dom of my limbs was so delightful, that I moved onward in a step as soft and light as the zephyrs of summer. At a distance I beheld my Professor busy, busy as ever, though the boys and girls were all glee and dancing; singing and skipping to their own happy melodies. I approached the Doctor, and, to my astonishment, he had twelve yoke of oxen and carts, on the sides of which was written, in large letters, FREE MORAL AGENCY.' I found I had left the dreary land of decrees, and was in the country of moral freedom. I asked the Professor what he was doing. 'Doing, says he, 'doing, young man! Don't you see, sir?-Don't you see, sir?' 'No, sir,' I replied, 'I see nothing but the horrible gulf I have just crossed at the risk of life, through faith,-the bottomless abyss.' Young man, don't you see that with these twelve teams we have carted and tipped in so many loads of free agency, soil, and stones, that the bridge is almost finished to the land of decrees? It was left for us, sir, for me, sir, to do the last of the work commenced by the Apostles. Almost done, done, sir; and I shall soon rejoice, as did your Judson, when the last leaf of the Bible was translated.' Doctor, I see no such work or bridge rising. It is with the gulf as with Bunyan's Slough of Despond; as fast as you tip in the loads of dirt, they are blown out into the boundless eternity from the end of the gulf, as though the projectile power of all the powder of earth was after them.' What, young man! Do you think I do not know? Can't I see? The gulf is almost levelled up to its edges,' pointing his hand.-I looked under the Doctor's spectacles, and found, to my sorrow, that the dirt of free agency had blown back, and he was like poor Samson in the mill of the Philistines. But, alas ! he did not give us half so good a grist." SIMON.

RULES FOR HOME EDUCATION. THE following rules we commend to all our patrons and friends, for their excellence, brevity, and practical utility. They are worthy of being printed in letters of gold, and being placed in a conspicuous position in every household. It is lamentable to contemplate the mischief, misery, and ruin which are the legitimate fruit of those deficiencies which are pointed out in the rules to which we have referred. Let every parent and guardian read, ponder, and inwardly digest:

1. From your children's earliest infancy inculcate the necessity of instant obedience. 2. Unite firmness with gentleness. Let your children always understand that you mean what you say.

3. Never promise them anything unless

you are quite sure you can give them what you promise.

4. If you tell a little child to do something, show him how to do it, and see that it is done.

5. Always punish your children for wilfully disobeying you, but never punish them in anger.

6. Never let them perceive that they can vex you, or make you lose your selfcommand.

7. If they give way to petulance and temper, wait till they are calm, and then gently reason with them on the impropriety of their conduct.

8. Remember that a little present punishment, when the occasion arises, is much more effectual than the threatening of a greater punishment should the fault be renewed.

9. Never give your children anything because they cry for it.

10. On no account allow them to do at one time what you have forbidden, under like circumstances, at another.

11. Teach them that the only sure and easy way to appear good is to be good. 12. Accustom them to make their little recitals with perfect truth.

13. Never allow of tale-bearing.

14. Teach them self-denial, not self-indulgence in an angry and resentful spirit.

If these rules were reduced to practicedaily practice-by parents and guardians, how much misery would be preventedhow many in danger of ruin would be saved-and how largely would the happiness of a thousand domestic circles be augmented. It is lamentable to see how extensive is parental neglect, and to witness the bad and dreadful consequences in the ruin of thousands.

THE FRENCH CLERGY.

Galignani's Paris Guide, for 1853, states that there are 42,000 Roman Catholic clergymen in France, besides 8,500 students preparing for the priesthood. At the time of the revolution, the number of Papal ecclesiastics was 114,000, including monks, priests, and 42,000 nuns, with an annual revenue of 142 millions of francs. Now the Catholic clergy are appointed by the State, at an annual expense of 32,000 millions of francs. There are at present in France no less than 3,000 convents and 24,000 nuns, besides convents for different orders of monks.

Of Protestant ministers, there are 507 Calvinists, 249 Lutherans, 40 Protestant Episcopal, and 86 of other denominations. Of Jews, 58 rabbins, and 61 officiating ministers.

Mark Sutherland; or, Power and Principle.

By EMMA D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH. London: John Cassell.

