English accent of the original speaker. The only discoverable difference was a peculiar falsetto tone. The success was so striking that even the grave savans burst into a unanimous expression of applause, and eagerly desired further experiments. The American exhibitor again spoke into the little apparatus, when it again repeated after him, in an almost ludicrous manner, as follows: 'Môssieu Phonographe, parlez vô Français? Oui Môssieu.' Again the clear strong utterance, all the inflections of voice and the English accent of the speaker. To complete the demonstration, M. Du Moncel made the third experiment; and after he had spoken into the instrument, in a voice that was like a second Du Moncel, the apparatus was heard loudly enough all over the hall, 'L'Académie remercie M. Edison de son intéressante communication.'

The effect of the whole was most exciting even upon so sage an assembly, and we are told that it was with some difficulty that they settled down after it to their ordinary business.

It is interesting to know that the impressions made upon the tinfoil by the delicate point under the tympanum, when microscopically examined, are not ordinary punctures, but complex impressions. So that if a series of ordinary punctures were made apparently corresponding to those on any given piece of foil, no result would follow-in other words, it would not speak.'

With equal facility music is reproduced. Songs can be re-obtained from the instrument with remarkable accuracy. A cough, a knock, in short, noises of all kinds are capable of being given again as often as asked. More curious still is the fact that the instrument can be so arranged as to repeat a series of sentences and a song at the same time; and, of course, by reversing the direction of the motion of the drum, the curious effect of

speaking the language backwards is produced. If all this had been presented to us by a romantic writer on some such subject as The Coming Age, we should have probably thought it pretty, but absurd. As it is, however, it is the record of fact. And now the ingenious inventor is steadily engaged in endeavouring to magnify the sounds emitted, and so greatly increase the value of the instrument. At present, the only means employed for this purpose is a funnel-shaped resonator; but Mr. Edison is experimenting with compressed air, by which he thinks the sound-wave may be intensified. Indeed, he ventures to believe, from what he has already done in this way, that he will make the apparatus talk so loudly as to be of great value, for example, during a fog, to warn vessels from each other, and from dangerous points. It is well known that an enormous bronze statue of Liberty is to be erected in New York Harbour, and he actually proposes to construct a huge Phonograph which shall endow the metal giant with a power of speech strong enough to be heard over the bay!

Curiously akin to this subject is one widely separated from it in another sense. A patient of Dr. Foulis, of Glasgow, was so affected that it was found needful to remove, by surgical means, the entire larynx; in itself a most delicate operation successfully performed. But the vocal organs are closely analagous to a reed instrument, and the larynx is the part that contains the anatomical apparatus that alone can cause sound. Hence, after its excision, air could be breathed in and out, and all the muscular action of tongue and lips and teeth and jaws involved in the production of speech might take place, but not the most ghostly approach to a sound could be heard. But the physician, at once skilful in his art and ingenious in invention, has devised an artificial larynx, which

is made of tubes of silver, and takes the place of the excised one provided by nature.

The reed itself is made

of soft vulcanite; but the nature of the voice may be determined by the density, elasticity and other qualities of the artificial vocal cords employed. Indeed, it appears possible that the

patient may provide himself with several different voices! The articulation of the patient is said to be remarkably clear, and not to be distinguished from the natural voice; and the vowels are distinct. The patient is said to be but little inconvenienced.

The History of Protestantism. By the Rev. J. A. Wylie, LL.D., Author of The Papacy,' Daybreak in Spain,' etc. Illustrated. London: Cassell, Petter and Galpin.-Before encountering a work of three respectable octavos we should know what we may expect: whether it was written to order for a party purpose, and whether the author was likely to know what he was writing about. To this it may be answered, that Dr. Wylie has been all his life a student of Ecclesiastical History, and that he is an embodiment of the Scottish Reformation. Moreover, from foreign travel and personal observation, as well as the most painful research, he has acquired a very exceptional acquaintance with Popery. Nor is he a gloomy polemic; but, as a writer, is lively, and as a wordpainter of nature and human character, is an artist. The marvel is that with so much compression he keeps up the interest of the narrative, and so successfully unravels the threads of a story that incessantly cross and re-cross each other. For from the fourth century of grace until the time of our own William, Prince of Orange, every country in Europe, and every generation, has had its bloody baptism in resisting the wily inroads of priestly despotism.

Now that the religious public seem intent on taking new departures, it is important that we should be well versed in the lessons of History; the more so as activities are in play and forces at work of which our forefathers had no conception, and we are in danger of being borne along we scarcely know whither. A man was never less his own master than in the present day. We have now to contend with large combinations, to whom an easy compliance is often a greater recommendation than unbending integrity. So that while accommodating ourselves to social changes, which we can neither control nor prevent, we are in danger of losing our individuality and unsophisticated sense of right. But there is no shirking the task set before us.

