fcripture also. That experiment the deift himfelf commonly thinks too hardy. But he rejects it in effect by garbling it.

"This great doctrine is fupported alfo by the analogy of God's moral government, under which we all act as a kind of redeemers and mediators among each other, in our own little temporal affairs.

"Nor is it a weak argument in favour of this doctrine, when we appeal to our own feelings. We must be confcious, when we look into ourfelves, of fuch unworthiness, as muft entirely disqualify us for the divine favour, without fome better introduction than our own. It is an opinion strongly implanted in our nature. Guilt always wishes for fupport." P. 22.

We fhould object to this paffage, only the mention of the Deift, an animal unknown in general to country congregations, and better concealed from their view than exhibited, though it be merely to expofe him. The fifth Sermon, on" Many are called, but few chofen", is calculated to be eminently useful, efpecially where enthufiafts have been endeavouring to circulate their falfe notions of election. The Sermon on Balaam is alfo of a very edifying kind. Their general character is that of clear and found inftruction, conveyed in neat language, but without any attempt at ornament, any further than as illuftration may convey inftruction. Of the Hints for Sermons, we cannot give a better idea than by inferting one of them entire ; and for this purpose we shall felect one, wherein the author moft wifely and judiciously touches a fubject, on which manymodern divines have allowed themfelves to write and to talk, in our opinion, very presumptuously.

"And thefe fhall go away into everlasting punishment.-Matt. xxv. 46. "The eternity of future punishments bath occafioned much controverfy among divines. Inftead of taking part with either fide, I am rather inclined to hew the impropriety of bringing the queflion at all into difcuffion.

"In the first place, as enquiries of this kind must end, as they began, in uncertainty, it is ufeless to difcufs them. We can know nothing on the fubject but from feripture, and we fee feripture is not fo decifive as to prevent difputes.

Secondly, enquiries of this kind argue fome degree of diftruft in providence. God Almighty has declared himfelf in numberlefs paflages of fcripture to be a righteous judge-a juft rewarder, and a juft punisher of all our actions. What need we enquire farther? Do we diftruft his word?—When a man makes me a promife, if I believe him to be an honeft man, I fimply take his word. But if I have any doubt, I begin to enquire how he means to perform what he promised. Let us not then fhew fuch diftruft to God. He has affured us that he is a righteous judge. Let us therefore depend upon his word, without enquiring into the means he propofes.

"I would obferve farther, that the difcuffion of fuch a queftion appears alfo to have a bad tendency. Notwithstanding all the influence of

eternal

eternal punishment, vice cannot be kept in awe. Would you then loofen a tie, which does not at all appear too ftrict? It injures certainly no man to have his fears imprefed in this cafe; but has rather a good tendency. If it were once fairly established, that future punishments were not eternal, it might fet the inclinations of many a licentious man at liberty, and open a wide door to fin. It may, no doubt, be the fecret wish of many to find fuch a theory right; but I fuppofe, in general, the converts to it would be fuch as wifhed rather to ease their fears, than to cure their infidelity. As thefe therefore will be the chief perfons who will attend to your arguments, I fhould think it would be of more fervice to religion, to leave them to their own conjectures. They become nice cafuits for no reason but to become safe finners.

"To these confiderations against examining this infcrutable point, let me add, that it has the appearance of prefumption also, and a caft of irreligion. Far be it from me to mark with thofe characters many good people, who have taken up this argument. Things appear to different perfons in' different lights. I only mention the idea, under which it frikes me. God feems plainly, for his own wife reasons, to have left this great point uncertain at least-or, if not uncertain, leaning rather towards the pofitive fide. Whatever his reasons are, it is not our bufinefs to enquire. We ought to fhut up all our enquiries with that reverence that is due to the infcrutable counfels of God.

"To conclude: as the mind of man muft think, it will naturally fall on this as well as other topics; and every mind will have its own fentiments. All therefore that I contend for is, that when the subject is fo uncertain, and a mistake fo dangerous, we should rather think in private, than run the risk of mifleading others, in a point which, if proved, might be of dangerous confequence; and can hardly in any light be of importance.

