was on that account the further proof of the aggravation of his crime. In conclusion, they observed, the truth of the whole charge was still more fully corroborated by a very large development of Destructiveness in the young man himself.

"The counsel for the prisoner denied the accuracy of this conclusion. They admitted the fulness of the faculty of truth in Signor Balscopo, the principal witness; but they did not consider his testimony so deserving their credit as that of Dr Nichodemos, so well known in the world as a man of great wisdom and penetration, and of the most honourable and upright character. (The Doctor bowed profoundly to the court.) As for the prisoner, the counsel observed, that though the destructive propensity had been ascertained to be three-fifths beyond the ordinary dimensions, still the organ of Benevolence, being a full half larger than usual, and that of Veneration two-tenths, the above-mentioned organs conjointly bearing a preponderance, proved, beyond a doubt, that the destructive power could not have possibly acted in the manner asserted. He referred to the statute-book, to the thirty-fourth act of his late majesty, that two good organs, being conjointly larger than one that was bad, disannulled the evidence of the latter. In confirmation of which, he begged to draw the attention of his lordship to the case of Cardinivers Cardamum, by which he shewed, that the judges in a similar case had entirely thrown aside the evidence of the witnesses, finding that the good qualities of the prisoner exceeded in the aggregate the veracity-bumps of all the witnesses put together.

"The opposite party denied the conclusion, and maintained, that the case quoted by the learned counsel was quite irrelevant to the present one. If the organs of Veneration and Benevolence exceeded that of Destructiveness, still it was only by one-tenth part; but if they would examine the prisoner's head, they would find that this apparent surplus of a good disposition was fully counterbalanced by the organ of Anger, of which there was a very great profusion, proving thereby, beyond a doubt, the commission of the crime. A neighbour of the old man that was drowned deposed, that his organ of Philoprogenitiveness was unusually large; and the learned judge argued. very profoundly, that this, from which had arisen too much

parental fondness and indulgence, was therefore the necessary cause of the boy's misdemeanour. His lordship, in summing up the evidence, adverted, as usual, to the criminality of those who, in the early youth of their offspring, allow their irascible faculties to acquire so great an ascendency. At the same time he very feelingly stated the inconvenience which might result to society if the boy was to be allowed any longer to go at liberty. He concluded, therefore, by observing, that he was under the painful necessity of confining him in the town jail till he amended his manners,—a sentence which he had the more regret in pronouncing, as the old man himself, to whom the misfortune had happened, was in fact the efficient cause of his own death, the punishment of which had devolved on his son, who appeared to be, as far as he could observe, a youth of promising genius and very commendable behaviour.

"After the trial, the judge and Doctor Nichodemos dined together, and talked very learnedly of free-will, physical necessity, and predestination. On the following day my companion introduced me as a friend, he said, of his, of some natural talent, which, however, was sadly obscured by a variety of prejudices and narrow-minded notions, which, it was to be hoped, a longer residence in this country would speedily remove. We left this place the following day, and as we went along, the conversation turning on the result of the trial, I expressed my astonishment at the lenity of the sentence, as I had all along not the least doubt but that the villain would have been hanged. • You must be in great ignorance,' replied the Doctor, not to know, that no crimes among us are capital. The criminal code of this country is remarkable for its simplicity, and its adequacy to answer all the true ends of justice. It specifies merely the several species of crimes, and the particular sum of money which is levied on each of them.''How!' replied I, are all crimes then atoned for by a pecuniary compensation? They are so,' replied the Doctor: 300 dollars is the established sum for high treason; 200 for a murder, but 150 for manslaughter; 85 is the sum for robbery on the highway; 20 for a pickpocket, and 16 for a sheep-stealer. I will tell you in what manner these fines are levied. It is an invariable maxim among us, as you already know, that the skull, after a certain age, by the induration of the pia and dura mater, and the conjunction of

the ossa bregmatis et occipitis with the os ethmoides or cribriforme, acquires an unchangeable form, in which the faculties of the mind are for ever afterwards fixed. All actions, therefore, perpetrated after that age, are to be attributed, not so much to ourselves, as to the preceptors of our youth, who, having under their care the disposal of our heads, before the above ossification takes place, are justly answerable for the result. If any person, therefore, commits, for example, a burglary, (for which the fine is 70 dollars,) the government, in their wisdom, extending their views to the primary cause from which the evil has arisen, demand the sum, not from the person by whom the burglary is committed, but from those who had the education of him when a boy. In this manner the greater part of these sums are levied on the University of Boldosbosko.* At the same time, for the preservation of the safety of society, and to prevent the recurrence of a similar offence, the immediate malefactor is confined in prison; if it be a murder, for life, but if a less serious crime, for a shorter period. In the mean while the penalty incurred by the university is payable, half to government, and half to the person who suffers through their neglect the inconvenience of this imprisonment. He, however, (the misfortune not being attributable to himself, and therefore no real stain on his character,) is of course visited as usual by his relatives, and holds the same rank in the estimation of society as before."

