Two Years' Residence in the New Settlements of Ohio, North America; with Directions to Emigrants. By D. Griffiths, Jun. pp. 197.—Westley and Davis.
The information and advice contained in this small volume must be very valuable to those, especially, who contemplate a transition to Ohio, with the intention of making it the place of their permanent abode. The worthy author appears to have been a very diligent observer of men and things during his short sojourn in the new world, and to have faithfully recorded the result of his observations. Reason and experience unite to testify that, in removing from place to place, little can be calculated upon besides an exchange of one class of difficulties for another; and in many more instances than are disclosed, it is highly probable that, could the former be resumed, it would be thankfully accepted. Such, at least, has been our impression from all the accounts we have yet read of emigrants and emigration. For the edification of our readers we give the following extract:—
"It may surprise an Englishman, if he be unacquainted with the American character, that farmers, who were well off in New England, should leave a comfortable home for the wild woods of Ohio. The best explanation of this fact may be furnished, perhaps, by a comparison of the English and American character, given in an American publication, called 'The Biblical Repository,' although penned for another purpose. 'This is connected, no doubt, with a great feature of European character, which at once strikes Americans, that all ranks and classes there have a far greater enjoyment of the present than ourselves. Our national character, so far as we have one, consists in a spirit of enterprise, excited by the desire of improving our condition. It may be shortly styled a love of gain—gain, not only of wealth, but also of reputation, of comfort, of happiness; gain of all that is supposed to be desirable. Our enjoyment consists more in striving after this gain, in anticipations and in the very act of acquiring; theirs, in possession and quiet fruition.' Local attachments, domestic comfort, and almost every kind of present temporal happiness, in the English sense of the term, give way to the love of gain. Unquestionably, this was the principle which led many of the New Englanders to Ohio; and certainly the organ of acquisitiveness must be very prominent in the Yankee cranium, for I never met with a farmer there, however long he had been settled, or however comfortably, but would, from this same love of gain, sell out, and move away." p. 53.
More than eighty pages of this volume are devoted to the subjects of "Temperance Societies," and "Religious Revivals:" these should certainly obtain close attention from the reader. Concerning the latter there will, no doubt, still be much difference of opinion; yet, if it be indulged with candour, and expressed with affection, it may be rather beneficial than injurious.
Twenty Sermons. By the late Rev. W. Howels, Minister of Long Acre Episcopal Chapel. pp. 440.—Shaw.
It is to be lamented that the reputation of the deceased so often suffers from the defective prudence of the surviving. We have no doubt that these sermons were delivered from the pulpit by the respected individual whose name they bear, and that, by those who knew and valued him as a preacher, they may be read with pensive pleasure and real advantage. But we have also no doubt that, could Mr. Howels have been consulted, he would have refused his consent to their publication, till they had been submitted to his careful and severe revision. That they contain many admirable sentiments and sentences, we readily admit; but, unhappily, some of the most striking and valuable paragraphs are seriously injured by rash and inconsiderate expressions, which an extemporaneous and energetic speaker, in the fervour of oral communication, may be induced to utter, but through which, were he preparing his discourses for the press, and therefore for cooler inspection, his pen would be unsparingly drawn. Without having said thus much, we could neither have discharged our duty to ourselves nor our readers; but with such cautionary intimation we can cordially commend them to their perusal.
The Domestic Harp. By David Ives. pp. 80.—Baynes.
The worthy author of this small neat publication says, "A few of these pieces have appeared before, in a periodical, called 'The Christian's Pocket Magazine.'" He remarks, also, in his short preface, "No glossary will here be required, but one member of a Christian family may safely read them to another with the certainty at least of being understood; and, the author feels a satisfaction in adding, without the danger of offending the most sacred affection." The reader of these verses will find that, while the preceding commendation is fully sustained, the author might have gone even further. But as he has not, we will. These poetical effusions are not only plain and pious, they are sensible and instructive; and though they may not exactly range with the more lofty efforts of poetic genius, yet they contain passages and pieces which would not suffer by comparison with many which might be referred to in more splendid volumes, the product of illustrious names. The following specimen is selected, not on account of its superiority, but because it best suits our space.