happened at the death of CHRIST. This eclipse was astonishing beyond conception, and could only be produced by preternatural agency. For we may learn from the Sacred Writings, that the moon was full, and consequently there could be no regular eclipse of the sun at that time, yet the darkness was great, and all nature seemed to be in convulsions. We find the fact noticed by several philosophers and historians of those times. It was observed by Lucian, by Phlegon, the freed-man of the Emperor Adrian, by Dionysius, and by Philemon in Egypt, who, in particular, was so struck with this surprising phenomenon, that he cried out in the utmost astonishment, "Either the world is destroyed, or the God of nature suffers."

That this darkness was preternatural, and not occasioned by the conjunction or opposition of any of the heavenly bodies, as some, through ignorance, have supposed, I shall endeavour to shew, as it is as capable of a mathematical demonstration as any proposition in EUCLID.

First, then, an eclipse may be of two kinds, either solar or lunar. A solar eclipse, or what is commonly called an eclipse of the sun, is occasioned by the interposition of the opaque body of the moon between the earth and the sun, and can happen only when the moon is new. As the moon passes between the earth and the sun, if she hide the whole body of the sun from us, it is called a total eclipse; when she hides only part of the sun, it is called a partial eclipse. A lunar eclipse is occasioned by the interposition of the earth between the moon and the sun, whose shadow then often falls on the moon, and deprives her of light; this can happen only when the moon is in opposition to the sun, or full.

Now it is plain, that, had the moon been new when CHRIST suffered, the darkness would not have been so wonderful, as the sun might then possibly have been eclipsed. But the moon, as I before observed, was full, and consequently in the opposite part of her orbit; had there been any eclipse at that time, it must have been a lunar one, and even that would have been invisible at Jerusalem. It is thus demonstrated that the moon could not cause the darkness; and as it is known from experience, that there is no other planet between the earth and the sun capable of eclipsing that glorious luminary, we must pronounce that the darkness which happened at the death of CHRIST was a phenomenon not to be accounted for in any other way than by the interference of infinite power and wisdom! The sun cannot be darkened but by the interposition of some opaque body, or a. miracle from GOD. The sun was darkened without the interposition of any opaque body: Therefore, that darkness must immediately arise from the agency of God.

Such was one among the many miracles which attended the death of Him, at whose presence the pillars of heaven tremble, the sun and stars fade away, the earth melts, and the deep-rooted mountains are no more; and whom, ere long, we shall behold coming clothed with majesty on the clouds of heaven, to reward. every man according to his works!

The Attributes of God Displayed.

THE CROCodile.

THE alligator, or American crocodile, when full grown (says Bartram) is a very large and terrible creature, and of prodigious strength, activity, and swiftness in the water.-I have seen them twenty feet in length, and some are supposed to be twenty-two or twenty-three feet in length. Their body is as large as that of a horse, their shape usually resembles that of a lizard, which is flat, or cuneiform, being compressed on each side, and gradually diminishing from the abdomen to the extremity, which, with the whole body, is covered with horny plates, or squamæ, impenetrable when on the body of the live animal, even to a rifle ball, except about their head, and just behind their fore-legs or arms, where, it is said, they are only vulnerable. The head of a full grown one is about three feet, and the mouth opens nearly the same length. Their eyes are small in proportion, and seem sunk in the head by means of the prominency of the brows; the nostrils are large, inflated, and prominent on the top, so that the head on the water resembles, at a distance, a great chunk of wood floating about: only the upper jaw moves, which they raise almost.perpendicular, so as to form a right angle with the lower one. In the fore part of the upper jaw, on each side, just under the nostrils, are two very large, thick, strong teeth, or tusks, not very sharp, but rather the shape of a cone these are as white as the finest polished ivory, and are not covered by any skin or lips, but always in sight, which gives the creature a frightful appearance; in the lower jaw are holes opposite to these teeth to receive them; when they clap their jaws together, it causes a surprising noise, like that which is made by forcing a heavy plank with violence upon the ground, and may be heard at a great distance.-But what is yet more surprising to a stranger is the incredibly loud and terrifying roar which they are capable of making, especially in breeding time. It most resembles very heavy distant thunder, not only shaking the air and waters, but causing the earth to tremble;

and when hundreds are roaring at the same time, you can scarcely be persuaded but that the whole globe is violently and dangerously agitated.--An old champion, who is, perhaps, absolute sovereign of a little lake, or lagoon, (when fifty less than himself are obliged to content themselves with swelling and roaring in little coves round about) darts forth from the reedy coverts, all at once, on the surface of the waters in a right line, at first seemingly as rapid as lightning, but gradually more slowly, until he arrives at the centre of the lake, where he stops. He now swells himself, by drawing in wind and water through his mouth, which causes a loud sonorous rattling in the throat for near a minute; but it is immediately forced out again through his mouth and nostrils with a loud noise, brandishing his tail in the air, and the vapour running from his nostrils like smoke.At other times, when swoln to an extent ready to burst, his head and tail lifted up, he spins or twirls round on the surface of the water. He acts his part like an Indian chief, when rehearsing his feats of war.-BARTRAM's Travels in North-America.

The Grace of God Manifested.

