This Society gave birth to all the kindred ones in this country, and its influence was felt abroad. Dr. Worcester assumed the charge of its periodical, and devoted himself for years to this cause, with unabating faith and zeal; and it may be doubted, whether any man, who ever lived, contributed more than he to spread just sentiments on the subject of war, and to hasten the era of universal peace. He began his efforts in the darkest day, when the whole civilized world was shaken by conflict, and threatened with military despotism. He lived to see more than twenty years of general peace, and to see through these years a multiplication of national ties, an extension of commercial communications, an establishment of new connections between Christians and learned men through the world, and a growing reciprocity of friendly and beneficent influence among different states, all giving aid to the principles of peace, and encouraging hopes which a century ago would have been deemed insane. "The abolition of war, to which this good man devoted himself, is no longer to be set down as a creation of fancy, a dream of enthusiastic philanthropy. War rests on opinion; and opinion is more and more withdrawing its support. War rests on contempt of human nature, on the long, mournful habit of regarding the mass of human beings as machines, or as animals having no higher use than to be shot at and murdered, for the glory of a chief, for the seating of this or that family on a throne, for the petty interests or selfish rivalries which have inflamed states to conflict. Let the worth of a human being be felt; let the mass of a people be elevated; let it be understood that a man was made to enjoy unalienable rights, to improve lofty powers, to secure a vast happiness; and a main pillar of war will fall. And is it not plain that these views are taking place of the contempt in which man has so long been held? War finds another support in the prejudices and partialities of a narrow patriotism. Let the great Christian principle of human brotherhood be comprehended, let the Christian spirit of universal love gain ground, and just so fast the custom of war, so long the pride of men, will become their abhorrence and execration. It is encouraging to see how outward events are concurring with the influences of Christianity in promoting peace; how an exclusive nationality is yielding to growing intercourse; how different nations, by mutual visits, by the interchange of thoughts and products, by studying one another's language and literature, by union of efforts in the cause of religion and humanity, are growing up to the consciousness of belonging to one great family. Every rail-road connecting distant regions, may be regarded as accomplishing a ministry of peace. Every year which passes without war, by interweaving more various ties of interest and friendship, is a pledge of coming years of peace. The prophetic faith with which Dr. Worcester, in the midst of universal war, looked forward to a happier era, and which was smiled at as enthusiasm or credulity, has already received a sanction beyond his fondest hopes, by the wonderful progress of human affairs.

"On the subject of war, Dr. Worcester adopted opinions which are thought by some to be extreme. He interpreted literally the precept, 'Resist not evil;' and he believed that nations as well as individuals, would find safety as well as fulfil righteousness' in yielding it literal obedience. One of the most striking traits of his character was his confidence in the power of love, I might say, in its omnipotence. He believed that the surest way to subdue a foe, was

to become his friend; that a true benevolence was a surer defence than swords, or artillery, or walls of adamant. He believed that no mightier man ever trod the soil of America than William Penn, when entering the wilderness unarmed, and stretching out to the savage a hand which refused all earthly weapons, in token of brotherhood and peace. There was something grand in the calm confidence with which he expressed his conviction of the superiority of moral to physical force. Armies, fiery passions, quick resentments, and the spirit of vengeance miscalled honor, seemed to him weak, low instruments, inviting, and often hastening, the ruin which they are used to avert. Many will think him in error; but if so, it was a grand thought which led him astray."—pp. 18-21.

"I have thus given a sketch of the history of a good man, who lived and died the lover of his kind and the admiration of his friends. Two views of him particularly impressed me. The first was the

unity, the harmony of his character. He had no jarring elements. His whole nature had been blended and melted into one strong, serene love. His mission was to preach peace; and he preached it not on set occasions, or by separate efforts, but in his whole life. It breathed in his tones. It beamed from his venerable countenance. He carried it, where it is least apt to be found, into the religious controversies which raged around him with great vehemence, but which never excited him to a word of anger or intolerance. All my impressions of him are harmonious. I recollect no discord in his beautiful life; and this serenity was not the result of torpidness or tameness; for his whole life was a conflict with what he thought error. He made no compromise with the world, and yet he loved it as deeply and constantly as if it had responded in shouts to all his views and feelings.

