says our Parisian contemporary, 'as well as those of the volume already in circulation, consist of extracts from the works of the Swiss author Zschokke. We honour the sentiments which animate the Queen of England; but we cannot approve of all the opinions propounded by the author. Indeed, Zschokke attaches himself to a natural and vaguely sentimental religion, rather than to a positive revealed Christianity.' "The following is a brief biogaphical sketch of the author :-'John Henry Daniel Zschokke was born at Magdebourg, 1771. Contrary to the wishes of his parents, he engaged himself with a company of strolling players, and composed comedies in which he himself acted. Subsequently he was reconciled to his family, and went through the usual course at the University of Frankfort-on-the-Oder, studying philosophy, theology, history, and classics. In 1792 he established himself in that city as a private professor, but he did not succeed in obtaining pupils. He next competed for a professional chair, but with no better success. He then undertook a journey through Germany, France, and Switzerland, and finally settled in Reichenau, in the Canton of the Grisons, where, in conjunction with the aged Burgomaster, Tscharner, he undertook the superintendence of an educational establishment. He was naturalised (as a Swiss) in 1800, and nominated first as a Government commissary, then as a representative of the Central Government in the Canton of Bâsle, and lastly, manager of mines and forests for the Canton of Argau. He was obliged to divest himself of these offices in 1829, and he died in 1848. His numerous writings are of various kinds, but their general aim is to popularize philosophy, and to teach morality under popular and seductive forms." 999 "Thus far the Archives du Christianisme. We have hitherto purposely declined the insertion of all censures on Zschokke's book, out of homage to the alleged patronage under which it appears. But when we find that the publication is attracting the notice and surprise of Continental Christendom, it is impossible wholly to ignore what we must humbly regard as the mistake committed in permitting the name of our beloved and revered Sovereign to appear as a sanction to a volume which seems scarcely to belong to that era in which 'life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel.'' Such is the history of the author of the work; and assuredly he must be highly endowed with the gift of credulity who can look with implicit confidence on anything theological proceeding from cates of the genuine Gospel, have somewhat extenuated the evils of the case through an extreme of delicacy. The Royal "sanction," is, indeed, an affair for lamentation; but that is not all, nor is it the worst. The crowning evil, the great thing to be regretted, is the fact that the book is the subject of the Royal approval, confidence, and study! That, that, is the strong ground of regret! The Record, however, feels far more than it says. Its words are few, but they are weighty; there is a world of caution and condemnation in the expression, A volume which seems scarcely to belong to that era in which life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel.'" Pity it is, that a work of which this can be truly said, should have found its way to the closet of a monarch prostrated by the heaviest calamity that can break into a palace, and by Her Majesty be, in effect, presented and recommended to the whole of the afflicted portion of her people! Connected with the subject is a fact which may not be passed over. An incorrect notion, somehow, had got abroad as to the authorship of the book, and the mistake had found a place in the columns of the Press, which led the translator to address that journal as follows: "Sir,-Will you allow me a small space in your columns to correct a strange mistake which occurs in the letter of your Berlin correspondent, inserted in your impression of Saturday last, and which has reference to a book translated by me. "The book is not 'about to appear,' as your correspondent is informed, but has been before the public since the middle of August, and has already obtained a wide circulation; while the circumstances connected with its publication are simply such as have been stated in the advertisements, viz.: The Queen having selected twenty-nine meditations on Death and Eternity from a very voluminous and wellknown German work, 'Stunden der Andacht,' which is found in almost every pious household in Germany, entrusted her selections to me for translation, and afterwards ordered a limited number of copies of the translated volume to be printed for her for private distribution. Subsequently, however, Her Majesty most kindly granted me her permission to publish the volume. "There are, therefore, no grounds whatever for the surmises of your correspondent as to the authorship of this book. I am, &c. "FREDERICA ROWAN. "3, Fulham-place, Paddington." This document is interesting on several grounds; it is here shown that the work has obtained a "wide circulation," language confirmatory of our worst fears, as already stated. For this fact, which could not be otherwise, we were quite prepared. Whether right or wrong, it is in the nature of nations to walk in the footsteps of their sovereigns. It is further shown that the popularity of the book in Germany is immense, perhaps, something all but unparalleled; "it is found in almost cvery pious household." Sad it is to reflect that such should be the case. But, if popular before, will it not be much more popular now, seeing that the Queen of England is become its Patroness? The foregoing, we hope, may serve to awaken the interest of our readers, and, we trust, to convince them that there is something fearfully, fatally defective in the present work. Everything now quoted has, of course, borne the character of simple opinion; but more is necessary. It is not enough that such opinion should be honest and correct, which we hold to be the fact. More is required; the book itself must be allowed to speak, and testify to that which is within it. Well, in our next article we shall analyse the work, sift its doctrines, and show that they are wholly at variance with the Holy Scriptures and the economy of redemption; and that to receive them is to be undone ! In conclusion, we should like to know how far the Archbishops and Bishops in this matter have been faithful to the throne. True bishops of the olden time would assuredly have delivered their own souls! They would have shuddered at the thought of retaining the Royal favour at the expense of the Royal welfare! There is not a Bishop on the Bench but must deprecate the use and condemn the principles of this most heretical volume. doubted evidence, and happily no event in history is more fully authenticated. 