MOSELMAN. AN IDIOT. No 2 43. The difference between the above is very evident; and if the drawing which is intended to represent Dr. Gall be correct, the line will show the exact quantity of intellectual and moral superiority which he possessed over No. 2 and 3. The same measurement can be taken upon the living subject, by means of the callipers; and I have not yet met with a single individual, over whose head the callipers would pass as they did in the case of the unfortunate Moselman. In making drawings of the head, I have found the auriculo mental, or chin measurement of considerable importance, and would recommend those who wish to make correct outlines, to use the same means. The harmony between phrenology and physiognomy has been generally acknowledged, but no positive rules, so far as I know, have ever been laid down, by which that harmony can be practically demonstrated. I hold, that if phrenology be true, then is physiognomy true also; and that every part belonging to the body, besides being governed by the brain, is in fact an exact representation of the same, differing only in this, that one is mind and the other matter. I have, perhaps, already trespassed too far, and will leave the facts as I found them. WM. B. FAHNESTOCK. Lancaster, June 16, 1840. MISCELLANY. British Phrenological Association.-We have recently received from a London correspondent, a circular of this association, which is organised for the cultivation and advancement of phrenology as a science. It is to meet the present season at Glasgow, at the same time of the sitting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The following gentlemen have been appointed officers for the current year: George Combe, Esq. President Sir Geo. S. Mackensie, Bart. F. R. S. L. & E. W. C. Trevelyan, Esq. F. R. S. E. Vice Phrenology in Dublin, Ireland.-Phrenology has long had many stanch and able friends in this city. Dr. Marsh and Mr. Carmichael, who stand at the head of the medical profession, have publicly advocated the science now for more than twenty years. In an address, delivered before the "Medical Society of Dublin" by one of its committee, and which, by a unanimous vote of the society, was ordered to be published, the writer alludes to the science as follows:-"On the importance of the consideration of mental disease, as a subject of medical education. I candidly express my humble conviction, that, from the further developement of the rapidly advancing science of phrenology, (long a chosen theme of vituperation, but now gradually acquiring that influence which must arise from truth,) these results (before described) are to be anticipated, compared with which, the profound discoveries of Archimedes, Newton, or the wondrous mechanical inventions of a Watt, sink into comparative insignificance, in point of utility, and practical benefit to mankind." Mr. Combe's Visit to Cincinnati. -In the month of April, Mr. Combe made a hasty visit to Cincinnati, Ohio. Soon after this, a correspondent of the "Boston Medical and Surgical Journal" alluded to Mr. C.'s visit to Cincinnati, saying that he did not "deliver a single lecture, or make any acquaintance with the medical gentlemen of that city," and expressed considerable surprise, if not some disaffection, that such should have been the fact. The following statement is copied from Mr. Combe's reply to the above allusion, which was published in the "Boston Medical and Surgical Journal" of June 17. "When I came to the United States, in September, 1938, it was my intention to lecture in the eastern cities in the first winter, and in Baltimore and the western cities during the second winter of my stay. In April or May, 1839. I was waited on in New York city, by Dr. S. D. Gross, of Cincinnati, who inquired if 1 would lecture there. I explained to him that phrenology is a disputed subject; that I did not wish to intrude on an unwilling ear; that in Britain I had never lectured out of Edinburgh, except on invitation, and to an audience pledged to attend; that in the United States I had followed the same rule; that in Baltimore, after public advertisements, no adequate class could be mustered, and that I had not lectured there; that I was willing to lecture in Cincinnati, if one hundred and fifty hearers could be guaranteed, but not otherwise, and I agreed to keep my arrangements open till the 1st of July, to allow him time to return home and ascertain the public sentiment on the subject. He never wrote to me, and no invitation came. In consequence, I abandoned my intention of lecturing in the west, believing that I was not wanted. My visit to Cincinnati in April, was merely in the course of a rapid excursion to see the physical aspects of the country before embarking for Europe. I had then no intention of lecturing, and had not a single illustration with me for the purpose. I had only one month to spare for my whole western excursion, and presented no letters of introduction in any of the cities." A New System of Phrenology. By J. STANLEY GRIMES, President of the Western Phrenological Society at Buffalo. : "To him who in the love of nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language.”—BRYANT. Buffalo Oliver G. Steele. New York: Wiley & Putnam. 