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The Christian Philosopher; or, Science and Religion

Chapter III. The Relation which the Inventions of Human Art Bear to the Objects of Religion

Chapter III. The Relation which the Inventions of Human Art Bear to the Objects of Religion

In this chapter I shall briefly notice a few philosophical and mechanical inventions, which have an obvious bearing on Religion, and on the general propagation of Christianity among the nations.

The first, and perhaps the most important of the inventions to which I allude, is the Art of Printing. This art appears to have been invented (at least in Europe) about the year 1430, by one Laurentius, or Lawrence Koster, a native of Haerlem, a town in Holland. As he was walking in a wood near the city, he began to cut some letters upon the rind of a beech tree, which, for the sake of gratifying his fancy, being impressed on paper, he printed one or two lines as a specimen for his grand-children to follow. This having succeeded, he meditated greater things: and, first of all, invented a more glutinous writing-ink, because he found the common ink sunk and spread; and thus formed whole pages of wood with letters cut upon them.* By the gradual improvement of this art, and its application to the diffusion of knowledge, a new era was formed in the annals of the human race, and in the progress of science, religion, and morals. To it we are chiefly in-

* I am aware that the honor of this invention has been claimed by other cities beside Haerlem, particularly by Strasburg, and Mentz, a city of Germany; and by other individuals beside Laurentius, chiefly by one Faust, commonly called Dr. Faustus; by Schoeffer, and by Guttenberg. It appears that the art, with many of its implements, was stolen from Laurentius by one of his servants, whom he had bound by an oath to secrecy, who fled to Mentz, and first commenced the process of printing in that city. Here the art was improved by Faust and Schoeffer, by their invention of metallic, instead of wooden types, which were first used. When Faust was in Paris, disposing of some Bibles he had printed, at the low price (as was then thought) of sixty crowns, the number, and uniformity of the copies he possessed, created universal agitation and astonishment. Informations were given to the police against him as a magician, his lodgings were searched, and a great number of copies being found, they were seized; the red ink with which they were embellished was said to be his blood: it was seriously adjudged that he was in league with the Devil; and if he had not fled from the city, most probably he would have shared the fate of those whom ignorant and superstitious judges, at that time, condemned for witchcraft. From this circumstance, let us learn to beware how we view the inventions of genius, and how we treat those whose ingenious contrivances may afterward be the means of enlightening and meliorating mankind.—See Appendix, Note IX.

Various improvements have been made of late years in the art of Printing. The art of Stereotyping, which was invented by Mr. Ged, of Edinburgh, in 1725, but was not brought into general use until after the beginning of the present century—is now extensively used, both in Great Britain and America, in the printing of such books as have an extensive circulation. When a page is intended to be stereotyped, the types are, in the first instance, put up in the usual way; but instead of being carried to the press, the page is plastered over with liquid stucco to the thickness of about half an inch, so that a level cake is formed on the surface of the types. As soon as the stucco hardens, the cake is separated from the types, and on being turned up, shows a complete mold-like representation of the faces of the types; and there being no longer any use for the types, they are carried off and distributed. After the cake is hardened, by putting it into an oven, it is next laid in a square iron pan, at the bottom of which is a movable plate, upon which the mold is placed, with its face downward. The pan is then immersed in a pot of molten lead, and when the lead has run into the mold side of the cake, and formed a thin plate all over, there is produced the perfect appearance of the faces of the types on which the stucco was plastered. The stereotype plates, thus prepared, are next taken to the printing-office and made ready for the press, by placing them on iron or wooden blocks, so that both plate and block make up the exact hight of a page of real types.—In this manner any number of copies of a book may be printed at any time, without again incurring the trouble and expense of re-setting the types, as is necessary to be done in printing new editions. Chambers’ “Edinburgh Journal” is regularly stereotyped in this way. The types being put up on the premises of the publishers, are sent off in pages to a stereotype foundery, where two sets of plates are molded. One set of plates is kept for use in Edinburgh, and the other sent in a box, by the Royal Mail or Steam vessel, to London, where it is immediately subjected to a steam press, and in a few hours made to produce 20,000 or more printed sheets.

Steam-printing—which is now coming in general use—appears to have been first introduced by Mr. Konig, a German, about 1804. The “Times” newspaper, of November 28, 1814, appears to have been the first ever printed by machinery propelled by steam, and the numbers of that paper have been thrown off by the same process ever since. A machine of this description, with one cylinder, throws off from 900 to 1200 sheets in an hour on one side, requiring two boys, one to lay on the paper, and another to receive it when printed. A machine with two cylinders throws off at the rate of from 1600 to 2200 an hour, requiring two boys to lay on the sheets, and two to take them off—exclusively for newspapers. A machine similar to that used by the “Times,” with 4 printing cylinders, requiring the attendance of 8 boys, throws off about 4000 sheets an hour. By the erection of such steam presses, the three grand requisites, speediness of execution, quantity, and cheapness of labor, are secured to an extent which could scarcely have been anticipated in a preceding age, and which is calculated to supply the exigencies of the times in which we live, when knowledge of every description is rapidly diffusing itself among all ranks of the community.

page 115 debted
for our deliverance from ignorance and error, and for the most of those scientific discoveries and improvements in the arts which distinguish the period in which we live. Without its aid, the Reformation from Popery could scarcely have been achieved; for had the books of Luther, one of the first reformers, been multiplied by the slow process of hand-writing and copying, they could never have been diffused to any extent; and the influence of bribery and of power might have been sufficient to have arrested their progress, or even, to have erased their existence. But, being poured forth from the press in thousands at a time, they spread over the nations of Europe, like an inundation, and with a rapidity which neither the authority of princes, nor the schemes of priests and cardinals, nor the bulls of popes, could counteract or suspend. To this noble invention it is owing that copies of the Bible have been multiplied to the extent of many millions—that ten thousands of them are to be found in every Protestant country—and that the poorest individual who expresses a desire for it, may be furnished with the “Word of Life,” which will guide him to a blessed immortality. That Divine light which is destined to illuminate every region of the globe, and to sanctify and reform men of all nations, and kindreds, and tongues, is accelerated in its movements, and directed in its course through the nations, by the invention of the Art of Printing; and ere long it will distribute among the inhabitants of every land, the “Law and the Testimony of the Most High,” to guide their steps to the regions of eternal bliss. In short, there is not a more powerful engine in the hand of Providence, for diffusing the knowledge of the nature and the will of the Deity, and for accomplishing the grand objects of Revelation, than the art of multiplying books, and of conveying intelligence through the medium of the press. Were no such art in existence, we cannot conceive how an extensive and universal propagation of the doctrines of Revelation could be effected, unless after the lapse of an indefinite number of ages. But with the assistance of this invention, in its present improved state, the island of Great Britain alone, within less than one hundred years, could furnish a copy of the Scriptures to every inhabitant of the world, and could defray the expense of such an undertaking, with much more ease, and with a smaller sum, than were necessary to finish the political warfare in which we were lately engaged.

These considerations teach us that the ingenious inventions of the human mind are under the direction and control of the Governor of the world—are intimately connected with the accomplishment of the plans of his providence; and have a tendency, either directly or indirectly, to promote, over every region of the earth, the progress and extension of the kingdom of the Redeemer. They also show us from what small beginnings the most magnificent operations of the Divine economy may derive their origin. Who could have imagined that the simple circumstance of a person amusing himself by cutting a few letters on the bark of a tree, and impressing them on paper, was intimately connected with the mental illumination of mankind? and that the art which sprung from this casual process was destined to be the principal mean of illuminating the nations, and of conveying to the ends of the earth the “salvation of our God?” But “He who rules in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth,” and who sees “the end from the beginning,” overrules the most minute movements of all his creatures, in subserviency to his ultimate designs, and shows himself in this respect to be “wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.”

The Mariner's Compass.—Another invention which has an intimate relation to religion, is the Art of Navigation and the invention of the Mariner's Compass. Navigation is the art of conducting a ship through the sea from one port to another. This art was partly known and practiced in the early ages of antiquity by the Phenicians, the Carthaginians, the Egyptians, the Romans, and other nations of Europe and Asia. But they had no guide to direct them in their voyages, except the sun in the day-time, and the stars by night. When the sky was overcast with clouds, they were thrown into alarms, and durst not venture to any great distance from the coast, lest they should be carried forward in a course opposite to that which they intended, or be driven against hidden rocks, or unknown shores. The danger and difficulty of the navigation of the ancients on this account may be learned from the deliberations, the great preparations, and the alarms of Homer's heroes, when they were about to cross the Ægean sea, an extent of not more page 116 than 150 miles; and the expedition of the Argonauts under Jason, across the sea of Marmora and the Euxine, to the island of Colchis, a distance of only four or five hundred miles, was viewed as a most wonderful exploit, at which even the gods themselves were said to be amazed. The same thing appears from the narration we have in the Acts of the Apostles, of Paul's voyage from Cesarea to Rome. “When,” says Luke, “neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” Being deprived of these guides, they were tossed about in the Mediterranean, not knowing whether they were carried to north, south, east, or west. So that the voyages of antiquity consisted chiefly in creeping along the coast, and seldom venturing beyond sight of land: they could not, therefore, extend their excursions by sea to distant continents and nations; and hence the greater portion of the terraqueous globe and its inhabitants were to them altogether unknown. It was not before the invention of the mariner's compass that distant voyages could be undertaken, that extensive oceans could be traversed, and an intercourse carried on between remote continents and the islands of the ocean.

