over into the German camp; and when a friendly hand rouses him up and tells him where he has got to, he insists he is still safe at home.

There is another feature of Professor Park's mode of conducting this discussion, which is very little to our taste. He constantly endeavours to represent us as assailing New England theology. This is a ruse de guerre every way unworthy of a candid disputant. We stated as the three radical principles of the anti-Augustinian system-"First, that all 'sin consists in sinning: that there can be no moral character but in moral acts; secondly, that the power to the contrary is essential to free agency: that a free agent may always act contrary to any influence, not destructive of his freedom, which can be brought to bear upon him; thirdly, that ability limits responsibility: that men are responsible only so far as they have adequate power to do what is required of them, or that they are responsible for nothing not under the control of the will." If there is one characteristic of New England theology more prominent than any other, it is opposition to these principles. The world-wide fame of President Edwards as a theologian, rests mainly on his thorough refutation of them in the works we have already referred to. In this opposition, Bellamy, Dwight, and the other great men of New England, were no less strenuous than Edwards. The aberration of the advocates of the "Exercise Scheme," though it led them to a denial of at least the first of the above principles, was in the direction of ultra Calvinism. It was not until the rise of what is popularly called New Havenism, that these principles were rejected by any other class of New England divines reputed orthodox. It is Professor Park, and not we, who is the assailant of New England theology, a fact which he will not be able to conceal. We recently heard of certain Unitarian gentlemen who seemed honestly to believe that Trinitarianism is dying out in this country. It is possible that a similar hallucination may lead Professor Park to regard the little coterie to which he belongs as all New England.

Again, there is not in the long article under consideration any frank and manly discussion of principles. His great object seems to be to elude pursuit by a copious effusion of ink. We had two leading objects in our late review. The one was to state clearly what it was our author proposed to accomplish; and the other was, to examine the means by which he endeavoured to attain his end. We endeavoured to show that the task which he undertook was to reconcile the two great conflicting systems of theology, the Augustinian and the antiAugustinian; and then we endeavoured to set forth the theory, * Princeton Review, April 1851, p. 309.

under its different aspects, by which this reconciliation was to be effected. If he intended his "comments" to be an answer to our review, it was incumbent upon him to take up these points. He should have proved either that we had not fairly presented the two systems of theology referred to, or that they were not included under his category of allowable creeds. Or, if satisfied as to these points, he should have shown either that we misapprehended his theory, or that that theory was philosophically true. So far as we can discover, he has hardly made a show of attempting to accomplish any one of these objects. We therefore do not feel it necessary to pursue the subject any further. If, on the other hand, our author did not intend his "comments" as an answer, we have, of course, nothing to say. In either case we remain unanswered.

We hope the reasons above given will satisfy our friends of the propriety of our discontinuing this discussion. We have one other, which we trust we may present without offence. It is a common remark that a man never writes any thing well for which he has "to read up." Professor Park has evidently laboured under this disadvantage. Old-school theology is a new field to him; and though he quotes freely authors of whom we, though natives, never heard, yet he is not at home, and unavoidably falls into the mistakes which foreigners cannot fail to commit in a strange land. He does not understand the language. He finds out "five meanings of imputation !" It would be wearisome work to set such a stranger right at every step. We would fain part with our author on good terms. We admire his abilities, and are ready to defer to him in his own department. But when he undertakes to teach old-school men old-school theology, it is very much like a Frenchman teaching an Englishman how to pronounce English. With the best intentions, the amiable Gaul would be sure to make sad work with the dental aspirations.

ART. IV.—The Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints: with Memoirs of the Life and Death of Joseph Smith, the "American Mahomet." Illustrated with Forty Engravings. London: Office of the National Illustrated Library, 1852. 12mo, pp. 326. [THIS article, it will be observed, contains simply a narration of the leading circumstances connected with the origin and progress of Mormonism. The causes of its success, and its probable destiny, would form curious and interesting subjects of inquiry; and we may take another opportunity of fully adverting to them. Meanwhile the development of the system

is proceeding (by recent accounts) so rapidly, that speculation on the latter point bids fair to be cut short by trumpet-tongued experience.-ED. F.E. R.]

This volume affords the best account that has fallen under our notice of the greatest religious imposture of this age on this continent. Nor is it so strange as might at first sight appear, that such a book should have been produced in Englandrather than in the United States. Great Britain has contributed her full relative proportion to the victims and abettors of that stark imposture, Mormonism. The number of its professed adherents who have emigrated hither from that island is computed at fourteen thousand. When we consider, too, the strength of faith and the fanaticism of zeal necessary to inspire the motive for emigration in such a cause, and also, that foreign disciples are generally more fervent and earnest than those of native growth, we may not unreasonably conclude that Joe Smith was indebted to his imported converts as much, at least, as to those of our own soil, for the temporary success of his folly. His missionaries found ready credence across the water, and even the printed reports of his doings in the newspapers drew hither hundreds of dupes. It is certain that Mormonism has always attracted more attention abroad than it has received in our immediate community. In our neighbourhood it has been regarded either as too shallow a cheat, or too monstrous a delusion, to deserve a deliberate treatment. The beautifully illustrated volume before us is a compilation made by one who never came hither to visit the scenes, or to study the actual living fruits, of Mormon folly. We should regard the volume as, on the whole, well suited to convey just impressions, and as aiming successfully to give a fair view of its subject. Though we have not been indebted to it for any of the facts which we are about to lay before our readers, we readily adopt it as an introduction to what we have to say. As we have never presented this subject at any length in our pages, we have no apology to offer for inviting attention now to a brief rehearsal of the origin and the present fortunes of by no means the least memorable of the frauds which have been practised in the name of religion. Nor are we dealing with a defunct superstition.

