consider as a bastard, begotten "by rashness upon fear,") and judgment, which he thus denounces :

Judicious is the epithet

Which bland the praise confess :
And past all grace his luckless debt
Against its whims who errs:

O nausea to every real humble saint,

The wearied ear is sick, the palled heart is faint.-P. 102.

Really we do not much wonder that Mr. Craig is so severe upon all lovers of the "judicious." He is clearly right to give them as many hard blows as he can; for if they get the upper hand, it is all over with him.

One more specimen, and we have done. The "proving of Philip" introduces these strange

66 verses:

We can go on no longer. That such wretched stuff as this should ever be printed as thoughts on St. John," is no very creditable thing to this " enlightened" age. If the peasants at "Burleyville, in the New Forest," are fed with prosaical decoctions which in any way resemble these verse effusions, we think they must be a lean and hunger-bitten race. We have, moreover, another quarrel with Mr. C. Why entitle his wretched book, "Thoughts in Verse,” &c., and print it in imitation of the real "Thoughts in Verse" of this generation, unless he hoped to catch some unwary reader by the similitude of a name. We have, too, a sort of impression that this is an old work with a new titlepage, which, if it be so, makes the malice of its name still more unpardonable. If Mr. Craig has any friend who meets with these pages, we beseech him to advance the funds to pay the printer's bill; and—having bound his friend under a heavy bond to "give up" thinking in verse," and live cleanly,”—to burn forthwith all the impression.

Lectures on Locke; or the Principles of Logic: designed for the Use of Students in the University. London: Cadell. 1840. Pp. 240.

Ir was surely a misnomer to designate as Lectures on Locke a work which, on opening it, appears to aim at nothing higher than an analysis or compendium of the Essay on the Human Understanding. Even in its humble character of a guide to the student, we cannot conceive that it will be of any utility. Where Locke is obscure or deficient, it lends no help; it throws back on the elder philosopher none of that light which succeeding metaphysicians have elicited; nor, on the other hand, is the work so carefully or completely executed as to supply

the student with a trustworthy analysis. We are unable to bestow on it any species of commendation whatever.

The anonymous writer has thought fit to usher in his Lectures, or Analysis, or whatever the work is to be called, by some remarks of his own on "the scale of being." In these he has repeated the usual common-places and the usual absurdities which are vented on this subject. In order to show that universally each class blends into the one above it, he has the hardihood to say,

The difference is not very great between the almost rational monkey and the stupidest of mankind: for, in some countries, the monkey is accounted as one of the human species.-P. 6.

What traveller's story he has here picked up, we do not know; but as there never was a tribe of men discovered who had not some language, and never a class of monkeys who had any, we may be quite confident, from this alone, that in no part of the world did man, the most savage, ever confound himself with the monkey. But, indeed, our philosopher takes very unfair means to approximate the two. He selects" the stupidest of mankind" for one object of his comparison. Now when a resemblance is to be traced between two classes, we put in juxtaposition the general qualities of each class. When this writer was pointing out how near the sensitive plant approached to the oyster, he did not think it necessary to choose the weakest and most miserable of all oysters, and to compare it with the flourishing sensitive plant. Take the characteristics of mankind and compare them with the qualities of a tribe of monkeys, and it will require a very perverse statement to conceal the wide chasm that lies between them. The stupidest of mankind" have capacities for great improvement-have within them the germ of all which the happier portions of the race have performed or displayed; and he who can forget this in forming his estimate of the human being, will next compare a grain of mustard seed with a grain of sand, and find no difference between them except in size or weight.

In the examples he uses for the illustration of his principles, this writer, whenever he draws upon his own invention, is singularly unhappy. They are of the most tasteless description; but some of them have graver faults. We may instance one which is not only illogical in its statement, but where the error of logic is evidently incurred by the desire of aiming a blow at a religious sect for whom the author entertains a particular aversion. The error is one which it is worth while to point out. We shall therefore quote the passage, and with our stricture on it close this criticism.

Enthusiasm is imagining we have a communication with God, and believing propositions without any proofs, by reason of that supposed communication:

Ex. A methodist affirms he cannot fall short of God's favour. Ask him, why? He will probably say, he is sure of it, and that he has that communicated in his mind which assures him of it. Desire him further to explain himself, that, if he can convey the same idea into your mind, you will believe him; he cannot. Ask him, if he has such a communication with God, for a miracle to confirm it; he is still at a loss. Pp. 231, 232.

On referring to Locke, it will be seen that his enthusiast proclaims, for our assent, some truth which he pretends to have received by direct inspiration from heaven. Such a one, unless he can work miracles as a proof of his inspiration, Locke tells us, is unworthy of attention; he can impart to us no ground of conviction; he must be pronounced without the pale of argument or rational controversy. But the person whom this writer selects for his example, does not present himself as a messenger of truth; he declares that the truth has been already proclaimed and vouched for, and only asserts that he is in the enjoyment of a blessing promised in that gospel of truth-a blessing which others also may attain, if they use the means there pointed out to them. To ask him for a miracle to confirm his testimony is quite out of place. He has no mission to mankind, but is the object merely of a divine mission which the world has already received. Of course we can have no disposition to uphold the opinions which are here somewhat vaguely adverted to; but we are bound in fairness to expose

VOL. XXII. NO. X.

