"Repentance, in the world's sense, is mere vexation for the present trouble into which sin may have brought a man; or for the present danger to which it may expose him; it is vexation, not for sin, but for the consequence of sin. But true repentance grieves for and hates sin on its own account. To the true penitent sin is hateful, although no eye saw it but that of the All-seeing and his own, or even although the world should see it, and instead of condemning either tacitly approve of it, or openly applaud it." pp. 125. Mr. Palin's work is worthy of extensive circulation on account of its probable usefulness, notwithstanding some of the passages being rather too high flown for a village congregation; and it is to be hoped that Mr. Palin will be encouraged by the sale of this work on the litany, to publish before long his promised lectures on other portions of the liturgy. The following is not particularly selected, but may be taken as a tolerably fair specimen of Mr. Palin's manner of handling his subject:— "When, therefore, we pray God not to afflict us with temporal evils, we ought to remember that, by the very act of so praying, we pledge ourselves to lead such lives as shall not render it necessary for our heavenly Father to bring us back, by any such temporal afflictions, to a sense of our duty; otherwise, all else having failed to make an impression on our hearts, and affliction being the only means left for that purpose, by praying to be free from affliction, we should, in fact, be praying God not to bring us to heaven, and no one would knowingly offer up such a prayer as this. It is as if a son, who was leading a very wicked and abandoned course of life, should beg his earthly parent, who loved him, and was anxious to rescue him, not to thwart him in his career, because it would give him uneasiness. But the father's object is to make him uneasy, in his present course of life, so as to make him look for satisfaction and happiness in a better course. The son ought not to ask his father to avoid doing anything which could cause him uneasiness, unless, at the same time, he had paused in his mad career, and was resolved for the future to pursue that course which his father knows is most conducive to his real and lasting welfare. Now this is exactly the state of things between ourselves and our heavenly Father, whenever his children beseech him to cause them no unhappiness by inflicting upon them temporal "evil and mischief," of what kind soever. I have thought it right to say thus much, at the present stage of our progress, when we are commencing our prayer for deliverance from various earthly trials and troubles. I hope you will try and bear it in mind, my friends, whenever you feel tempted to repine at them, or pray God to keep you from them, both in this, and in other deprecations of a similar kind which follow." p. 20. An Introductory Atlas to Modern Geography. By A. Reid, M.A. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. 1837. Rudiments of Modern Geography. By the Same. THIS atlas is intended for parochial and other elementary schools. It is very clear and very cheap. The rudiments seem also well done, and likely to be useful as a school book generally. Repertorium Theologicum; a Table of the Pious and Learned Writings of Thomas Jackson, D.D. By Archdeacon Todd. London: Rivingtons. ONE is always glad to meet with a work of Archdeacon Todd; and the present is a very valuable one. Jackson's works are become very scarce and dear. Of their value it is unnecessary to speak. But Archdeacon Todd, who knows it, has done what he can towards gaining a reprint of them by the University, by drawing out a table of their rich contents, accompanied occasionally by extracts and remarks VOL. XIII.-March, 1838. 2 R of his own. The copious stores of learning, and the mine of thought, in this great writer's works, alone might supply us moderns with more than most of us, it is to be feared, ever gain in this idle age, and the study of them (without its being meant that full assent should be given to every thing, for the reviewer could point out at least one great position of Jackson's which seems to him untenable,) would amply repay the theological student, both from the learning he might acquire, and the general soundness of views and calmness of thought which distinguish the writer. The English Martyrology. Abridged from Foxe by Charlotte Elizabeth. In 2 vols. Vol. II. Seeley and Burnside. THIS Volume abridges the best part of Foxe-i. e., the part in which he was relating that for which he had really obtained good materials. This lady, with no surname, has altered Foxe's language, which is no improvement, where he uses the simple and strong language of the day. But she has used quite as hard words as the martyrologist, which can do no more good, and is no more right now than then. To expose the corruptions and wickedness of the corrupt and wicked, and to use the language of just indignation is one thing-to abuse is another; and a sort of coarse half-joking style is not a good one for such subjects. Surely it is