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of the respective volumes; and each would be improved by an infusion of the peculiar excellencies of the other.

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The English Wife" is addressed chiefly on maternal duties; while the "Wives of England" are instructed only on those which are conjugal. We presume Mrs. Ellis intends to favour the public with another volume, to be restricted to the "Mothers of England," and we know of no one better fitted to do justice to such a subject, than the fair author of the "Women," the "Daughters," and the "Wives of England."

She has had some predecessors, and has still some compeers in this department of English literature, who have done honour to their sex, and conferred benefit on society by their publications, and we trust that she will live long to fulfil her vocation, in enlightening and improving the sisterhood of her country. We have too high an opinion of her good sense, piety, and responsibility as a wife, to allow us to believe that she will be so absorbed by her literary labours, as to neglect her home duties, and thus illustrate her own observations on the conduct of "learned ladies."

We augur well for the community by the almost simultaneous publication of these seven volumes, to say nothing of the previous writings of Mrs. Ellis, and those of Mrs. Sandford, King, and others. Let our wives and mothers become intelligent and pious; increasingly sensible of their obligations and influence, and, withal, more anxious to discharge their conjugal and maternal duties with all fidelity to God and man, and rapid, great, and incalculable, will be the improvement of society. We honestly commend these seven books to the attention of our fair readers, assuring those, too, of the other sex, that they are not unworthy their perusal and support.

The Harmony of Protestant Confessions; exhibiting the Faith of the Churches of Christ, Reformed after the Pure and Holy Doctrine of the Gospel throughout Europe. Translated from the Latin. A new edition, revised and considerably enlarged. By the Rev. Peter Hall, M.A., Rector of Milston, Wilts, and Minister of Long Acre Chapel, London. 8vo. pp. lvi., 640.

UNITY among the people of God was the subject of our blessed Redeemer's solemn prayer. Though most desirable in itself, most honourable to the church, and most accordant with the spirit of Christianity, it has not been exhibited to the world since the day when the members of the infant church at Jerusalem "were of one heart and of one soul." The feeling of oneness with all the members of the mystical body of Christ, has, indeed, been perceived and enjoyed by untold myriads, who, by a living faith, were first united to Christ, their Divine head, and then joined to all the faithful, by the spiritual

sympathy, which constitutes the only real "communion of saints ;' but they have not been so obviously one as to lead the world to believe in the heavenly mission of their common Lord.

That happy state, however, appears to be more ardently desired, and more extensively sought at the present time, than at any former period since the era of the Reformation; and it is an occasion of devout gratitude that our own body, regarded by many as the most schismatical and sectarian of all the sects, has been permitted to take measures which, before these pages can be widely circulated, will have produced a public demonstration of the essential oneness of all the children of God.

True, indeed, it is, that the establishment of religion by the state, on the one hand, and the dogma of apostolical succession on the other, produce and perpetuate the system of exclusiveness and of assumption, that are the deadly foes to the manifestation of Christian union; but still we are happy to know, that while these movements have been most forwarded by the unendowed and non-episcopal denominations, there are several ministers of the established churches, and some who have received episcopal ordination too, who are able to rise superior to the trammels of their system, and to fraternize with evangelical Protestants of every name.

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Never, since the reign of Queen Elizabeth," as the Rev. Peter Hall, the able editor of the work before us, remarks, "were the principles of the Protestant Reformation brought more prominently into discussion, whether for disparagement or for defence, than at the present day. Assailed both from without and from within, a general desire of investigating more accurately the character of that memorable transaction, has directed the attention of wise and pious men to the authentic records of a period, big with the most momentous consequences to the honour and prosperity of Christendom.

"It were but reasonable to suppose, that, in the warfare that exists from generation to generation, between those who are born after the flesh and those who are born after the Spirit, the elect of God should often be compelled to tread the old paths over again; and, on the same field, and with the same weapons, to fight anew the battles of their forefathers. Thus far, all is well; or, if not actually well, at least not worse than might and should have been anticipated. Those who, while in words they profess religion, yet hate the light of the Gospel of grace, will naturally feel a sort of suspicious jealousy of a work of God like the Reformation, and cultivate a kindliness of feeling, very far beyond mere indifference, for papal formality and superstition. These are the enemies of the cross of Christ."