"The only real ground of the enquiry is, to vindicate the justice of God; but he, whofe faith is fo ungrounded, as to stand in need of lo precarious and uncertain a vindication, I fear is in the ftate of those perfons, who, if they believe not Mofes and the prophets, neither will they be perfuaded though one rofe from the dead. If the numberlefs intimations, which God hath given us of his wifdom and goodness in the revelation of his will, have no effect upon them, I should not hope for much good from their being convinced, that future punishments are not eter nal." P. 397.

On this fubject, for the very wife reasons here alledged, we do not invite, but, on the contrary, moft earnestly deprecate further difcuffion; which would be more likely to unfettle many ininds, than to improve even a fingle chriftian. The weight of Mr. Gilpin's fuggeftions, let thofe in particular eftimate, who have been prone to indulge in fuch fpeculations; and without neceffity to hazard the publifhing of their notions, with as much eagerness as if Religion itself depended on the difcuffion.

ART.

ART. IV. The true Hiftory of the Conqueft of Mexico, by Captain Bernal Diaz del Caftillo, One of the Conquerors. Written in the Year 1568. Tranflated from the original Spanish, by Maurice Keatinge, Efq. 4to. 514 PP. 11. 5s. Wright.

1800.

THE original of the work here prefented to the public, has been already reviewed by a critic of no common note: we mean Dr. William Robertfon, the hiftorian of America. As his opinion coincides with our own, and probably with that of every other reader of the Hiftoria Verdadera de la Conquefte de la Neuve Efpagna, we fhall take the liberty of fubjoining it. When Bernal Diaz, who had been an adventurer in each of the expeditions to New Spain, and who was the companion of Cortez himself in all his battles and perils, "found that neither he himself, nor many of his fellow-foldiers, were once mentioned by Gomara, but that the fame of all their exploits was afcribed to Cortez, the gallant veteran laid hold of his pen with indignation, and compofed his True Hiftory. It contains a prolix, minute, confufed narrative of all Cortez's ope rations, in fuch a rude, vulgar style, as might be expected from an illiterate foldier. But as he relates tranfactions, of which he was witnefs, and in which he performed a confiderable part, his account bears all the marks of authenticity, and is accompanied with fuch a pleafant naiveté, with fuch interesting details, with fuch amufing vanity, and yet fo pardonable in an old foldier who had been (as he boasts) in a hundred and nineteen battles, as renders his book one of the moft fingular that is to be found in any language." Robertfon's America, vol. ii. p. 418.

Such is the original of the work now before us. The Englifh reader, however, who approaches the tranflation with an idea of finding in it the "prolixity, rudenefs, and confufion," obferved by Dr. Robertfon, will be very agreeably difappointed. The magic hand of the tranflator has removed them all, and prefented us, without the moft trifling deviation from the fenfe of the original, and without the fmalleft diminution of its bewitching naivetè, with a clear, comprehenfive, and confiftent narrative, as entertaining as it is fingular," as inftructive as it is important.

No violent means have been adopted to effect this beneficial change. The Hiftoria Verdadera confifts, if we recollect rightly, of two hundred and twenty chapters; each of which, except the firft, from the garrulity incident to old age, and ef

fentially

fentially fo to an old foldier, who loves to fight over the battles he has won, begins with a tedious recapitulation of the contents of the preceding, and concludes with a formal anticipation of the fubject of the following chapter; fo that the story is, in effect, twice or thrice told. Thefe head and tail pieces have been removed, with equal judgment and fuccefs; and the work, thus difencumbered and methodized, is now merely divided into three Parts, which are again fubdivided into twentyone Chapters.

We have thought it neceffary to fay thus much, because the very ingenious tranflator, Maurice Keatinge, Efq. (a gentleman, we understand, of rank and fortune in Ireland, and a member of the Imperial Parliament) has not prefixed any notices by way of preface, or otherwife; though he certainly might have modeftly advanced fome claims, to the attention and gratitude of the English reader.

But it is time to proceed to the tranflation; and we cannot begin better than with the author's introduction, which con→ tains the motives for writing what he calls, and what we implicitly believe to be, his "True Hiftory."