easy, for example, to expose Cardinal Pole's proceedings as to relics, without talking much about his mumbling the bones of the dead. A Christian lady is surely especially bound to remember this. Proverbial Philosophy, a Book of Thoughts and Arguments, originally treated. By M. F. Tupper, Esq., M.A. London: Rickerby. THE title page says most truly that the subject of the work is originally treated, for it is all written in blank verse, (at least, so it seems,) and that in a metre very difficult to read. For example, take the first :— Thoughts, that have tarried in my mind, and peopled its inner chambers- And come up to the surface-world with a knowledge grounded deeper; And thence have swooped to their certain mark, as the falcon to its quarry; These I give to thy gentle heart, thou lover of the right. But strangely as this book is written, (so strangely that it will probably repel readers,) it is full of good principles and feelings, and shews long and continued thought on the most important subjects. Realities of Life. By a Country Parson's Daughter. London: Hamilton and Adams. 1838. THIS lady's works have been well spoken of before; and it is needless to speak of this, as the greater part of the papers (but not all) have appeared (perhaps with alterations) in the British Magazine. The preface mentions their having been quietly transferred to four other periodicals. But why did the authoress not mention the name of that in which they appeared? Isle of Man, and Diocese of Sodor and Man. Ancient and Authentic Documents relating to the Civil and Ecclesiastical Constitution of that Island. By the Rev. W. P. Ward, M.A. London: Rivingtons. A VERY valuable little work, compiled by the excellent author with great care from the best sources, and giving every one the means of knowing the history of that interesting island, and its peculiarities of government. The cause of Mr. Ward's undertaking the task was the resolution to destroy the bishopric. Surely parliament cannot be deaf to such petitions as Mr. Ward enumerates in his preface. 1. From the archdeacon and clergy. 2. From 1200 persons, the large majority, and the gentry, landowners, and respectable inhabitants. 3. From 2000 of the inhabitants at large. 4. From Bishop Ward, in various forms, accompanied by statements from Bishop Murray, and petitions from several bodies of English clergy and laity. Much interest will be found by the mere antiquary in the curious records, lay and church, printed in this work. A Practical Treatise on Warming Buildings by Hot Water, and an Inquiry into the Laws of Radiant and Conducted Heat; to which are added, Remarks on Ventilation, and on the various methods of distributing Animal Heat, and their Effects on Animal and Vegetable Physiology. By Charles Hood, F.R.A.S. Illustrated by numerous woodcuts. London: Whittaker and Co. 1837. 8vo. pp. 216. THIS Volume contains an account of the scientific principles on which the circulation of hot water for the purposes of heating rooms &c. depends. These are explained clearly enough to persons of a very moderate acquaintance with science; but some parts of the book presuppose a good deal of mathematical and scientific knowledge. The author then states and illustrates the laws of cooling, &c. He then compares the various modes which have been resorted to for heating rooms, and shews their relative advantages and disadvantages. He objects to Dr. Arnott's stove; but as the writer of this notice has not seen Dr. Arnott's book upon it, he cannot say how far the objections may be answered. The work now noticed prefers heating by hot water to every other mode. It contains very full statements, and cannot fail of being read with much interest. St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans explained in simple and familiar Language. purpose. Without any intention of undervaluing the intellectual powers of ladies, it may be said that there are many circumstances which conspire to render it unusual for them to be gifted with the qualifications requisite for expositors of scripture in whom great confidence can be placed. Parts of this commentary appear to the writer of this notice to partake of the faults which one might expect in a commentary on so difficult a subject as St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans coming from the pen of a lady. Having said this, however, it is only right to state that there is much which is good, and calculated to make persons think seriously on religious subjects. This book is broken into sections, and there is an explanation and an improvement of each section. The explanation appears generally to be plain and sensible; the improvement is sometimes practical and sometimes what would be called by the name of experimental, and, though often good, contains some things which the reviewer might not happen to agree with. There are prayers also occasionally introduced throughout the volume. Upon the whole, it does the authoress credit; she has bestowed much pains upon it, and been so far successful as to produce a book which, judiciously used, may be useful. What may this National Education be? An Inquiry recommended to the Clergy of the Established Church. By the Rev. R. Burgess, B.D., Rector of Upper Chelsea, &c. London: Hatchard. 