other side it will produce, for a time at least, discouragement and weakness. But the end is not yet. The way to settle a question of right is not by compromise, nor by evasion, but by meeting the issue manfully and doing right. Mr. Webster's new friends may crown him with new laurels, and kindle his waning ambition with new hopes; but he may yet live long enough to repeat to himself with another application and a more bitter emphasis, those words which he once quoted so effectively,

Many other topics in this speech invite attention. But we can not pursue the discussion in its details. Only on three points will we express our mind in as few words as possible.

As to the compact made with Texas at the time of her annexation to the Union, Mr. Webster is wholly right. True, the compact was not made by the treaty making power of the government; the whole transaction of the annexation of Texas was unconstitutional and revolutionary, as was plainly enough demonstrated at the time. But it was a successful revolution, acquiesced in by the people. Factum valet. It stands on the same basis of legitimacy with the revolution of February in France. Texas is in the Union on the terms and conditions of that compact; and there is no honest or straight forward way of getting rid of the compact but by turning Texas out of the Union. The only thing that surprises us is that any body should be surprised at Mr. Webster's interpretation of the compact. Who did not know when Texas was admitted to the Union, that a whole litter of slave states was to proceed from her?

In regard to the rendition of fugitives from service, we are bound to believe that Mr. Webster has most inconceivably misrepresented himself. He pledges himself to support Mr. Mason's bill "with all its provisions, to the fullest extent." We do not believe he will redeem that pledge. We do not believe that such a lawyer as he is an admirer of the trial by jury and of the writ of habeas corpus-will support a bill which proposes to invest every village postmaster and every customhouse officer with the power of deciding judicially, and without a jury, not on such questions of book debt as might be submitted to a justice of the peace, but on the question of the liberty of a human being, found living on the soil of a free state. We do not believe that he will support a bill under which, if once enacted, he himself, traveling in any free state, might be seized as a runaway by a warrant from some villain of a postmaster,-might be gagged, manacled, shipped for Texas, and no writ of habeas corpus should have power to deliver him.

But the strangest thing of all is that Mr. Webster should have quite forgotten, in his speech as spoken, the outrageous laws and practices of South Carolina in relation to the citizens of other Nor is our wonder at his forgetfulness, or our shame at his want of a manly spirit, diminished by the cold and heartless manner in which that subject is treated, on a sober second thought, in his revised and amended edition. He could not have heard Mr. Baldwin's remarks on that subject a few days afterward-so calm and dignified yet so scorching-without some feeling of shame that the proud old commonwealth of Massachusetts needed to be defended by another voice than that of her own favorite champion.

LITERARY NOTICES.

The East: Sketches of Travel in Egypt and the Holy Land. By the Rev. J. A. SPENCER, M.A., Author of "the Christian Instructed;" Editor of "the New Testament in Greek, with Notes on the Historical Books;" Member of the New York Historical Society, &c., &c. New York: George P. Putnam, 163 Broadway. London: John Murray. 1850.

WHEN we first saw the announcement of this new book of Travels in the East, we anticipated not a little pleasure in reading it, as we inferred from the fact of the author's having been "the Editor of the New Testament in Greek,” that it might make some new contributions to the geography and antiquities of Bible-lands, and thus serve to maintain and increase the reputation which our countrymen have acquired in this field of investigation. On opening the book, however, we had our confidence somewhat shaken by the information in the Preface, that the reader must not expect "erudite disquisitions on antiquity, history, chronology, and such like matters," and by the assurance that were the author able "to add any of his own learned dullness to the mass already reposing on the shelves of royal end national libraries, he would, under the circumstances under which he wrote, most carefully have eschewed every thing of the sort." We acknowledge that learning is sometimes dull, and if the author's learning is of this character, perhaps he did well "to eschew it,” but, then, it might have been also well to remember that it does not follow because a book is not learned, that, therefore, it is not dull. We did not, however, entirely give up the hope we had entertained concerning the book; for, a well informed man, who had made any tolerable preparation for such an undertaking, might observe much that would be new and valuable, and might write the account of it in a lively and entertaining manner. But we had not finished the Preface, before we were obliged to give up even this ground of hope; for we found that the author on leaving this country had not purposed to go be yond England, and that up to the date of his travels, "he had never given any special attention to Egyptian history and learning, and his knowledge of the Arabic was confined to the elements of the language." Indeed, there is scarcely a chapter in the volume in which the author does not apologize for his want of qualifications to give the information, which would naturally be looked for in a book of travels in the East. Writers sometimes plead apologies for defects that do not exist-which is merely a modest way of setting forth their own merits-but in the present case, the confession seems to be sincere, and, we think, there is sufficient reason for making it. The author,

indeed, states his deficiencies "as a matter of justice" to himself. We give him the benefit of the statement. Unquestionably it accounts for many "lacune and imperfections" in the book-but does it account for the book itself? The author attributes whatever there is "of life or value" in these letters to readers in general, to the fact that they "were actually written-except in a few instances as they profess to be, and at the time they were dated; they were addressed to one at home, dearer to him than all else in the wide world, and had most of all in view, her interest and pleasure." To the author's personal friends this consideration is doubtless one of deep interest, but we think readers in general will wish the letters had been re-written.