4 H

an erroneous argument employed against them; and if this mode of reasoning be admitted, every sentiment which a Christian experiences, and which he cannot impart to a worldly-minded man, will be equally open to contempt or contradiction. In answer to prayer, devout men have often described themselves as feeling an exquisite peace or serenity of mind, which they were persuaded had, in conformity with the promises in Scripture, descended to them from their Father in Heaven. This sentiment, this conviction, they certainly cannot communicate to another; still less are they empowered to work miracles to prove themselves thus favoured of Heaven. According to this writer, they ought not to be credited. But they appeal to the recorded promises of one who did confirm his word by miracles. On these also the character here introduced professes to build, and you must drive him from this ground before you can proscribe him as beyond the pale or circle of rational discourse.

Memoir of Sarah Jane I. W. Alexander, eldest Daughter of the Rev. M. S. Alexander, Professor of Hebrew and Rabbinical Literature in King's College, London, &c. Written by her FATHER. Second Edition, enlarged. London: Wertheim. 1840. Pp. 126.

A WORK of this nature is hardly a fit subject for criticism; and indeed we do not think we should have noticed it, but for the remarkable circumstance of the writer being a convert from Judaism, and engaged in devoting his talents and learning to preaching and illustrating" the faith which once he destroyed." Every thing connected with the ancient people of God must have a particular interest with the Christian, and possess a claim on our attention, even when we are not arrested by the manner of treating it.

The subject of the present memoir appears evidently to have been a very extraordinary child, and to have shown early symptoms of possessing talent and principle far beyond her years. It is not to be wondered at that her parents should have felt her loss very acutely; and the present narrative does great credit to the heart and feelings of the writer.

Notes and Recollections of Sermons preached by the late Rev. JOHN GEORGE BREAY, B.A., Minister of Christ Church, Birmingham, and Prebendary of Lichfield. London: Hamilton, Adams, & Co.; Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Birmingham: Beilby. 1840. Pp. 332.

"THIS volume," we are told, in the advertisement, "has been compiled from the author's own notes, which give the divisions and substance of the sermon; and from those helps which have been afforded by various kind friends, who have written much from recollection afterwards :"-and it will prove, no doubt, a welcome offering to those who cherish the memory of a laborious and deservedly beloved pastor. The circumstances of the case preclude criticism, and the rather, as the matter we most miss-the building in detail, after the foundation has been well and forcibly laid in Jesus Christ-is perhaps that which would be most likely to escape, in the process by which these sermons received their present form.

Poems (now first collected.) By the Rev. J. PEAT, M.A. London: Rivingtons. 1840. Pp. 47.

Ir appears that it formed the author's amusement, during a temporary illness, to gather up as many of his juvenile efforts as he could find. It would be harsh to scan them too curiously under these circumstances, but we trust that the writer is now quite well again, and better employed than in taking even more successful poetical flights than these. There is a spirit of piety in them; and that can find exercise and less chance of failure in many a more profitable field than that of verse-making. It is no imputation on a man's worth to say he is not a poet; and this publication gives Mr. Peat no warrant for the title, either by birth or letters patent.

A Manual of Christian Doctrine; being the Catechism of the English Church expanded, together with an Infant Liturgy, and occasional Scripture Thoughts, for the private or common Use of Families and Schools. By the Rev. JOHN JAMES, M.A., Rector of Rawmarsh. London: Burns. 1840. Pp. 74. THIS is a very useful little book, and one that all will appreciate, who know that whilst "a boy may preach, it takes a man to catechize." It is familiar, without being vulgar or minute. It follows well out the general heads of the Church Catechism into useful particulars, and is full of Scripture and the Church. The true use of such books is to give them to ordinary teachers, making them question out of them, and draw out answers like those here given. If the answers are merely learnt by rote, no more good is done by explaining, than by leaving unexplained; or rather harm is done, for there is the appearance of some explanation, without its truth. In this way, we fear that "the broken-up catechism is very injurious in our schools. For where this is not in use, by asking for bits of the catechism, we throw children who merely learn by rote off their guard; and as they have not the catch-word, they cannot get on: and so those who learn without any exercise of mind may be detected. But when the broken-up catechism is taught by rote also, the class of parrots is complete, and all hope of reasonable teaching is thoroughly excluded. But in the teacher's hands, as a guide to him, or to be read over by the most intelligent pupils, this book may be very useful in raising the tone of a school. The Infant Liturgy is carefully and well compiled.

The Parochial Minister's Manual for Visiting the Sick. By the Rev. HENRY HASTED VICTOR, B.A., late of Clare Hall, Cambridge, Curate of Andover. London: Rivingtons. 1839. Pp. 162. Most clergymen recollect the nervous anxiety, the almost shrinking reluctance, with which they first approached the awful and important duty of visiting the sick. With some this feeling is never entirely lost; and to these and to young ministers any offer of aid is acceptable. In books they will always be disappointed. The cases of the sick bed are far too varied to be met by any thing but experience, good sense, and piety. They require a flexible rule-σTEр τῆς Λεσβίας οἰκοδομίας ὁ μολίβδινος κανών. The volume before us may give some useful hints, though it would be found defective as a general manual. The author's plan is to use, with the prayers of the Church, a plain commentary on some short text of Scripture, followed by an appropriate Psalm, or other portion of God's word. He has added a selection of prayers for particular occasions, and a useful index of passages of Scripture, which may be pointed out to the sick to read themselves, according to the different circumstances of their state.

