made, to disseminate in these islands the principles of Atheism and Deism; that a few of the letters were originally published in the Dublin Christian Instructor, which having attracted the favourable notice of persons of competent judgment, he was induced to expand the theme into the two volumes which are here presented to the public. The substance of the work treats principally of the internal evidence in favour of the truth of the sacred Scriptures, the writer justly remarking, that it has been too much the custom with 'former advocates, to lean the defence of the Word of God mainly upon the testimony of men, rather than upon the intrinsic merits which, a priori, the Bible, as a divine revelation, might reasonably be supposed to possess:

"If the Bible be indeed (remarks Mr. Carlile) from God, if its contents were planned in the Divine mind, and the plan executed under Divine direction, we might reasonably expect that it should bear upon itself unequivocal evidences of its extraordinary and heavenly origin. Every thing that comes from the hand of the Deity, bears the impress of his workmanship. Whether we cast our eyes towards one of those glorious orbs that wheel their mighty revolutions through the immensity of space, or fix them on the minutest object that our organs of sight are capable of discerning, we are never at a loss, for a single moment, to determine who contrived it, and brought it into existence. From the sun that shines in glory upon us, and fills the whole vault of heaven with light

tration of this point. The author has chosen the epistolary form, as the vehicle of his thoughts, the whole having been originally addressed to members of his own family. We can assure our readers, that the volumes throughout are of a highly respectable character, exhibiting in general much close and accurate thought, combined with deep piety and unaffected zeal. We cannot, indeed, pledge ourselves to every statement; one or two things which we have seen adverted to elsewhere, we would join in recommending Mr. Carlile to omit in a subsequent edition; but the excellences are so many and so considerable as greatly to overbalance these defects, and to induce us with the utmost cordiality to recommend the work to the careful perusal of our friends.

REVIEW.-The Story Without an End; translated from the German. By Sarah Austin. Illustrated by William Harvey, Esq. Effingham Wilson, London. 1834.

THIS little book is designed for the amusement of children and if this be its sole object, it will probably perform more than it promises. It is one of the most perfectly elegant little tales we have ever met with, and is singularly calculated to promote the

point of space, or walks its little rounds, we see at one glance that the contrivance and the formation of it are works that infinitely transcend the skill and the power of man. Imitations of flowers or of insects by ingenious artists, are sometimes exhibited, so neatly executed that the eye may for a moment be deceived; but a closer inspection is always sufficient to betray the poverty of the design, and the clumsiness of the execution. Now, if the Bible be the workmanship of God, it might be expected that it would be as much distinguished from all books of human origin, as a real natural object, that is, a real work of God, is from an imitation of such an object; even as the sun in the firmament is from any flame that man can kindle. And this I am persuaded is the fact; and that nothing more is wanting to convince any man who will give his mind to the subject, of the Divine inspiration of the Scripture, than an examination of the book itself. I firmly believe that it may be rendered as apparent, that the Bible neither was, nor could be produced, by the cunning of any individual, nor by the combined wisdom of the whole world, as it is that the sun in the heavens could not have been so produced."-p. 1 to 3.

Its distinguishing feature is that elementary order of imagination which personifies and animates every object in nature; and this is exhibited in the history of a child somewhat resembling one of the Peris of Lalla Rookh, whose opening mind is making its first acquaintance with flowers, and stars, and birds. Perhaps it does not answer its end the less successfully, for being deeply tinctured with the unnaturally varied and over-excited fancy of the German school. A single extract will give an idea of the general character of the book:

"But in the hut he staid not long, all was so gloomy, close, and silent within; and abroad every thing seemed to smile, and to exult in the clear unbounded space. Therefore the child went out into the greenwood, of which the dragon-fly had told him such pleasant stories. But he found every thing far more beautiful and lovely even than she had described it; for, all about, wheresoever he went, the tender moss pressed his little feet, and the delicate grass embraced his knees, and the flowers kissed his hands, and even the branches stroked his cheeks with a kind and refreshing touch, and the high trees threw their fragrant shade around him.

"There was no end to his delight. The little birds

and the delicate wood-flowers gave out their beauty

and their odours; and every sweet sound took a sweet odour by the hand, and thus walked through

the open door of the child's heart, and held a joyous nuptial dance therein. But the nightingale and the lily of the valley led the dance, for the nightin

gale sang of nought but love, and the lily breathed of nought but innocence, and he was the bridegroom, and she was the bride. And the nightingale was never weary of repeating the same thing ten hundred times over, for the spring of love, which gushed, from his heart, was ever new; and the lily bowed her head bashfully, that no one might see

her glowing heart. And yet the one lived so solely

and entirely in the other, that no one could see whether the notes of the nightingale were floating lilies, or the lilies visible notes, falling like dewdrops from the nightingale's throat.

