tory of the Author and her family. The few hints of this kind scattered through the volume cannot fail to awaken very tender sympathy. Afflictions are sacred; we shall not presume to enquire what Mrs. Taylor's have

been;

but from the whole tenor of her writings we must believe, that she can say with the Psalmist, "it is good for me to have been afflicted."

Again, say not, "Soul take thine ease, I have health laid up for many years," because you enjoy the blessing of health to day; for how know you what may take place to-morrow? It is now twenty years since your mother rose one morning in tolerable health; and, before night, was attacked by a malady, under which she has been suffering ever since; the melancholy effects of which you witness every day.' p. 44.

No. VIII. is a brief but excellent essay on "Truth," in which the Daughter is taught that nothing is more valuable, than to know the truth, to tell the truth, and to act the truth, since this is the end and happiness of living.

From No. IX. we learn, that the author is fifty-six years old; that her father died fifty years ago, and that her mother survived him thirty-six years. These are things of every day, of every hour, yea, of every moment, in this world of mortality; and nothing can be read with more absolute indifference than such records, by those who are not immediately concerned in them. Yet on the present occasion, thousands who are not allied by consanguinity or friendship with Mrs. Taylor, are interested in these memorials, since in the order of Providence, minds have sprung

up

under her eye, which now shine as lights into the minds of the rising generation, and may continue thus to shine upon distant posterity. Had the dispensations of infinite wisdom, in her small circle of kindred, been varied in one particular, those minds might perhaps, never have existed, or might not have been directed to usefulness in the same excellent way that we see them. Had her father been spared only a year longer, the whole course of her life might have been changed: from different circumstances different consequences must have ensued,—none probably, that would have contributed more to her own domestic comfort, or to the benefit of other families, whose mothers and their daughters shall call her and her daughters blessed.*

No. XVI. has the following text: "And he spake of the trees, from the cedar that is in mount Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall." Much pleasing and ingenious

*Mrs. Taylor is the mother of Ann and Jane, the authors of Original Poems for Children, Rhymes for the Nursery, Hymns for Infant Minds, and Short Hymns for Sunday Schools.

improvement is drawn from these words. We give two speci

mens :

Solomon, in his study of the vegetable kingdom, extended his inquiries from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall:" let us, as far as we are able, do likewise. The cedar of Lebanon is famous in sacred story for its beauty, majesty, and usefulness; but let us begin our meditations with a tree of more extensive fame, even the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of it poisoned our first parents; and its noxious qualities, far from dimínishing in virulence, have mingled with the vital stream, through all succeeding generations, and are now raging, my child, in your veins. From this fatal tree the weapon was formed, with which the first murderer slew a brother! Nay, from this tree the very cross was hewn, on which was extended the Lord of glory. No day passes in which we do not experience its malignant effects, both in sin and in suffering; no day passes in which we ought not to apply for a remedy.' pp. 112-13.

The lofty and majestic cedar was an appropriate subject for the contemplation of king Solomon, of whom it was no unfit emblem: yet he did not confine his researches to plants of such stately growth; he condescended to notice also the hyssop, that groweth on the wall;" thereby imitating a greater than Solomon, who, though "the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity," does not "despise the day of small things," and is no respecter of persons; but who will "reward every one according to his works, when the dead, both small and great," shall stand before him in judgment.' pp. 115-16.

No. XX. "When I was a child I spake as a child," &c. The meditation on this passage is more lively and entertaining than light-minded readers will find some of the others.

'I have seen you, my dear girl, sitting, surrounded by your little family, with an interest, which only a parent can feel; and I was pleased to reflect, that, at present, you had one source of delight, at least, incapable of producing much pain or anxiety. You fancied yourself a parent, but you were without a parent's cares; you had no food to provide for your household; neither were you anxious for their safety in your absence; where you left them, there you found them; and as neither mischievous habits, nor untoward tempers vexed your spirit, so neither were you concerned for their future prospects: you thought not of your own beyond to day, much less of those of your family.