"The next great impression which I received from him, was that of the sufficiency of the mind to its own happiness, or of its independence on outward things. He was for years debilitated, and often a great sufferer; and his circumstances were very narrow, compelling him to so strict an economy, that he was sometimes represented, though falsely, as wanting the common comforts of life. In this tried and narrow condition, he was among the most contented of men. He spoke of his old age as among the happiest portions, if not the very happiest, in his life. In conversation, his religion manifested itself in gratitude more frequently than in any other form. When I have visited him in his last years, and looked on his serene countenance, and heard his cheerful voice, and seen the youthful earnestness with which he was reading a variety of books, and studying the great interests of humanity, I have felt how little of this outward world is needed to our happiness. I have felt the greatness of the human spirit, which could create to itself such joy from its own resources. I have felt the folly, the insanity of that prevailing worldliness, which, in accumulating outward good, neglects the imperishable soul. On leaving his house, and turning my face towards this city, I have said to myself, how much richer is this poor man than the richest who dwell yonder! I have been ashamed of my own dependence on outward good. I am always happy to express my obligations to the benefactors of my mind; and I owe it to Dr. Worcester to say, that my acquaintance with him gave me clearer comprehension of the spirit of Christ, and of the dignity of a man.” -pp. 23-25.

2. Letters from an American. 8vo. pp. 79. London. T. Ward & Co.

The date of these letters at Minot, Me., and the well-known signature of Philanthropos, disclose their origin, and entitle them to special attention from the friends of peace. It seems, from the author's preface "to the people of England," that these letters were written several years ago, and sent to a friend in London for the purpose of being published in some English newspaper or other periodical; but, after a series of miscarriages and delays, he was induced to have them issued in their present form, with a preface of sixteen pages from his own pen, touching events of interest which have occurred since their composition.

The first letter is on the origin of hostile feelings between Great Britain and this country.

*

"The time was when Great Britain and North America were united under one government, when they regarded each other as brethren, when they cultivated the same national feelings and prejudices, and lived in as free an interchange of sentiments as of commodities. * Among the many evils of the separation, the ill-will, hatred and rancor, mutually inspired by the bloody conflict, and the spirit of rivalry, mistrust and jealousy, are by no means the smallest. It was to have been expected, that men, who had been used to shed the blood of their brethren, and who sought every opportunity to destroy and distress each other, should contract a mutual hatred and enmity, heightened by their previous affinity; for

'Hell knows no rage like friendship turned to hate.'

And it was not to be expected that this animosity would be confined to the governments, and to those acting under their authority; but, as is the case with all other wars, there was little or no discrimination made between the acts of government, and the nation at large. It is the policy of rulers, in time of war, to enrage their subjects against that nation with whom they are contending; and it is not unfrequent, that falsehood and perjury are made accessory to the measure, which, however it may strengthen the hands of the government adopting it for the war they are at the time carrying on, has this disadvantage, that it provokes retaliation and recrimination from the opposite party, and cherishes those unhappy and unchristian prejudices which lay the foundation for many a future war, and transmit a hostile and vindictive spirit from generation to generation, so that the tomahawk is dug up on the most trivial occasions."pp. 2—5.

The third and fourth letters sketch the growth of these national animosities up to our last war; the fourth describes the state of reciprocity which ought to exist between the two nations; the fifth and sixth enumerate "the obstacles which lie in the way" of such a consummation; the seventh suggests remedies, and dwells on the causes of war; the eighth proposes a congress of nations, and shows its advantages and practicability; the ninth discusses the obstacles

to this great scheme, and the tenth shows how these obstacles may be overcome.

Such is the train of thought pursued in these letters. We should be glad to enrich our pages from them, but have space only for two extracts, the first from the fifth letter, and the second from the preface.

WAR-BURDENS OF ENGLAND.