It is somewhat uncertain at what precise period this noble discovery was made; but it appears pretty evident that the mariner's compass was not commonly used in navigation before the year 1420, or only a few years before the invention of printing.* The loadstone, in all ages, was known to have the property of attracting iron; but its tendency to point toward the north and south seems to have been unnoticed until the beginning of the twelfth century. About that time, some curious persons seem to have amused themselves by making to swim, in a basin of water, a loadstone suspended on a piece of cork; and to have remarked, that, when left at liberty, one of its extremities pointed to the north. They had also remarked, that, when a piece of iron is rubbed against the loadstone, it acquires also the property of turning toward the north, and of attracting needles and filings of iron. From one experiment to another, they proceeded to lay a needle, touched with the magnet, on two small bits of straw floating on the water, and to observe that the needle invariably turned its point toward the north. The first use they seem to have made of these experiments, was to impose upon simple people by the appearance of magic. For example, a hollow swan, or the figure of a mermaid, was made to swim in a basin of water, and to follow a knife with a bit of bread upon its point, which had been previously rubbed on the loadstone. The experimenter convinced them of his power, by commanding, in this way, a needle laid on the surface of the water, to turn its point from the north to the east, or in any other direction. But some geniuses, of more sublime and reflective powers of mind, seizing upon these hints, at last applied these experiments to the wants of navigation, and constructed an instrument, by the help of which the mariner can now direct his course to distant lands, through the vast and pathless ocean. The following figure gives a general representation of the mariner's compass.

Fig. 27

Fig. 27

In consequence of the discovery of this instrument, the coasts of almost every land on the surface of the globe have been explored, and a regular intercourse opened up between the remotest regions of the earth. Without the help of this noble invention, America, in all probability, would never have been discovered by the eastern nations, the vast continent of New Holland, the numerous and interesting islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans, the isles of Japan, and other immense territories inhabited by human beings, would have remained as much unknown and unexplored as if they had never existed. And as the nations of Europe and the western parts of Asia were the sole depositories of the records of Revelation, they could never have conveyed the blessings of salvation to remote countries, and to unknown tribes of mankind, of whose existence they were entirely ignorant. Even although the whole terraqueous globe had been sketched out before them, in all its aspects and bearings, and ramifications of islands, continents, seas, and oceans, and the moral and political state of every tribe of its inhabitants displayed to view, without a guide to direct their course through the billows of the ocean, they could have afforded no light and no relief to cheer the distant nations “who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.” Though the art of printing had been invented; though millions of Bibles were now prepared, adequate to the supply of all the “kindreds of the heathen;” though ships in abundance were equipped for the enterprise, and thousands of missionaries ready to embark, and to devote their lives to the instruction of the Pagan world; all would be of no avail, and the “salvation of God” could never be proclaimed to the ends of the world, unless they had the mariner's compass to guide their course through the trackless ocean.

In this invention, then, we behold a proof of the agency of Divine Providence in directing the efforts of human genius to subserve the most important designs, and contemplate a striking specimen of the “manifold wisdom of God.” When the pious and contemplative Israelite reflected on the declaration of the prophets, that “the glory of Jehovah should be revealed, and that all flesh should see it together,“—from the state of the arts which then existed, he must have felt many difficulties in forming a conception of the manner in which such predictions should be realized. “The

* The invention of the compass is usually ascribed to Flavio Gioia, of Amalfi, in Campania, about the year 1302; and the Italians are strenuous in support of this claim. Others affirm that Marcus Paulus, a Venetian, having made a journey to China, brought back the invention with him in 1260 The French also lay claim to the honor of this invention, from the circumstance that all nations distinguish the North point of the card by a fleur de lis; and, with equal reason, the English have laid claim to the same honor, from the name compass, by which most nations have agreed to distinguish it. But whoever were the inventors, or at whatever period this instrument was first constructed, it does not appear that it was brought into general use before the period mentioned in the text.

page 117 great and wide sea,” now termed the Mediterranean, formed the boundary of his view, beyond which he was unable to penetrate. Of the continents and “the isles afar off,” and of the far more spacious oceans that lay between, he had no knowledge; and how “the ends of the earth” were to be reached, he could form no conception; and, in the midst of his perplexing thoughts, he could find satisfaction only in the firm belief that “with God all things are possible.” But now we are enabled not only to contemplate the grand designs of the Divine economy, but the principal means by which they shall all, in due time, be accomplished, in consequence of the progress of science and art, and of their consecration to the rearing and extension of the Christian church.

The two inventions to which I have now adverted, may, perhaps, be considered as among the most striking instances of the connection of human art with the objects of Religion. But there are many other inventions which, at first view, do not appear to bear so near a relation to the progress of Christianity, and yet have an ultimate reference to some of its grand and interesting objects.

The Telescope.—We might be apt to think, on a slight view of the matter, that there can be no immediate relation between the grinding and polishing of an optic glass, and fitting two or more of them in a tube—and the enlargement of our views of the operations of the Eternal Mind. Yet the connection between these two objects, and the dependence of the latter upon the former, can be fairly demonstrated.—The son of a spectacle-maker of Middleburg in Holland, happening to amuse himself in his father's shop, by holding two glasses between his finger and his thumb, and varying their distances, perceived the weathercock of the church spire opposite to him, much larger than ordinary, and apparently much nearer, and turned upside down. This new wonder excited the amazement of the father; he adjusted two glasses on a board, rendering them movable at pleasure; and thus formed the first rude imitation of a perspective glass, by which distant objects are brought near to view. Galileo, a philosopher of Tuscany, hearing of the invention, set his mind to work, in order to bring it to perfection. He fixed his glasses at the end of long organ-pipes, and constructed a telescope, which he soon directed to different parts of the surrounding heavens. He discovered four moons revolving round the planet Jupiter—spots on the surface of the Sun, and the rotation of that globe around its axis—mountains and valleys in the Moon—and numbers of fixed stars where scarcely one was visible to the naked eye. These discoveries were made about the year 1610, a short time after the first invention of the telescope. Since that period, this instrument has passed through various degrees of improvement, and, by means of it, celestial wonders have been explored in the distant spaces of the universe, which, in former times, were altogether concealed from mortal view. By the help of telescopes, combined with the art of measuring the distances and magnitudes of the heavenly bodies, our views of the Grandeur of the Almighty, of the plenitude of his Power, and of the extent of his universal Empire, are extended far beyond what could have been conceived in former ages. Our prospects of the range of the divine operations are no longer confined within the limits of the world we inhabit; we can now plainly perceive, that the kingdom of God is not only “an everlasting dominion,” but that it extends through the unlimited regions of space, comprehending within its vast circumference thousands of suns, and ten thousands of worlds, all arranged in majestic order, at immense distances from one another, and all supported and governed “by Him who rides on the Heaven of heavens,” whose greatness is unsearchable, and whose understanding is infinite.

The telescope has also demonstrated to us the literal truth of those scriptural declarations which assert that the stars are “innumerable.” Before the invention of this instrument, not more than about a thousand stars could be perceived by the unassisted eye in the clearest night, But this invention has unfolded to view not only thousands, but hundreds of thousands, and millions, of those bright luminaries, which lie dispersed in every direction throughout the boundless dimensions of space. In the Milky Way—a whitish zone or circle which surrounds the heavens—more than ten millions of stars might be distinguished by means of the best telescopes. And the higher the magnifying and illuminating powers of the telescope are, the more numerous those celestial orbs appear; leaving us no room to doubt, that countless myriads more lie hid in the distant regions of creation, far beyond the reach of the finest glasses that can be constructed by human skill, and which are known only to Him “who counts the number of the stars, and calls them by their names.”

In short, the telescope may be considered as serving the purpose of a vehicle for conveying us to the distant regions of space. We would consider it as a wonderful achievement, could we transport ourselves two hundred thousand miles from the earth, in the direction of the Moon, in order to take a nearer view of that celestial orb. But this instrument enables us to take a much nearer inspection of that planet than if we had actually surmounted the force of gravitation, traversed the voids of space, and left the earth 230,000. miles behind us. For supposing such a journey to be accomplished, we should still be ten thousand miles distant from that orb. But a telescope which magnifies objects 240 times, can carry our views within one thousand miles of the Moon; and a telescope, such as Sir W. Herschel's 40 feet reflector, which magnifies 6000 times would enable us to view the mountains and valleys of the Moon, as if we were transported to a point about 40 miles from her surface.* We can

* Though the highest magnifying power of Sir W. Herschel's large telescope, which is now dismantled, was estimated at six thousand times, yet it does not appear that he ever applied this power with success, when viewing the moon and the planets. The deficiency of light, when using so high a power, would render the view of these objects less satisfactory than when viewed with a power of only a thousand times. Still, it is quite certain, that if any portions of the moon's surface were viewed through an instrument of such a power they would appear as large (but not nearly se bright and distinct) as if we were placed about 40 miles distant from that body. The enlargement of the angle of vision, in this case, or the apparent distance at which the moon would be contemplated, is found by dividing the moon's distance—240,000 miles, by 6000, the magnifying power of the telescope, which produces a quotient of 40—the number of miles at which the moon would appear to be placed from the eye of the observer. Sir W. Herschel appears to have used the highest powers of his telescopes only, or chiefly, when viewing some very minute objects in the region of the stars. The powers he generally used, and with which he made most of his discoveries, were, 227, 460, 754, 932, and occasionally 2010, 3168, and 6450, for the purpose of making experiments of their effect on double stars, etc.