"The child's heart was full of joy, even to the brim. He sat himself down, and he almost thought he should like to take root there, and live for ever among the sweet plants and flowers: and so become a true sharer in all their gentle pleasures. For he felt a deep, delight in the still secluded twilight existence of the mosses and small herbs, which felt not the storm, nor the frost, nor the scorching sunbeam, but dwelt quietly among their many friends and neighbours, feasting in peace and good fellowship on the dew and the cool shadows which the mighty trees shed upon them. To them it was a high festival when a sunbeam chanced to visit their lowly home, whilst the tops of the lofty trees could find joy and beauty only in the purple rays of morning or evening."

REVIEW.-A Treatise on the 2d Chapter of the Prophet Daniel; with Thoughts and Reflections on other Parts of the Sacred Writings. By J. Hawkins, Esq. 8vo. 5s. 2d Edition.

This book is truly a literary curiosity, and Squire Hawkins's lucubrations are every whit as marvellous as the adventures of Baron Munchausen, or those of the Knight of La Mancha. He has mounted his Pegasus for the purpose of exploring the terra incognita of ancient prophecy; but unfortunately has forgotten to provide himself with a bridle; and here we see him towering, in sooth, far enough beyond the ken of vulgar minds, posting in haste from cloud to cloud, until at length we are favoured with the following account of his wonderful researches. And what do you suppose, gentle reader, are the pith and substance of Mr. Hawkins's discoveries? Doubtless you are in breathless haste to be informed. Well, to ease you of your anxiety, perhaps the following notabilia may suffice. He has discovered that "We are now living in the latter or last days, when true faith would scarcely be found upon earth!" That this sad defection is evidenced by the number of dissenters there are from the faith or creed of the

established church! That the very great amount of such separatists is a proof of the orthodoxy and rectitude of that church as the only true church! That, because there is a variety of opinions in matters of faith, ergo, "each sect must believe that all other sects are in the high road to perdition!" That the loss of the poor Methodist missionaries in the mail boat, in their passage from one of the West India islands to an other, in August, 1825, (as reported in the Times newspaper,) was in consequence of their being "the emissaries of the Devil!!" And, (to crown the whole,) that all "Missionary Societies, Bible Societies, Propagating Societies, Abolition Societies, Societies of Friends called Quakers, and shoals of silly women running about with tracts in their pockets, are in league with the devil!!!"

And such stuff as this to have reached a "2d Edition!" Surely this must be either a bookseller's puff, or an attempt extraordinary on the gullibility of John Bull.

REVIEW.--The Book of the Unveiling; an Exposition, with Notes. Bagster, London. 12mo. pp. 110.

THE fable of the upas tree and its neighbouring antidote, appears strangely verified in the accidental contiguity of this volume with that we have just noticed; so that the press which gave birth to the one should in this latter instance have furnished also a contemporary relief from its noxious qualities. But the misfortune is, that the poison and the antidote circulate in different directions. Each will find its admirers, and as poison is not poison to certain animals of the serpent tribe, in whose constitutions it is generated; doubtless also there are many who will roll the venom of the former publication under their tongues 66 'as a sweet morsel," whilst the "Book of the Unveiling" will either wholly escape their notice, or else be read by them as Moses is represented as having been read in the synagogues of the Jews"with a veil upon their hearts!"

The title of the book is odd, but we have lived long enough to overlook such trifles as these, and to remark that as some men are much better than their names, so also are some books. Here are no pretensions to the unravelling of futurity, and being wise above what is written. Upon this subject the writer himself sensibly observes, that "The grand error of the church in every age has been an excessive anxiety to find in passing events, explanations of unfulfilled prophecy. Mankind (says he) are always

disposed to attach an undue importance to their own times, and to transactions which within the range of their very limited pass inspection. Under the influence of this natural exaggeration, students of prophecy are perpetually going before* the purposes of Him whose ways are everlasting."

Without pledging ourselves to accord with the respectable author in all his opinions, we feel great pleasure in recommend. ing this work to our readers, as full of interest and good sense.

*Vide Hawkins upon Daniel, Chap. 2d., for a confirmation of this remark; in art. Supra.

REVIEW. Sacred Minstrelsy: a Comprehensive Collection of the Finest Sacred Music of the Greatest Masters of all Ages and Nations, arranged as Solos, Duets, Trios, and Choruses; with Accompaniments for the Pianoforte. No.1. Parker, London.

