selves of the writings of their predecessors notwithstanding; and we see no greater reason for doubting the inspiration of the Evangelists because they did so, than for doubting the inspiraration of Isaiah because he sometimes adopts the language of David; or that of Jeremiah, because he does the same by Isaiah. Nor in the principle of accommodation (where there is no compromise) do we find any stumbling-block in our way. The gift of tongues was doubtless a spiritual gift; but once imparted, it was as much subject to the discretion of the parties in the application of it, as if it had been learned by grammar and dictionary; and accordingly, by some it was used, and by some (as we read) it was abused: it was used when the speaker accommodated his language to the audience he addressed; when he spoke Greek to the Grecian, and Arabic to the Arabian ;— and it was abused when he addressed the latter in the language of Greece, and the former in that of Arabia, not caring, through vain glory, though he should be a barbarian to them, and they barbarians to him. In like manner the spirit influenced the matter which the Apostle delivered, as he influenced his language; but he did not in this case, any more than in the other, suspend the exercise of his own common sense, which would naturally dictate an accommodation (not a compromise) of that matter to the character and wants of those to whom he submitted it; nor in a Gospel, for instance, meant exclusively for Gentile converts, insist upon his dwelling emphatically upon Jewish privilege (however strong expressions to that effect might have been recorded with perfect truth,

as having fallen from the lips of our Lord); nor in a Gospel meant for Jews, require him to omit the correctives specially administered to Jewish corruption. In all these instances, the spirits of the Prophets,' as St. Paul expressly tells us, 'were subject to the Prophets.'-1 Cor. xiv. 32.

"Meanwhile this cannot fail to strike us, that in the case of the Apostles, both in their hearts and in their understandings, (the two provinces for the operation of the Spirit of God,) we observe them presenting a very singular contrast to themselves, when contemplated before the Crucifixion, and shortly after it ;-such a contrast as requires to be accounted for, and does coincide in a very remarkable manner with the supposition that an extraordinary illapse of the Holy Spirit had occurred to them in the interval, which enabled them to brave dangers from which they had before shrunk, and to understand scriptures to which their eyes had been before blinded. This same Spirit, therefore, it is reasonable to believe, did not desert them in the composition of those writings which they have left us, but guided them into all truth.

·

"The precise mode, indeed, in which the Spirit influenced the holy men of old, we do not pretend to determine; in this, as in almost any other investigation, it is an extremely easy matter to puzzle ourselves, or for others to puzzle us, if we will go far enough, if we will not know to know no more.' A special pleader may confound a perfectly veracious witness, but the jury sees the man all the while to be a true man; and, without troubling themselves to unite the hairs which the other has split, accepts the testimony and forgets

the logic. The precise mode in which inspiration directed the Apostles may be unintelligible; so is the precise mode in which instinct directs the swallow. The poor bird, however, does not meanwhile set himself down on the house-top and argue himself into a distrust of the principle, whatever it is, till winter cuts off his speculations and his life together; but prunes his wing, and commits himself to its guidance, nothing doubting, and finds it land him at last, tempest-tost perhaps, on a soil where his foot can rest, and in a clime where he can bathe himself in the genial breeze."

THE JOURNAL OF A NATURALIST.

THIRD EDITION,

WITH

NUMEROUS ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS.

Post 8vo., with Plates and Woodcuts, price 15s.

Plants, trees, and stones, we note,

Birds, insects, beasts, and many rural things.

"The selections from the author's private memoranda, with which he has favoured the world, constitute one of the most interesting and instructive volumes of the kind in the English language. The plan of the work has been suggested by the 'Natural History of Selborne,' by Mr. White; and it will not suffer from a comparison with that very excellent publication. Young persons of intelligence and education will find in it much curious and interesting information, which, while it extends their knowledge, will excite in them sentiments of piety and humanity, and increase their love of nature; and the agriculturist may derive from it many useful suggestions which he will be able to turn to a good practical account. The volume is beautifully printed, and is illustrated by several elegant engravings. It is rendered the more valuable by a frequent recognition of the wisdom and goodness of God, who created all things by his power, and whose tender mercy over all his works.”—Wesleyan Methodist Magazine.

"The success of this interesting book, which has now reached a third edition, is a tolerable pledge of its merits. No one can have looked through its simple unassuming pages, without pleasurable feelings."-Asiatic Journal, Sept. 1828.

"We again most strongly recommend this little unpretending volume to the attention of every lover of nature, and more particularly to our country readers. It will induce them, we are sure, to examine more closely than they have