Why was not the warning given, the tocsin of alarm sounded, before the people were allowed to receive them as united in the bonds of holy wedlock? Why were the public permitted to receive edition after edition of this "dangerous" work, this "poisonous article," as the reviewer admits, "unnoticed and unanswered by those who profess themselves the guardians of public morals, and the advocates of true religion ?" Why were the people allowed to drink deeply of its doctrines, to hear them lauded from one end of the country to the other, without one whisper of disapprobation from those who so clearly saw their tendency, as the reviewer says, "not only to sap the foundations of Christian doctrine, but to explode vital religion altogether, and substitute in its place the speculations of a dark deistical and damnable fatalism." Truly we may exclaim, in the reviewer's own words, "It has astonished us beyond measure," that he and the other" advocates (!) of true religion," should silently allow the people to imbibe for years a work described by him as being-if not printed and published—at least composed by "the Prince of Errors," whom he regards as the undoubted author of "the whole book," which he looks upon "as forming part of a deep-laid scheme" by the said Prince!! * Where were the guardians of public morals all this time? Were they, like Rip Van Winkle, sleeping comfortably, crying "A little more slumber, a little more folding of the hands to sleep?" Or did they, like the people of Lilliput, entertain a wholesome distrust of their power to put down the great "man-mountain" of Phrenology, having already found how easily it had snapped asunder the slender threads with which they had attempted to pin down the system? If the reviewer's opinions of Phrenology are sound, it would hardly have been possible even for the "Prince of Error" himself to have composed a more bitter satire upon the "advocates of true religion," than the reviewer has done. But if the "Prince" is to have some hand in the argument, we think the reviewer affords most legitimate ground for inferring either that the royal author has administered a potent sleeping draught to these "advocates;" or else that the Review, having so grossly libelled them, has been dictated by the Prince as part of the deep-laid scheme." For our own parts, we are unwilling to suppose the guardians of public morals to have been guilty of such base dereliction of duty as the words of the reviewer imply-we would judge

* Mr Combe is thus reduced to a mere amanuensis. This view must doubtless be new to most of his readers, who, in their innocence, never suspected that they possessed a volume by so ancient and distinguished an author as the one pointed out by the Reviewer. But this view, however novel, may be defended by the analogy of the old proverb, that "the devil sends cooks" to destroy our physical food; and what more probable than that he should wish to have a finger in poisoning our moral food also?

more charitably, and give the natural interpretation to their silence by believing that they, like the people at large, take a rational view, and see the book in its true character. But how can the Reviewer shelter himself under this plea? He, at least, admits that he had, as he verily believed, penetrated the "deeplaid scheme" of the black prince" to sap the foundations of Christianity, and explode vital religion altogether ;" and yet he fails to prove he had ever-nay, he leads us to infer that he had never-divulged to the world the dire design!-Surely this was the hireling fleeing from the sheep, and allowing the wolf to devour the flock at leisure. Let him settle this with his own conscience the best way he may-we suspect "the still small voice" will be trumpet-tongued.

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We confess that the thought of the "Prince of Error" (we do not much like to speak of him in more familiar terms) has moved us much. We shall henceforward look suspiciously into the shop of the publishers of the Constitution of Man, though we should be curious to see Mephistophiles in propria personaso universal a traveller would doubtless be quite a lion-and, by-the-by, since the publishers have, as the Reviewer says, paraded extracts from the work in their popular journal," who knows but that the "popular journal" itself may also be part of the "deep-laid scheme?" It can hardly be supposed that such a powerful engine would be lost sight of by so long practised a schemer as the Prince. In fact, this seems to follow as a corollary to the position laid down by the Reviewer; for, if the book itself be a well of poisoned waters, the said journal must be as sixty thousand poisoned streamlets flowing weekly through the land, though believed by the simple-minded public to be pure crystal streams. The Weekly Chronicle, too, must be another atra Styx; and those "great bores of philosophers, the geologists," as well as modern astronomers, must come in for a share of the " scheme," as aiding and abetting in spreading sciences held by divines to be contrary to the "plain dictates of Scripture in short, there is no saying how far the deadly influence may extend. It may be urged, doubtless, that the aforesaid popular journal has been for years as a stream of living water, giving health and vigour to both mind and body; and, as the same wholesome water still continues to flow, that the Prince would not be so simple as to dilute his own arguments with morality and sound knowledge;-but what of that? not the Constitution of Man done the same? This may be puzzling; but if the "scheme" could be read running, it would no longer be" deep-laid." Mystery is the soul of a scheme; and, though the whole may be right contrary to sound reasonreason must of course bow and believe.

Has

From the observations which have been made, the reader will

VOL. X.-NO. XLVIII.

G

be enabled to judge of the enlightened views that pervade the Review. If we have been unable to preserve our gravity, the blame lies with the Reviewer, who has upset it. We trust it is unnecessary to guard ourselves against the supposition that we are amongst those who believe that science is contradictory of Scripture, soundly interpreted. Our main object having been to point out the lamentable folly of bringing religion to oppose physical science, as well as to expose some of the inconsistencies and absurdities of the Reviewer, we have only touched incidentally on Mr Combe's work-first, because we consider a reference to itself to be the best answer that could be given; and, secondly, because, even if the author treated the exhibition of the Reviewer in a more serious light than we do, it would of course rest with himself to perform what to us appears entirely a work of supererogation. Indeed, what need of defending a work indirectly sanctioned by the silence of the "advocates of true religion" for so many years, and welcomed by the country from one end to the other (not to speak of Germany, France, Sweden, and America), as a gift worthy of a philosopher to bestow, and of the lovers of truth to receive.