Tuis first number, both from its contents, and from the elegant style in which it is produced, promises a valuable series. The selection appears to have been made with great taste, and the price, 1s. 6d. per number, will doubtless secure for it the patronage it deserves.

"This work," says the prospectus, "will comprise such of the best productions of the English, German, and Italian schools, as are calculated for social purposes.....Each monthly eighteenpenny part will contain from four to six, or even more pieces of music, varying in number according to their length, together with literary and biographical notices of their composers, and of the authors of the poetry adapted, and will consist of twenty pages, music folio size."

After having seen two or three more of its numbers, we shall give some more detailed account of their contents.

REVIEW.- Uncle Philip's Conversations with Children about the Habits and Mechanical Employments of Inferior Animals. Tegg and Co. London. 1834. Tuis is one of the best books of its kind, and that a very important and valuable kind. It illustrates and explains all the most entertaining facts of natural history in a style which cannot fail to be intelligible and highly entertaining to the young, and is calculated to excite an ardent desire in their minds for a further and more scientific acquaintance with the subject. An extract from the table of contents will give

a good idea of the general character of the book.

Conversation IV. "About the first paper in the world, made by wasps.

Conversation V. "A story about Tom Smith, and of bees with brushes and baskets; and of a bird with a chisel, and a gnat with a lancet."

Conversation XIII. “A voyage, and an animal that makes itself into a ship; and of an insect that builds a boat, and floats about in a canoe; and of another that pumps water, and wears a mask; and of a spider that builds a raft, and floats upon it."

This little work is illustrated and embellished throughout with numerous wood engravings.

REVIEW.-Sacramental Meditations., By the late Rev. S. Lavington, of Bideford; now first published from his MSS. Religious Tract Society. London.

MR. LAVINGTON's writings are, doubtless, too well known to the readers of our miscellany to need either a description or a recommendation from us. His abrupt, pointed, and forcible style of address, for which his pulpit compositions were remarkable, and which has procured for them such a deserved popularity, is equally conspicuous in these Sacramental Addresses, which have all the air of extemporaneous effusion, without any of its crudities. There is a depth of piety, and a warmth of feeling in these pieces, which, as they shew them to have come from the heart, cannot fail also to commend them to the heart, and, under the divine blessing, to make them of great service in quickening that love of the Christian to his Saviour, which he is anxious at all times to feel, but more particularly in the prospect of commemorating the love of Christ to a guilty and an apostate world.

REVIEW.- Outlines of Lectures on the Book of Daniel. By the Rev. F. A.Cox, LL.D. 2nd Edition. Westley and Davis. 8vo. London.

THESE Lectures are such as may be strictly called popular. Intended to counteract the prevalent error of the day, they are written in a light colloquial style, so as to secure public attention; which, judging from internal evidence, we should think could not have been misplaced. Here are no attempts at originality, no delving after some recondite interpretation, for the purpose of

setting the multitude agape. Fortunately, Dr. Cox is above such pretences, and prefers feeding the minds of his people with wholesome views, suggested by others, in their interpretations of this book, to any far-fetched imaginations of his own. For our own part, the vindications of this prophecy appear to us so clear, that any one, with a tolerable knowledge of ancient history, need not err respecting them; and, perhaps, there are but few of the prophetic parts of the word of God, upon which such a uniformity of interpretation prevails among our best critics and orthodox divines. Dr. Cox has evidently made a good use of the materials thus furnished him, and has displayed in the composition of these lectures extensive research, an accurate judgment, and enlightened piety.

REVIEW.-Memoir of John Adam, late Missionary at Calcutta. 12mo. J. Cross. London.

THIS excellent young man, who fell a sacrifice to an eastern climate, was a Missionary of extraordinary promise, in connexion with the London Missionary Society; just permitted to enter upon his labours, and then called away to his reward, in the 27th year of his age, and the third of his missionary occupations. He was a particular friend and correspondent of the talented and pious Urquhart, whose memoirs were a few years since communicated to the public from the pen of the late Foreign Secretary of the same excellent institution, the Rev. W. Orme; and some of his papers, which are here introduced, cannot fail to impress the mind of the reader with the similarity of their mental and moral constitution. By his coadjutors in the mission, Mr. Adam was beloved with a parental and a fraternal fondness; and his piety, amiability, and general deportment, are celebrated by them with such warm and animated eulogiums, as to impress our minds with the persuasion, that the death of Mr. Adam was as much a public as a private loss. The volume is full of interest, and cannot fail to edify and to instruct all who give it a perusal. The profits of the sale are to be given to the Mission.