Lord Oxmantown, now Earl of Rosse, after a labor of about three years, completed in 1845 the construction of his reflecting telescope, which is of much larger dimensions than the 40 feet telescope of Herschel. The casting of this speculum took place in April, 1842. The metal is 6 feet diameter, 5 1/2 inches thick at the edges, and 5 inches at the center, and its weight is about three tons. Its composition is copper and tin—126 parts of copper to 57 1/2 of tin. The price of the copper alone is reckoned at about £100. By grinding and polishing, its thickness was reduced 1/8 or 1–10 inch. It is formed into a telescope of 50 feet focal length. The casting of this immense speculum, with all the operations connected with it, were accomplished without any accident, and with a degree of success beyond expectation. This speculum has a reflecting surface of 4071 square inches, while that of Herschel's 40 feet telescope had only 1811 square inches on its polished surface; so that the quantity of light reflected from this speculum is considerably more than double that of Herschel's largest reflector. This certainly forms one of the most noble and splendid instruments of the kind that have ever been constructed,—and it is not improbable that by its assistance further interesting discoveries may be made in the regions of the stars.

page 118 view the magnificent system of the planet Saturn, by means of this instrument, as distinctly, as if we had performed a journey eight hundred millions of miles in the direction of that globe; which, at the rate of 50 miles an hour, would require a period of more than eighteen hundred years to accomplish. By the telescope, we can contemplate the region of the fixed stars, their arrangement into systems, and their immense numbers, with the same distinctness and amplitude of view, as if we had actually taken a flight of ten hundred thousand millions of miles into those unexplored and unexplorable regions, which could not be accomplished in several millions of years, though our motion were as rapid as a ball projected from a loaded cannon. We would justly consider it as a noble endowment for enabling us to take an extensive survey of the works of God, if we had the faculty of transporting ourselves to such immense distances from the sphere we now occupy; but by means of the telescopic tube, we may take nearly the same ample views of the dominions of the Creator, without stirring a foot from the limits of our terrestrial abode. This instrument may, therefore, be considered as a providential gift bestowed upon mankind, to serve, in the meantime, as a temporary substitute, for those powers of rapid flight with which the seraphim are endowed, and for those superior faculties of motion with which man himself may be invested, when he arrives at the summit of moral perfection.*

The Microscope.—The Microscope is another instrument, constructed on similar principles, which has greatly expanded our views of the “manifold wisdom of God.” This instrument, which discovers to us small objects invisible to the naked eye, was invented soon after the invention and improvement of the telescope. By means of this optical contrivance, we perceive a variety of wonders in almost every object in the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral kingdoms. We perceive that every particle of matter, however minute, has a determinate form—that the very scales on the skin of a haddock are all beautifully interwoven and variegated, like pieces of network, which no art can imitate—that the points of the prickles of vegetables, though magnified a thousand times, appear as sharp and well polished as to the naked eye—that every particle of the dust on a moth or a butterfly's wing, is a beautiful and regularly organized feather—that every hair of our head is a hollow tube, with bulbs and roots, furnished with a variety of threads and filaments—and that the pores in our skin, through which the sweat and perspiration flow, are so numerous and minute, that a grain of sand would cover a hundred and twenty-five thousand of them. We perceive animated beings in certain liquids, so small that fifty thousand of them would not equal the size of a mite; and yet each of these creatures is furnished with a mouth, eyes, stomach, blood-vessels, and other organs for the performance of animal functions. In a stagnant pool, which is covered with a greenish scum during the summer months, every drop of the water is found to be a world teeming with thousands of inhabitants. The moldy substance which usually adheres to damp bodies, exhibits a forest of trees and plants, where the branches, leaves, and fruit, can be plainly distinguished. In a word, by this admirable instrument we behold the same Almighty hand, which rounded the spacious globe on which we live, and the huge masses of the planetary orbs, and directs them in their rapid motions through the sky,—employed, at the same moment, in rounding and polishing ten thousand minute transparent globes in the eye of a fly; and boring and arranging veins and arteries, and forming and clasping joints and claws, for the movements of a mite! We thus learn the admirable and astonishing effects of the Wisdom of God, and that the Divine Care and Benevolence are as much displayed in the construction of the smallest insect, as in the elephant or the whale, or in those ponderous globes which roll around us in the sky. These, and thousands of other views which the microscope exhibits, would never have been displayed to the human mind, had they not been opened up by this admirable invention.

In fine, by means of the two instruments to which I have now adverted, we behold Jehovah's empire extending to infinity on either hand. By the telescope we are presented with the most astonishing displays of his omnipotence, in the immense number, the rapid motions, and the inconceivable magnitude, of the celestial globes;—and by the microscope, we behold, what is still more inconceivable, a display of his unsearchable wisdom in the Divine mechanism, by which a drop of water is peopled with myriads of inhabitants—a fact, which, were it not subject to ocular demonstration, would far exceed the limits of human conception or belief. We have thus the most striking and sensible evidence, that, from the immeasurable luminaries of heaven, and from the loftiest seraph that stands before the throne of God, down to this lower world, and to the smallest microscopic animalcule that eludes the finest glass—He is everywhere present, and, by his power, intelligence, and agency, animates, supports, and directs the whole. Such views and contemplations naturally lead us to advert to the character of God, as delineated by the sacred writers, that “He is of great power and mighty in strength;” that “His understanding is infinite;” that “His works are wonderful;” that “His operations are unsearchable, and past finding out;” and they must excite the devout mind to join with fervor in the language of adoration and praise—

When thy amazing works, O God!
My mental eye surveys,
“Transported with the view I'm lost
In wonder, love, and praise.”

Steam Navigation.—We might have been apt to suppose, that the chemical experiments that were first made to demonstrate the force of Steam as a mechanical agent, could have little relation to the objects of Religion, or even to the comfort of human life and society. Yet it has now been applied to the impelling of ships and large boats along rivers and seas, in opposition to both wind and tide, and with a velocity which, at an average, exceeds that of any other mode of conveyance by

* See Appendix, Note X.

page 119 water. And we have no reason to believe that this invention has hitherto attained its highest state of perfection; but that it is still susceptible of such improvements, both in point of expedition and of safety, as may render it by far the most comfortable and speedy conveyance between distant lands, for transporting the volume of inspiration, and the heralds of the gospel of peace, to “the ends of the earth.” By the help of his compass, the mariner is enabled to steer his course in the midst of the ocean, in the most cloudy days, and in the darkest nights, and to transport his vessel from one end of the world to another. It now only remains, that navigation be rendered safe, uniform, and expeditious, and not dependent on adverse winds or the currents of the ocean; and there is every reason to expect, as the art of propelling vessels by the force of steam proceeds toward perfection, that these desirable objects will be fully attained. Even at present, as the invention now stands, were a vessel fitted to encounter the waves of the Atlantic, constructed of a proper figure and curvature, with a proper disposition of her wheels, and having room where fuel can be stowed in sufficient quantity for the voyage, at the rate of ten miles an hour, she would pass from the shores of Britain to the coast of America, in less than thirteen days;—and, even at eight miles an hour, the voyage could be completed in little more than fifteen days: so that intelligence might pass and repass between the eastern and western Continents within the space of a single month—a space of time very little more than was requisite, eighty years ago, for conveying intelligence between Glasgow and London. The greatest distance at which any two places on the globe can lie from each other is about 12,500 miles; and therefore if a direct portion of water intervene between them, this space could be traversed in fifty-four or sixty days.* And, if the isthmus of Panama which connects North and South America, and the isthmus of Suez, which separates the Mediterranean from the Red sea, were cut into wide and deep canals (which we have no doubt will be accomplished as soon as civilized nations have access to perform operations in these territories), every country in the world could then be reached from Europe, in nearly a direct line; or, at most, by a gentle curve, instead of the long, and dangerous, and circuitous route which must now be taken, in sailing for the eastern parts of Asia, and the north-western shores of America. By this means, eight or nine thousand miles of sailing would be saved in a voyage from England to Nootka Sound, or the peninsula of California; and more than six thousand miles in passing from London to Bombay in the East Indies; and few places on the east would be farther distant from each other by water than 15,000 miles; which space might be traversed at the rate stated in the preceding note, in a period of about fifty days.*

But we have reason to believe, that when this invention, combined with other mechanical assistances, shall approximate nearer to perfection, a much more rapid rate of motion will be effected; and the advantages of this, in a religious, as well as in a commercial point of view, may be easily appreciated; especially at the present period, when the Christian world, now aroused from their slumbers, have framed the grand design of sending a Bible to every inhabitant of the globe. When the empire of the Prince of Darkness shall be shaken throughout all its dependencies, and the nations aroused to inquire after light, and liberty, and divine knowledge—intelligence would thus be rapidly communicated over every region, and between the most distant tribes. “Many would run to and fro, and knowledge would be increased.” The ambassadors of the Redeemer, with the Oracles of Heaven in their hands, and the words of salvation in their mouths, would quickly be transported to every clime, “having the everlasting gospel to preach to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”

Air Balloons.—Similar remarks may be applied to the invention of air balloons. we have heard of some pious people who have mourned over such inventions, and lamented the folly of mankind in studying their construction and witnessing their exhibition. Such dispositions generally proceed from a narrow range of thought and a contracted view of the Divine economy and arrangements in the work of redemption. Though the perversity of mankind has often applied useful inventions to foolish and even to vicious purposes, yet this forms no reason why such inventions should be decried; otherwise the art of printing and many other useful arts might be regarded as inimical to the human race. We have reason to believe that air balloons may yet be brought to such perfection as to be applied to purposes highly beneficial to the progress of the human mind, and subservient, in some degree, for effecting the purposes of Providence in the enlightening and reno-

