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To those who have experienced the beneficial results, and the delighful perceptions consequent upon the reception of the doctrines of the New Dispensation, there cannot, surely, be presented a duty of more importance, nor one in the performance of which will be experienced greater pleasure, than that of imparting these doctrines to others. The members of the New Church have, therefore, established and supported societies, having the promotion of this object for their end. But notwithstanding the efforts of these Institutions have, comparatively with the numerical strength of our church, been great, yet the progress our doctrines make in the world, though not imperceptible, is evidently slow. When the public are invited to give our views a candid hearing, how common a case it is, that they refuse to attend to the invitation, and our Ministers and Missionaries have frequently to preach to very inconsiderable numbers, under circumstances where, if the love of truth and the practice to which it certainly leads, that of hearing before we judge, were not almost entirely banished from among mankind, we might fairly calculate upon the attendance of multitudes who would listen to and receive with delight the doctrines of genuine truth. So likewise is it, when the writings of Swedenborg are offered to the reading part of mankind: under the dominion of prejudice and bigotry, they reject the profferd boon without deigning to inspect what they thus ignorantly condemn. What then is the conduct which the professors of the heavenly doctrines should adopt? should they indignantly leave the world to slumber in the darkness which they love," rather than the light?" This would be to indulge the resentful impulses of the natural man, instead of following the benevolent impulses of the spiritual man, who suffers not himself to be weary with well-doing."

FOSSIL BONES.

VARIETIES.

A cave, containing fossil bones, has lately been discovered on the banks of the Garone, near Bourdeaux. The bones are principally of the tyger and the hyena, and are analogous to those the remains of which were found in the neighbourhood of Paris.

AFRICAN TRAVELS.

On New Year's Day, Major Laing was at Gusala, the Eusala, of Rennel, where he had been stopped some time by native wars. He was to set out, however, for Timbuctoo on the 2d of January, and had gathered much information from other travellers detained, like himself, at Gusala. The position of this place is laid down 270 30 lat., 1o 15 E. long. It is stated, that, after staying at Timbuctoo till August, it was the intention of our enterprising countrymen to visit Jeanie and Melli, and proceed down the river for Yaouri, with the annual swell about this period.

LEIPSIC FAIR.

Three hundred and ninety one

Booksellers met at the last Easter fair at Leipsic; and two thousand three hundred and seventy four new works, written in German or in the ancient languages, sufficiently proved the prodigious activity with which the sciences are cultivated. To these must be added atlasses, romances, dramatic pieces, musical compositions, &c., making the whole number amount to two thousand seven hundred and forty-nine. Among the most remarkable philological publications were the Analecta Literaria of the celebrated professor Huschke; Hermann's Treatises; Observations by the same learned writer on the Greek inscriptions published by Bockh; Suvern's Remarks on the Clouds of Aristophanes; Wullner's Treatise on the Fpic Cycle; that of Monk on Pomponious, &c. Of the archæological works, Gerhard's Collection of Antiquities; a Treatise by Kosegarten on the Egyptian Papyrus; and another by Franck, on the Philosophy

and Liturature of the Hindoos, were the most distinguished. The other sciences also received numerous valuable contributions.

ROBINSON CRUSOES.

A French paper states, that the ship Emilie, of Nantes, having cast anchor on the 13th of July, last year in Christmas harbour, in the Island of Desolation, (Southern Indian Ocean), was soon after boarded by six miserable creatures, who came in a boat from the Cloudy Islands, six miles off, on which they had been left six months before, with provisions for only two days, by an English vessel. They were covered with skins of sea-calves; and their faces were so tanned that it was impossible to guess to what country they belonged. During their residence among the inhospitable deserts and rocks where they had been abandoned, they lived on penguins and other birds, and preserved themselves from cold by burning sea-elephants' oil, in the hollow of a cave where they had established their abode. The Emilie carried them away, and landed them at the Isle of Bourbon.

house in question formerly constituted part of the cementery of a church belonging to the ancient Knights of Malta.

The new planet Herschel may be seen this year on the meridian at midnight. He appears to the eye as a small star of the fifth magnitude. He will continue visible in the evening for about nineteen weeks.

Cambridge Chronicle.

LITERARY NOVELTIES.

the "Entomologist's Useful ComMr. George Samoulle, author of neral Directions for collecting and pendium," will shortly publish GePreserving Exotic Insects Crustacea, with illustrative plates.

and

The Learned Mr. de Koppen is employed upon a History of the different Dialects in the Russian Language.

Mr. Koslof, a Russian Poet, who, like Homer, Milton, and Delille, is blind, has published a poem called Tchernetz, the Monk, which is a good deal praised. He seems to have taken "Ioukovski" for his model, and is likely to rank high among the disciples of the romantic school in Russia

A Memoir of the renowned Dr.

Mesmer and on his discoveries, promises to bring forth some curious matter.

Obituary.

DIED at Bristol on the 17th of July, 1826, Mr. Hands, a most worthy man, and many years a receiver of the heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem. The New Church Society at Bristol will feel a great privation by the removal of such a kind and zealous promoter of the good cause.

ON Thursday morning the 3rd of August, 1826, at Handsworth, near Birmingham, the Rev. Joseph Proud, in the 80th year of his age. This able and eloquent preacher of the heavenly Doctrines, was in his early life, a Minister in the connexion of the General Baptists, but in the year 1791, on the 3rd day of May, he left entirely the Baptist connexion, and was ordained into the Ministry of the New Church. He has been a most successful labourer in the cause of the New Jerusalem; hundreds have been brought into the church by his labours, and now that his work is finished here below, he has ascended into the realms of light, to receive from the righteous Judge of all the earth, the just reward of his doings. We shall feel obliged to any of our correspondents for a short biographical sketch of this worthy and faithful Minister.