With respect to the claim, which the author frequently urges, that he has described things just as they appeared to him and expressed the feelings which he actually had, we are glad to agree with him. This truthfulness in the expression of his feelings constitutes the chief merit of the book. Mr. Spencer appears to be a man of warm piety; his feelings were much moved by many scenes in the Holy Land; and he has uttered those feelings in confidence just as they rose in his heart. We sympathize with him. We know that such feelings are not the mere effusions of a poetic fancy or of a romantic temperament, but the outpourings of a warm heart. We respect these feelings. We quote a single instance, not only to illustrate what we have just said, but to point out what appears to us to be a near approach to a serious error. The author is standing in the supposed place of the Holy Sepulchre and breaks out in the following strain:

"In deep and solemn silence let us muse awhile in this holy place; and with hearts full of faith in that gracious Lord who triumphed over death, and by his glorious resurrection opened unto us the gates of everlasting life, let us pour out our devout prayers and supplications for the enlightening, strength ening, and purifying graces of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief. God be merciful to me a sinner. Thou art our Redeemer; Thou art our all: make no long tarrying, O my God! O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Shall our hearts be untouched, and cold, and hard, in such a place as this? Shall we not hope and believe that God will answer the prayers of us, penitent sinners, who cry unto Him for pardon and grace, kneeling, as we do, near the very tomb in which His body lay, and from which He rose on the third day? And shall we not, as we leave this deeply interesting spot, resolve, in the fear of God, to strive ever hereafter to lay aside everything which hinders our onward and upward progress toward heaven, where our Master ever liveth and reigneth in power and great glory, world without end."-pp. 323, 324.

When we read the passage in italics, we involuntarily recurred to the words of our Lord to the woman of Samaria-"the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father"—but “the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth."

This truthfulness in the expressions of feeling we have said constitutes the chief merit of the book. Indeed, to speak truly ourselves, it is, in our judg ment, its sole merit. We are not aware that the work adds a single fact to what was already known, nor does it any where contain a well digested statement of what has been discovered by others. Nor, with the want of prepara tion for such an undertaking which the author confesses, and with the short time spent in the journey, the first letter being dated Alexandria, Dec. 18th, 1848, and the last, Beirut, May 5th, 1849-was this to be expected.

We need not follow our traveler step by step in his route. It will give a sufficiently clear notion of it to say, that he went up the Nile to Thebes-that from Egypt he passed through the desert by way of El Arish into Syria to Jerusalem-and that from Jerusalem he made excursions in the surrounding country.

In regard to the vexed questions of the identity of modern with ancient places, we can not consider the authority or opinions of our author as of any very great value. He is more ready to adopt the common tradition than is Dr. Robinson. Upon one point,-the question whether the present church of the Holy Sepulchre is actually over the place where our Savior was buried,— he attacks the opinion of Dr. Robinson that it is not, with much vigor. This is one of those questions upon which a great deal that is plausible can be said on both sides, and we accord to Mr. Spencer the praise of having argued the affirmative with skill and power.