* The above statements were written in 1823, when the first edition of this work was published, and were then considered as somewhat extravagant anticipations, which were scarcely expected to be realized, at least in the present age. It is but within the last few years that one of our most distinguished philosophers and engineers, Dr. Lardner, denounced the scheme of attempting to cross the Atlantic by means of steam as an enterprise altogether impracticable. But the navigation of the Atlantic, by means of steam vessels, for several years past, has been regular, and almost as common as with ordinary sailing vessels;—and the rate of motion has been even greater than what we anticipated. The Great Western was among the first steam vessels that crossed the Atlantic from Britain to America, in 1838, and accomplished the voyage, in safety, in about 13 days, having on board above a hundred passengers. Since that period other vessels, as the Acadia, Britannia, Caledonia, Columbia, etc., have regularly performed voyages to and from the shores of America and Great Britain, and, except in the case of the President, they have all been accomplished without any serious accidents,—so that, the practicability and the utility of steam navigation across the ocean may now be considered as fully established. Voyages by steam are likewise now regularly performed to Lisbon, Cadiz, and along the Mediterranean, as far as Alexandria, and from Bombay to Suez along the Arabian and the Red sea—and therefore we have reason to expect that, in the course of a very few years every sea and ocean on the surface of the globe will be traversed by steam vessels, promoting a rapid intercourse between all the nations, tribes, and families of the earth.—The rate of motion at which such vessels are impelled across the Atlantic may be deduced from the following facts. The first voyage of the Britannia, which sailed on the 4th July, 1840, from Liverpool to Halifax, was accomplished in 12 days, 10 hours; and her return homeward occupied only 10 days. The outward voyage of the Columbia, which sailed from Liverpool, May 19, 1842, was performed in 11 days, 22 hours, and her voyage home from Halifax in 9 days, 17 hours. Her voyage from Boston, in the United States, including a stoppage of 6 hours at Halifax to land and take in passengers and mails, was performed in 11 days, 6 hours, from that city to Liverpool. Of 28 voyages of the Acadia, Britannia, Caledonia, and Columbia, performed in the years 1840, 1841, and 1842, between Liverpool and Halifax—the average time employed in the passage is found to be as follows: Outward voyage to Halifax 13 days, 6 hours:—Homeward to Liverpool 11 days, 6 hours. It thus appears that intelligence may now pass and repass between Britain and the continent of America in 23 or 24 days, or little more than 3 weeks, so that it is possible a person might receive an answer to a communication sent to America in less than 3 1/2 weeks. At this rate, 15,000 miles—or the greatest distance between any two places on the glob by water, might be traversed in about 50 days.

* See Appendix, Note XI.

page 120 vation
of mankind. For this purpose, it is only requisite that some contrivance, or chemical or mechanical principles, be suggested, analogous to the sails or rudder of a ship, by which they may be moved in any direction, without being directed solely by the course of the wind; and there can be little doubt that such a contrivance is possible to be effected. It requires only suitable encouragement to be given to ingenious experimental philosophers, and a sufficient sum of money to enable them to prosecute their experiments on an extensive scale. To the want of such prerequisites it is chiefly owing that the hints on this subject, hitherto suggested, have either failed of success or have never been carried into execution. A more simple and expeditious process for filling balloons has lately been effected,—the use of the parachute, by which a person may detach himself from the balloon, and descend to the earth, has been successfully tried,—the lightning of heaven has been drawn from the clouds, and forced to act as a mechanical power in splitting immense stones to pieces,—the atmosphere has been analyzed into its component parts, and the wonderful properties of the ingredients of which it is composed exhibited in their separate state;—and why then should we consider it as at all improbable that the means of producing a horizontal direction in aerial navigation may soon be discovered? Were this object once effected, balloons might be applied to the purposes of surveying and exploring countries hitherto inaccessible, and of conveying the messengers of divine mercy to tribes of our fellowmen, whose existence is as yet unknown.

We are certain that every portion of the inhabited world must be thoroughly explored, and its inhabitants visited, before the salvation of God can be carried fully into effect; and for the purpose of such explorations, we must of course resort to the inventions of human genius in art and science. Numerous tribes of the sons of Adam are, doubtless, residing in regions of the earth with which we have no acquaintance, and to which we have no access by any of the modes of conveyance presently in use. More than one half of the interior parts of Africa and Asia, and even of America, are wholly unknown to the inhabitants of the civilized world. The vast regions of Chinese Tartary, Thibet, Siberia, and the adjacent districts; the greater portion of Africa, and the continent of New Holland; the extensive isles of Borneo, Sumatra, New Guinea, and Japan, the territory of the Amazons, and the internal parts of North America, remain, for the most part, unknown and unexplored. The lofty and impassable ranges of mountains, and the deep and rapid rivers, which intervene between us and many-of those regions, together with the savage and plundering hordes of men and the tribes of ravenous beasts through which the traveler must push his way—present to European adventurers barriers which they cannot expect to surmount, by the ordinary modes of conveyance, for a lapse of ages. But, by balloons constructed with an apparatus for directing their motions, all such obstructions would at once be surmounted. The most impenetrable regions, now hemmed in by streams and marshes and lofty mountains, and a barbarous population, would be quickly laid open; and cities and nations, lakes and rivers, and fertile plains, to which we are now entire strangers, would soon burst upon the view. And the very circumstance that the messengers of peace and salvation descended upon such unknown tribes from the region of the clouds, might arouse their minds and excite their attention and regard to the message of divine mercy which they came thither to proclaim.* Such a scene (and it may probably be realized) would present a literal fulfillment of the prediction of “angels flying through the midst of” the aerial “heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth, and to every kindred and nation.”

That the attention of the philosophical world is presently directed to this subject, and that we have some prospect of the views above suggested being soon realized, will appear from the following notice, which some time ago made its appearance in the London scientific journals:—A prize being offered for the discovery of a horizontal direction in aerostation, M. Mingreli of Bologna, M. Pietripoli of Venice, and M. Lember of Nuremberg, have each assumed the merit of resolving this problem. It does not appear that any one of these has come forward to establish, by practical experiment, the validity of his claim; but a pamphlet has lately been reprorted in Paris (first printed at Vienna) on this subject, addressed to all the learned societies in Europe. The following passage appears in the work: “‘Professor Robertson proposes to construct an aerostatic machine, 150 feet in diameter, to be capable of raising 72,954 kilograms, equivalent to 149,037 lbs. weight (French). To be capable of conveying all necessaries for the support of sixty individuals, scientific characters, to be selected by the academicians, and the aerial navigations to last for some months, exploring different hights and climates, etc., in all seasons. If, from accident or wear, the machine, elevated above the ocean, should fail in its functions, to be furnished with a ship that will insure the return of the aeronauts.’”

Of late years, the attention of several scientific gentlemen has been directed to the improvement of aerial navigation, and it is the opinion of many that the problem of giving to balloons a horizontal direction has been in some measure solved. About the year 1837 some plans of this description were laid before a committee of the Royal Society, and an association was attempted to be formed for exploring the continent of Africa by means of a large balloon which was to be constructed for this special purpose; but after the projectors had proceeded a certain length, the scheme was allowed to drop, for want of patronage and support. In

* In this point of view, we cannot but feel the most poignant regret at the conduct of the Spaniards, after the discovery of America, toward the natives of that country. When those untutored people beheld the ships which had conveyed Columbus and his associates from the eastern world, the dresses and martial order of his troops, and heard their music, and the thunder of their cannon, they were filled with astonishment and wonder at the strange objects presented to their view; they fell prostrate at their feet, and viewed them as a superior race of men. When Cortez after ward entered the territories of Mexico, the same sentiments of reverence and admiration seemed to pervade its inhabitants. Had pure Christian motives actuated the minds of the se adventurers, and had it been their ruling desire to communicate to those ignorant tribes the blessings of the Gospel of peace, and to minister to their external comfort, the circumstance now stated would have been highly favorable to the success of missionary exertion and would have led them to listen with attention to the message from Heaven. But, unfortunately for the cause of religion, treachery, lust, cruelty, selfishness, and the cursed love of gold, predominated over every other feeling, affixed a stigma to the Christian name, and rendered them curses instead of blessings, to that newly discovered race of men. It is most earnestly to be wished, that, in future expeditions in quest of unknown tribes, a few intelligent and philanthropic missionaries were appointed to direct the adventurers in their moral conduct and intercourses with the people they visit, in order that nothing inconsistent with Christian principle make its appearance. The uniform manifestation of Christian benevolence, purity, and rectitude, by a superior race of men, would win the affections of a rude people far more effectually than all the pomp and ensigns of military parade.

page 121 the year 1840, Mr. Green, the most celebrated aeronaut of modern times, who has performed several hundreds of aerial voyages, proposed making a voyage in a balloon from the American to the European continent, across the Atlantic. In order to convince the scientific public of the practicability of his propelling or directing a balloon, causing it to ascend or descend, without discharging either gas or ballast—and in a tranquil atmosphere, to move horizontally and in any direction—he commenced a series of important experiments, at the Polytechnic Institution, London, which excited considerable attention, and created a great sensation among the curious in scientific matters. The machinery made use of by Mr. G. consisted of two propellers attached to a spindle, a rudder, a guide-line, and several appendages. The propeller appears to have been somewhat like two sails of a windmill which were whirled round with a rotatory motion, and which were intended to produce an effect both on the horizontal progress of the balloon and likewise in elevating and depressing it.* The practicability of Mr. Green's plans appears to have been admitted by many scientific gentlemen; and although he has never yet attempted his daring aerial excursion across the Atlantic, yet it is well known that he performed, along with Mr. Mason, in the great Nassau balloon, an aerial voyage from England across the German sea to Weilburg in Germany, one of the most daring and extensive voyages hitherto attempted, and which was accomplished without the least danger. The possibility of an aerial excursion across the Atlantic may perhaps be admitted; but its expediency, in the meantime, may justly be called in question.