ARTICLE XV.

AN INTRODUCTION TO PHRENOLOGY, IN THE FORM OF QUESTION AND ANSWER. WITH AN APPENDIX AND COPIOUS ILLUSTRATIVE NOTES. By ROBERT MACNISH, Author of "The Anatomy of Drunkenness," and "Philosophy of Sleep," and Member of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. 12mo, pp. 186, 1836. Glasgow: John Reid & Co.; Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh; and Whittaker & Company, London.

THIS is an excellent little work, and its success has already been so great, that any commendation of it by us is nearly superfluous. It was published on 18th March 1836, and above 1500 copies of it have been sold at the time when we write, in the middle of May. It is an original composition, and not a mere abstract or compilation from previous books. It partakes of the clearness and vivacity which characterize Mr Macnish's other writings; and it is distinguished by great correctness of doctrine.

The preface contains a brief but interesting account of Mr Macnish's own conversion to Phrenology. "My first ideas of Phrenology," says he, "were obtained from Dr Gall himself, whose lectures I attended in Paris during the year 1825. Before that time, I, in common with almost all who are ignorant of the subject, spoke of it with great contempt, and took every op

portunity of turning it into ridicule. The discourses of this great man, and various private conversations which I had the honour of holding with him, produced a total change in my ideas, and convinced me, that the doctrines he taught, so far from deserving the absurd treatment which they then generally met with, were, in themselves, highly beautiful, as expositions of the human mind in its various phases, and every way worthy of attention. Much reflection, and many appeals to nature, since that period, have satisfied me of their perfect truth."

He proceeds to give an outline of the history of the science, and concludes the preface in the following words. "In whatever way we view this science, its tendency is excellent. It is eminently useful to the medical practitioner, by turning his attention forcibly to the state of the brain and whole nervous system, in a state of health and disease-to those who have the charge of lunatics and criminals-to those concerned in the administration of justice-to parents, in the intellectual, moral, and physical management of their children, and, in short, to every class of society. Grievous errors in education, in the treatment of malefactors, and in what are called mental diseases, are constantly committed, from ignorance of the light thrown by it on those important subjects. A science which is able to accomplish all this cannot be a trivial one; and Time, the great arbiter, will yet render it ample justice, when every thing which has been said and written against it is utterly forgotten."

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The work commences with an exposition of the principles of Phrenology, which embraces a great deal of valuable information, condensed into a short space, yet clearly written. It next gives an account of the various propensities, sentiments, and intellectual faculties, with their uses and abuses. Many new and instructive cases are recorded in this part of the work, and the notes are particularly valuable. The next section relates to the Temperaments," which are well expounded. The last section is headed "Miscellaneous Questions;" a title which gives no idea of the subjects discussed. These are―The order in which the faculties first display themselves;-the contiguity of those organs which generally assist each other (as Causality and Comparison, Time and Tune, Combativeness and Destructiveness, and so forth);--the causes of mental precocity ;-the influence of the constitution of parents on that of their children;-the causes why some individuals are much liked by some, and hated by others;-the causes of strong and permanent likings and antipathies ;-the causes why the same individual is liked as a servant by one mistress, and disliked by another; the effects of difference in the size and combination of the organs on the agreement or disagreement of husbands and wives. We quote the following as specimens of this section of the work.

"What does eccentricity arise from?

"From a want of due balance in the faculties. If one organ or more, is large in proportion to the others, or in a state of high activity, it will produce that irregularity of character to which the term eccentric is applied. Eccentricity frequently degenerates into madness.

"Some persons possess an unbounded flow of animal spirits, and a hilarity which nothing can subdue: from what does this proceed?

“From great activity of brain, accompanied often with deficient prudence and reflection, and a large development of Hope, Ideality, and Wit.

"What is the cause of such activity ‹f brain?

"It is constitutional, and generally accompanied with a high Sanguineous Temperament.

"When an organ is much exercised, have we ever pain in the site of it?

Very often. Hard-thinking produces a sense of fulness or pain in the forehead, the seat of the reflecting organs. In excitement of Amativeness, there is frequently a sense of heat at the nape of the neck. When there exists a strong desire to travel, pain is sometimes felt in the region of Locality,* and in cases of spectral illusions over the perceptive organs.

"What is the cause of spectral illusions?

"These phenomena depend on a morbidly excited state of some of the perceptive organs, such as Form, Size, or Colour; whence images are presented to the mind without the co-operation of the external senses. If the organ of Form, for instance, becomes as strongly stimulated by some external cause, as it would be by an object presented to it by the eyes, some image or other will be formed, and the person will actually believe he sees what in reality has no existence. Morbid affections of the nerves of sight seem to have the same influence in producing spectral illusions.

"Is the feeling of hunger experienced, strictly speaking, in the stomach?

"No. The term craving of the stomach,' so often used

A young lady," says Dr Gall, "had always a great desire to travel. She eloped from her father's house with an officer. Grief and remorse undermined her health. I attended her, and she made me remark two large prominences which, she said, the pain she had endured had caused to grow on her forehead. These excrescences, which appeared to her the consequences of divine wrath, were in fact the organ of Locality, to which she had never paid any attention." To this I may add, that a lady of my acquaintance, in whom the organ of Philoprogenitiveness is very largely developed even for a woman, and whose love of children is extreme, informs me, that when distressed or anxious about her family, she experiences pain at the back of the head, just over the seat of the organ. Heat in the nape of the neck is a common attendant of excited Amativeness.