So far you had the advantage of your mother; and still have: while you are laying these companions of your childhood aside, with all your hopes and expectations concerning them, her anxieties are kindled anew, and she looks to futurity with increasing interest. Your Lucillas and Matildas are thrown aside as useless lumber; not so my ***; she is rising into fresh life, and, indeed, is only beginning to live. Now I watch with an anxious eye, lest any untoward circum. stance should arise to give a permanent bias to her character: now, while the young shoots spring up before me, I wait to see what direc

tion they will take. Hitherto I have been able to prune and lead them at pleasure; but every day they may become less pliant; and every day my task may be more laborious. May the great Husbandman direct my unskilful hand, that I may prove a successful labourer in his vineyard!' p. 138, 9.

The following lines contain an important hint.

Sweet is the simplicity of childhood, but it is generally succeeded by a period most troublesome to a parent. As ignorant of the world as ever, it is now that young people begin to measure their wis dom by their stature, and to feel indignant at that reproof which would nip their evil habits in the bud. They do not calculate on the costly lessons they have yet to learn; nor foresee how many of their words and actions, at the distance of a few years, they would gladly recal.' p. 143.

Who that has advanced towards the meridian of life, will not attest the bitter truth implied in these words? If a vain and selfwilled youth could for one day be a man of fifty, and return to eighteen the next morning, with the remembrance of the feelings of age, he would probably be a very different being at five and twenty, from that which he will be without such an ante-past of the life to come in this world;-as to the life to come in the next, what the experience of one hour's misery or beatitude out of the body, might effect upon a human spirit, it would be fruitless to conjecture.

In the twenty-first number, which is the last, the substance of the whole series is beautifully summed up, and the texts at the head of each are so happily interwoven, that, however disjointed the sections may have seemed to the superficial reader, their order, connection, and harmony are strikingly manifest at the conclusion.

The title of this admirable manual is "Maternal solicitude for a daughter's best interests." The subjects of course are all serious and important, including few allusions to time and its evanescent concerns, except in connexion with eternity and its unchangeable issues. The strain of thought and the tone of expression, therefore, are solemn and pathetic. There are occasional touches of playful tenderness, which exquisitely relieve the plaintive sweetness of the warning voice, that speaks as from the grave, throughout these addresses; and we frankly acknowledge for ourselves, that we wished these gleams of innocent vivacity had more frequently shone out upon us as we traversed these interesting pages. The writer herself is aware that some persons may think a considerable portion of her volume gloomy; and she endeavours rather to justify her seriousness than to answer objections that may be urged against it. Opinions on this head will be so different, according to the feelings or the prejudices of readers, that we chuse rather to leave the point at issue than pre

tend to decide it; especially as none would bow to our judgment but those who had previously passed the same sentence in their own minds.

Art. VIII. The Pulpit; or, a Biographical and Literary account of eminent Popular Preachers; interspersed with occasional Clerical Criticism. By Onesimus. Vol. II. 8vo. pp. xvi. 381. Price 10s. 6d. bds. London. Carr, 1812.

FOUR years and a half have now elapsed since the first volume of The Pulpit,' passed under our review*. In that interval Mr. Onesimus seems to have grown wiser, and we are not without hopes that we have grown wiser too. Still we do not feel sufficiently wise to give a decided recommendation of this volume. We still retain our dislike of the principle which induces a man to describe a preacher with as much minuteness as he would an actor; to consider the pulpit as a kind of stage, on which he exhibits himself, and the temple of God as a theatre, where the exhibition takes place. If the majority of our preachers were Orator Henleys, this might, perhaps, be allowable. But a man who enters upon the ministerial functions with true singleness of heart, with a real solicitude to promote the glory of God and the salvation of souls, will feel the burden of the Lord' sufficiently heavy, without ascending the pulpit, under the consciousness that a scrutinizing and indifferent spectator may be employed, during his sermon, in sketching his picture, devising a new mode of spelling to convey a correct idea of his pronunciation, or describing, in the aptest phrases, his idioms and his attitudes; and all this for the especial purpose of presenting them to the public in an early magazine.