As the invention now stands, the balloon, under the direction of such an experienced aeronaut as Mr. Green, might be rendered subservient to many important purposes, particularly in taking a general survey of unknown countries. Suppose a balloon, properly equipped for the purpose, were to be elevated either on the eastern or the western shores of Africa, so as to pass nearly over the central parts of that continent,—by taking advantage of the monsoons, or trade-winds, which blow for a certain period in the same direction—the general aspect and character of this country, with which we are at present so little acquainted, might be laid open to view, at least as to its more prominent and general features. The extent of its lakes—the direction and magnitude of its rivers—the ranges of mountains with which it is diversified—its deserts, forests, and cultivated fields—the positions and magnitude of its cities—the characteristics of its inhabitants, and the probable amount of population—with several other particulars—might all be deduced by an intelligent aeronaut, when passing across such a country at a proper elevation, beside having an opportunity of performing a variety of electric, magnetic, and other scientific experiments, for enlarging our knowledge of the principles and processes of nature. In the same manner the Chinese Empire—of which we know so little—might be extensively surveyed, and our knowledge of that interesting and populous region of the globe rendered more definite and expansive. In both these cases, and several others, the course of the periodical winds might be rendered subservient to the success of the enterprise.

Should any one be disposed to insinuate, that the views now stated on this subject are chimerical and fallacious, I beg leave to remind them, that not more than twenty years ago, the idea of a large vessel, without oars or sails, to be navigated against the wind with the rapidity of twelve miles an hour, would have been considered as next to an impossibility, and a mere fanciful scheme, which could never be realized. Yet we now behold such vehicles transporting whole villages to the places of their destination, with a degree of ease, comfort, and expedition, formerly unknown, and even crossing in safety the wide Atlantic ocean. And little more than fifty years have elapsed, since it would have been viewed as still more chimerical to have broached the idea, that a machine might be constructed, by which human beings might ascend more than two miles above the surface of the earth, and fly through the region of the clouds at the rate of seventy miles an hour, carrying along with them books, instruments, and provisions. Yet both these schemes have been fully realized, and, like many other inventions of the human intellect, are doubtless intended to subserve some important ends in the economy of Divine Providence.*

* The reader will find an account of Mr. Green's experiments in the Polytechnic Journal for January and February 1840, and likewise in the No. of the Mirror for April, etc., 1840, vol. 35, with an Engraving of the proposed balloon.

* Balloons were first constructed in the year 1783, by Messrs. S. & J. Montgolfier, paper manufacturers at Annonay, in France. A sheep, a cock, and a duck, were the first animals ever carried up into the air by these vehicles. At the end of their journey, they were found perfectly safe and unhurt, and the sheep was even feeding at perfect ease. The first human being who ascended into the atmosphere in one of those machines, was M. Pilatre de Rozier. This adventurer ascended from amidst an astonished multitude assembled in a garden in Paris, on the 15th October, 1783, in a balloon, whose diameter was 48 feet, and its hight about 74; and remained suspended above the city about four hours. M. Lunardi, an Italian, soon after astonished the people of Scotland and England, by his aerial excursions, Dr. G. Gregory gives the following account of his first ascent:—“I was myself a spectator of the flight of Lunardi, and I never was present at a sight so interesting and sublime. The beauty of the gradual ascent, united with a sentiment of terror on account of the danger of the man, and the novelty and grandeur of the whole appearance, are more than words can express. A delicate woman was so overcome with the spectacle, that she died upon the spot as the balloon ascended; several fainted; and the silent admiration of the anxious multitude was beyond anything I had ever beheld.” Balloons have generally been made of varnished silk, and of the shape of a globe or a spheroid (see fig. 28), from thirty to fifty feet in diameter. They are filled with hydrogen gas, which, as formerly stated, is from twelve to fifteen times lighter than common air: and they rise in the atmosphere on the same principle as a piece of cork ascends from

Fig. 28

Fig. 28

the bottom of a pail of water. The aerial travelers are seated in a basket below the balloon, which is attached to it by means of cords.—The Parachute (see fig. 29) is an invention, by which the voyager, in cases of alarm, may be enabled to desert his balloon in mid-air, and descend without injury to the ground. They resemble an umbrella, but are of far greater extent. With one of these contrivances, twenty-three feet in diameter, M. Garnerin, having detached himself from his balloon, descended from a hight of more than 4000 feet, and landed without shock or accident.

The above representation (fig. 28) exhibits a view of Mr. Green's balloon, when he ascended from St. James's Park, London, on the occasion of the coronation of George IV. The form of the balloon was nearly of the shape of a pear; it was composed of stripes of variegated silk; and over this was thrown an envelope of net-work, which, passing down, served as a support to the car in which the aeronaut was placed. It may give the reader who has never seen a balloon, a general idea of its form and of the mode in which aerial navigation is performed.

Fig. 29

Fig. 29

Fig. 30

Fig. 30

Figs. 29 and 30 represent the parachute of M. Garnerin, and the apparatus connected with it. In fig. 30 is shown a cylindrical box, about 3 feet in hight and 2 in diameter, which was attached by a straight pole, to a truck or disc at the top, and from this was suspended a large sheet of linen somewhat similar to an umbrella. M. Garnerin stood in the box, and the form the machine assumed on bis descent is shown in fig. 29. When first cut from the balloon, it descended with great velocity, and those who witnessed its progress considered his destruction inevitable; but after a few seconds, the canvas opened and the resistance was so great, that the apparatus diminished in its speed, until, on its arrival near the earth, it was not greater than would have resulted from leaping a hight of two feet.

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Acoustic Tunnels.—By means of the inventions just now adverted to, when brought to perfection, mankind may be enabled to transport themselves to every region of the globe, with a much greater degree of rapidity than has hitherto been attained. By the help of the microscope, we are enabled to contemplate the invisible worlds of life, and by the telescope we can penetrate into regions far beyond the range of the unassisted eye. By the arts of Writing and Printing we can communicate our sentiments, after a certain lapse of time, to every quarter of the world. In the progress of human knowledge and improvement, it would obviously be of considerable importance, could we extend the range of the human voice, and communicate intelligence to the distance of a thousand miles, in the course of two or three hours; or could we hold an occasional conversation with a friend at the distance of twenty or thirty miles. From experiments which have lately been made, in reference to the conveyance of sound, we have some reason to believe that such objects may not be altogether unattainable. It has been long known that wood is a good conductor of sound. If a watch be laid on the one end of a long beam of timber, its beating will be distinctly heard, on applying the ear to the other end, though it could not be heard at the same distance through the air. In “Nicholson's Philosophical Journal” for February 1803, Mr. E. Walker describes a simple apparatus, connected with a speaking trumpet, by means of which, at the distance of 17 1/2 feet, he held a conversation with another in whispers, too low to be heard through the air at that distance. When the ear was placed in a certain position, the words were heard as if they had been spoken by an invisible being within the trumpet. And what rendered the deception still more pleasing, the words were more distinct, softer, and more musical, than if they had been spoken through the air.

About the year 1750, a merchant of Cleves, named Jorissen, who had become almost totally deaf, sitting one day near a harpsichord while some one was playing, and having a tobacco-pipe in his mouth, the bowl of which rested accidentally against the body of the instrument, he was agreeably and unexpectedly surprised to hear all the notes in the most distinct manner. By a little reflection and practice, he again obtained the use of this valuable sense: for he soon learned,—by means of a piece of hard wood, one end of which he placed against his teeth, while another person placed the other end on his teeth,—to keep up a conversation, and to be able to understand a whisper. In this way, two persons who have stopped their ears may converse with each other, when they hold a long stick, or a series of sticks, between their teeth, or rest their teeth against them. The effect is the same, if the person who speaks rest the stick against his throat or his breast, or when one rests the stick which he holds in his teeth against some vessel into which the other speaks; and the effect will be the greater, the more the vessel is capable of tremulous motion. These experiments demonstrate the facility with which the softest whispers may be transmitted. Water, too, is found to be a good conductor of sound. Dr. Franklin assures us, that he has heard under water, at the distance of half a mile, the sound of two stones struck against each other. It has also been observed, that the velocity of sound is much greater in solid bodies, than in the air. By a series of experiments, instituted for the purpose of determining this point, Mr. Chladni found that the velocity of sound, in certain solid bodies, is 16 or 17 times as great as in air.

But what has a more particular bearing on the object hinted at above, is the experiments, lately made by M. Biot, “on the transmission of sound through solid bodies, and through air, in very long tubes.” These experiments were made by means of long cylindrical pipes, which were constructed for conduits and aqueducts, to embellish the city of Paris. With regard to the velocity of sound, it was ascertained that “its transmission through cast iron is 10 1/2 times as quick as through air. The pipes by which he wished to ascertain at what distance sounds are audible were 1039 yards, or nearly five furlongs in length. M. Biot was stationed at the one end of this series of pipes, and Mr. Martin, a gentleman who assisted in the experiments, at the other. They heard the lowest voice, so as perfectly to distinguish the words, and to keep up a conversation on all the subjects of the experiments. “I wished,” says M. Biot, “to determine the point at which the human voice ceases to be audible, but could not accomplish it: words spoken as low as when we whisper a secret in another's ear were heard and understood; so that not to be heard, there was but one resource, page 123 that of not speaking at all.—This mode of conversing with an invisible neighbor is so singular, that we cannot help being surprised, even though acquainted with the cause. Between a question and answer, the interval was not greater than was necessary for the transmission of sound. For Mr. Martin and I, at the distance of 1039 yards, this time was about 5 1/2 seconds.” Reports of a pistol fired at one end occasioned a considerable explosion at the other. The air was driven out of the pipe with sufficient force to give the hand a smart blow, to drive light substances out of it to the distance of half a yard, and to extinguish a candle, though it was 1039 yards distant from the place where the pistol was fired. A detailed account of these experiments may be seen in Nicholson's Phil. Jour for October, 1811.—Don Gautier, the inventor of the Telegraph, suggested also the method of conveying articulate sounds to a great distance. He proposed to build horizontal tunnels, widening at the remoter extremity, and found that, at the distance of 400 fathoms, or nearly half a mile, the ticking of a watch could be heard far better than close to the ear. He calculated, that a series of such tunnels would convey a message 900 miles in an hour.