The beginning of the Papacy-of that millennium of darkness that brooded over Europe from the fourth to the fourteenth century was a mistake as to the purpose and spirit of the Christian religion. When the Gospel was sent to the Gentiles, it was not that it might win external recognition or acceptance, or present a grand cosmopolitan spectacle, with an array of priestly drapery; but that a spiritual Church might be built up out of all nations, whose every member should be a living stone of the Living Temple. Popery reversed this ideal. Thus the simple-minded folks were overborne, and true Christians found themselves outside the visible Church, and were fain to betake themselves to the valleys of the Cottian Alps, where, having ever since kept up an indignant protest against the corruptions of the Papacy, they are now our main historic link with the Primitive Church. The Papacy became a political power, and the Empire was thenceforth called Christian. In the fourth century, when the seat of Empire was removed to Constantinople, and although for awhile the world ceased to be ruled from the Tiber, the prestige of ancient Rome still hovered about the city, and the Bishop of Rome claimed to be not only the successor of Peter and the Vicar of Christ, but the Suzerain of the Emperor himself. The Goths and Vandals, who had overturned the throne of the Caesars, were well pleased to be welcomed by a dignified priesthood, with a gorgeous ritual, espe cially as they dovetailed their own superstitions with the services of the Church. The more extravagant the pretensions put forth by the clergy, the more readily were they acquiesced in by these barbarous people. The clergy became their mysterymen, their phrase-mongers. Besides,

having a monopoly of spiritual influence, they could pardon sins, dispense from duties and grant indulgences. The glories of art, eloquence and learning were also on their side.

But even the dark ages had streaks of

light. There was not only the Waldensian Church, but in the diocese of Milan a succession of Bishops protested against the corruptions of Rome, and held much the same doctrines as the Evangelical Churches of our own day. The Albigenses, scattered throughout a territory in the south of France, stretching from the Dauphinese Alps to the south-west of the Pyrenées, were never wholly subdued. Nor must we forget the good men who retired into monasteries to escape the pollutions of the outer world.

As a specimen of Dr. Wylie's style, we give his descriptions of Bonivard—a son of the Renaissance-and of Catherine de Medici in her girlhood: 'A scholar and a man of wit, Bonivard drew his inspiration for liberty from a classic font. From it this accomplished and liberal-minded man assailed Rome with the shafts of satire. If his erudition was less profound and his taste less exquisite than that of Erasmus, his courage was greater. The scholar of Rotterdam flagellated the man in serge, but spared the man in purple. He (Bonivard) lashed the ignorance and low vices of the former, but castigated yet more severely the pride, luxury and ambition of the latter. He mistrusted the plan Rome had hit on of regenerating Rome in tribes and clans, and preferred to have it done individually. He thought, too, that it would be well if his "Holiness" had some holiness, though that was a marvel he did not expect. "I have lived," he said, "to see three Popes, first, Alexander the VIth (Borgia); a sharp fellow, a ne'er-do-weel, a man without conscience and without God. Next came Julius the IInd; proud, choleric, studying his bottle more than his breviary, mad about his Popedom, and having no thought but how he could subdue not only the earth but heaven and hell. Last appeared Leo the Xth, the present Pope, learned in Greek and Latin, but especially a good musician and a great glutton, a deep drinker, possessing beautiful pages..... Above all, don't trust Leo the Xth's word, he can dispense others and surely can dispense himself." He (Bonivard) brusquely allegorized the German Reformation thus: "Leo the Xth and his predecessors," said the Prior, "have always taken the Germans for beasts; pecora campi' they were called, and rightly too, for these simple Saxons allowed themselves to be saddled and ridden like asses. The Popes threatened them with cudgellings (excommunica tions), enticed them with thistles (indulgences), and so made them trot to the mill to bring away the meal for them. But having one day loaded the ass too heavily, Leo made him gib, so that the flour was spilt and the white bread lost. That ass is called

'Martin,' like all asses, and his surname is Luther, which signifies enlightener.'

From this example it would appear that the Church was most tolerant towards enemies within her pale. This man went to Rome in quest of the Princedom and Bishopric of Geneva. Of course, they rightly judged he had not 'grace' enough for a Bishop, and he returned without a mitre, but he was allowed to return.

'Catherine de Medici, as a girl of fourteen, was of diminutive stature, of sylph-like form and a fiery light streaming from her eyes. Bright, voluble and passionate, she bounded from sport to sport, filling the halls where she played with the chatter of her talk and the peals of her merriment. There was about her the power of a strange fascination, which all felt who came near her.'

This is a book for the nursery and kitchen, as well as the library; containing milk for children as well as meat for adult, strong Christians.

A Letter to the Younger Ministers of the Methodist Connexion. By W. B. Pope, D.D., President of the Conference. London: Published for the Author at the Wesleyan Conference Office. 1878. -This Letter is above criticism. It has, doubtless, already been studied by those to whom it is immediately addressed; but its opportuneness and instructiveness are by no means confined to them. We need only add that it bears, most clearly and decisively, the intellectual, moral and spiritual impress of its distinguished writer. It is a 'banner displayed because of the truth'; at once a doctrinal manifesto, a timely caveat, and an earnest exhortation to holiness. It befits the pen of a President who is also a theological tutor, being directed against the special errors and dangers of the day.