Peculiarly seasonable, therefore, is the publication of this new and greatly improved edition of the "Harmony of Protestant Confessions." The Christian public of Great Britain and America, are indebted to Mr. Hall for it; as the work will contribute to strengthen the hands and encourage the hearts of those servants of God, who are seeking to maintain the true faith of the Gospel, and, at the same time, to manifest the essential union of all the faithful disciples of the Saviour.

Many of the most distinguished reformers, puritans, and evangelical ministers, have laboured, with various success, in the sacred cause of union among the people of God; and on this account, the names of Calvin, Melanethon, Beza, and especially of our own countryman, John Dury, who toiled, from 1631 to 1674, a period of more than forty years, to accomplish this amiable object; together with those of Baxter, Watts, Doddridge, Haweis, and Mason, whose names deserve to be had in everlasting remembrance. Whilst, from amon st our contemporaries, the names of Baptist Noel, James Hamilton, John Angel James, and last but not least, those of our prize essayists, John Hoppus and John Harris, will be honoured as of the true successors of those apostolic men.

This handsome volume is, we fear, to many young ministers and reading Christians, altogether unknown; they will find it a treasure, particularly as a book of reference, illustrating the essential oneness of the several Protestant communities. This "Harmony" is composed of the chief passages from I. The Confession of Augsburgh.-II. The Confession of Sueveland.-III. The Confession of Basle.-IV. The Former Confession of Helvetia.-V. The Confession of Saxony.-VI. The Confession of Wirtemburgh.-VII. The Confession of France.-VIII. The Confession of England.-IX. The Latter Confession of Helvetia.— X. The Confession of Belgia.-XI. The Confession of Bohemia.-XII. The Confession of Scotland." Besides these, the Appendix contains the following documents entire :-" I. The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England," with the "First Fifteen of the English Articles, as revised by the Westminster Assembly in 1643.-II. The Nineteen Articles of the Church of Ireland, agreed upon in the Convocation at Dublin, A.D. 1615.-III. The Judgment of the Synod of Dort, A.D. 1618-19, concerning the Five Articles controverted in the Belgic Churches. IV. The Confession of Faith by the Assembly of Divines, held at Westminster, approved by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, A.D. 1647, and ratified and established by act of parliament, A.D. 1649."

These papers greatly enrich the volume, as they are particularly valuable for reference, and possessed, probably, by comparatively few readers. They express the sentiments of the greatest theologians of their respective periods, and exhibit a remarkable unity of mind regarding the essential doctrines of salvation by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The views they contain upon subordinate subjects are far from satisfactory, and on some they appear to us, grievously to depart from the simplicity of the New Testament. Adopting the term "sacraments" from the vocabulary of Rome, they describe the ordinances with no small degree of obscurity and confusion, inculcating, as they do, the notion of some undefined "mystical," "spiritual," and "sacramental" virtue attending their observance, never taught by the apostles of our Lord.

Mr. Hall, with great candour and propriety, intimates the necessity of discrimination on the part of readers, in relation to these venerable documents; and we gladly transcribe his judicious remarks :

"A word of warning to the reader, and that shall be all. If he expects, in an examination of the HARMONY OF CONFESSIONS, to find such an identity, even of sentiment, much more of expression, pervading the variety of topics discussed in the following pages, as might be arranged to advantage, like a harmony of Scripture, in parallel columns, he will certainly experience a disappointment. The churches here represented are all Protestant, but not equally Protestant; all conformed, but not all to the same extent, or with the same precision, to the ordinances of holy Scripture. Doubtless, this is a circumstance to be regretted, and yet not altogether void of use to the honest and serious inquirer. He will observe, how far it is possible for the children and churches of God to differ in matters of secondary moment, and yet, to walk together in mutual charity and forbearance; nay, more, in fellowship with God the Father, and with Jesus Christ his Son, through the Spirit. He will feel, that, as there is a line of demarcation, plain and palpable, between those who serve, and those who serve not God; so there is but one line, and that while consent in every other point can do nothing, actually nothing, towards effecting a community of men, where the love of Christ is not; so that, where the love of Christ is, diversity in all things else can accomplish next to nothing towards separating the community of saints from one another."