8vo. 1838. pp. 32. MR. BURGESS, in the first part of this pamphlet, has done a very acceptable service to those who have not access to parliamentary documents, by extracting some of the most remarkable portions of the evidence before the committee of the House of Commons. He has commented especially and with due severity on that of Mr. Simpson, whose ultra-liberal notions are properly dissected. With regard to the Appendix, a comparison of dates will shew that the authorities of King's College protested against the banishment of the NewTestament and the Old-Testament history from the examination of the London University, as early as any document was published which authorized their speaking at all. It will therefore be seen that the censure which seems intended to be conveyed is not applicable to that body. Conversations on the Points of Difference between the Churches of England and Rome. I. The Supremacy of the Pope. II. The Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation. Nisbet; Hatchard; Dalton, &c. 1838. THE first of these tracts is occupied with disproving the supremacy of St. Peter; but the arguments do not appear to the reviewer to be so strongly put as perhaps even in so slight a tract as this they might be; but there are, however, some good points made out. It may be added, that the writer or writers are of the school which think the constant application of the words of Revelation-the mother of harlots, and of abominations of the earth, &c.-to the church of Rome, an effective mode of warfare. The Cry of the Poor. A Poem. London: Hughes. 1837. THIS poem is an earnest protest against the New Poor Law, and, with the exception of an attack on the commissioners as briefless lawyers &c., it is founded on argument, and free from anything personal. The author argues from the Jewish law the right of the poor to maintenance, and quotes from Mr. Melvill a passage declaring that whatever man's mismanagement may have done, it is a general law of providence to provide sufficient support for man. The author then eulogizes the Reformation, and Queen Elizabeth for her humane law for the relief of the poor. He then protests against some of the evils of the new law. It may at once be granted that there were abuses under the old system; but it is equally clear that there may be many abuses also in the new law; but with this difference, the abuses of the new law must consist of hardships on the poor. There are evils also in the very system itself of the new law, and to some of these the present poem addresses itself. It particularly alludes to the banishment of the poor by this means from the house of God, and thus from worshipping in the same house with the rich, so impressively stated by the Bishop of Exeter in the House of Lords. His lordship's words are quoted in the shape of a note. There is nothing very remarkable in the character of the versification; the tone is earnest and serious throughout, and there are passages, if not of poetical beauty, at least of moral force. The author writes strongly against the accumulating spirit of the English as likely to prove their ruin; and while he pleads for mercy for the children now condemned to a sort of slavery in manufactories, passes a just eulogium on the late Mr. Sadler. The Sunday School Teacher. Designed to aid in elevating or perfecting the Sunday School System. By John Todd, Pastor of the first Congregational Church, Philadelphia; Author of Lectures to Children,' 'The Student's Manual,' &c. with a preface by Henry Althans, of the Sunday School Union. London: Ball and Davis. 1838. 12mo. pp. 407. THERE is a fashion in all things, and among our present fashions there is one of deluging the country with American books on subjects connected with religion and education. Mr. Abbott had his day, and may perhaps still have a numerous body of admirers; but while there is much that is striking in his works, it has been found by the soberminded that there is much also which is most objectionable and mischievous, and more that is questionable. To the writer of this notice the work of Mr. Todd would appear to be one of somewhat the same class; it contains much warmth of religious feeling, but it appears to him to trust too much to the excitement of the feelings. The religious condition of America is very peculiar; and the strong excitement which often prevails among the religious portion of the community there is calculated to make it a matter of very serious consideration. There is, indeed, in the protestant episcopal church of America very commonly a spirit of sound and sober piety, which contrasts well with other productions of that country. The authority, the liturgy, and the definite, doctrines, of that church, have already made it a home to many a spirit distracted with the excitement of other communities, and anxious for a resting place amid the strife of tongues; and thus Christians |