are in reality so much above suspicion, that at this period, any defence of them would be completely a work of supererogation. I am, Sir, myself the son of a clergyman of the Church of England, and cannot, therefore, be fairly supposed indifferent to its welfare; but I trust it is not required of me as a test to believe, that none but those within its pale are entitled to be considered as Christians, or that I am to be blind to the merits of my dissenting brethren. On the contrary, I am free to confess, that their recent conduct, and that of some of the dignitaries of our Church, have excited very different emotions. But why the increase of dissent should be" alarming," I know not, unless E. R. will really prove, that the bulk of sectarians teach, as he asserts, principles which tend to the complete subversion of religion, morality, and social order." Perhaps the charge of lukewarmness and inactivity cannot with propriety be now urged against clergymen of the Church of England; but to what cause is this sudden energy to be attributed? Not, apprehend, to any increase of affection or zeal for the souls of men (I judge here of cause by effect), but to a well-grounded fear, that unless they recover from the state of apathy to the interests of the Establishment into which they have been so long sunk -that establishment will crumble to pieces, and bury them amid its ruins. if, however, they do not exert themselves in a far different manner, an effect very opposite to what they now appear to anticipate will result. Another topic worthy of notice in E. R.'s letter, is the opinion that a portion of the money subscribed towards the erection of a cenotaph for the Princess Charlotte, ought to be allotted to the building a free church." This is quite in character with all his other enlarged ideas. And so, he would think it no breach of faith towards the numerous individuals of all sects (Jews, Quakers, Unitarians, Methodists, &c.), who have subscribed for the erection of some monument of respect to the memory of so much worth, to have their money devoted to the building of a place of worship into which they could never enter with proper feelings, and where principles would be taught which they conscientiously consider as erroneous! It is sufficiently galling to compel by act of Parliament persons out of the Esta blishment to contribute directly by means of the taxes towards the erection of new churches, but the other pro. ject is too obviously dishonest to be submitted to by any man of honourable feeling. But to return for a moment to the ostensible subject of your Correspondent's letter. I think it will be admitted, that though he contemplates the intended measure with so much complacency, he rather assumes its necessity than argues for it. Had he condescended to shew that anything like a want of churches in the metropolis really exists, he would have offered something towards an apology for what now appears to me to be an extravagant waste of money; for, so far from there being a deficiency, I am of opinion that there is already an overplus. I do not mean to say that the five parishchurches enumerated by E. R. are not filled, but that in the city there are some ten or twenty so thinly attended, that the officiating clergymen may lite rally adopt the language of Swift, on an occasion when he was left minus a congregation, and individually say, "Dearly beloved Roger (if that be Amen's Christian name), the scripture moveth you and I, &c." If then such be the case, what is there to prevent the 216,768 persons from migrating to these deserted churches, if they have any portion of the zeal E. R. supposes them to possess? Since my removal to the country within a few weeks, after a residence of upwards of fourteen years in the heart of the city, I have had opportunities of perceiving, that the church and dissenting meeting of the parish in which I reside are filled by persons, the majority of whom come from a distance of many miles in all weathers. Surely, then, it would be no great hardship, if some of the unaccommodated overplus at the West end of the town were to take a ride in their carriages, or even to walk, at the least once a day, to the deserted churches of the city-where they would probably hear quite as good. sermons as at their own parish-churches. I dare say there would not be a straw to choose between them, for in point of literary talent the printed specimens do not furnish any remarkable superiority on the one side of Temple-bar or the other. If proofs were wanting of the loyalty of the great body of dissenters, who have been so grossly aspersed by your Correspondent, they are abundantly furnished by the printed sermoos of numerous individuals among them on that melancholy event :-and if a statement of the comparative literary merits of the established and dissenting clergy were required, E. R. has only to read the sermons published on that occasion, and he will soon make up his mind upon the subject. la conclusion-I would fain hope that the majority of 216,768 persons are not waiting the erection of splendid edifices (which I strongly suspect