To give our readers a just idea of this volume, it is only necessary to make another extract.

"Besides the tables of contents, which have been carefully revised throughout, an alphabetical index is now, for the first time, added, the production of the Rev. Thomas Timpson, author of several publications on the history and doctrine of Christianity."-Preface, pp. xxv. xxvi.

Elements of Language, and General Grammar. By George Payne, LL.D. 12mo, pp. 236. 1843. London: Gladding.

THE author's object in composing this volume was to put a large class of readers in possession of the principles of language and general grammar, who could not otherwise enjoy that advantage without the purchase of larger and more expensive works. The topics treated of are, natural, conventional, spoken, and written language; the origin, the object, and the character of language; grammar, classification of words, or parts of speech. In the course of the work, the opinions of Horne Tooke, Harris, Hurwitz, Moses Stuart, Crombie, Dewar, &c., are examined with the author's usual care and candour. We give the following quotation as an example of the author's mode of dealing with his subject.

"Professor Hurwitz, of the London University, suggests, in his Hebrew Grammar, a work of great merit and ability, from its development of many of the essential principles of language, together with its faithful and luminous statement of the particular rules of the Hebrew language, the following is the most philosophical

classification of words. 1st. Such as indicate the objects of thought, or the subjects of discourse, comprehending the names of things or beings with which we become acquainted by perception and consciousness. 2nd. Such as serve to express whatever is affirmed respecting the objects of contemplation: i.e. verbs, or words denoting action, passion, being, &c. 3rd. Such as serve to qualify or particularize either the subject or the predicate, when they happen to be general terms. This class includes adverbs, adjectives, and definitives. 4th. Such as serve to indicate the relations of things or words, in which the expression of general relations has superseded or diverted the attention of the mind from their primary particular meaning. This class comprehends prepositions and conjunctions. 5th. Such as indicate particular affections or emotions, as joy, sorrow, &c.' Ile admits, at the same time, that the third and fourth classes may be resolved into the noun and the verb, which two alone, he adds, are the most essential parts of speech. These different modes of dividing the parts of speech have been mentioned, chiefly on account of the celebrity of their respective advocates; since I cannot but agree in opinion with a late able writer, that any attempt to establish a different classification of the parts of speech from that which is commonly received, will be found of little utility either in speculation or practice."-p. 47.

The present work is not, and professes not to be, a compendium of English grammar. It pre-supposes a competent acquaintance with this subject, especially with syntax, and has for its object, to introduce the reader into more general and philosophical inquiries. We think that the respected author has attained his aim, and that the work is suited to the higher classes in our best private schools, to intelligent and inquiring young people in general, and to the junior students of our various colleges, in particular. It contains a digest of information which cannot be obtained in any one other book with which we are acquainted, and the author has not failed duly and properly to appreciate the difficulties connected with many points of the general subject. We strongly recommend the book to the perusal of all those, who, within a moderate compass, wish to see a valuable compendium of a branch of literature which is often too much neglected even by educated persons.

1. The Teacher's Companion: designed to exhibit the Principles of Sunday School Instruction and Discipline. By R. N. Collins, Superintendent of St. Bride's Sunday School, London. With an Introductory Essay, by the Rev. Daniel Moore, B. A., Minister of Christ's Chapel, St. John's Wood. 12mo, pp. 320. London: Houlston & Stoneman.

2. Occasional Addresses to Sunday School Children; including Addresses on the Inspiration, Authenticity, Genuineness, and Divine Authority of the Holy Scriptures. By David Cato Macrae. 12mo. London: Millar & Field.

Pious young men, who, in these days of earnest inquiry and extended information, attempt the religious instruction of children, will soon

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