On the whole, we wish all our opponents were able to shew as much invention, wit, and real humour, as this author. He is really amusing, and shews great aptitude for this style of writing. We hazard the conjecture, that the organs of Secretiveness, Individuality, Language, Comparison, and Ideality, are all amply developed in his head, with rather a respectable portion of Causality and Wit. If the former organs are deficient in his head, this one fact will give a severer blow to phrenology than the 126 pages of goodly octavo which we have now noticed.

There is excellent humour in this idea; but it is applicable much more to the patrons of the old philosophy than to the phrenologists.. They hold, that education forms the mind entirely, and ought to pay for not making perfect men. We admit Nature as setting limits to art, and do not pretend to the power of controlling her entirely. EDITOR.

SCOLDING OF JURIES.*

In the Scotch criminal courts, after the witnesses have been examined, and the counsel for the crown and the prisoner have each addressed the jury, the presiding judge recapitulates the statements of the different witnesses, makes comments upon them, explains such matters of law as require to be dealt with, and finally directs the jury what verdict, according to his views of the case, they ought to return. It sometimes happens, however, that they differ from him in opinion, and give a decision opposite to that which he has recommended. The verdict decides the fate of the prisoner; but if he has escaped when the court thought he should have been found guilty, it is not uncommon for the judge to address the jury in a strain of rather strong and vehement vituperation. We have heard jurymen complain of this treatment, and regard it plainly as a scold for having decided according to their own conviction, and not according to that of the bench.

We shall endeavour to analyze phrenologically the rationale of this proceeding.

First, the human mind has received a definite constitution, and its operations are governed by determinate laws. A man believes that three times three are nine, in consequence of his faculty of number perceiving the relations of these quantities; but if in him the organ be very small, and the faculty in consequence weak, he may have great difficulty in finding out how many 14 times 19 are. Suppose we wish to convince him that the amount is 266, we must lay before him the simplest elements of the calculation, and advance step by step till he see it as we do. If he fail in attaining the right result after all our pains, the proper inference is, either that we have not been sufficiently explicit in our demonstration, or that his faculty of number is so weak as not to be able to comprehend the computation. If the first has been the cause, we must bear the blame ourselves; if the second, we ought to avoid in future placing that individual in a situation where the power of calculation is necessary to the discharge of his duties: but in nei* By George Combe.-Vol. iii. No. 10. p. 310,

ther view is it proper to scold him for the disappointment that we meet with.

In judging of moral guilt or innocence, the laws that regulate the mind are analogous. If the case is simple and the evidence clear and strong, the conclusion will be as intuitively reached as in the calculation of 3 times 3; but if the circumstances are numerous and complicated, stronger moral sentiments and intellectual faculties will be required to arrive at a sound judgment. If the major part of a jury happen to be deficient in Conscientiousness and reflection, they may, in such cases, experience a real difficulty in detecting justice. After the witnesses, counsel, and judge, have done their best to enlighten them, they may still involuntarily wander in error from sheer incapacity to feel justly ;-we say to feel justly, because Conscientiousness is a sentiment, and justice must be felt, and cannot be imparted by intellect alone, like a logical or mathematical demonstration. If, on the other hand, the jurymen possess an average endowment of the moral and intellectual powers, then, as evidence produces conviction according to regular laws, the cause of the verdict being erroneous must be sought for in the imperfection of the manner in which the faculties have been addressed. Even prejudice itself, if it has been the occasion of the error, must owe its existence, after the trial, to one or other of these causes. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion of the guilt or innocence of the party accused, taken up before entering the jury-box; but every opinion, however formed, must necessarily yield to the force of evidence, unless the natural capacity for recognizing truth be too feeble, or the evidence itself be deficient in strength and precision.

Whether, therefore, the disappointment of the judge arises from natural incapacity in the jury, or from imperfection in the steps necessary to produce conviction, it is unphilosophical to blame them for their verdict. They are not entitled by law, even although inclined, to recall their opinion, and adopt that of the bench; so that, in the case in which they are found fault with, it is impossible for them to remedy the evil. The only effect of scolding them, therefore, must be to make them slavishly follow the direction of the judge in future trials, and not trust to the impressions made on their own minds-a result to be de

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