are only intended to furnish an increase of patronage), but are even now attending places of worship, whether in or out of the Establishment, where the great and important truths of revelation are plainly inculcated, and where a reverence of God is not superseded in the ministers of religion by a greater respect for their fellow-creatures. Trusting, therefore, that this is the case, I remain, Sir, Your most obedient servant, T. W. [In compliance with the request of our Correspondent, we have inserted his Letter (leaving out two or three passages which we conceive to be exceptionable); with the insertion of which we wish to take our leave of the subject, as it might lead us too much into controversy ] MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. No. XLII. COFFEE. NEW enemy of coffee has recently appeared on the medical horizon. Doctor Michel Petoez, of Presburgh, has fulminated a large and erudite volume against the perfumed bean of Arabia. Fontenelle's bon-mot respecting coffee is well known: and since his time much has been written both for and against a beverage, which some prescribe as salutary, and others declare to be the most pernicious that can possibly exist. Dr. Petoez maintains his opinion with a degree of confidence which reminds us of the paradox of the advocate Linguet, who attempted to prove, with Hippocrates in his hand, that bread was neither more nor less than slow poison. He likewise bears some little resemblance to Dr. Hufeland, who, in his Macrobialic, or the Art of living to an advanced Age, declaims against the use of cheese, of which he himself eat a prodigious quantity every day of his life. We may quote from the Austrian Chronicle, a short specimen of the declamation of this new enemy to coffee. The series of disorders which ordi narily result from poison, become manifest, he says, sooner or later, in those individuals who accustom themselves.to drinking coffee: vapours, palpitation of the heart, insomnium, hemorrhoides, hemoptysis, shivering fits, vertigo, and astheneia, are always observable in coffee drinkers. An infinite list of chro nic disorders, such as obstructions, carcinoma, gout, consumption, &c. &c. prove how greatly the use of coffee tends to vitiate the humours in the human body. According to Dr. Petocz, it is so. evident that these disorders are all occasioned by coffee, that should a physician wish to calculate the degree of duty he may have to perform among his patients, he must first ascertain whether they make a practice of drink. ing coffee; if so, he may be sure that his visits to them will be tolerably frequent. Why does the plague prove so fatal to the inhabitants of the Levant? Because they drink coffee. The scrupulous observers of the Koran, who abstain from wine, and deny themselves the use of any agreeable drink, and consequently coffee, never suffer from that distemper. The Arabs are the greatest coffeedrinkers in the universe. Consequently Arabia, though formerly the birth-place of philosophers and celebrated physi cians, is now in a state of the profoundest ignorance. The heating properties of coffee have paralyzed the intellectual faculties of the Arab, and withered the flowers of his genius. Finally, coffee is the source of every · disorder; and were it not an incontestible fact, that Pandora emptied her box before the use of coffee became 'known, the Doctor would probably assert, that that charming mischiefmaker needed only to have employed it as the meaus of producing all human miseries. All this is excellent, and surely no one will attempt to deny the following convincing reasoning! Were I, says the Hungarian physician, to instance an unfortunate being who grew old in the abuse of coffee, I should point to the bust of Voltaire. Would you wish to know how this poisonous beverage directed his ideas, by means of exalting his imagination? Read his works!!! APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING SHIPS. night on a pan of coals, previously clos ing the chamber-door. RECIPE FOR CLEANING PAINT, which has been tried repeatedly with great success. 1 lb. of soft soap; 1 pint of table-beer. Simmer the above in a pipkin; be par ticular that the ingredients are well mixed; put a small quantity on a flannel; rub it on the wainscot; then wash it off with warm water; thoroughly dry it with a linen cloth. Cornhill, May 12, 1818. M. C. A. Erb, Professor of Philosophy at Heidelberg, has invented a simple and cheap hydraulic apparatus, by means of which, ships and vessels of all kinds, from the smallest to the largest, may be propelled, with a small exertion of force, against the most violent currents and storms, in constant uniform motion, with a rapidity capable of any increase, without the use of oars or of To the Editor of the European Magazine. sails. Sinking ships may be preserved farther by this SIR, H. A entertaining Oxford frccording to the direction to be given Y Correspondent, whose monthly to it. It governs the motion of the largest ship, so as to move it at pleasure, from a state of rest, by the small difference of an inch, or a line, or without progressive