"I Bernal Diaz del Caftillo, regidor of this loyal city of Guatimala, and author of the following most true hiftory, during the time I was writing the fame, happened to fee a work compofed by Francifco Lopez de Gomara, the elegance of which made me blufh for the vulgarity of my own, and throw down my pen in defpair. But when I had read it, I found that the whole was a mifreprefentation, and alfo that in his extraordinary exaggerations of the numbers of the natives, and of those who were killed in the different battles, his account was utterly unworthy of belief. We never much exceeded four hundred men, and if we had found fuch numbers bound hand and foot, we could not have put them to death. But the fact was, we had enough to do to protect ourfelves, for I vow to God, and say Amen thereto, that we were every day repeating our prayers, and fupplicating to be ,, P. iii. delivered from the perils that furrounded us.

But why fhould I wafte paper and ink in the detection of his numercus errors; I will therefore proceed with my relation, for according to what the wife fay, the art and beauty of hiftorical compofition is, to write the truth; and proceeding upon this rule, with fuch embellishment and ornament as I fhall hereafter judge expedient, I will relate and bring into full light the conqueft of New Spain, and the heroic fervices of us the true conquerors, who with our small numbers, under the adventurous and brave Captain Hernando Cortes, and with great danger and hardships, gained to his Majesty this rich country; for which fervice his Majefty has frequently iffued his orders that we fhould be amply rewarded." P. iv.

"The following hiftory I have brought to its conclufion, in the loyal city of Guatimala, the refidence of the royal court of audience, on this twenty fixth of February, in the year of our Lord, one thoufand five hundred and feventy two." 1.

It appears that Bernal Diaz left Caftille in 1514, and that his first expedition was a predatory one along the coafts of Yucatan: from this part of the narrative we shall give a fhort extract, because it contains an incident which had fome influence on the future conqueft of Mexico.

"We filled our cafks, and juft as we had finifhed, about fifty Indians dreffed in cotton mantles and to all appearance chiefs, approached us, enquiring by figns what we wanted; to which we replied in the fame manner, that we came for water, and were returning to our veffels. They then pointed to the East, by way of afking if we came from that quarter, repeating feveral times the word" after which they invited us to their town, to which we proceeded with Caftillan;" them, and arrived at fome large, and very well conftructed buildings of lime and ftone, with figures of ferpents and of idols painted upon the walls. When we entered thefe temples, for fuch they were, we perceived about one of the altars traces of blood fresh spilled; there were also feveral idolatrous figures and fymbols, all which contributed to imprefs us with furprife and horror. During this time the Indians behaved peaceably, but collected in great numbers, which put us upon our guard though they appeared only to be attracted by curiosity. A body of natives foon appeared, dreffed in very ragged mantles, and each bearing a bundle of dry reeds, which having depofited together, they retired. After them came two bodies of warriors, each commanded by its captain, who drew them up oppofite to us; immediately after which, ten priefts rushed out of an adjoining temple.They were dreffed in loofe robes of white cotton, their long hair was clotted with blood, and matsed and twifted together fo as to be apparently impoffible to be feparated; they had in their hands veffels containing fire and aromatics, with which they fumigated us, making figns at the fame time, that unless we quitted their Country before the fuel lying by us was confumed, they would put us to death. They then kindled the faggots, and retired without doing any thing more. The warriors however began to make a noife by whistling, founding their horns, and drums. Thefe formidable preparations made us think it most prudent to retire, which we accordingly did, and regaining our boats on board of which the water cafks had been already put, we embarked, and reaching our veffels, proceeded on our voyage." P. 5.

The authors fecond expedition was to the fame coaft. It was rather more fortunate than the former. Some gold was collected, the name of the Mexicans was first heard, and the ideas formed of their wealth were more than fufficient to tempt Velafquez, the governor of Cuba, a rapacious and brutal tyrant, to forward a scheme for invading and plundering them.

For this purpose, thips and men were provided, and nothing feemed wanting but a chief. Vafco Porcallo was propofed; but he was a man of quality; and Velasquez wanted a perfon whom he might retain in a state of dependence on himself; for, though he was greedy of money, he was no lefs jealous

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