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" in consequence of which I professedly joined myself to the people of God, and with them partook of gospel-sealing ordinances; yet all this time sin held its dominion over me, and my conduct was far from being that which becometh the gos"pel; for, having a form of godliness, and being a stranger to "the power of it, I wandered in the paths of vice until I was " left of God to commit the horrible crime for which I now "justly suffer: and surely, if ever such a sinful creature as I, "who may justly reckon myself among the chief of sinners, be saved, it must be a wonderful display of infinite mercy granted to me, a hell-deserving creature, for the sake and through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood "cleanseth from all sin. I hope that all who see or hear of my "untimely end will take warning thereby, and endeavour, "through grace, to avoid the practice of all sin, particularly pride and passion, (the offspring of Self-esteem and Comba"tiveness,) by which I have been led on, step by step, in the practice of vice, till at length I have just cause to say, 'What "fruit have I in these things whereof I am now ashamed, for "the end of them to me hath been death?' I am now in the im"mediate prospect of eternity, shocked at the atrocity of the "crime for which I justly suffer. I desire to pray for forgive66 ness from all I have injured, but more especially from that family whose worthy head is now no more, and whose blood "I have most cruelly shed; from my own family, whom I "have greatly injured by my complicated transgressions; and "from those religious societies with which I have been con“nected, whom I have greatly offended, and of which I have "been a most unworthy member. As I desire to pray for forgiveness from others, so I desire to forgive all who may have "offended me in any shape whatever. I wish to die in peace "with all men, hoping for forgiveness from God to myself, through the merits of Him who suffered without the gates of "Jerusalem. In this hope I wish to be enabled to yield up my "departing spirit to God who gave it.-Amen!"

From M'Kaen having possessed Conscientiousness in small endowment, he was naturally, by the largeness of his Veneration, more disposed to piety than to justice. At the same time also, from the large size of his Secretiveness, aided by the fulness of his Ideality and Wonder, he would constitutionally have an inclination to the practice of deception and lying. When actions have been in opposition to the dictates of the conscientious principle, its impulses awaken a sense of guilt and demerit, of remorse and repentance. There is no evidence, however, in any part of M'Kaen's confessions, that

he experienced this feeling in a lively degree, even for the last and the greatest of his crimes. Benevolence and Veneration constrained him to feel uneasiness for having perpetrated the deed, as well as to acknowledge the cruelty of killing an acquaintance, and of thus becoming the cause of affliction to a bereaved family; but on no one occasion has he avowed his having been visited with a single pang of sorrow for the iniquity of thieving. Often and loudly has he expressed a penitent abhorrence of the murder,—not indeed on account of its injustice, but merely because it was cruel; and, in like manner, he pathetically lamented the heinousness of all his sins, not for the reason of their being unjust in themselves, but because they had led to a great deal of personal and domestic misery, and exposed himself, as he terms it," to be "cast into everlasting burning!" Thus it is manifest, that Conscientiousness had a small share in occasioning that perturbation of mind and remorse which, in the murderer, succeeded instantly to his perpetration of the bloody deed.— These feelings had their source in his Secretiveness, Cautiousness, Benevolence, Veneration, and Causality. The two former impelled him to attempt concealment; but, on this becoming impossible, the three latter gained the ascendency, and impressed on his mind the conviction, that he should not and deserved not to escape. It is worthy of remark, that, amid the wild movements of despair, induced by those sentiments, which gave him as it were a foreknowledge of his des tiny, the secretive propensity, supported perhaps by Cautiousness and Firmness, encouraged him to persevere in his measures to elude that justice against which he felt his cruelty, not his unrighteousness, had committed an unpardonable offence. Let us retrace his own description of these feelings, and we shall be satisfied of their being the legitimate experiences of a mind constituted as his was, and exposed to similar agitations.

"At the moment," he says, p. 44," of seeing Buchanan's "blood running on the floor, I declare that, if I were the owner