motion, to turn it round on one point in every direction. RECIPES. No. XIX. HOOPING-COUGH. HE following Remedies for a Hooping Cough are submitted to the public by an anxious and grateful parent : sugar. Dissolve a scruple of salt of tartar in a gill of water, and ten grains of cochineal, finely pounded; sweeten this with Give an infant the fourth part of a table spoonful, four times a-day; to a child two or three years old, half a spoonful; and to a child four years old and upwards, a spoonful. To which may be added, as auxiliaries, a Burgundy pitch plaister on the pit of the stomach, a faunel waistcoat or shirt next to the skin, and a change of air when practicable. The diet should be light and easy of digestion, avoiding every thing of a fat or oily nature. FUMIGATION. Three drachms of gum benjamin-three ditto storax-mixed and divided into twelve powders; burn one of these in the patient's room every contribution possesses so much anecdote and observation, has in your last Number, in his paper upon “ Women." issued out some very severe reinarks upon the female character. Are we to presume that the sources from which he derives his information are destitute of any favourable account, or must we suppose that he, generally agreeing with these "sour recluses," forbears to publish them. One or two desultory observations assures me that he decides against them: why then has be not adduced some anecdotes to illustrate the amiable qualities of the "sex," and not entirely appropriate his selections to such ill savoured opinions-that would have been only deing us justice: not that the gloomy sentiments of a cloister can diminish our influence, or weaken our power. The world at large have not so poor an opinion of us, for even the wisest of mankind have owned that life is scarcely worth enjoying when woman does not share it. If, therefore, your above Correspondent (whom I am sorry to observe is drawing to the end of his contribution) wishes to preserve the esteem of many of his female readers, he will not fail to explore his treasures, and present us with an extra communăcation on the brighter side of the female character. In full expectation of which, I remain, Mr. Editor, Your obedient servant, MARIA THE LONDON REVIEW, AND LITERARY JOURNAL, FOR MAY, 1818. QUID SIT PULCHRUM, QUID TURPE, QUID UTILE, QUID NON. Description of the Character, Manners, and Customs of the People of India, and of their Institutions, Religious and Civil. By the Abbé J. A. Dubois, Missionary in the Mysore. Translated from the French Manuscript. 4to. WE 7E are not surprised that this intelligent work should have obtained the suffrage of Sir J. M Intosh, and other enlightened men, familiar with the aspect of Hindostan; and cordially subscribe to his avowed opinion, that it is the most minute and comprehensive work extant of the manners of the Hindoos. This pre-eminence of information the author derived from his long residence in the Mysore, and the confidential unreserved intimacy to which he was admitted by the natives, to whose customs he conformed, and whose preju dices he respected. It does not appear that M. Dubois was more successful than other Europeans have been in promulgating the Gospel the distinction of casts, the fundamental basis of Hindoo society, has ever opposed its reception, or impeded its progress. We cannot assent to the author's hypothesis, that the character and condition of the people are ameliorated by this prescriptive system; on the contrary, we are led to attribute to its mischievous operations their imperfect civilization, their total insensibility, and apparent incapacity for moral and intellectual iruprovement. If it were the object of a legislator to arrest the progress of the human mind, and to impose perpetual pupillage on the human race, what better expedient could be adopt, than to mould society to monotonous conformity to abstract all the energies of our moral nature, extinguish curiosity, annihilate emulation, and reduce the whole economy of life to a dull mechanical obedience. M. Dubois discovers in hereditary Occupations, the secret of that ingenuity which the Hindoos display in various manual operations: but is not this aptitude equally observed among the Chinese-flexibility, adroitness, and dexterity, are physical accomplishments derived from a genial climate. It is assumed by M. Dubois, that the institution is adapted to the ignoble propensities and effeminate character of the people. Might it not rather be inferred, that the degeneracy of the people is fixed by the pernicious princi ple of legislation. M. Dubois has candidly stated the evils that result from its existence. A few examples will be sufficient to evince how completely his opinion is invalidated by his testimony. "Expulsion from the cast is a kind of civil excommunication, which debars the unhappy object of it from all intercourse whatever with his fellow-creatures. He is a man, as it were, dead to the world. He is no longer in the society of men. By losing his cast, the Hindu is bereft of friends and relations, and often of wife and children, who will rather forsake