THIS work, like "Uncle Tom's Cabin," is the production of an American lady, and has for its subject slavery; although we do not mean to compare it for power or literary ability to Mrs. Stowe's work, we say unhesitatingly, that whoever has read "Uncle Tom's Cabin" should read, also, "Mark Sutherland." The design of the work is, to show the Power of Principle, and its triumphant issues, in enabling a noble young slaveholder to brave the loss of wealth, home, friends, and betrothed wife, in his resolve to emancipate his princely heritage of human chattels. The hero, Mark Sutherland, is a young, highspirited Missisippian, the only son and heir of a wealthy planter, on the Pearl River, betrothed to his cousin, a beautiful and accomplished girl, who is the only daughter and heiress of his father's brother, another wealthy planter, and himself and his betrothed the joint heirs of a third wealthy brother; the chief wealth of the three brothers consisting in slaves, and the plantations cultivated by slaves. Mark, whose father is dead, is sent to Yale College to educate,-where he becomes the intimate friend and bosom companion of a young Northerner, an Abolitionist. At the request of this friend he is induced to attend some Anti-slavery meetings in New York; where, being of a candid, honourable, and generous nature, he is readily impressed by the justness of the arguments against slavery. After a severe internal struggle, he resolves to give up his patrimony (equal in extent to a German princedom) to free all his slaves, and pay their passage to Liberia. Full of this high determination he returns to his southern home; never doubting but the same course of argument which has induced him to take such a step, will enlist the sympathy and approval of his friends in regard to it. Here, however, a terrible disappointment and trial awaits him. His mother regards his views as the wildest fanaticism, and charges him with cruelty in depriving her of a home, notwithstanding his repeated protestations that the entire residue of his estates, after liberating and forwarding his slaves to Liberia, should be devoted to her comfort. His beautiful betrothed, whom he loved to idolatry, after trying persuasions and blandishment, entreaty and tears, to induce him to forego his purpose,

at length spurns and renounces him as a selfish madman, who would sacrifice her comfort and peace to a wrong-headed whim. Her father, his uncle, drives him with insult and maledictions from his house, as he would a burglar or incendiary. Plied with arguments from Scripture to prove slavery a Divine institution, by some; jeered and scoffed at by others, and, finally renounced by all,-mother, uncles, relatives, and friends,-he steadily pursues his purpose, uncheered by any ray of comfort beyond that of conscientious principle,for at this time he has not fully tasted of Christ in his heart. One little circumstance alone cheers him in his desolation: of all his friends, but one, "a little maid," but a child, endeavoured to offer consolation. She sends a little Bible, bound in white morocco, once the present of her dead mother. She has turned down two leaves for reference; the first is in the Psalms, where he finds the passage, "When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up ;" and the other, from Luke's Gospel, "And Jesus answered and said, Verily, I say unto you, there is no man hath left home, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now, in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come, eternal life." With this drop of comfort poured into his aching heart, he leaves his former princely home, without adieus, and without benisons, with a few dollars only in his pocket, to seek a means of living among the pioneers of the Western States. Here we shall leave him; and such of our readers as feel further interest in his course, and that of the other characters with which the book abounds, must refer to the volume itself. We shall merely remark, that after many struggles, and much toil, Mark finally becomes a judge and a senator,

Beyond the interest of the story, which is on the whole charmingly told, there are many passages of fine discriminating thought. Take the following passage: Proceeding down the river Ohio, Mark and his companion, a lady, note the striking dissimilarity presented by the two banks of the river. On the northern shore it is thickly studded with thriving villages and flourishing fields; the other side is a comparative wilderness: the one is animated

"Yes; and it is from among their number that the first great successful reformer of the great evil must arise.'

"Why do you think so, Mark?'

"From fitness: we are unwilling to be taught our duty by an antagonist, who reasons in partial ignorance of the facts, judges harshly and unjustly, and speaks not the truth in love so often as falsehood in hatred; and, from analogy: all great successful reformers that the world has ever known, have arisen, not from the outside, but from the very midst of the evil to be reformed. Martin Luther sprang not from among the illuminati, but from the bosom of the Roman Catholic church and priesthood. Nay, Christ himself came not in clouds of glory, clothed with the majesty of Godhead from heaven-he arose from the midst of the people whom he came to redeem. So the apostle of liberty to the slave must arise from among the slaveholders.'"

As a literary production the work is unequal, and would indicate a somewhat unpractised writer; but the general interest is sufficient to induce us to repeat, that all who have read "Uncle Tom" should read "Mark Sutherland."