But Onesimus will complain, if we leave the matter thus. We, therefore remark, that in the present volume, his style of writing is not marked with so many ridiculous peculiarities as it was in the former volume. He writes better, though still not well; he thinks more accurately, and be seems to entertain a higher regard for correct theological sentiments than he formerly did. This volume, like the former, is divided into two parts, of which the first is devoted to the Episcopalian, the second to Dissenting, Ministers. Some of our readers may perhaps like to know the names of the gentlemen who are exposed to this ordeal. We do some little violence to ourselves in gratifying their curiosity. Here, however, they are: Churchmen-Rev. Dr. Randolph (late Bishop of London), Dr. Isaac Milner, J. T. Barrett, Heniy Budd, S. Burder, Thos. Clare, W. B. Cocker, C. E. De Coetlogon, W. L. Fancourt, Henry Foster, Thos. Fry, Wm. Goode, Wm. Gurney, John King, Rich. Lloyd, John Ousby, Dr. Povah, * Vide Ecl. Rev. vol. v. p. 863. Rr

VOL. XI.

Legh Richmond, Thos. Sheppard, John Sheppard, H. White, Watts Wilkinson, and Daniel Wilson; Dissenters-Rev. Dr. Adam Clarke, John Clayton, jun. Elias Carpenter, Geo. Clayton, J. S. C. F. Frey, John Leifchild, Sam. Lyndall, Thomas Raffles, W. M. Smith, John Stevens, Will. Thorp, Geo. Townsend, and Dr. R. Winter.

Having taken up this book in a more than usual good-humour for critics, we feel tempted to treat our most inquisitive readers with one of Onesimus's characters. We trust the subject of it will pardon us for this misdeed. We make our present choice, because the sketch is one of the shortest, and, at the same time, one of the most accurate in this second volume; it is freer, too, from Onesimus's prevailing blemishes. Had it been yet more laudatory, we should have quoted it with less hesitation.

Happy is it for the world when the preachers of religion are known to be such from right motives. When they are not so bad will be the best. Indifference is most dangerous in this profession. When the heart is here cold, of what worth is the head? The choice of such men should be made their lot: and, what is more, their lot should be their choice. Sincere pleasure does it give me as authorised to state thus much of the present preacher. His lot was first his choicehis choice now forms his lot!

John Sheppard, B.A. is from St. John's College, Oxford. Having for some time officiated as Curate of St. Clement Danes, upon which title he was in fact ordained, he shortly after became Morning Preacher and Tuesday Evening Lecturer at West-street Chapel, St. Giles's; and is now also Alternate Evening Lecturer at St. Margaret's Chapel, Broad-way, Westminster Originally he was intended for the legal profession, but experiencing an entire change of sentiments, he was finally led, by this change, to embark in the sacred vocation of religion.

66

*

Every man hath his proper gift of God," says St. Paul," one after this manner, and another after that." The great diversity of human taste requires this diversity of gifts. Energy is necessary to stimulate some; some, tenderness is calculated to subdue. Mildness belongs to the present preacher. Heaven has granted to Mr. Sheppard this gift of christian teaching, and, since he "neglects not the gift that is in him," but, following the Apostle's direction to Timothy, continues diligently to stir up this gift of God," there is therefore no room to doubt, that, as he is now profitable for it, he will hereafter make "full proof of the ministry." His qualifications and his attainments rank him comparatively high. High in worth, high in truth, high in zeal. Liberally construing a passage to be found in the preface to the Rev. Samuel Wesley's poem of the Life of Christ, I would say to him, in no mean strain of religious versification

*He is now, we believe, minister of Dartmouth-row Chapel, Blackheath.-REV.