REVIEW.-Tales of the Manse; by a Gentleman gone to the Indies. Edited by Hugh Hay, Esq. First Series, St. Kentigern, a Romance of Stratclyde. Glasgow: Blackie and Son, 1833. THIS is the first of a series of tales professing to be a collection of monkish legends.

Their pedigree and history are told in an introductory chapter, that what has already been given to the public is an old Scotch Romance of the days of the Druids. The scene is laid in Lanarkshire, and the plot of the tale turns upon some of the inhuman regulations and bloody rites of that singular sect. It is powerfully related, and, although it does not develop any profound acquaintance with the social or religious character of the Druids, yet it gives promise that the series of romances which it commences, will occupy a rank considerably above that of the modern host of compositions which shelter their feeble pretensions under that imposing name.

REVIEW.-Journal of Travels in South Africa, among the Hottentots and other Tribes, in the Years 1812, 1813, 14, by John Campbell,. Abridged by the Author. London: Religious Tract Society, 1834.

To many readers, the original work from which this little volume is abridged, is already known. The present is a judicious selection from the interesting contents of that volume, and affords more information respecting the interior of Africa—a subject on which it will probably be very long before public curiosity is satisfied.

REVIEW.-The Picture Bible for the Young: containing sacred Narratives in the Words of the Holy Scriptures, illustrated by Engravings-Genesis to Deuteronomy. London: Religious

Tract Society. 1834. WE shall be anxious to see the subsequent numbers of this elegant work. The illustrations which embellish the volume before us, are well chosen as to the subjects, and beautifully executed. They are unquestionably calculated to draw the attention of the young to the sacred volume, and to impress its truths upon their minds.

BRIEF SURVEY OF BOOKS.

1. The Mother at Home; or, the Principles of Maternal Duty familiarly illustrated, by the Rev. S. C. Abbott, of Worcester, America, (Religious Tract Society,) is written with the same view as "Is it well?" already noticed, and embraces the numerous duties that devolve upon a mother in bringing up her children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." The great task of religious education in youth has often been treated by men of every party and degree of talent; but we believe we may truly say, it never was better understood than in the present day. The work before us is divided into chapters, on the subjects of-Responsibility, Maternal Authority,—The Mother's Difficulties,-Faults and Errors, Religious Instruction, and Results. These several subjects are judiciously treated, and pleasingly interspersed with familiar dialogues, domestic scenes, and appropriate anecdotes, and we think the work equally calculated for the family circle and the maternal closet.

2. Christ the First Fruits of the Resurrection; in Two Parts, (Holdsworth and Ball;) is a small argumentative tract on the subject of the resurrection of our

Lord, enforcing its necessity as the basis of the Christian system, and the great scheme of human redemption. In order to the conduct of his argument, the author has divided his tract into two parts: 1. Saint Paul's two arguments for the resurrection of Christ: 2. The relation of Christ's resurrection with the resurrection of believers. The style is clear and convincing, and the several points of the apostle's arguments brought to bear distinctly and forcibly on the subject, to establish the identity and necessity of the fact. In the second part, the subject is treated with reference to the resurrection of believers; and the various arguments are introduced and enforced with great strength of reasoning. Though we cannot declare this little tract to be ing classes, owing to the style and method level with the comprehension of the labourof treatment, we can recommend it to the perusal of the more advanced student, as being a compendious survey of the subject.

3. Bible Questions; or, a plain, easy, and inviting Assistance to the Study of the Holy Scriptures, by W. Humble, Part I. (Souter, 1833,) is brief, comprehensive, and simple, both in design and construction, giving in a small compass a summary, in this its first part, of the contents of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi. It embodies the most striking features of the Sacred History in a catechetical form, which has been proved by experience the most efficacious in conveying instruction to the youthful mind; and its freedom from marginal references, and sectarian interpretations, will, we doubt not, render it popular in all schools and families where the instruction of the young in "the lively oracles" is considered of vital importance.

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4. Counsels and Consolations; taining Meditations and Reflections on Sixty-two Passages of Scripture, by Jonathan Fair, (Simpkin and Marshall, 1834,) is one of that class of books, which, though auxiliary to the Scriptures, can never supersede their use, since nothing but the eternal word of God, seconded by the influence of his Spirit, can give the wounded spirit peace, and soothe the broken heart. These reflections are, however, well adapted to their intended purpose, being plain and forcible, and founded upon an intimate knowledge of the human heart, and the various feelings by which it is actuated.

5. Memoirs of Mrs. Harvard, third edition, (Mason, 1833.) We are happy to find the increasing popularity of this very interesting memorial of Christian zeal and devotedness to the cause of missions, in which Mrs. Harvard so actively engaged.