The hope was but too delusive. Five days more of tedious navigation, through which the general appearance of the river was unvarying, brought them to Sena, where their first sad task was, to commit to the earth the remains of Mr. Forbes, who had died the day before.

The town of Sena stands, according to the observation of Lieutenant Browne, in lat. 17° 30′ s., long. 35° 15′ E. It appears to be in no respect superior to Quilimane. Ten houses occupied by Portuguese, are the only ones that make any pretensions to European structure; the remainder being mere huts, interspersed with filthy, stagnant pools, a demonstration of the ' unhealthiness of the place, as of the idleness and sloth of the 'inhabitants. The town is built in a plain, amid a forest of tamarind, mango, and cocoa-nut trees. Two small hills about 150 feet in height, command the town, of which a diminutive mud redoubt, surmounted with two small field-pieces, forms the only defence. From the heights, the river was seen majestically winding through the plain; towards the north, the country presented a mountainous aspect, while to the south, two or three small hills alone broke the parched and dreary level.

Such is the present capital of the colony! Tata is said to be superior, both in size and situation, being built on high ground, in a mountainous district, with the Zambizi flowing beneath; and the inhabitants are of a more industrious and enterprising character. But this rests upon hearsay.

Considerable curiosity was felt by the party to whom was committed the tracing of the coast of Sofala, with regard to a site supposed to have been the Ophir of Solomon, its Arabic name being Zofar or Zofaal;-'the spot whither the early but venturous 'Phenician navigators steered their cumbrous barks; and where, in later years, Albuquerque and the last heroes of the Portu'guese race had distinguished themselves.' The disappointment of every romantic expectation was never more complete.

Instead of what the fancy pictured, remains of past grandeur and opulence, frowning in decay, and falling gradually to dust, we found but a paltry fort and a few miserable mud-huts, the almost deserted abode of poverty and vice. Not only here; every place in Africa and India, subject to the Portuguese, has withered beneath the iron hand of oppression.'--Vol. I. p. 319.

Immediately to the northward of Sofala, the estuary of the river Boozy opens into a large, shallow bay called Massangzany; but the fort and village of Sofala are near the mouth of the Savey or Sabia, another arm of the Zambizi. The mouth is narrow, with very little water in the dry season. In fact, the whole of this part of the coast is rendered very dangerous, and almost inaccessible, by the mud brought down by the rivers, which has

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nearly filled up the bays, and blocked up the mouths of the rivers. To the south of Sofala, the Gawooro empties itself into the great bay of Maroonone. This river, which was reported to be a branch of the Manice, is hardly navigable by boats at its entrance, although it becomes a superb river' higher up. About five leagues to the south of the Savey, is Chuluwan, or Holy Island, where are remains of stone buildings, said. to be Arabic edifices erected before the Portuguese conquests; and five leagues from this is a small, well-wooded, but uninhabited island called Boene, separated from the main by a mud creek, which is now covered only at high water, but must anciently have formed a useful harbour. To the south of this, is the mouth of the Inhamban, which affords a superb harbour,' easy of access, but is scarcely navigable for a ship above the town, eight miles from its entrance; and five miles higher, it ceases to be navigable by boats. The Portuguese inhabitants of the town, exclusive of the military, amounted to only 25; but the coloured population is numerous. The Portuguese have no territory on this part of the coast, and are not even allowed to advance any distance into the interior. The trade of Inhamban consists chiefly in ivory and bees' wax, obtained of the natives by barter, and exported to Mozambique.

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The most interesting part of the survey was that of the almost unknown tract of coast between Zanzibar and Cape Gardafui; respecting which so little modern information exists, that M. Malte Brun exclaims, What has become of the famous city of 'Melinda and the twenty churches of Mombas? Do they exist?" -Well may this question be asked. The territories of the ancient kingdom of Melinda are at present totally occupied by the Galla, who are much dreaded by the Arabs in their coast navigation. But we find that we must devote another article to these interesting volumes, which, though not what they ought to have been, have very materially extended our knowledge of Eastern Africa.