From the experiments now stated, it appears highly probable that sounds may be conveyed to an indefinite distance. If one man can converse with another at the distance of nearly three quarters of a mile, by means of the softest whisper, there is every reason to believe that they could hold a conversation at the distance of 30 or 40 miles, provided the requisite tunnels were constructed for this purpose. The latter case does not appear more wonderful than the former. Were this point fully determined by experiments conducted on a more extensive scale, a variety of interesting effects would follow, from a practical application of the results. A person, at one end of a large city, at an appointed hour, might communicate a message, or hold a conversation with his friend, at another; friends in neighboring, or even in distant towns, might hold an occasional correspondence by articulate sounds, and recognize each other's identity by their tones of voice. In the case of sickness, accident, or death, intelligence could thus be instantly communicated, and the tender sympathy of friends immediately exchanged. A clergyman sitting in his own room, in Edinburgh, were it at any time expedient, might address a congregation in Musselburgh or Dalkeith, or even in Glasgow. He might preach the same sermon to his own church, and the next hour to an assembly at forty miles distant. And surely there could be no valid objection to trying the effect of an invisible preacher on a Christian audience. On similar principles, an apparatus might be constructed for augmenting the strength of the human voice, so as to make it extend its force to an assembled multitude, composed of fifty or a hundred thousand individuals; and the utility of such a power, when the mass of mankind are once thoroughly aroused to attend to rational and religious instruction, may be easily conceived. In short, intelligence respecting every important discovery, occurrence, and event, might thus be communicated, through the extent of a whole kingdom, within the space of an hour after it had taken place.

Let none imagine that such a project is either chimerical or impossible. M. Biot's experiment is decisive, so far as it goes; that the softest whisper, without any diminution of its intensity, may be communicated to the distance of nearly three quarters of a mile; and there is nothing but actual experiment wanting to convince us, that the ordinary tones of the human voice may be conveyed to at least twenty times that distance. We are just now acting on a similar principle in distributing illumination through large cities. Not above 40 or 50 years ago, the idea of lighting our apartments by an invisible substance, produced at ten miles distance, would have been considered as chimerical, and as impossible to be realized, as the idea of two persons conversing together, by articulate sounds, at such a distance. It appears no more wonderful, that we should be able to hear at a distance of five or six miles, than that we should be enabled to see objects at that distance by the telescope, as distinctly as if we were within a few yards of them. Both are the effects of those principles and laws which the Creator has interwoven with the system of the material world; and when man has discovered the mode of their operation, it remains with himself to apply them to his necessities. What the telescope is to the eye, acoustic tunnels would be to the ear; and thus those senses on which our improvement in knowledge and enjoyment chiefly depends, would be gradually carried to the utmost perfection of which our station on earth will permit. And as to the expense of constructing such communications of sound, the tenth part of the millions of money expended in the twenty-one years’ war in which we were lately engaged, would, in all probability, be more than sufficient for distributing them, in numerous ramifications, through the whole island of Great Britain. Even although such a project were partially to fail of success, it would be a far more honorable and useful national undertaking, than that which now occupies the attention of the despots on the continent of Europe, and might be accomplished with far less expenditure, either of blood or of money. Less than the fourth part of a million of pounds would be sufficient for trying an experiment of this kind, on an extensive scale; and such a sum is considered as a mere item, when fleets and armies are to be equipped for carrying destruction through sea and land. When will the war-madness cease its rage! When will men desist from the work of destruction, and employ their energies and their treasures in the cause of human improvement? The most chimerical projects that were ever suggested by the most enthusiastic visionary, are not half so ridiculous and degrading to the character of man, as those ambitious and despotic schemes, in which the powers of the earth in all ages have been chiefly engaged.—But on this topic it is needless to enlarge, until more extended experiments shall have been undertaken.

Electric Telegraphs.—The electric and galvanic powers have been lately employed in transmitting telegraphic signals through wires to any assignable distance. More than 13 years ago, Sir H. Davy, Dr. Ritchie, and several others, formed the idea of constructing an electrical telegraph; and in 1837, the model of an apparatus for this purpose was exhibited by Mr. Alexander to the Society of Arts, in Edinburgh. Professor Wheatstone, of King's College, London, lately made considerable improvements in the construction of these instruments, particularly in the reduction of the number of wires requisite in such an apparatus.—The general principle on which such an operation is founded, is, that of causing the galvanic current to deflect a needle poised on a center; and, by certain arrangements, the needle is made to point to any letter on a dial plate. Professor Wheatstone's apparatus consists of two small galvanic troughs or batteries; four lengths page 124 of copper wire; an object resembling a brass clock, with a small opening or dial on the surface sufficient to show a single letter at a time; close by this an upright pivot of brass about 3 inches high, having a circular top inscribed with the letters of the alphabet all round, and from each letter a spike pointing outward. The whole stands on a table, except the wires, which, being four miles in length, and warped in numberless convolutions through the vaults of the college, are observable only at their extremities, in connection with the apparatus. The galvanic property generated in the batteries is made to proceed along the wires, and in its passage to affect the mechanism in the apparatus now described. The letters can be exposed at the rate of two in every second. A gentleman who witnessed its performance, says, “A lady turning the capstan with her finger, brought into view the word London, in the time it could be uttered letter by letter, although the idea had to travel through 4 miles of wire.”

The capabilities of the principle of this instrument have been tested on the line of the Great Western Railway. In September, 1839, the wires of the electric telegraph were carried to Drayton, a distance of 15 miles from London, and the experiment was attended with complete success. To such a question as the following,—“How many passengers started from Drayton by the 10 o'clock train?” the answer could be transmitted from the terminus to Drayton and back in less than two minutes. The wires of communication pass through a hollow iron tube about an inch and a half in diameter, which is fixed about 6 inches above the ground, parallel with the railway, and about two or three feet distant from it; and it is probable that, by this time, they have been carried forward the whole length of the railway, which extends to Bristol, a distance of 117 miles.

In transmitting the electric influence through wires—however great the distance—the time occupied in the transmission is nearly the same, for there is reason to believe that it flies with the same velocity as light, whose rate of motion is nearly two hundred thousand miles in a second. Were wires extended from Britain to China, on the one hand, and to America, on the other, intelligence could be transmitted to those regions in as short a time as in conveying it across a garden or a large hall. It is hard to say to what extent signals may, in point of fact, be communicated in this way, in the course of the improvements which are now going forward. Were the nations of Europe living in perfect amity and peace, and in a friendly communication with each other, telegraphs of this description might be ramified throughout the whole extent of the continent, from north to south, and from east to west; and the expense of constructing them would be but a slight item, compared with the sums expended in useless parade, in warfare, and in schemes of folly. They might, at any rate, be spread in different directions throughout the island of Great Britain, or, at least along the great thoroughfares leading toward the metropolis; and offices established at different stages for communicating and receiving intelligence—with prices affixed corresponding to the distance from which the intelligence is conveyed. It is easy to see that such a rapid communication of intelligence—in numerous instances, which our limits will not permit us to specify—might be highly beneficial to the interests of general society.

Thus it appears that the same physical principle or agent which produces the forked and fireball lightnings, and all the dread phenomena of a violent thunder-storm—which rends in pieces the sturdy oak, and strikes whole herds of cattle lifeless to the ground—which displays its terrific energy in the awful phenomena of volcanoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes—that the same agent is now, by human art, rendered subservient to the conveyance of swift intelligence from one place to another, and to many other useful purposes in society—and, perhaps, ere long, its destructive energies may be completely counteracted by the contrivances of human ingenuity, when its nuture and properties, and its mode of operation, shall be more completely unfolded. And, it is not unlikely, as the investigations of philosophy proceed, that new principles may be discovered in the system of nature, more wonderful than any that have yet come within the reach of our knowledge, which may both enlarge our views of the operations of the Creator, and be applicable to manifold beneficial purposes in the economy of human society.

Railways.—The mode of traveling by means of railways, which has been lately introduced into Great Britain and many other countries, is an improvement no less wonderful and beneficial to society than that of steam navigation, and promises to promote the general intercourse of mankind, and the conveyance of political and commercial intelligence to an extent and with a velocity which former ages could never have anticipated.

It appears that, so early as the year 1676, coals were carried from the mines near Newcastle-upon-Tyne to the banks of the river, by laying rails of timber exactly straight and parallel, on which large carts, with four rollers fitting the rails, and drawn by horses, could convey at once four or five caldrons of coals. About a century afterward, an iron railroad was constructed at the Sheffield colliery. But the first railway resembling those now in use, as a public thoroughfare for the conveyance of goods and passengers, was the “Stockton and Darlington Railway,” which was completed only in 1825, and was the first which was attended with complete success. Several years, however, elapsed before steam locomotive engines were adopted. This noble triumph of art, in the swift conveyance of goods and passengers, was first practically exhibited at the opening of the “Liverpool and Manchester Railway,” on the 15th September, 1830, when it was found that trains of carriages could be conveyed at the rate of 25 or 30 miles an hour. Since this period, railways have been distributed throughout almost all the populous districts of our country.