1839, pp. 320, 12mo. The business of reform and improvement is one of the most difficult and hazardous enterprises in which man can engage. And this is as true of reform in principle, as of reform in practice; because the latter is, or at least ought to be, the product of the former. No one, therefore, whatever may be his calling or profession, should embark in the enterprise, until, by the most thorough investigation, and patient, persevering, and matured reflection, he has attained a positive certainty on two points-viz. that his predecessors on the subject he is canvassing have been in error, and that he has possessed himself of unquestionable truth; or that they have been in some things deficient or wrong, and that he is qualified to supply their short-comings, and rectify their mistakes. If these sentiments be correct, (and we doubt whether any one will venture to gainsay them,) it is at least improbable, if not impossible, for a young inquirer to be a successful reformer-for one who is necessarily but an inquirer himself, to be fortunate in his effort to become at once an instructor and an improver of others. To this general rule, exceptions may perhaps occasionally occur; but that they are exceedingly rare, and altogether unlooked-for, will not be denied. As respects reformation and improvement in science, these remarks may be regarded as settled canons in criticism. They constitute an VOL. II,-34 orthodoxy, from which it is unwise, if not presumptuous, to depart. It may not therefore be altogether amiss to inquire, for a moment, to what extent they are applicable, if applicable at all, to the work whose title-page forms the heading of this article, and which professes to be a "New System of Phrenology." If report on the subject, as it has reached us, be correct, it is not more than from four to five years since Mr. Grimes commenced the study of phrenology, without having been previously an educated man, or in any degree remarkable for his devotedness to inquiry. Certainly it is within that time that he has made himself known as a phrenologist. It might well be regarded, therefore, as something more than questionable, whether he could become, in so short a period, an improver of the result of the labours of more than forty years, by men of the most distinguished ability and the highest attainments. It is in no degree disparaging to him, nor is it intended to be so considered, to say that, under circumstances so insufficient, and in a case so unpromising, the verdict of the world, if given in the abstract, would be decidedly against him. It would be asserted that, as yet, he could himself be nothing but a learnerthe more especially if, as is understood to be the case, he has, until recently, dedicated to study but the fragments of his time. It is possible, however, that the decision might be incorrect; and that, in the short period of four years, our author might prepare himself to remodel and improve, by a single and first effort, the system, in the erection of which nearly half a century has been consumed by Gall and Spurzheim, Combe and Broussais, and many other distinguished fellow-labourers. But success so unusual is hardly more than possible. It is certainly not very probable. At any rate, it would be equally unfair in principle, and inconclusive in result, to attempt to settle Mr. Grimes' standing as a phrenologist potentially instead of practically-by conjecturing what he possibly might have done in four or five years, instead of examining what he actually has done. To the latter and more just and satisfactory mode of trial, therefore, it shall be our business to resort. And this we do with the more readiness, in consideration of the writer's invitation to that effect, which we shall regard as sincere, and act on it accordingly. "1 appeal," says he, "with confidence to the justice and candor of phrenologians. I invite their criticisms as a favour; and when I am convicted of error, either in facts or conclusions, I shall take great pleasure in making acknowledgments." This, in our author, is candid and manly, and calculated to make a favourable impression on the public. With the kindest feelings toward him, therefore, as a fellow-labourer in a great cause, we take him at his word, and close with his invitation. And as his more immediate friends and associates will no doubt point out and illustrate the truths and valuable qualities of his work, which are neither few nor small, we shall dwell chiefly on what we consider his errors and faults. And, when fairly and competently executed, this, though the most unpleasant, is far the most useful office of criticism. A writer is but little, if at all, benefited by an enumeration of his excellencies, and a descant on his beauties. On the contrary, he is often injured by them. But a candid and judicious representation of his errors, wants, and failures, provided he receive it in a becoming spirit, can never fail to be a source of improvement to him. Though the facts of the "New System," whether reputed or real, shall be our chief concern, we shall not pass all opinions embraced in it entirely unnoticed. We shall even begin with a stricture on an opinion, which appears to us to be directly opposed to one of the most obvious and operative principles in nature-a principle without whose influence, creation would relapse into confusion and chaos. Although," says our author, "I have taken some trouble to show that certain organs (of the brain) naturally act together, I cannot countenance the idea that some organs were intended as antagonists to others. They all act in harmony." The fallacy of this notion is palpable. The highest perfection of the human mind, and of course one of the chief differences between it and the minds of the inferior animals, consists in the balance created and preserved by the antagonisation of some of its faculties. Under the influence of judicious and well-matured discipline, the moral and reflecting, especially the former, so antagonise the animal faculties, as to hold them in a state of salutary and prac tical regulation and control. And hence alone results mental harmony. Abrogate this control, and wild disorder and disaster must follow. Man will become more insidious and thievish than the fox or the weasel, and more ferocious and sanguinary than the hyena or the tiger. In an individual, for example, whose Destructiveness, Combativeness, and Acquisitiveness, are powerful and active, paralyse or extinguish Benevolence, Conscientiousness, Veneration, and the reflecting faculties, and you render him a daring and repulsive object of profligacy and crime. Revive those faculties, and they will so antagonise and counterbalance the animal powers, that you will check vice, and bring back the offender to the paths of virtue. Nor is it in the human mind alone, that antagonism preserves and perpetuates harmony and order, and averts the evils of confusion and misrule. As far as our knowledge on the subject extends, the same is true of creation at large. In dead matter, attraction and |