credit for the blunder. As the cancel is sent us, we suppose we ought to apprize our readers of the erratum, otherwise we should not have noticed the matter. We should premise that among Dean Milner's friends was the father of Colonel Thompson, a Wesleyan of "tried character;" but Milner remarked to Mr. Latrobe, in introducing to him his son, now Colonel Thompson, the well-known Westminster Reviewer, Radical politician, Cornlaw catechist, and Anti-corn-law-leaguer, who was then going out to Sierra Leone as governor, that "religion is not hereditary;" though as young Thompson had had a religious education," the Dean added, "I trust he either is, or will be, a religious character in due time;" upon which charitable anticipation it is not for us to remark; though we remember the grief of Mr. Wilberforce, the late Mr. Macaulay, and others, that a man so educated should have proved a recreant, even to the dark depth of the Westminster Review. The Colonel has supplied the Biographer with a few notices of her uncle, among which is the following: :

"I recollect another circumstance with which this story of the Cromwellian wipe' would fit very well. Your uncle wanted the proportion of the diameter of a circle to the circumference, or at least one of the practical approximations to it, and I saw him writing figures and drawing a perpendicular line through them, with an appearance of impatience at the thing not

But at Cambridge, and Carlisle, and wherever he was personally known, he was highly venerated; and his labours as an ecclesiastical historian, together with those of his beloved brother, have been of eminent service to the Church of Christ; especially in distinguishing the true kingdom of God in the world, from the merely secular and often corrupt forms of Christianity, with which too many are striving to confound it.*

answering at once; and at last he burst out, There it is; one one, two two, three three, and cut them in half, 112 233; there's a bit of artificial memory for you, sir.' You may depend upon it I never forgot the proportion of the diameter to the circumference from that day to this."

makes

Here Colonel Thompson Dean Milner assert that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter (to three places of figures) is as 233 to 112; whereas every person who knows anything of the matter has at his fingers' ends 355 to 113; and the Colonel makes the Dean say "one one, two two, three three, instead of "one one, three three, five five ;" and then adds, very drolly, "You may depend upon it I never forgot the proportion of the diameter to the circumference from that day to this ;" whereas it had certainly slipped his memory when he wrote the remark. He also mangles the "bit of artificial memory;" for it was no new suggestion of Milner's, but one long mentioned in books, and floating from tutor to tutor, or invented by each student for himself, that the ratio, "drawing a perpendicular line," is composed of the first three odd numbers, one, three, five; whereas Col. Thompson blends odd and even. There is a sort of technical jingle by which one remembers such things; as, in this very case, radius being unity, the length of the circumference is 2x (3.14159) where the jingle of one four, one five, helps the recollection. The above error is silently corrected in the cancel; but we think that Mrs. Mary Milner ought to punish the Colonel for the trouble he has given her by his inadvertence, by making him commit to memory the thirty-five places of decimals to which the indefatigable Dutchman, Ludolph Van Ceulen, carried the calculation, and which he ordered to be engraven on his tombstone; where, perhaps, it may still be read, many a passer-by wondering what mys

THERE is not much of striking incident in this volume; but it is the record of the brief life of an eminently pious, well-gifted, affectionate, and much-beloved pastor; and contains much to interest and instruct the reader. There was much of judiciousness and good sense in Mr. Vaughan's plans; combined with great fervour, personal devotedness to the service of God, love for the souls of men, tenderness of spirit, and zeal in the discharge of his sacred duties.

Mr. Vaughan, who was de

tery is couched under the cabalistical figures, 3.14159, 26535, &c. &c. &c. This Dutch mathematician's wonderful powers of patience and perseverance were the more severely taxed, as he proceeded after the ancient method of Archimedes, of inscribed and circumscribing polygons, till he found a pair which agreed in thirty-six figures; whereas his countryman Snellius shortly after shewed that he might have greatly abridged his labour by two limits nearer the circumference; and he proved his point by computing the perimeter of a polygon of more than a thousand million sides, which, according to the other method, would have given only twenty figures of the number. The Low Countries produced many of these "industrious fleas;" though they were withal good mathematicians. Metius, a Dutchman, carried the above approximation of 113 to 355, to seventeen places of decimals; and he was the tormentor of all the pretenders to the true quadrature; for when they thought they had found a solution, he proved, which indeed was easy enough, that what they considered equal to the circle, was either greater than some given inscribed, or less than some given described, polygon. In this way he teazed poor Scaliger, who undertook to square the circle in order to shew his superiority to the dull, plodding mathematicians who had failed to do it. Werner, a German, was as industrious as the Dutehman, for he actually calculated the sines of every