For the Methodist Magazine.

MEMOIR OF MRS. DOLSON.

ELIZABETH RIDLEY, (this was her maiden name) was born of respectable_parents in Detroit, 1st of January 1785. Her father was an English Merchant, but dying when Elizabeth was young, the care of her education devolved on her mother, who being a member of the Roman Catholic Church took much pains to have the mind of her daughter early imbued with the tenets of that Church. At this period, and for a long time after, the inhabitants of the Detroit country (then principally French) had no means of religious instruction, except from the Romish clergy, who have taken very little pains to cultivate even the lower branches of literature among the people of their charge. The consequence was that great ignorance prevailed, so that very few of the common people knew any thing about reading. A happy exception it was Elizabeth's good fortune to enjoy, for she was taught to read, and the fluency which she acquired in reading the French marked her superior genius, and which, with other circumstances of improvement, shewed her possessed of a capacity beyond the ordinary children of her age.

She remained in the belief and practice of all the tenets of the Roman Catholic Religion till the age of fifteen, when she was married to John Dolson, Esq. and settled on the river Thames, where she spent the remainder of her life. After her marriage she was instructed by her husband to read the English, which gave her access to the Bible; and in which she took much delight. As she read the word of God she compared with it the articles of her faith, and was surprised to find that the Bible seemed to condemn some of them.

As she took a deliberate and leisurely review of the Articles of her faith, she became more and more convinced that some of them were inconsistent with the word of God, and with sound reason. The first of which she doubted was the practice of praying to saints and angels. These she thought are created beings as well as ourselves, and are principally employed around the Throne of God. Their knowledge therefore must be principally of a heavenly nature. How then shall I know that any of them are acquainted with my wants. If, indeed, God please to send them to minister to his saints on earth, how shall I know which of them to pray to, unless I may know which of them is commissioned to minister unto me? But this is no where revealed! But if I knew this, is it not God alone "from whom cometh every good and perfect gift," "and there is but one God and but one Mediator between God and men." Thus she thought, and thus she reasoned in her inquiries after the great truths of her salvation. In the Bible she also read this awful prohibition, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image," "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God. Exodus xx. 5, 6.

But notwithstanding the discovery of these errors in her Church of praying to saints and angels, and bowing down to images, yet she had no idea of leaving the communion in which she had been raised, for she had strong prejudices against every system but that of Roman Catholic. Such was the sanctity which she attached to the name that she thought every thing else in religion must be wrong; not considering that it was truth, and not the outward appearance or name that unfolds the kingdom of Christ to the believer. Indeed, when the force of education is considered, this is not to be wondered at.Even the apostles of our Lord were so prepossessed in favour of the errors prevailing among the Jews, that Christ's kingdom was to be a temporal one, that it was not till after his resurrection, that they understood that his kingdom cometh not with observation (in outward appearance) but that it would be established in the power of the Spirit, producing "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." Mrs. Dolson, however, as

yet enjoyed no means by which her prejudices might be removed. For though the settlement on the river Thames was made soon after the American Revolution, and consisted principally of English inhabitants, yet it was more than twenty years before any religious society was formed, and but rarely that the people had the opportunity of hearing a protestant sermon.— The consequence was that a careless indifference about all religion was manifest throughout the settlement, and few if any in the acquaintance of Mrs. Dolson knew any thing of experimental religion. The deep depravity of the heart-and consequently the importance of the new-birth-justification by faith in the atonement made by Jesus Christ-a sense of pardon by the witness of the Spirit-the consolations of the Holy Comforter, and victory over sin and the fear of death-These precious truths and privileges of the gospel she had never heard properly stated and enforced. Doubting many things in the system of her own religion, and being dissatisfied with her own state, she was at times greatly troubled, and related the trials of her mind to her husband, adding, "If I am wrong I hope God will by some providential event shew me my errors and the way to amend.”

I must here be indulged in a little digression, that the reader may perceive that God is not unmindful of those who sincerely desire to know him, and the way which the Great Shepherd takes to lead the sincere inquirer to his own fold.

The destitute state of Canada had, twenty years before, excited the attention and Christian sympathy of the New-York Conference, and missionaries had been sent out by Bishop Asbury into almost all the settlements in the Upper Province; but from its remote and insulated situation (being nearly eight hundred miles from New-York, and separated by a wilderness from any other settlement) this part of the country remained unsupplied, though for years several of our preachers had felt the spiritual interest of this people deeply impressed on their minds. At length, such was the concern felt by one of our brethren for the salvation of these people, that in the spring of 1809* he wrote Bishop Asbury on the state of the country, and offered his services at the ensuing Conference. Accordingly, at the New-York Conference in May, he was appointed as a Missionary to the Detroit country. He arrived on this river in July 1809. At first

*This writer is under a mistake in respect to the time when this settlement was first visited by a Methodist Missionary. In 1805, four years previous to the time when the Missionary above referred to went there, a Methodist preacher, under the sanction of Bishop Asbury, volunteered his services, and actually visited that settlement; and he continued with them about four months, faithfully preaching in every town and neighbourhood where the English language was spoken; and that with no little satisfaction to himself, and profit to the people.

EDITOR..