The Churchman's Brief Manual of Baptism. In Four Parts: 1. The Mode of Baptism. 2. The Time. 3. The Effects. 4. Baptismal Regeneration, with concluding Observations. By the Rev. CHARLES E. KENNAWAY, A.M., formerly Fellow of St. John's College ; Incumbent of Christ Church, Cheltenham ; Vicar of Campden. London: Nisbet. 1840. Pp. 202.

THIS is on the whole a judicious exposition and defence of the Scriptural doctrine and primitive practice of our Church. The analogy between baptism and circumcision is ably discussed, though drawn perhaps somewhat too close. The vexata quæstio of baptismal regeneration occupies naturally a large share of this little volume. The writer's views seem to be, that neither the term nor the reality of regeneration can be rightly disjoined from baptism, and that it is the change in which those who are by nature the children of wrath, are made members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven; but that, though it is not to be doubted that the Holy Spirit, given in the sacrament, strives in the heart of the baptized person, aiding the parent's efforts and his own, regeneration is not necessarily accompanied with that moral conversion without which none shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. We venture to recommend this little treatise.

A Notice of Ely Chapel, Holborn; with some Account of Ely Palace to which are added, short Biographical Sketches of some of the Bishops of Ely. London Parker. 1840. Sm. 4to. Pp. 47.

So much has been said on what is called local emotion, on so many occasions, that Dr. Johnson's remark is worn threadbare. The frequent citation, however, of the sentiment, is a proof that it is natural, and therefore not without its use. From this feeling we hail publications such as the present, which draw into a focus all that can be recovered of the past history of a memorable spot. The notice of Ely palace may not have the shadowy dignity which invests the brief and obscure records of Iona; but when Mr. Murray evokes, in his phantasmagoria, John of Gaunt, and Richard the Third, Queen Elizabeth, and her irresistible Lord Chancellor Sir Christopher Hatton, with a venerable mitred train, Lancelot Andrews, Matthew Wren, Simon Patrick, and others, of whom our holy mother Church may well be proud, and all more or less intimately connected with his topographical subject,-it cannot be said that the spot lacks general interest, or that the investigator has done no service to this branch of literature, by his industry in gleaning from many quarters.

The only relics of the magnificent" citie habitation" of the Bishops of Ely now consist of the chapel, still used for divine service, shorn of much of its beauty of architectural ornament, and of all its grace of situation, for it is now so choked up by buildings as to be barely accessible; whereas in the reign of Elizabeth, the Ely estate had been "so much enlarged and improved by purchases of land, and by buildings erected by successive prelates, that the whole, consisting of the palace, gardens, pastures, and enclosures, contained twenty acres."-P. 18.

"Every stone of the secular portion of the episcopal palace has long since been levelled with the ground." (P. 5.) Of course, therefore, whatever description there is in this unpretending "notice" of the existing evidences of antiquity, refers to the chapel only; but Mr. Murray has been diligent in recovering much to elucidate the ancient state of the whole property. The work sets out with saying,

Among the thousands of persons who daily pass the iron gates dividing Ely Place from Holborn, one of the principal thoroughfares of London, few, comparatively, are aware of the religious and historical interest attached to the spot mentioned in our title. The name of " Ely Place" has not changed with the lapse of centuries. Full five hundred years have gone by; and it still retains the ancient designation which it received as the once magnificent town residence of the Bishops of Ely.-P. 5.

It next takes a survey of the chapel as it now appears, by which it seems to be worth a visit. "This venerable structure may be considered to be of about the date of 1320, though an ecclesiastical building appears to have occupied its site at an earlier period."-P. 6.

The progress of the acquisition of the prelatical property is then traced out as completely as existing documents allow, by which it seems probable that it was Bishop Arundel who put the crowning hand to the elevation of the palace. John of Gaunt takes refuge and dies in it. Questions of jurisdiction between the Lord Mayor and the Lord Treasurer interrupt a banquet held here "with most admired disorder." Then comes Gloster on the scene, literally, for certainly Shakspeare has made the Duke's request for some of the Bishop's "good strawberries," far more memorable than the passage in Hollinshed ever would have done. "A messe of strawberries," gathered in Holborn, and a reserve of "two bushels of roses," yearly, from the same grounds, which the Bishop asked for, when forcibly constrained to lease his premises to Hatton, seem strangely out of keeping with what we know in modern times of the same site, now the close-packed human hive of Hatton Garden, and its swarming purlieus. Fruits and flowers, cultivated there, would be rather fuliginous under present circumstances.

"Good Queen Bess" appears to less advantage, in connexion with the present subject, than on most others; she proved herself no "nursing mother," while