scended from the Vaughans of Brecon, was born at Michelmersh in Hampshire, in the year 1806. He went to Eton in 1816, but was soon removed in consequence of ill-health; and after finishing his preparatory studies at Swansea and Bath, entered Wadham College, Oxford. He was ordained in 1829; in 1830 was presented to the vicarage of Crickhowel; whence he removed in 1836, upon accepting a nomination to Park Chapel, Chelsea, chiefly on account of his vicarage not affording a competent maintenance for his

tenth second of the quadrant to sixteen figures, and for every second of the first and last degree to twenty-six figures. Our own Napier, Briggs, and many others, have been scarcely less industrious; but they restricted their labours to what is practically useful; for no man employs Werner's twenty-six places, or Van Ceulen's thirty-six figures.

We have thus run off at the mention of technical memory, one of the defects of which, as shewn in Colonel Thompson's inadvertence, is that the technicality itself is often forgotten, and is sometimes as difficult to remember as the matter itself. We suggest to our readers to consider this point in its reference to the tricks of "mental arithmetic," which often excite so much wonder at the examinations of the boys in schools where it is studied. These artificial helps are very apt to be forgotten, and in after life are seldom of much practical value. In most businesses and professions there are some useful short-cuts, which are frequently used, and are therefore always promptly at hand; but the general tricks of mental arithmetie cannot be ordinarily brought into play. Some valuable abbreviations are used in Insurance offices; though the formulæ are chiefly algebraical. The most happy formula of artificial memory ever devised, is probably Napier's "rules of the circular parts," by which numerous propositions and corollaries in spherical trigonometry are reduced to two the

orems.

family without his taking pupils ; but he returned thither after eight months, his affectionate village flock having raised the stipend to the extent of his moderate desires. He was much esteemed and loved during his brief ministry at Chelsea, as appears from the letters inserted in the narrative; as for instance from the following passage in one to his widow :

"We feel that we have indeed lost a very dear and partial friend, upon whose counsel and whose prayers we loved to lean, the benefit of which we trust ever to experience, and whose holy walk and lovely Christian example we love to contemplate. This, indeed, is a favourite theme with all who had the privilege of knowing him. It has made an impression, which, under the Divine blessing, must produce a salutary effect; for it is rarely indeed that so high a standard-a human standard-is presented to the view. And while we contemplate such a character, with deep humiliation on account of our short-comings, we should bear in mind, for our encouragement, that the same grace that operated so powerfully, so beautifully, in him, is offered to us also. The grand secret is, that he lived in the spirit of prayer, walking closely with his God, aiming in all that he did to promote his blessed Redeemer's kingdom."

Upon his return to Crickhowel, he became seriously ill; and was taken to his heavenly rest in January 1837, at the early age of thirty-one years. The remarks upon his character, personal, domestic, and pastoral; his letters; the extracts from his sermons, and the other matters in this volume, the reader will find interesting and profitable. The following is an account of his last days.

"Little more than three weeks had elapsed, after his return to Crickhowel, when the following communication was made, by a lady residing within a few miles of his parish, to a mutual friend in London: Our dear Mrs. Henry Vaughan wishes me to write to you, to tell you of the illness of her beloved husband. He was looking so changed on his return to Crickhowel, that all his friends in this neighbourhood were grieved by his altered appearance. CHRIST. OBSERV. APP.

But he preached on two Sundays, and on the intervening Wednesday, with great energy. On Monday, the 19th of December, the pain in his head increased. On the following Wednesday, he was unable to attend the morning lecture, or to leave his room till a late hour. And before the next Sunday, his illness assumed a decided character.'

"The fluctuations which ensued, from day to day, in the symptoms and effects of the disease, exciting most painfully alternate hopes and fears, are represented in the many notes, which, during the continuance of his illness, were considerately dispatched to anxious enquirers, by his afflicted attendants--the wife, the mother, the father, the sister, the friend. The following are pas

sages:

"I wished our dear friends could

have witnessed the happy, and truly merciful, change, which, I humbly trust, will now continue. He spoke to dear E..... when she went into his room, and said, "God bless you, dearest E.....! I feel so strong, I think I might soon sit up." And then exclaimed with his usual fervour, "How gracious, how merciful, is my Saviour!" He then went off into a sweet, tranquil sleep.'