1. Let us then attend, in the first place, to the circumstances connected with the Saviour's death and burial,as preliminary to His resurrection; for the one event supports the certainty of the other. Our Lord terminated His holy and useful life by an ignominious and painful death. After His body had hung for six long hours on the cross it was taken down from the tree, and with the consent of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, was committed to the care of Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and honourable councillor, "who himself waited for the kimgdom of God," though he had not hitherto openly avowed himself a disciple of Jesus. He was joined by Nicodemus, another Jewish ruler, who had formerly come to Jesus by night; and thus,though our Lord had suffered a shameful death, the circumstances of His burial were highly honourable. Joseph readily gave up for this purpose his own new sepulchre, which was situated in a garden in the immediate neighbourhood, and which was hewn out of a rock, "wherein never man had before been laid;" and he and Nicodemus having purchased a quantity of fine linen cloth, wrapped the body in this shroud, with a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pounds weight, as was the custom of the Jews with persons of rank, and laid it in its resting-place. The entrance to the sepulchre was secured by a great stone rolled to the door, and all the necessary preparations being nowcompleted,Joseph and his pious assistant departed: thus the prediction of Isaiah was fulfilled; "He made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death," or, as it might more properly be rendered, according to Bishop Lowth, "His grave was appointed with the wicked, but with the rich man was His tomb;" that is, though His enemies no doubt intended that He should be buried in the same grave with the malefactors, yet Providence so ordered it that He was to be interred in a rich man's sepulchre. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and John, another pious woman that followed him from Galilee, sat over against the sepulchre, waiting till they saw the interment completed; they then returned to the City, and having prepared spices and ointments, rested on the Sabbathday according to the commandment, agreeing before they separated to return with their companions on the morning of the third day, with the spices, to render additional honours to His memory by anointing the body of their beloved master. As it was reported, however, that the Saviour, before His death, had predicted that " on the third day he should rise again," every precaution was taken by the Jewish priests and rulers to prevent such a report from obtaining credit, and to falsify the prediction: they accordingly went to Pilate, acquainted him with the circumstance, and requested him to give orders that the sepulchre should be made sure "till the third day," pretending that unless some such means were taken to prevent all access to it, His disciples might come by night and steal away the body, and give out that He was risen from the dead. The Governor, who probably inwardly derided their fears, consented to allow the sepulchre to be watched; and to make assurance doubly sure, a seal was affixed to the stone, and a guard of Roman soldiers was stationed to watch the sepulchre till the third day, an expression which clearly shows that the phrase" after three days" was understood to mean simply part of three days, a period which corresponded to the event. Before the eventful morning dawned, however, and ere the pious women had time to arrive, or to execute their generous purpose, the whole scene was suddenly and unexpectedly changed. An angel had descended from heaven, clothed with celestial brightness, and "had rolled back the stone from the door never trembled before mortal foe, were seized with panic fear, and fell prostrate to the ground; "for fear of him the keepers did shake and become as dead men." Recovering from their terror and surprise, they fled to the city, and reported to the Chief Priests what they had seen; they were bribed into silence by these crafty men, who undertook to secure their safety, and to persuade the Governor, perhaps by a similar bribe, to overlook this breach of militarydiscipline. Meanwhile, the Redeemer, laying aside the habiliments of death, came forth calmly and deliberately as one waking from sleep, (John xx. 6, 7): and the grave so carefully guarded was robbed of its prey. "Majestical He rose: trembled the earth: The Saviour of the world walked, and stood GRAHAM. The female disciples, according to previous agreement, now set out from the city towards the place of sepulture. They seem evidently to have arrived at different times, and in different parties. Mary Magdalene set out first alone, "while it was yet dark," impatient to visit the spot where her much loved Lord was laid to her astonishment and grief, she found the stone rolled away, and the sepulchre open. Unable to account for this circumstance, she immediately fled back to the city and acquainted Peter and John with what had taken place. They forthwith set out and after viewing the tomb, and satisfying themselves that the body was not there, they returned home in doubt and perplexity to await the issue. Mary, however, was not to be so easily satisfied; she continued to linger on the spot, pouring forth floods of tears-(John xx. 11); looking again into the sepulchre, she sees two angels sitting where the body of Jesus had lain: they enquired the cause of her grief; and our Lord at last, addressing her by name, to her unspeakable joy discovered Himself to her all agree that He appeared to her first. (Mark xvi. 9). She hastened back to convey the joyful tidings to the disciples; in the meantime, the other women had arrived "at the rising of the sun," they saw the attendant angel of the Lord, who informed them that Jesus was risen, and as they hastened to tell the eleven, He himself met them by the way, and charged them to acquaint His brethren that He would meet them in Galilee. (Mat. xxviii. 10.) It is not easy to arrange the different appearances of the Saviour to the woman, in the order of time in which they happened, nor is it of much consequence; the events followed each other in quick succession, but the various accounts substantially agree, and the evangelists wrote as independent historians (they are ingeniously harmonised by Mr. Gilbert West, in his able treatise on the Resurrection). Our Lord subsequently appeared on the same day, first to Simon Peter, now mourning for his fall; afterwards to the two disciples going to Emmaus, and in the evening to the eleven as they sat at meat." Eight days after, He again appeared, to satisfy the incredulous Thomas, and on another occasion He shewed Himself to several of Apostles at the sea of Galilee. On one of the mountains of the same region, which had been previously appointed, He was again seen by the eleven, when He gave them their commission; and finally, He ascended in the presence of a large number of His followers from Mount Olivet, till "a cloud received Him out of their sight," ""and He sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool." 2. We come now to consider the certainty of our Lord's resurrection; this might be satisfactorily concluded from what has been already said; but other proofs are not wanting, to place it beyond all doubt. There can be no question as to the fact that Jesus actually died. The agony He endured in the garden of Gethsemane, and the cruelties ertaining the truth; and it has Improvement. What a glorious event |