The rails on which the wheels of the engines and carriages move are all made of iron. At first it was supposed that malleable iron rails were to be preferred; but it is now understood that cast-iron rails, if properly made, will endure all the tear and wear to which they are in general subjected. Each individual rail is about 12 feet in length, and 6 inches in depth at the two ends. Their thickness is about one inch, and the upper surface on which the wheel is to run, about two inches, so as to project laterally like the cross top of the letter T. They are pinned together at their extremities, and are supported at intervals of every three feet. The supporters on some lines of railroad consist of stone sleepers sunk into the ground; but it is generally admitted that transverse bars of wood sunk in the ground are preferable, as both lines of rail are thus kept from separating or shifting, and as stone sleepers present too unyielding a base to the rolling of the wheels. In order to keep the wheels on the rails, they are furnished with thin edges, which dip or page 125 the outside. The wheels of the locomotive have a diameter of about 4 feet; the diameter for the wagon or carriage-wheels is generally from 30 to 36 inches. The locomotive is now generally placed upon six wheels; the front and hind pair being smaller than those in the middle; these middle ones being the wheels upon which, by the action of cranks from the engine, the whole mass is propelled. A chimney rises in front, and a standing place behind is allotted for the engineer, who conducts and regulates the machine. The barrel-like object next the engineer consists of a furnace or fire-box, and the heat generated in it by the consumption of coke, is conducted thence through a great number of tubes in the cylinder, and finally escapes at the chimney. By means of lever handles affecting the mechanism, the engineer can at pleasure produce or stop the motion as effectually as a coach-driver could set off, or arrest the progress of his horses. Immediately behind the locomotive is a carriage called the tender, which is loaded with fuel, and has a tank round its sides containing water. The weight of a locomotive, supplied with its proper quantity of water and fuel, is about 12 tons. When filled with water and fuel, the tender weighs about 7 tons; it can carry 700 gallons of water, and eight hundred weight of coke—which will form a supply for a trip of 30 or 40 miles.

Black and white image of a locomotive

The expenses incurred in the construction and management of railways are very considerable.—All inequalities of surface in the line proposed must be removed—low parts filled up by embankments—high parts reduced—eminences which it would be impossible or too expensive to level, must be perforated by tunnels, and over dells and rivers viaducts require to be thrown, consisting, in some cases, of numerous arches. Beside, a previous survey must be made—the land over which it is to pass must be purchased sometimes at an exorbitant price—an act of parliament must be procured—and various petty and vexatious oppositions, arising from the avarice and obstinacy of landed proprietors, must be overcome, which not unfrequently add to all the other expenses. It has been estimated that, at an average, £30,000 per mile may be considered as a moderate outlay in the construction of railways throughout most parts of Great Britain. The London and Birmingham railway—a line extending 112 miles—cost much more; its whole expense amounted to several millions of pounds. The least expensive railway we have yet heard of, is that between Dundee and Arbroath, the average expense of which per mile is estimated not to exceed £8000. The cost of a locomotive is about £1700, and it seldom wears longer than two years without undergoing an extensive repair. Ordinary locomotives evaporate 77 cubic feet of water per hour; those on the Great Western railway about 200 cubic feet. The evaporation of one cubic foot per hour produces a mechanical force of nearly 2 horse power; consequently we may ascertain the power of a locomotive by multiplying by 2 the number of cubic feet which it evaporates in an hour. An ordinary sized locomotive exerts a power of 150 horses; a horse upon a common road cannot draw for any length of time more than 15 hundred weight, while on a railway it will pull with equal ease ten tons, which is thirteen times the amount; and therefore the power of a locomotive such as is usually employed, is equal to a draught of 1462 tons.

The railways in most parts of Britain consist of two tracks, suitable for trains going in opposite directions; in America, Belgium, and other places, they consist generally of but one track. On most of the lines there are slow trains for goods and 2d class passengers—fast trains, taking only 1st and 2d class carriages—some lines have mail trains which proceed at more than usual speed, and stop at fewer places by the way. The 1st class carriages are covered—the 2d class carriages are open at the sides—and the 3d class carriages are entirely open, in some of which the passengers are obliged to stand during the journey, arising from a principle of avarice in the proprietors, and a foolish design of compelling, if possible, the lower classes to select the 1st and 2d class carriages. The carriages for goods are open on trucks, on which the articles are piled; and for cattle there are open trucks with a railing round the sides. All the carriages in a train—amounting in some cases to twenty or thirty—are linked one to the other by strong iron hooks, and to prevent them from shocks against each other, the various carriages are provided with projecting rods on springs cushioned at the outer extremities. From one hundred to a thousand passengers are thus conveyed, at one time, from one city or town to another; and it is a universal rule that no servant or officer shall on any account take a fee from passengers, on pain of instant dismissal.

About 50 railways have been completed in the United Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1842.—The following are some of the principal lines—in England—The Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 32 miles in length, which cost £46,000 per mile; the London and Birmingham Railway, 112 1/2 miles long, connecting the metropolis with the center of England, in which are several long and expensive tunnels, and which cost above £50,000 per mile; the Grand Junction Railway, 79 miles in length, connecting the London and Birmingham line to that of Liverpool and Manchester, and also to a railway proceeding northward to Lancaster, which cost £21,859 per mile, forming an important thoroughfare obliquely across the country; the Manchester and Leeds Railway, 50 miles in length; the Midland Counties, North Midland and Great North of England railways, connecting the great seats of trade in Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire, with the London and Birmingham line; the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, 61 miles long; the Great Western Railway, 117 miles long; which cost £53,241 per mile, and which connects London with Bristol and with smaller tributary lines opening up the west of England; the South-Western Railway, 77 miles long, connecting London with Southampton.—The principal lines of railway in Scotland are—The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, about 46 miles long, on which are several beautiful and extensive viaducts, which was opened in the beginning of 1842; the Glasgow and Ayr Railway, about 40 miles long; the Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock, 22 1/2 miles long, the Dundee, Newtyle, and Cupar-Angus railways, page 126 about 17 miles long; the Dundee and Arbroath Railway, 17 miles in length; and the Arbroath and Forfar Railway, 15 miles long. Beside these, several others are projected, to connect Edinburgh and Newcastle, on the one hand, and with Dundee, Montrose, and Aberdeen, on the other. And we trust the period is not far distant, when every part of our country shall be intersected with these cheap and expeditious modes of conveyance.—The most prosperous of all the lines is that of the London and Birmingham, the weekly revenue of which is upward of £16,000; the weekly revenue of the Grand Junction, which joins it, is £900.—In the “Railway Magazine,” July, 1842, the following calculation is given of a late weekly return of 40 railways, 1431 miles in length.—“Number of passengers on 25 railways, 289,819; consequently the total for the week, on the whole, must be about 400,000. The receipts for passengers on 39 railways, £74,938 15s. 6 1/2 d.; ditto for goods on 33 railways, £17,826 4s. 7 1/2 d.; total, £92,765 0s. 1 1/2 d. This is an average of £64 0s. 3/4 d. per mile, per week. The traffic, therefore, is at the rate of about four millions a year, and carrying fifteen millions of passengers.”*

The velocity with which railway trains generally proceed, is from 20 to 25 miles per hour; but on some of the English railways it is much more rapid. The lines upon which the trains travel with the greatest speed are as follows:—Average speed exclusive of stoppages—Northern and Eastern Railway 36 miles per hour; Great Western Railway 33; London and Brighton 30; Newcastle and North Shields 30; Midland Counties 29; Northland 29; London and Birmingham 27;—At the ordinary rate of speed, a journey from London to Liverpool by the mail train—a distance of about 210 miles—is performed in about 9 hours; and when railways shall be extended from the South to Edinburgh, the journey from that city to London may be accomplished in less than 18 hours; so that a person may leave Edinburgh at 6 in the morning and take supper in London the same evening—a journey which not long ago, occupied nearly a fortnight.

Traveling on railways is on the whole attended with less danger than in stage-coaches or any other mode of conveyance. The personal injuries and loss of life, which have occurred chiefly on the English railways, are, without almost an exception, to be attributed, either to the ignorance and carelessness of the engine drivers, or to the imprudence and recklessness of those who have been the victims of accidents. Were men of superior intelligence and prudence always employed to direct the motions of the trains, and were the public at large to attend to the restrictions and regulations prescribed in reference to railways, almost every accident might be prevented. On the Dundee and Arbroath Railway, which has been in operation for four years, scarcely an accident has ever occurred to any of the passengers, and those few which have happened on that line were entirely owing to the folly and imprudence of those who were the victims.

The utility of Railway communication, when properly conducted, must be obvious to all. In a commercial country, such as ours, the rapid conveyance of goods of all descriptions from one town to another, is an object of peculiar importance. Even in agricultural districts, the formation of railroads has enabled the landed proprietor to bring to a high state of cultivation extensive districts of land which would otherwise have remained barren and useless. But such advantages are as nothing, when compared with the increased diffusion of useful knowledge which must follow from a cheap and rapid conveyance over the British Empire, and over all those countries that have adopted similar modes of communication and transport.—Man is thus brought into juxta-position with his fellow-men; time and space are shortened, and cities a hundred miles distant may be considered as nearly adjacent, since they can be reached in the course of three or four hours. Friends, relatives, and correspondents can thus visit each other though at a distance, without much loss of time or money—communicate information, and interchange “brotherly kindness and affection.” During the summer months, those confined in towns have an opportunity of taking excursions into the country for health and recreation, without any serious interference with the demands of business. Letters, newspapers, and periodicals of all descriptions, can be conveyed with a speed which, formerly, could neither have been effected nor anticipated. In certain cases, a letter may be written, sent through the Post-office, and delivered at the distance of 20 miles, in the course of a single hour. From Liverpool a letter may be dispatched to London, a distance of more than 200 miles, and an answer received in the course of the same day. As ignorance, superstition, and foolish prejudices, are the companions of those who live in retired districts, and seldom go beyond the view of the smoke of their father's chimney—so, when the great body of our fellow-men have an opportunity of taking extensive excursions through the country, we may expect that their minds will be expanded, their conceptions enlarged, and their views of nature and human society rendered more definite and extensive, so that they shall be enabled to take in ideas and portions of knowledge of which they were formerly ignorant. “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Beside, the frequent intercourse of man with his fellow-men of every grade has a natural tendency to promote friendship, esteem, and mutual affection. Civilization can alone be promoted by the frequent social intercourse of human beings; and wherever this intercourse exists, reciprocal benefits will always ensue; and such an intercourse among all ranks is now facilitated and promoted by the invention and formation of railways.