'The Master Saith;' or, Meditations on the Words of Jesus, Relating to the Life to Come. By a Disciple. London: Published for the Author at the Wesleyan Conference Office. 1878.-This is a tract of sixteen pages which ought forthwith to be circulated by thousands, as a ready antidote to the terribly adventurous and awfully misleading speculations of the day as to the future condition of those who die in impenitence and unbelief. This new Gospel of the impenitent, the popularity of which is less matter of surprise than of apprehension,-though as yet, indeed, it is more fashionable than popular, -is being disseminated through the press with an eager and lavish propagandism. It is of the greatest importance that the 'flattering unction,' which so many professed Ministers of Christ are so industri

ously laying to the souls of men who 'neglect so great salvation,' should be dissipated by the breath of Christ. This small but weighty tractate is well adapted to accomplish this purpose. The dicta of men who 'prophesy out of their own hearts,' are confronted and confounded by the clear, unequivocal, reiterated pronouncements of the Master Himself. The grave and calm simplicity of the style; the quiet, yet most solemn and most earnest opening and alleging; the utter absence of tartness or smartness, so out of place on this appalling subject, greatly add to its impressiveness. We earnestly recommend it for perusal and for circulation. It is evidently from the pen of a true disciple who is himself a master in Israel.'

Didsbury Sermons. Being Fifteen Discourses preached in the Wesleyan College Chapel, Didsbury. By John Dury Geden, Tutor in Hebrew and Classics. London: Published for the Author at the Wesleyan Conference Office.-These Sermons will fully sustain, as they amply account for and justify, Mr. Geden's high repu tation as a theologian and a Preacher. He has brought to the study of God's Word a vigorous and cultivated intellect, marked at once by penetration and refinement, a stout and highly sensitive heart, and a delicate and duteous imagination, as absolutely subservient to his intelligence as Ariel to Prospero. He not only saith to it 'Come' and it cometh, but 'Go' and it goeth. A strong, rich stream of light is thus thrown upon the passages selected for exposition. True, the light is sometimes a side-light, some secondary significance of the text being made more prominent than its simpler primary meaning. Thus, the discourse on 'Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed,' treats the declaration rather as a felicitation than a beatitude, as setting forth the vantage ground of privilege which believers who have not seen occupy as compared with those who have seen, rather than the higher moral and spiritual quality of the faith itself, as triumphing over grave external disadvantages and discouragements. As was to be expected, the scholarly element, though never in any wise obtrusive, is yet pervasive. We cannot but note a most exemplary absence of anything like parade of learning. Though these discoursesare, as a whole, of singularly equable excellence, yet they contain passages of exceptional power. The volume is really an original contribution to the exposition of Scripture, every paragraph bearing the clear, strong stamp of the Preacher's personality. There is not a second-hand sentiment or illustration in the book.

The most remarkable discourse, the most strikingly original, the most subtle in thought, and containing some of Mr. Geden's most powerful passages, is that on Christ preaching to the Spirits in Prison. Without presuming to question the proximate accuracy of his elaborate and very able exposition of one of the hardest texts of Holy Writ, either to expound as an isolated oracle, or to correlate with the whole system of Divine Revelation, we cannot but regret that so accomplished a grammatical critic does not clear away the obvious difficulties of strictly grammatical exegesis which lie against his exposition: does not show what special suitability there is to the sense he attributes to the passage which could account for the Apostle's choice of words so naturally conducting to quite another interpretation.

The Future Punishments of Sin. A Sermon. By Rev. Richard Green. London: Published for the Author at the Wesleyan Conference Office.-A very able discourse, strongly marked by the most estimable individuality of the Preacher. It is, if we may so say, a manly and gentlemanly discourse. Mr. Green maintains the awful revealed verity of the eternity of the future punishments of sin, but he confines his attention to those which are purely spiritual; doubtless by far the most terrible, though clearly not the only part of that appalling retribution; and this he regards in only one aspect that of the, as it were, natural sequence of sin. This is a very solemn and important part of the truth; but it is only a part, as every watchman' set to warn must remember, as he values his own soul. This discourse is well adapted to impress minds of the Preacher's own order. But sinners of average intellect and sensibility we fear would not be much affected by it. What terror would there be to a garrotter in the threat that if he would persist in his brutal perpetrations, he should never be admitted to a university, or be allowed to meet in a Methodist Class! Mr. Green's sermon, as a presentation of the one aspect of a terrible theme which he set himself to portray, is very impressive. The text, however, was scarcely the right one for a sermon which almost wholly leaves out of sight positive inflictions, and almost confines itself to the natural sequences of sin, and the punishment of loss-the pana damni of the old theology. Assuredly, the worm of the valley of Hinnom was not the product of spontaneous generation, and its fire was not enkindled by self-combustion.

But

Commentary on the Gospel of St John. Translated from the Second French Edition of F. Godet, D.D., Professor of