"There is no doubt in my mind, that the present distress of the laboring classes in Great Britain is owing principally to the wars in which she has been engaged, and the vast preparations for future wars, which still continue. I will go no further back in the history of English wars than that which, in this country, we call the 'old French war,' which ended with the treaty of Paris in A. D. 1763. This was perhaps the most glorious war in which England was ever engaged. She humbled France and Spain, and took both the Canadas from one, and both the Floridas from the other, and added several islands in the West Indies to her empire. But this glory is not yet paid for; and not only the present, but future generations will have to smart for it. Frequently the most glorious and successful wars are more fatal to the victors than the vanquished; and in this glorious war were laid the deep foundations of much of the sufferings of the laboring classes of Great Britain at this moment. The Spanish war, from 1739 to the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, cost nearly fifty-four millions. The glorious war above mentioned, which lasted from 1756 to 1763, cost one hundred and six and a half millions. This you found extremely burdensome, and you turned your eyes to this country for assistance. We were more willing to share the glory than the cost, of which you endeavored to force us to pay a part. This brought on a rebellion, which France, smarting under her recent losses, at first secretly fomented, and at length openly aided. The British empire was dismembered, after an expenditure of one hundred and seventy-two millions of pounds sterling. But this was not all. By the return of the French armies from America, the seeds of revolution were scattered in France. The result was terrible, and England was menaced with all the horrors of a sanguinary revolution. The British government attempted to put down opinions by bayonets,-always a dangerous expedient. At the peace of Amiens, 1802, your national debt was increased four hundred and twenty-seven millions. That peace was of short duration; the insulting language of Bonaparte on the one hand, and that of the British press on the other, brought on another war, to which we also were made a party. In this war you expended five hundred and seventy-eight millions of pounds sterling; so that, from the year 1775 to the treaty of Paris in 1815, that is to say, in forty years, you expended one thousand one hundred and seventyseven millions of pounds sterling. But this is not all; you have acquired an immense army, and an immense navy establishment, which custom makes you think necessary, and which you cannot reduce without throwing great numbers of the first families out of employment, and letting loose on society vast bodies of men whom long habits acquired in war have unfitted for the arts of peace.

"I have not the means of referring to your expenses at a later

date than the year 1827, when it appears that the whole income of

So that your war expenses in that year of peace amounted to upwards of fifty-four millions of pounds sterling, a great part of which falls on the laboring classes."-pp. 29–32.

IMPRESSMENT OF SEAMEN.

"After all that I have said, I am almost afraid to touch on a subject which has laid [lain] heavily on my heart for a long time; and I have longed for some fit opportunity to lay it before my British brethren; and were I sure that they would take it in the same spirit of love and good-will in which I write it, there would be no better opportunity than the present. I refer to the practice of impressment of seamen in the free country of Great Britain.

'I beseech my Christian brethren of Great Britain to consider, whether the practice of impressment of seamen is not as bad, in many respects, as the practice of slavery. Has it not all the worst features of slavery? And is it not as much worse than slavery as the soul is worth more than the body, or the concerns of eternity greater than those of time? It is lamentably true, that the slave is sometimes forcibly torn away from his family and friends. But this is always the case with the impressed seaman. Without any previous intimation, without any opportunity of bidding a last farewell to those whom he loves more than life, he is forcibly carried on board a tender, from which he is shipped on board some man-of-war, which is about to sail on a long cruise, or to some distant part of the world, where he is compelled to fight and kill those who never injured him, and against whom he feels no resentment. To say nothing of the severe discipline of the service, and the various horrible punishments inflicted in the navy,-which are worse than any punishments lawfully, or usually, inflicted on a negro slave, he is exposed to habits of intemperance, by having the daily share of intoxicating liquors dealt out to him; and if he becomes a drunkard, O how severely he is punished for it! First tempted to sin, and then punished for falling under that temptation! He is compelled not only to labor, but to fight, kill and destroy, on God's holy Sabbath day. He is cut off from all the blessings of the sanctuary; and though there may be chaplains on board your ships of the line, there are, I believe, none on board the smaller vessels. But do those chaplains declare the whole counsel of God? Do they teach love to enemies, forgiveness of injuries, and the sublime doctrine of returning good for evil, overcoming evil with good, and, in imi