It is likewise obvious that Christianity and the Christian virtues may, by such improvements in traveling, be promoted and extended. “As in water face answereth to face, so doth the heart of man to man.” In communicating religious instruction, admonition, and reproof, or in administering comfort under affliction, in most instances, the presence and countenance of a friend, and the living voice—breathing “words that burn,” and which soothe or pierce the heart—generally produce a deeper and more permanent impression, where personal intercourse is obtained, than the same sentiments communicated by letter. “For as iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” We can also conceive many cases in which the labors of a minister of religion, and of a Christian missionary, may be greatly facilitated and rendered successful by a rapid conveyance from one place to another, and where missionary and other philanthropic associations would be more numerously attended and patronized by Christians having a cheap and ex-

* The number of passengers booked for Edinburgh, at the several stations, on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, on the 9th of August, 1842—the-day of the Highland Society's exhibition—amounted to 4883.

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conveyance to the places in which they are held. In short, were such modes of traveling introduced into every country, we should quickly hear of what is passing in all parts of the world, and learn the aspect of the Divine dispensations toward all nations; we should learn, without loss of time, the result of all the missionary enterprises which have been undertaken for the conversion and renovation of the heathen world, and be in readiness to send forth, by a speedy course, other missionaries wherever they were wanted, to spread abroad the fame of the Redeemer, and the knowledge of that Revelation which points out the way to a blessed immortality.

In the preceding sketches I have presented a few specimens of the relation which the inventions of human ingenuity bear to religious objects. I intended to have traced the same relation in several other instances: in the invention of the electrical machine, the air-pump, mills, clocks, and watches, gas-lights, chemical fumigations, inventions for enabling us to walk upon the water, to prevent and alleviate the dangers of shipwreck, etc. But as my prescribed limits will not permit further enlargement, I trust that what has been already stated will be sufficient to establish and illustrate my general position. From this subject we may learn:—

1.

That the various processes of art, and the exertions of human ingenuity, are under the special direction of Him who arranges all things “according to the counsel of his will.” As “the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, and as the rivers of waters he turns it whithersoever he pleases,” so all the varied schemes and movements of the human mind, the discoveries of science, and the diversified experiments of mechanics, chemists, and philosophers, are directed in such channels as may issue in the accomplishment of His eternal purposes, in respect to the present and future condition of the inhabitants of our world. This truth is also plainly taught us in the records of Inspiration. “Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? Doth he open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the vetches, and scatter the cummin,* and cast in the wheat in the principal [place], and the barley in the appointed place, and the rye in its proper place? For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.” Agriculture has, by most nations, been attributed to the suggestions of Deity; for “every good and perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights.” It is he who hath taught men to dig from the bowels of the earth, iron, copper, lead, silver, and gold, and to apply them to useful purposes in social life, and who hath given them “wisdom and understanding” to apply the animal and vegetable productions of nature to the manufacture of cloths, linen, muslin, and silk, for the use and the ornament of man. For “all things are of God.” “Both riches and honor come from him, and he reigneth over all, and in his hand is power and might, and in his hand it is to make great, and to give strength to all.” When the frame of the Mosaic Tabernacle and all its curious vessels were to be constructed, the mind of Bezaleel “was filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise curious works in gold, and in silver, and in brass.” And when the fabric of the New Testament Church is to be reared, and its boundaries extended, artificers of every description, adequate for carrying on the different parts of the work, are raised up, and inspired with the spirit of their respective departments—some with the spirit of writing, printing, and publishing; some with the spirit of preaching, lecturing, and catechising; some with the spirit of fortitude, to make bold and daring adventures into distant barbarous climes; and others with the spirit of literature, of science, and of the mechanical arts—all acting as pioneers “to prepare the way of the Lord,” and as builders for carrying forward and completing the fabric of the Christian Church.

2.
All the mechanical contrivances to which I have adverted, all the discoveries of science, and all the useful inventions of genius which may hereafter be exhibited, ought to be viewed as preparing the way for the millennial era of the church, and as having a certain tendency to the melioration of the external condition of mankind during its continuance. We are certain, from the very nature of things, as well as from scriptural prediction, that, when this period advances toward the summit of its glory, the external circumstances of this world's population will be comfortable, prosperous, and greatly meliorated, beyond what they have ever been in the days that are past—“Then shall the earth yield her increase, and God, even our own God, shall bless us.” “Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. The oxen likewise, and the young asses that ear the ground, shall eat savory provender, which hath been winnowed with a shovel and with the fan.” “And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick.” “They shall build houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.” “The seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew.” “The evil beasts shall cease out of the land: and they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fg-tree; and none shall make him afraid.” “For wars shall cease to the ends of the world; and the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea.”* Diseases will be, in a great measure, banished from the world, and the life of man extended far beyond its present duration—agriculture will be brought to perfection—commodious habitations erected for the comfortable accommodation of all ranks—cities built on elegant and spacious plans, adapted to health, ornament and pleasure; divested of all the filth, and darkness and gloom, and nar row lanes, which now disgrace the abodes of men—roads will be constructed on improved principles, with comfortable means of retreat for shelter and accommodation at all seasons; and conveyances invented for the ease, and safety, and rapid conveyance of persons and property from one

* Vetches is a kind of seed frequently sown in Judea, for the use of cattle; and cummin is the seed of a plant somewhat like fennel.

* Psalm lxvii. 6; Isaiah. xxx. 23, 24: xxxiii. 24: lxv. 21–23; Zech., viii. 12; Micah, iv. 4, etc.

page 128 place to another. Either the climates of the earth will be meliorated by the universal cultivation of the soil, so that storms and tempests, thunders and lightnings, shall no longer produce their present ravages; or chemical and mechanical contrivances will be invented to ward off their destructive effects. The landscape of the earth will be adorned with vegetable and architectural beauty; and, instead of horse-racing, demoralizing plays, routs and masquerades, boxing and bull-fights—artificial displays of scenery will be exhibited, more congenial to the dignity of rational, renovated, and immortal minds. For “the knowledge of the Lord,” and the “beauties of holiness,” will pervade men of all ranks and ages, “from the least even to the greatest.”*

Now, as we have no reason to expect any miraculous interference, we must regard the past and the future useful inventions of philosophy and mechanics, as having a bearing on this glorious period, and a tendency to promote the improvement and the felicity of those who shall live during this era of Messiah's reign. If diseases are to be generally abolished, it will be owing to the researches of the scientific physician in discovering certain antidotes against every disorder, and to the practice of temperance, meekness, equanimity, and every other mean of preserving the vigor of the animal frame. For vicious passions and pursuits are the source of numerous disorders which, along with the anxieties, perplexities, and remorse which accompany them, gradually prey upon the human frame, and cut short the period of human existence—while the regular exercise of faith, love, hope, joy, and other Christian graces have an evident tendency to promote both health and longevity. If the earth is to produce its treasures in abundance, and with little labor, it will be owing in part to the improvement of agricultural science, and of the instruments by which its operations are conducted. If the lightnings of heaven shall no longer prove destructive to man and to the labors of his hands, it will be effected either by machinery for drawing off the electricity of a storm cloud, or by the invention of thunder-guards, which shall afford a complete protection from its ravages. In these, and numerous other instances, the inventions of men, under the guidance of the Spirit of Wisdom, will have a tendency to remove a great part of the curse which has so long hung over our sinful world. And since the inventions of human skill and ingenuity for the melioration of mankind, and for the swift conveyance of intelligence, have of late years been rapidly increasing, at the same time when the Christian world is roused to increased exertions in disseminating the Scriptures throughout all lands, when general knowledge is increasingly diffused, and when the fabric of Superstition and Despotism is shaking to its foundations,—these combined and simultaneous movements seem plainly to indicate, that that auspicious era is fast hastening on, when “the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together,” when “righteousness and praise shall spring forth before all nations,” and when “Holiness to the lord,” shall be inscribed on all the pursuits, and implements, and employments of men.

Lastly, If the remarks suggested above be well-founded, we may conclude, that the mechanical and philosophical inventions of genius are worthy of the attentive consideration of the enlightened Christian, particularly in the relation they may have to the accomplishment of religious objects. He should contemplate the experiments of scientific men, not as a waste of time, or the mere gratification of an idle curiosity, but as embodying the germs of those improvements by which civilization, domestic comfort, knowledge, and moral principle, may be diffused among the nations. To view such objects with apathy and indifference, as beneath the regard of a religious character, argues a weak and limited understanding, and a contracted view of the grand operations of a superintending Providence.

* The various circumstances above stated, may be considered as the natural results of a state of society on which the light of science and of revelation has diffused its full influence, and where the active powers of the human mind are invariably directed by the pure principles and precepts of Christianity. That the duration of human life, at the era referred to, will be extended beyond its present boundary, appears to be intimated in some of the passages above quoted, particularly the following:—”As the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” And if the life of man will be thus protracted to an indefinite period, it will follow, that those diseases which now prey upon the human frame, and cut short its vital action, will be in a great measure extirpated. Both these effects may be viewed (without supposing any miraculous interference) as the natural consequence of that happiness and equanimity which will flow from the practice of Christian virtues, from the enlargement of out knowledge of the principles of nature, and from the physical enjoyments which such a state of society will furnish.