rassed in his circumstances, and lost a wife to whom he was most tenderly attached.

*

King William, however, finding that all the charges and allegations produced against Penn were unfounded, and that "Innocency with her open face" belonged to the accused, restored him in the handsomest manner (1694) to his government. Having married again in 1696, and travelled as a preacher in Ireland in 1698, he embarked with his family for America in 1699, intending to pass the remainder of his life on that side of the Atlantic: but he had not resided there two years, when, in the midst of his various occupations and projected improvements, he was once more called back to England, to the regret of many, but especially of the Indian tribes: who, on hearing that he was about to depart, came down to Philadelphia to take leave of him as of their great benefactor.'

The proprietary governors in North America had begun to be unpopular with the governors at home. The truth was, that the governors at home were jealous of their increasing power, and therefore soon after the Revolution in 1688 they had formed a notion of buying them off, and of changing their governments into regal under their own immediate control. Conformably therefore with this idea, but under the pretence of great abuse on the one side and of national advantage on the other, a bill for this purpose was brought into the House of Lords. Such of the owners of land in Pennsylvania as were then in England represented the hardship of their case to parliament in the event of such a change, and solicited a respite of their proceedings till William Penn could arrive in England to appear before them, and to answer for himself as one of those whose character the bill in question affected. Accordingly, they dispatched to him an account of the whole affair, and solicited his immediate return to England.'

It is lamentable to think that, as we come to the conclusion of the life of this great and good man, the clouds of difficulty and misfortune continue to surround him; and that his liberality and disinterestedness in the government of Pennsylvania subjected him to pecuniary difficulties. Receiving no remittances from America, and being defrauded by the steward

Her character is thus drawn by her husband: "I hope I may say she was a public as well as private loss; for she was not only an excellent wife and mother, but an entire and constant friend, of a more than common capacity, and greater modesty and humility; yet most equal, and undaunted in danger; religious, as well as ingenuous, without affectation; an easy mistress, and good neighbour, especially to the poor; neither lavish nor penurious; but an example of industry, as well as of other virtues: therefore our great loss, though her own eternal gain."

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of his Irish estates, he was obliged in 1709 to mortgage his province, and to live for a time within the rules of the Fleet. He determined, indeed, to part with his province to government for a certain sum: but an apoplectic fit, which impaired After a his faculties, prevented the fulfilment of the contract. gradual decay, both of body and mind, he expired at Rushcomb, in Berkshire, July 13. 1718, in the 74th year of his age.

From our short abstract of the Memoirs of this eminent man, we have been forced to exclude a number of very interesting particulars. His biographer, after having minutely followed him from his cradle to his grave, gives some account of his person and character; confutes the various charges which have been urged against him; takes a view of him as a legislator and statesman on Christian principles; recommends the maxims and the mechanism of his government; and draws a comparison between his system and that of the sanguinary legislators of the world. Mr. Clarkson attributes the rapid population of Philadelphia to the wisdom and beneficence of the administration which Penn had established. The law which ordains that all prisons shall pe placed on the footing of work-shops, (a law which ought to prevail in every country,) with the good sense which abounds in every part of the penal system, had been found to operate in the most satisfactory manner.

The state, it is said, has experienced a diminution of crimes to the amount of one half since this change in the penal system, and the criminals have been restored in a great proportion from the gaol to the community as reformed persons. Hence, little or no stigma has, been attached to them after their discharge for having been confined there. They, indeed, who have had permission to leave it before the time expressed in the sentence, have been considered as persons not unfit to be taken into families, or confidentially employed. It may be observed also, that some of the most orderly and industrious, and such as have worked at the most profitable trades, have had sums of money to take on leaving the prison, by which they have been enabled to maintain themselves till they have got into desirable and permanent employ. Here then is a code of penal law built upon the Christian principle of the reformation of the offender.'