We are sorry to say that the style of this book is neither correct, nor elegant, nor forcible. When our author's feelings are aroused, he writes with vigor and precision, but he frequently contents himself with a feeble accumu lation of mere words. "The imagination becomes excited and aroused by pondering on the glory and grandeur of other days." "The romance of a boat life on the Nile outweighs all considerations of its tediousness, monotony and tendency to produce ennui." Speaking of children having the ophthalmia, he says, "hour after hour they sit, or lie or play listlessly about in the sun, never pretending to wash the eyes, one of the best possible remedies, but rather studiously abstaining from this simple and wholesome process." There are other sentences which leave the reader in a very disagreeable state of perplexity. Can any one be sure of the process by which the author ascended the great pyramid? "Three Arabs accompanied me; one took hold of an arm, another of another, and a third helped me up when the stones were large and I found it hard to pick my way." Our perplexity is still greater on another occasion. Speaking of a visit to the Coptic Bishop of Es-Siout, he says, "I bestowed myself as well as I could on the floor, but our habits are so different, and the use of boots so interferes with the Eastern mode of sitting, that I can not boast of my success; nor will I sacrifice truth to politeness by saying that I fancy sitting on any thing but what is known to our occidental customs." The amiable traits in our author's character appear in his style and give it some of its peculiarities. His love of sincerity and truth leads him to overload his sentences with limitations or else with expressions of his own convictions as to the truth of what he is saying. Thus in speaking of Alexandria, he says, "it is astonishing to notice what an air of miserable destitution, the term is not too strong-many portions of the city present." "It was a relief to us to find Mr. and Mrs. B., fellow New Yorkers engaged in the same occupation with ourselves, that of sight-seeing; and I believe I am not going too far in saying, that there has already sprung up an intimacy between us, which promises to result in many days and weeks of most pleasant intercourse." "I candidly believe our friend Sherkawy is one of the few fair and honorable men, who command boats on the Nile." "Bear with me for a while, and I will tell you, most honestly, what has been our experience,” that is, in boating on the Nile. The modesty of the writer appears on every page. He never expresses an opinion; he always presumes or ventures to do it: he never sees any thing; he is always privileged to see it. He "confesses," "acknowledges," "professes," "begs to be borne with," "asks for indulgence," from the beginning to the end of the volume. We have seen that by some uncertain process the author ascended the great pyramid-but he found the descent much the more difficult. "I will confess to you, my dear S., that I had more apprehension of coming down than of going up." By the way, what precisely is an "apprehension of coming down or of going up?" "If you will allow me, I will endeavor to speak intelligibly and accurately of matters, which, I trust, will not be deemed unworthy of your attention." It may be thought these things are too unimportant to be noticed at such length, but why should that be thought unimportant which annoys the readers throughout the volume? and that, too, when the author can and often does write well?

Ancient History, Containing the History of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Medes, Lydians, Carthagenians, Persians, Macedonians, the Seleucida in Syria, and Parthians, from Rollin and other authentic sources, both ancient and modern. By EDWARD FARR. In four volumes. New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, No. 285 Broadway. New Haven: T. H. Pease. 1850. THE author's design in this work is truly admirable. It is to render history the handmaid of religion by exhibiting a divine agency in human affairs. His field is happily chosen. It is not only replete with interest in itself and marked with numerous footprints of God, but, overlapping as it does somewhat the field of scripture narrative, it affords him frequent opportunities of setting forth coincidences between the facts of sacred history and profane. This he has skillfully done, exposing likewise with much discrimination the absurdity of those Egyptian traditions which refer the origin of that kingdom to a period many centuries prior to the creation of man.

The work is popular rather than critical. It contains a condensed and clear view of the history of Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, Media and Persia, nations to which the Bible frequently refers, and whose history is much interwoven with that of the Jews. It contains also the history of the Macedonians, Carthagenians, Parthians and the Seleucide in Syria. Its arrangement is happy. It presents first the physical history of each country, next its topographical, and then the history of its polity. Thus the reader is at the outset put in possession of such general ideas of the respective countries and their inhabitants as will serve greatly to enhance the interest with which he advances in the perusal. We think it unfortunate that the name of Rollin is paraded with so much prominence on the title-page, as a leading authority of the work. Rollin's authority is not so high as it might be. He was notoriously credulous, and the suspicion of credulity resting on his character as a historian is likely to be transferred to these volumes. We confess however, that we discover in them no lack of research and discrimination. The statements of Rollin are apparently received with caution. Numerous other authorities are referred to, and their statements seem to have been carefully examined. Accordingly we believe the work, though chargeable with some inaccuracies, entitled to much confidence.

Its style, though occasionally exhibiting a degree of carelessness, is clear and condensed. In narrative the author succeeds better than when he turns aside to questions of philosophy, theology or morals. It is indeed in digressions of this sort that we find the chief blemish of the work. In some portions one can scarcely avoid being amused at a strange and infelicitous commingling of homily and history, not only unnecessary to his religious design, but fitted to defeat it. Sometimes he seems to fall into a mood of moralizing and we find the narrative seriously broken and blemished by little preachments to the reader. Then again he falls into a poetic mood, breaking the thread of the history every few lines by a whole army of quotations. These fragments of poetry and homily, interrupting as they do the story at points of intense interest, are fitted rather to try the reader's temper than elicit his admiration or improve his heart.

Notwithstanding these abatements, however, we like the work. On the whole it is well written, is readable and reliable. It will be found we think particularly interesting and useful to students of the Bible, whether they be clergymen whose limited leisure forbids their undertaking a more extended history, or general Christian readers.

On the Common Maxims of Infidelity. By HENRY A. ROWLAND. New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, No. 285 Broadway. New Haven: T. H. Pease, 1850.

In this work the author has undertaken to strip Infidelity of her numerous disguises. He begins with an exposure of the infidel maxims that "men are