Art. II. 1. Letters on the Divine Origin and Authority of the Holy Scriptures. By the Rev. James Carlile, junior Minister of the Scots Church in Mary's Abbey, Dublin. In two Volumes, 12mo. pp. xi. 771. London, 1833.

2. The Evidences of Christianity, in their external Division; exhibited in a Course of Lectures delivered in Clinton Hall in the winter of 1831-2, under the Appointment of the University of the City of New York. By Charles P. M'Ilvaine, D.D., Bishop of Ohio, and President of Ohio College. 12mo., pp. xii. 424. Price 6s. (Fisher's Select Library, Vol. IX.) London, 1833. 3. A Portraiture of Modern Scepticism; or a Caveat against Infidelity: including a brief Statement of the Evidences of Revealed Truth, and a Defence of the Canon and of Inspiration. Intended as a Present for the Young. By John Morison, D.D. Author of "An

Exposition of the Book of Psalms," &c. 12mo. pp. viii. 262. Price 4s. London, 1832.

4. The Truth of Christianity. By J. F. Gyles, Esq., A.M., Barrister at Law. 8vo, pp. 239. Price 6s. London, 1832.

WE

E class these publications under a common head, which allows of our properly noticing them together, although the specific character of each is somewhat different.

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Mr. Carlile's Letters' were originally addressed to the Author's sisters; and the epistolary form of composition has been retained, chiefly for the sake of the freedom and ease of expres'sion which letter-writing warrants and suggests.' The design of the work is, to prove the truth of Christianity from the internal evidence attaching to the inspired Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, contemplated as a whole. The Author thus explains his plan.

In the following letters, I shall view the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as one book, consisting of an historical narrative, commencing with the creation of the world, and ending with the arrival and residence of the Apostle Paul in Rome, having certain doctrines respecting spiritual things connected with it; these doctrines being conveyed partly in the course of the narrative, and partly by certain other books which are appended to the narrative: and my object will be, to prove that this whole book, as it stands, is of God. In consequence of the much pains that have been bestowed by many able men to set forth the testimonies of uninspired writers to the truth of the New Testament, I shall not dwell at much length on that part of the argument, but content myself with referring to those authors who have handled it fully. I would not however be understood as by any means undervaluing such testimonies. I wish merely to assign to them the station that properly belongs to them in the general argument. God has provided for us confirmations of the truth, sometimes from the lips of his enemies, and, therefore, we are not to overlook them; but we are to take care to keep them in their proper place. The just light in which they ought to be viewed is simply, phenomena to be accounted for. We find certain passages in ancient writings; we ask how these passages came to be in such writings. We give our solution,-that they are the natural consequences of the truth of the Scripture narrative; and we challenge the world to furnish any other reasonable solution. And, indeed, the whole argument may be viewed in this light, -adducing phenomena to be accounted for. We present the Bible, with all its internal and external evidences of truth and of divine workmanship; we shew that the very existence of such a book, so circumstanced, indicates the interposition of divine wisdom and power to bring it into existence; and we call upon those who are not satisfied with our account of the phenomena which we adduce, to furnish some other account of them.

If any man deny that the earth, or the sun, was created by an omnipotent, omniscient God, the question is instantly put to him, " How, then, did they come into existence?" And the answer which he feels himself constrained to give to this question, at once exposes the ab

surdity of his imaginations. Now, why should not the argument for the divine inspiration of the Bible be placed on the same footing? We would say to the infidel," Here is the Bible; a book thus and thus constructed, and accompanied by such and such confirmations; we hold that such a book could not have existed without the special, miraculous interposition of the Deity; and we challenge you to shew how it could have come into existence without that interposition. Take the range of the whole world, and the history of all ages, and say, if you can, when, or by whom, such a book could have been contrived or executed." I am persuaded that a few attempts to answer this plain question, would do more to expose the fallacies upon which the infidel rests his rejection of the Scriptures, than the most elaborate arguments in defence of them.' Carlile, Vol. I. p. 9-11.

In the second Letter, the peculiarity of the Scripture method of teaching and confirming religious doctrines by means of an historical narrative, is placed in a very striking light, as bearing upon it the distinctive marks of the Divine wisdom, and furnishing an infallible test of its truth.