Long as we have been detained on these volumes, we lay them aside with reluctance; we have participated in the en

* William Penn laid out the plan for Philadelphia in 1682. He died in 1718. In this latter year, Philadelphia contained about 1400. houses, and 10,oco inhabitants, and his dominions, altogether, abont 60,000 people. In 1760, when Anderson's book came out, there were about 3000 houses in Philadelphia, 20,000 inhabitants, and altogether in towns, citics, and country, z00,000 people.'

thusiasm

thusiasm of the biographer, and we concur with him in the noble sentiments which on every occasion flow from his pen. The portrait which he has given of his hero is a moral painting of great merit: it is a study for private Christians and public characters; and we should be happy to find that it obtained general admiration, because such an admiration must be hailed as the prelude to imitation.

MONTHLY

CATALOGUE,

For NOVEMBER, 18140

MEDICINE, &c.

Art. 12. Remarks on Mangel-Wurzel, or Root of Scarcity; with an Exposition on its Utility, and Directions for its Culture. By Thomas Newby. 8vo. Is. 6d. Sherwood and Co. 1813.

The plant which has obtained the name of Mangel-Wurzel is a species of beet, frequently called, from the colour of its root, the white beet; and it has lately become very well known on the Continent, in consequence of the attempts that have been made to procure sugar from it, as a substitute for the sugar of the West Indian cane. It appears, indeed, from the quantity of saccharine matter which it contains, and from its general composition, to be of a highly nutritive nature, and to possess many qualities that intitle it to the notice of the agriculturist. It was accordingly very strongly recommended about 20 or 30 years ago, particularly by Dr. Lettsom, as valuable food for cattle; and much pains were taken by individuals to promote its cultivation. It has, however, failed to get into general use ; while, during the same period, other plants, and more especially the Swedish turnip, have become articles of prime importance to the farmer, in almost every part of the island.

In the pamphlet before us, a few examples are given of the extraordinary produce of the white beet, and we have occasionally heard of others of a similar kind: but we suspect that there is something peculiar in the habit or economy of the plant, which renders it not applicable to general use, possibly depending on soil or climate. One of the author's friends gives an account of his having had a produce of above 47 tons per acre, and says that he could never obtain more than two thirds of this weight of Swedish turnips. Another correspondent speaks of it as equal to oil-cake for fattening cattle; and another is particularly partial to it as the best substance for feeding hogs. Mr. Newby thus sums up its virtues :

The extraordinary produce on several farms in this (Cambridgeshire) and adjoining counties will appear wonderful to those who have never seen it cultivated. The average quantity of food produced on several farms is fifty-four tons, or 2650 bushels per acre. Suppose an acre of land divided into rows 18 inches asunder, and the plants of Mangel-Wurzel to be 12 inches apart, it will on computation contain about 30,000 roots, and suppose each root to weigh REV. Nov. 1814.

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on an average about 5 lbs. it will produce near seventy tons; by this it will be proved that an acre of Mangel-Wurzel will more than double the weight of that of turnips, and by distillation will produce nearly half a ton of good grained sugar, and 150 gallons of rectified spirits, exclusive of the herbage it affords for cattle and the refuse for pigs after distillation. I have been favoured with many evidences of the nutritive qualities the Mangel-Wurzel possesses in the feeding and fatting of bullocks, sheep, deer, horses, and swine, as well as the great weight produced on an acre, which leaves no doubt of its superior excellence to any other vegetable ever offered. Cows will fatten at the time they are giving milk, and produce butter of superior flavour and in greater quantity; all kinds of stock will be found to give the Mangel-Wurzel a decided preference to either turnips, pulse, oil-cake, or any other food that can be offered them.' Art. 13. An Account of a successful Method of treating Diseases of the Spine; with Observations, and Cases in Illustration. By Thomas Baynton, of Bristol, Author of a Treatise on Ulcers. 8vo. 5s. 6d. sewed. Longman and Co. 1813.