THE

NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE,

AND

Theological Inspector.

OCTOBER, 1826.

THE PRESENCE AND SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY RATIONAL SOURCE OF CONSOLATION AND SUPPORT; AND THE BEST PRESERVATIVE AGAINST THE FEAR OF DANGER.

"AND straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray; and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea, and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them saying, Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid."

Such were the sweet words of consolation and encouragement addressed by the benevolent Saviour of mankind to his terrified disciples. And surely, naturally speaking, the imagination can hardly conceive a case more replete with terror and alarm than that which is here recorded: they were in the midst of a tempestuous sea; the sable curtain of night, by which they were shrouded, precluded all hope of deliverance from the timely assistance and succour of others; they were tossed with the waves, and the wind was contrary; their lives were in the utmost jeopardy; we may well suppose the whole energies of their minds and bodies were exerted to save themselves, if possible, from the impending destruction which threatened them; when lo! a form was seen moving towards them, walking on the surface of the troubled waters; they said, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear: this was the climax of their terror; this would appear No. 10-VOL. I

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the crisis of their fate; death in its most appalling shape had seized upon their minds; their souls and bodies were depressed and enervated by reason of their agonized feelings; in fine, they sunk at once into the dark abyss of wretched and hopeless despair. It has been well observed that "man's extremity is God's opportunity." And this maxim was remarkably exemplified in the instance before us. For we no sooner find these primitive disciples of our most merciful and omnipotent Saviour reduced to the very brink of ruin, their minds overwhelmed with the sense of their forlorn and apparently lost condition, when behold! the cloud which hung darkling over them is in a moment dispersed ! the vivid tints of the celestial firmament are no longer hidden by any obstructing medium! the sun of righteousness, with healing in his wings, bursts forth to their enraptured view, and all is wonder, love, and praise! their suspended faculties are again restored; for amidst the gloom, the horror, and agitation of the tempest, they hear a voice saluting them,-it penetrates the bone and the marrow, and their bosoms are thrilled with delight ineffable, when they perceive that it is no other than their own adored Lord and master who thus addresses them :- "Be of good cheer; It is I, be not afraid."

From these words, we shall farther adduce the following doctrinals:-First, that the spirit and presence of Jesus Christ is the only rational source of joy and consolation to the true believer. Secondly, that the infidel or unbeliever, is a total stranger to this joy, by reason of the superior degree or region of his mind being closed, and thus rendered non-receptive of heavenly influence; or because the inferior degree or region of his mind is only open to the delights of the body, and this world. Thirdly, that the true believer, in every event of his life, whether prosperous or adverse, still acknowledges the Divine Providence, and thus from a continual sense of the Divine Presence with him, is, at all times, enabled to derive consolation in every varied state of his being. Fourthly and lastly, that the spirit and presence of Jesus Christ, is the only infallible antidote against all slavish and servile fear, from whatever cause it is wont to intrude itself upon us.

The present time will barely allow me to make a few very brief remarks on the first of these points. First then, we observe,That the spirit and presence of Jesus Christ, is the only rational source of joy and consolation to the true believer.

It will be seen, that a distinction is here made, between the spirit and the presence of Jesus Christ; and we doubt not, that when the ground of this difference is clearly pointed out we shall also be justified in the using of such terms.

We are aware that the generality even of professing christians, will deem the proximate or instant presence of Jesus Christ, (admitting that "he is God over all, blessed for ever,") fully adequate to consummate the perfection and happiness of the immortal soul, and farther, that merely to be received into heaven, on the dissolution of our material covering, will qualify us for, and entitle us to, a full participation of all those transcendent beatitudes and joys which so pre-eminently abound in those blessed mansions! We cannot now enter into detail concerning this fundamental error; we will not, now, declaim on the confusion and mischief which such a glaring fallacy is calculated to produce in the church! We will content ourselves, at present, by adverting to a few literal facts, to evince the truth of the position we wish to establish ; namely, that the mere presence of Jesus Christ is inadequate to communicate consolation and support on his own part, or to produce reception on the part of man! Were it otherwise, than as we have stated, the following pathetic declaration would never have been penned : 'He came unto his own, and his own received him not." We should have heard nothing of the contempt and hatred, the cruel mockings and scourgings, or the painful and ignominious death which our Lord experienced at the hands of the Jewish people. When the same Divine personage, actuated with the spirit of benevolence and goodwill towards his lost and miserable creatures, and who went about continually doing good, came into a certain country, we read that the inhabitants thereof no sooner knew of his presence amongst them, than they earnestly entreated him to depart out of their coasts. Again when a certain demon who had taken complete possession of the faculties of an unfortunate maniac, saw our Lord pass by where he was, cried out, "let me alone: I know thee who thou art, Jesus thou Son of the Most High God! I beseech thee torment me not!"

These examples may be sufficient to prove that the immediate presence even of Jesus Christ, with all the blessings of redemption, salvation, and deliverance in his train, will neither inspire that joy and gratitude, nor produce that conviction and consequent reception, on the part of many, which is necessary to their present and final happiness.

This assertion may sound strangely in the ears of some people; they can hardly conceive any one so wilfully blind to his own interest, or so utterly depraved and hardened in heart, as to reject Jesus Christ from himself, and to say, 66 we will not have this man to reign over us.” And that if such persons were once convinced of the inestimable blessings they thus forego, and of the guilt and misery they hereby entail upon themselves, through the pow