Joseph Smith, the author of the Mormon imposture, is first heard of at Palmyra, New York. There he came to manhood some thirty years ago. His father was a farmer, but was much given to incantations, divinations, mysteries, enchantments, wild imaginations, money-digging by night, delusions, deceits, and lies. Joseph seems to have been a favoured child. He inherited his father's whole character, and greatly augmented the store of the above precious gifts; adding thereto a per

manent and extensive real property of laziness. His practice seems to have been in the most extravagant and silly lies, for the purpose of trying to what extent his subjects might be duped. We will first introduce Smith, senior, to our readers. In the testimony under oath of Mr Peter Ingersoll, taken in 1833, it is stated that the deponent—

"Was a neighbour of Smith from 1822 to 1830. The general employment of the family was digging for money. Smith, senior, once asked me to go with him to see whether a mineral rod would work in my hand, saying he was confident it would. As my oxen were eating, and being myself at leisure, I went with him. When we arrived near the place where he thought there was money, he cut a small witchhazel, and gave me direction how to hold it. He then went off some rods, telling me to say to the rod, Work to the money,' which I did, in an audible voice. He rebuked me for speaking it loud, saying it must be spoken in a whisper. While the old man was standing off some rods, throwing himself into various shapes, I told him the rod did not work. He seemed much surprised, and said he thought he saw it move. It was now time for me to return to my labour. On my return I picked up a small stone, and was carelessly tossing it from one hand to the other. Said he (looking very earnestly), What are you going to do with that stone?' Throw it at the birds,' I replied. 'No,' said the old man, it is of great worth.' I gave it to him. Now,' says he, if you only knew the value there is back of my house!' and pointing to a place near. There,' said he, ‘is one chest of gold and another of silver.' He then put the stone which I had given him into his hat, and, stooping forward, he bowed and made sundry manœuvres, quite similar to those of a stool pigeon. At length he took down his hat, and, being very much exhausted, said in a faint voice, 'If you knew what I had seen, you would believe.' His son, Alvin, went through the same performance, which was equally disgusting.

"Another time the said Joseph, senior, told me that the best time for digging money was in the heat of summer, when the heat of the sun caused the chests of money to rise near the top of the ground. You notice,' said he, the large stones on the top of the ground;we call them rocks, and they truly appear so, but they are, in fact, most of them chests of money raised by the heat of the sun.'

The good character and veracity of this deponent are established by the testimony of several witnesses, and the like account of Smith's family is given by Rev. John A. Clark and others. Mr Clark says:

"Joe Smith, who has since been the Mormon prophet, belonged to a very shiftless family near Palmyra. They lived a sort of vagrant life, and were principally known as money-diggers. Joe, from a boy, appeared dull and destitute of genius, but his father claimed for him a sort of second sight, a power to look into the depths of the earth, and discover where its precious treasures were hid. In their excursions for money-digging, Joe was usually the guide, putting into his hat a peculiar stone, through which he looked, to decide where they should begin to dig."

Mr E. D. Howe, in his book called "Mormonism Unveiled," quoted by Bennett, says: "If the eleven witnesses" (who testified to the finding of the Golden Bible) "are considered, from what has already been said, unimpeached, we will offer the depositions of some of the most respectable citizens of our country, who solemnly declare upon their oaths that no credit can be given to any one member of the Smith family." Such is the general tenor of the testimony in relation to the family. These estimable traits of the head of the family were crowned with the graces of idleness and drunkenness. They were all centred in the person of Joseph Smith, jun., and developed in him with greater fulness.

Such details as are above given of the character of Smith, sen., and his acts and language, cannot be very interesting to readers; but as it is only by acts and language that a man's character can be authentically presented, while any general statements in regard to him, given as deductions merely, are liable to the imputation of being prejudiced, the same mode of showing the character of the younger Smith will be pursued, by extracts from the depositions of eye and ear witnesses.

William Stafford "first became acquainted with Joseph, sen., and his family, in 1820. They lived in Palmyra, about one mile and a half from my residence. A great part of their time was devoted to digging for money, especially in the night-time, when they said the money could be most easily obtained. I have heard them tell marvellous tales of the discoveries they had made in their money-digging. They would say, for instance, that in such a place, on such a hill, on a certain man's farm, there were deposited kegs, barrels, and hogsheads of coined silver and gold, bars of gold, golden images, brass kettles filled with gold and silver, golden candlesticks, &c. They would say, also, that nearly all the hills in this part of New York were thrown up by human hands, and in them were large caves which Joseph, jun., could see, by placing a stone of singular appearance in his hat in such a manner as to exclude all light; at which time they pretended he could see all things within and under the earth; that he could see within the caves large gold bars and silver plates; that he could also discover the spirits, in whose charge these treasures were, clothed in ancient dress. At certain times these treasures could be obtained very easily; at others, the obtaining of them was very difficult. The facility of obtaining them depended in a great measure on the state of the New moon and Good Friday, I believe, were regarded as the most favourable times for obtaining these treasures.

moon.

"Joseph Smith, sen., came to me one night, and told me that Joseph, jun., had been looking in his glass, and had seen, not many rods from his house, two or three kegs of gold and silver, some feet under the surface of the earth; and that none others but the elder Joseph and myself could get them. I consented to go, and early in. the evening repaired to the place of deposit. Joseph, sen., first made a circle twelve or fourteen feet in diameter. This circle, said he, con