"Most valuable and satisfactory, in a spiritual view, is the father's letter of the 9th of that month-You know how frail and attenuated his frame was, at his best; but, now, he might literally utter the complaint of the Psalmist, "I may tell all my bones." Yet, I bless God that he can, and does, say again, "My trust is in thee, O God; thou shalt answer for me, O Lord my God." Indeed, it was only yesterday that Mr. Faithfull, a relative of Mrs. Henry's, the rector of

Hatfield, who kindly came so great a

distance to console her in this affliction, wishing, in such an extremity, to ascertain, beyond a doubt, the state of mind of my dear son, led him to speak on the subject of religion, and to enquire whether his trust was still resting on the Rock of ages. Oh! what a confession did this bring forth! His voice, his countenance, all assumed a kind of preternatural expression. And oh! how did all the graces of the Spirit breathe forth in his declaration of self-abasement, and only trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. "If I should live to preach again," he added, "it shall be Christ, Christ, Christ; nothing but Christ; less embellishment, less folly, all simplicity." I trust, these words will afford all his dear devoted friends at Chelsea, the consolation they afforded us all here; and may they produce in us all, the same humble and simple reliance on the Saviour. You will naturally conclude, from what

5 L

I have now narrated, that his intellects are quite restored. For many days he was delirious.'

"The 15th of January, 1837,-a few days after he had completed his 31st year, and only four weeks from the last Sunday on which he had preached,brought the following announcement of the termination of his short, but very trying illness :- Our friend and brother in Christ has joined the assembly of the spirits of just men made perfect. This morning, at about six, with his family all around him, fully sensible, and, blessed be God, fully prepared, did this faithful servant of God yield up his soul to the mercies of his Redeemer. I grieve to bring tidings, which, though full of joy to him, are to us bitter.'" From the account of his character we copy the following:

"The more we saw of him, the more we delighted to witness his charity, sympathy, generosity, and disregard of self. His readiness to meet the regard of others, also excited our admiration; the esteem testified for him was never repelled by reserve or distrust; and full of Christian love himself, he entirely confided in the affection of his friends.

"I never saw any one who so completely looked beyond the outward condition of his fellow-beings, in his anxiety for their souls. It seemed no effort to him, to be courteous falike to rich and poor, high and low, learned and unlearned; and while he paid honour where honour was due, a feeling of Christian charity actuated his conduct towards the meanest. His sympathy

One

with the poor of his flock is still the theme of their grateful remembrance; and knowing our love for his memory, they have often dwelt upon this endearing quality of their late pastor. person observed, 'If I had but a headache, and dear Mr. Vaughan met me, he was sure to notice that I was looking ill, and he would soon call and ask if I was better.' Another of his parishioners spoke of his tenderness to her only child, who was removed at the early age of three years, and of his constant visits to the family in this bitter trial. Others mentioned his zeal for the souls of those who frequented the miserable lodging-houses opened for the poor and labouring men; and have said, that when his exhortations have been scoffed at, he has knelt in the midst of them, and prayed earnestly for their conversion. One poor widow said, 'He came to me in my distress, and when he quitted me, he placed a sovereign in my hand.' And you have often told me, how unbounded was his liberality, whenever a case of want came before him. Sorrow and sickness were ever soothed by his presence; and his intimate knowledge of the Scriptures furnished him with a rich treasury, from whence he drew forth for the edification and consolation of the invalid or the These offices of kindness were not confined to the narrow bounds of his own parish: for if his friends were ill or afflicted, he put himself to inconvenience to administer to them the word of life; and by his earnest prayers for their spiritual benefit, he could not fail to leave a blessing behind him.""

mourner.

DR. Croly is a powerful and brilliant writer; full of vigour and imagination, and who never allows himself or his reader to slumber while perusing his exciting pages. His declamation is often highly spirited, though to our dull apprehension it sometimes overlays his argument; giving his readers an impression that he is striving after effect; heating up his subject, rather than carried away by it. However, we will refute ourselves

if we are wrong, by extracting a few interesting and eloquent passages.

England the fortress of Christianity.— "The Jewish history reveals to us the conduct of Providence with a people appointed to the express preservation of the faith of God. There every attempt to receive the surrounding idolatries into a participation of the honours of the true worship, even every idolatrous touch, was visited with punishment; and that punishment not left to the remote working of the corruption, but immediate; and, by its directness, evidently designed