This feature, then, of the sacred Scripture, of teaching religion by means of a historical narrative, distinguishes it from all other books in the world that are held forth as sacred by any people. It is very obvious, that nothing but true religion can be taught by a history of facts; for facts can proceed only from God, and must be a manifestation of his character. A narrative might be contrived, which would teach falsehood respecting God, the moral condition of man, and his prospects after death; but it would necessarily be a fictitious narrative, such as Mahommed's journey to heaven, for no falsehood could be taught on these subjects by means of a narrative of truth. Or an attempt might be made to deduce erroneous doctrine from a true narrative, but then it would be manifest that the deductions were unfairly drawn, This Mahommed attempted to do, when he inferred that his religion was from God, because on one or two occasions he obtained victories over superior numbers of his enemies; which was manifestly no legitimate inference.

'Let us suppose that any one should attempt to build a new system of religion on the history of England. He has but one alternative: he must either disguise and distort the facts of the history, concealing some that would militate against him, and inventing others subservient to his object; in which case the fallacy of it would be instantly detected, and no one would receive his religion: or, retaining the facts of the history, he must draw false inferences from them, in which case again, the fallacy of his new religion would be apparent to every one who was capable of exercising his reason on the inferences drawn by him. If he at once retained the facts of the history, and drew just · and legitimate inferences from them, he could teach nothing by means of the history but some portion of the religion of the Bible: such, for example, as the existence, and power, and superintending providence of God.

Accordingly, you will not find any false religion, or any additions

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to true religion, founded on a historical narrative. The Koran or Islamism contains no such narrative. The only historical facts on which it founds any of its doctrines, are those of the Bible. The sacred books of the Hindoos, called the Vedas, or Shasters, have no connexion with authentic history. The only statements which they make in the form of facts, are statements respecting the genealogies and incarnations of their gods, and the creation of the world, of which, in the statutes of Menu, there are obscure, distorted, but yet sufficiently evident references to the Mosaic narrative. The Zendavesta, or sacred book of the followers of Zerdusht, or Zoroaster, has in like manner no historical narrative, on which its religious doctrines are founded, or with which they are necessarily connected. Like the Koran of Mahommed, it refers to the facts of the Mosaic history, and contains quotations from the book of Psalms and other parts of Scripture; and the only portion of truth which it contains is drawn from this source. The sacred books of Confucius, the Chinese reformer, are rather to be regarded as books of philosophy and morals than of religion. They contain no history, the truth or falsehood of which would involve the truth or falsehood of his doctrines. They are rather an appeal to the reason and common sense of mankind, than the authoritative promulgation of a religion in the name of a superior being. These are the chief forms of religion that occur to me as having sacred books. The greater portion of the false systems of religion that are practised among men are communicated and conveyed downward by tradition. Such was the mythology of the Egyptians, and of the Greeks and Romans; such is the religion of Boodha or Fo that is prevalent in China, Ceylon, and some other parts of the east; and which at one time prevailed in India;--and such was the mythology and idolatries of our ancestors-the religion of the Druids, and of the Scandinavian invaders of Europe on the decline of the Roman empire-the Goths, Vandals, Danes, Normans, and other tribes of northern origin.

When we inquire into the statements made in any of the supposed sacred books to which I have alluded, or into the mythology of any of their popular superstitions, we find ourselves instantly in the midst of vague, uncertain, monstrous fictions.

When we pass from this pedantic, crude, metaphysical history of the creation of the world, without date or precision of any kind, but, like a vague, incoherent dream, founded upon some indistinct impression of real events, to the precision and simplicity of the Bible, it seems impossible not to feel that we are passing from the region of falsehood into the region of truth. And so it is in passing from the details of any other books given out as sacred, or from the consideration of any false religion, to the Bible. In the one, all is enveloped in doubt, uncertainty, vagueness, incoherency; no connexion with authentic history, no means furnished of confirming truth or detecting falsehood; all is darkness; and the images which it presents before the mind indistinct and monstrous. In the other, all is precision and clearness; human nature in its usual form; a perpetual connexion kept up with the great events in the history of the world, and abundant means furnished either of confirmation or detection. We feel ourselves instantly in the light of day, surrounded with natural objects, and furnished with