Every body will agree with this author in the remark with which he commences his treatise: There are very few diseases that occasion greater individual distress than the one which is about to be considered; it deprives the afflicted of the advantages of exercise, and the enjoyment of the locomotive faculty, it is painful in its progress, and fatal in its results.' Its importance has accordingly attracted the notice of many eminent practitioners: and, no doubt, considerable advantage has often been obtained from the curative means that have been adopted: but, at the same time, it must be admitted that the treatment consists in a severe and painful process, and that it too often entirely fails of success. An effectual method of removing this complaint, and one which should also prove of easy application, would afford a most valuable addition to the art of surgery.

Mr. Baynton first gives an account of the principles and practice of the celebrated Pott; who is generally regarded as the first that entertained any just opinions respecting the nature of the disease, and whose method of treatment, with some modifications, is still adopted. It is well known to depend on the continued application of caustic issues to the neighbourhood of the spine, and in opposing the employment of any species of machinery. Sir James Earle, however, is as confident in the recommendation of machinery as Mr. Pott in its condemnation; and he, as well as Mr. Pott, appeals for the ultimate decision of this question to a very extensive range of practice, and to considerations drawn from a supposed knowlege of the nature of the complaint. In this remarkable discordance of opinion, between two persons so well qualified to judge on the subject, the general sentiment of the public seems to have taken a kind of middle course; or, rather, to have endeavoured to unite the supposed advantages resulting from both plans, by combining the issues of Mr. Pott with the mechanical contrivances recommended by Sir James Earle.

Diseases of the spine are observed to occur in young persons, and especially in such as exhibit symptoms of a delicate habit of body,

when

when either a deficient deposition of osseous matter exists, or perhaps some excess of soft parts; so that the whole bony fabric is unable to support the weight of the body, becomes deformed, and in consequence produces a variety of morbid effects on the different functions. Mr. Pott was farther of opinion that maladies of the spine are generally occasioned by a scrophulous habit; and many of the phænomena seem to justify this conclusion.

By proceeding on the principle that the circulating and absorbing systems are in a weakened state, in those persons who are subject to diseases of the spine, Mr. Baynton is led to form a new idea respecting the method which should be adopted for their relief; and to consider that the advantage, which has hitherto been obtained, has depended on very different causes from those to which it has been ascribed. He observes that

Though many cures have been ascribed by Mr. Pott to the effects of drains alone, which were certainly accomplished while drains were in use, there are forcible reasons for believing that many of those cures are ascribable to causes that were more efficient, though they were deemed at the time so unimportant, as to have been passed over without even the slightest recommendation.

Could it have been expected that any persons, whose circulating and absorbent systems were not sufficiently healthy to preserve a proper consistency in the bony parts of the system, when general circumstances were favourable, would recover by the mere assistance of caustic issues, or by the mere removal of pressure, or even by the combined effects of each of those means, when the bones were in a state of ulceration, and the general health destroyed? surely it could not; as the effects of drains have no known tendency to improve the health of the vascular systems; or the removal of pressure, to obviate any of the causes of this disease.'

While, however, the author deprives us of the hope of obtaining relief from the use of issues or machinery, he gives us the most flattering expectations of curing the disease by a more simple and efficacious treatment; merely, by resting the body in the horizontal posture.

That a system of resting in the horizontal position, regulated by scientific principles, will accomplish the cures of diseases of the spine after the failure of drains, and machinery, steadily continued a considerable number of years under the direction of skilful surgeons, will be hereafter proved.

Fortunately for this class of the afflicted, it will appear that, the means which are best calculated to prevent, or remove the causes of their diseases, are also the best calculated, and the most effectual, for the alleviation of their symptoms.

Resting, in the horizontal position, is as effectual in improving circulation, favouring the deposition of bone, and promoting absorption, as it is in preventing pressure, and allaying pain.'

To recommend this plan of persevering in continual rest, and to give the necessary directions for the management of the patient and the construction of the most convenient apparatus, constitute the essential part of this treatise. The objections that have been urged

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