"of all the buildings in Glasgow, and every stone of the whole "were solid gold, I would most cheerfully have given it all to "have the deed undone.""I was in such a dreadful state of "perturbation, that I passed my wife, who was sitting in the "bed tearing herself, and said not a single word to her. I ran instantly down stairs with such speed, that I took no time to put on my coat. I put on one sleeve in the house, and the "other in running down stairs, or in the close, or in the street; " and I declare, that I do not know where I ran, nor what street "I took, till I found myself on the Old Bridge, where I think my recollection came to me in hearing the bells ringing the "six o'clock hour."- "When I was about four miles beyond "the Gorbals, I heard the sound of horses' feet galloping after "me, and was seized with such horror of conscience, that I be"came absolutely stupid. I even wished that these riders were "my pursuers, and stood that they might take, and was at this "time ready to say, I am the man.' I would have turned "with pleasure to prison, my horror was so great; for I be"lieve a child could have taken me at this moment, so great "was my tremor. I now tore away my working leather apron "from my side, and threw it carelessly from me into a ditch on "the side of the road, so conscious was I in my own mind that "I would assuredly be taken, and that I would never, never "more need to put my apron on. The horses rode past me, "and I travelled on, not knowing where I went, till once I "walked into the river Cart; so insensible was I of what I was doing, that I supposed myself walking on the high-road." "At Mearns-kirk," he adds, "I went to bed with a travel❝ling old man that was coming from Glasgow: he slept very "well, but I slept none; but was racked all night with the "most tormenting anxiety of mind: for I declare, that the idea "of death is nothing to me in comparison with the astonishing "horror of conscience I felt at this time."-" Next morning “(Letter, p. 3.), I* arose with the light of the moon, and set "out on my journey through the Mearns-muir, where I was "seized with such consternation and horror of mind, that every " step I walked I conceived that hell was open before me; and "eternal destruction appeared to me in such a dreadful point of "view, that every moment I was afraid that God would imme"diately avenge his quarrel against me, and turn me into the "bottomless pit, to suffer the vengeance of eternal fire."Being, by the wonderful power of God, whom the winds and "the seas obey, disappointed of my aim, and driven into Lamlash-bay, while lying there at anchor, it being the Sabbath "morning I was seized with such consternation of mind on ac

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• M⭑Kaen's egotism on this, as on almost all occasions indeed, forms an indisputable manifestation of his Self-esteem being inordinate, and his Conscientiousness deficient.

"count of my guilt, that when a bible was offered to me by a "companion, who pressed me to read it, I thought myself un"worthy of the privilege; but at last I opened the book, and "Providence immediately presented to my view that awful pas"sage in Ezekiel,- Therefore as I live, saith the Lord God, I "will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee; "sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee. Upon reading this, I laid aside the bible, and threw myself upon a bed, where I fell a-slumbering; and in the midst of "that slumber, an awful apprehension seized my mind (his "Veneration, Wonder, and Causality, were undergoing excite"ment,) that the Day of Judgment was actually come, and "that I saw the heavens open, and heard the sound of the last "trumpet, saw the Judge descending, the graves opening, the "earth and the works therein all in flaming fire, and myself "about to be cast into everlasting burning. Having expe"rienced such fearful sensations, I rose from the bed, and was going to throw myself into the sea, in order to put a final end "to my existence on earth. Such were the dreadful effects of "sin that I felt, on account of the aggravated crimes I had "committed, with very little hope of obtaining salvation through "Christ the Redeemer."

On returning (Narrative, p. 53.) from an excursion to Broadly Castle, in Arran, " My companion," he says, "led 66 me down by the sea-side, to a level piece of ground, and set "off at the gallop, and I set after him. This he did to see if he "could possibly raise my spirits; but, alas! alas! it would not "do! I had followed him but a short way, when my horse "stumbled, and fell down on his knees, but it soon got up and ran off the road; and I was struck with such horror, that I I thought God Almighty was now pouring down his judg"ments upon me, and that the very animal was armed against "me, in order to execute his just judgments upon me for my "sins."

M'Kaen had a large endowment of Veneration, which is the fountain of religious and filial piety. He was able to practise abundance of deference to his superiors, and to profess the highest reverence of authority. "Being desirous," he says, p. 15, " of being freed from any church-scandal occa"sioned by my conduct, I went and made public satisfaction in "the parish church of Libberton; after which the mother of "the child came on me for charges, which I paid.”—“ My wife "and I," he adds, p. 22, "brought with us sufficient testi"monials of our moral characters from the ministers of our "respective parishes; and, in coming to Glasgow, I readily got employment there.”

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The same sentiment is expressed in the following copy of the paper submitted by him to the court, when placed at the bar to take his trial, from the Scots Magazine for October 1796, p. 863.

"I have sinned greatly against God, the laws of my country, "the excellent rules and bonds of human friendship, and the "family whose head is no more in this world. I confess there "is just cause for you to look on me as an object of contempt; "but I pray and hope, that you will look also on me as an object of pity, and deal with me as your wisdom and clemency "shall think most proper; for I judge myself bound, by the "law of God and my country, to submit myself to your determination, whatever the sentence may be.

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(Signed)

"JAMES M'KAEN.”

Can any thing be more illustrative of his very large Veneration, and his small Conscientiousness, than the sentiments expressed in this paper?

From the considerable portion of intellect and sentiment which he possessed, M'Kaen derived the power, or rather received the impulses, that induced him to commemorate the confession of his sins in a printed Narrative,-to acknowledge his guilt and approve of the measure of his punishment,—to conduct himself with a magnanimous resignation while under sentence of death,-and to meet the "grim king of terrors," not merely with a mind serene and fearless, but with his whole nature braced by such confident anticipations of a blissful immortality, as would have conferred a dignity even on the parting glories of a martyr to the cause of truth and virtue.

ARTICLE IX.

ON EDUCATION.-HAMILTONIAN SYSTEM.

THE Edinburgh Review has "deserved well of the country," for the able and decided article which it has lately published in favour of Mr Hamilton's System of teaching