him than share in his miserable lot. No one dares to eat with him, or even to pour him out a drop of water. If he has marriageable' daughters they are shunned. No other girls can be approached by his sons. Wherever he appears, he is scorned and pointed at as an outcast. If he sinks under the grievous curse, his body is suffered to rot on the place where be dies. "Even if, in losing his cast, he could descend into au interior one, the evil 424 Dubois's Description of the Character, &c. of the People of India. [May would be less. But he has no such resource. A Sudra, little scrupulous as he is about honour or delicacy, would scorn to give his daughter in marriage even to a Brahinan thus degraded. If be cannot re-establish himself in his own cast, he must sink into the infamous tribe of the Pariah, or mix with persons whose cast is equivocal. Of this sort there is no scarcity wherever the Europeans abound. But, unhappy is he who trusts to this resource. A Hindu of cast may be dishonest and 'a cheat; but a Hindu without cast has always the reputation of a rogue. 66 The exclusion from the cast is frequently put in force without much ceremony; sometimes even out of hatred or caprice. These cases happen when individuals, from whatever motive, refuse, in whole or for the greater part, to assist at the marriages or funerals of any one of their relations or friends, or to invite, on such occasions of their own, those that have a right to be present. Persons excluded in this way never fail to commence proceedings against those who have offered them the insult, demanding reparation for their wounded honour. Such instances are commonly terminated by arbitration, and in that case the exclusion is not attended with the hateful and ruinous consequences before described. "It is not necessary that offences against the usages of the cast should be either intentional or of great magnitude. It happened to my knowledge not long ago, that some Brahmans who live in my neighbourhood, having been convicted of eating at a public entertainment with a Sudra, disguised as a Brahman, were all ejected from the cast, and did not regain admission into it without undergoing an infinite num ber of ceremonies both troublesome and expensive. "I witnessed an example of this kind more unpleasant than what I have alluded to. In the cast of the Ideyars, the parents of two families had met and determined on the union of a young man and girl of their number. The usual presents were offered to the young woman, and other ceremonies performed which are equivalent to betrothing among us. After these proceedings, the young man died, before the time appointed for accomplishing the marriage. After his death, the parents of the girl, who was still very young, married her to another. This was against the rules of the cast, which condemn the be trothed girl to remain in a state of widowhood, although the husband for whom she was destined dies before marriage. Accordingly all who had assisted at the ceremony, or who had been present at it, were cut off from the cast, and no one would afterwards form any connection with them. Long after this happened, I have seen some of the individuals, advanced in age, who remained in a solitary state for this reason alone. "Another incident of this kind uccurs to me, which was rather of a more serious complexion than the preceding. Eleven Brahmans, in travelling, having passed through a country desolated by war, arrived at length, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, at a village, which, contrary to their expectation, they found deserted with them a small portion of rice, but They had brought they could find nothing to boil it in but the vessels that were in the house of the washer-man of the village. To Brahmans, even to touch them would have been a defilement almost impossi ble to efface. But being pressed with hunger they bound one another to secrecy by an oath, and then boiled their rice in one of the pots, which they had previously washed a hundred times. One of them alone abstained from the repast, and as soon as they reached their home, he accused the other ten before the chief Brahmans of the town. The rumour quickly spread. An assembly is held. The delinquents are summoned, and compelled to appear. They had been already apprised of the difficulty in which they were likely to be involved; and when called upon to answer the charge, they unanimously protested, as they had previously concerted, that it was the accuser only that was guilty of the fault which he had laid to their charge. Which side was to be believed? Was the testimony of ten? The result was, that the ten Brabone man to be taken against that of mans were declared innocent, and the accuser, being found guilty, was expelled with ignominy from the tribe by the chiefs, who though they could scarcely doubt of his innocence, yet could not help being offended with the disclosure be made." The author proceeds to describe the generical differences in the sectaries devoted to Brahmá, Vishnu, or Siva. The sect of Vishnu is distinguished by one ceremony more ridiculous than any that |