History of the Protestants of France, from the Commencement of the Reformation to the Present Time. Translated from the French of G. DE FELICE, D.D., Professor of Theology at Montauban. 2 vols. Longman and Co., London. MOST cordially do we recommend these valuable and interesting volumes to the attention of our readers. These records of French Protestantism will not be found inferior to those of any country with regard to the heroic devotion of the persecuted, and the dramatic interest of the events narrated. No other body of Protestants suffered so long a period of persecution at the hands of the Church of Rome. For upwards of one hundred years were these worthies exposed to every wrong and cruelty, which the French Kings and the Papal authorities could inflict upon men whose faith was indomitable, and who, by their Christian and heroic deaths, vindicated the rights of conscience, when the most powerful monarchs united with ecclesiastical despots to crush the souls of these Protestants. These French worthies are not, we fear, sufficiently known to British Protestants. Cowper's lines are well applied to them:

"Patriots have toil'd, and in their country's cause Bled nobly; and their deeds, as they deserve, Receive proud recompense.

But fairer wreaths are due, though never paid,
To those who, posted at the shrine of truth,
Have fallen in their defence.
Yet few remember them."

These ought to be had in everlasting remembrance. The translator has done the British Churches good service, in no common degree, by translating the admirable production of the pen of Dr. Félice. We are sorry that our limits will not allow a more extended reference. This we should regret the more, did we not hope that our readers will possess themselves of a work that will probably astonish them by the amount of earnest devoted piety which France has exhibited under a kingly and priestly persecution, whose last victims on the scaffold date no further back than 1763!

Will our readers be surprised that in reading these volumes, we have repeatedly been reminded of the Wesleyan Conference, and that it has been as often suggested, by the facts narrated by Dr. Félice, that Priestly Despotism Rampant " is identical in every age, and in every church?

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The Universal Library; Voyages and Travels, Vol. I. Ditto-Fiction, Vol. I. London: Nathaniel Cooke.

66

WE have before noticed the series of which these volumes form a part, and pronounced it emphatically the cheapest in an age of cheapness. The volume of Voyages and Travels contains, "Anson's Voyage round the World;""Kaempfer's Account of Japan;" Stephens' Travels in Arabia, Egypt, and the Holy Land;" "Stephens' Travels in Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland;" and the "Mutiny of the Bounty." The simple reference to the contents of the volume, calls up to our minds most pleasant memories of the intense delight with which we read some of these in years gone by; and almost tempts us to envy the youth to whom the treat is yet in store. The vo

lume of Fiction contains a selection of tales the character and tendency of which have long been pronounced unexceptionable, and which have become classics in our literature; amongst them we may instance, "The Vicar of Wakefield;""Paul and Virginia;" "Elizabeth; or, the Exiles of Siberia ;" "Uncle Tom's Cabin," &c., &c. excellence of the printing, the quality of the paper, and the beauty of the woodcut illustrations, render these volumes worthy of a place as specimens of the typography of the nineteenth century.

The

Boys and their Rulers; or, What we do at School. London: Nathaniel Cooke. THERE are few who look back on their

school-days with sufficient affection to induce them to live over the scenes by recording them. The author of this little work, however, enters on the task con amore, and relates the minutest detail of his experience at school. His work is chiefly valuable for the insight it gives into the internal economy of Christ Church Hospital, or the Blue-coat School. To all interested in any way in this Institution, this work will be peculiarly welcome.

Publications of the Sunday-school Union.

Depository, 60, Paternoster-row.

WE have before us a batch of the annual publications of the Sunday-school Union; all of which will be hailed by the Sabbathteacher with pleasure. "Notes on the Scripture Lessons," of which we have the volume for 1853, and the first Number for 1854, before us, are so well known and highly valued, that we think there are but few schools into which they have not been introduced. The Sunday-school Teachers' "Class Register," contains printed and ruled forms for the registration of name, address, and attendance of each scholar in a class for every Sunday in the year; together with space for remarks. It also contains references to the Scripture Lessons for 1854, with some other useful matters for Sabbath-teachers. The same work, with a Diary giving space for more extended notes and memoranda, will be found still more useful to the teacher who is in earnest, and make his school duties a matter of studious attention. The completed volumes for the past year of the BibleClass Magazine, and the Child's Own Ma gazine, are before us, and merit commendation for their adaptedness to instruct and interest the youth of Christian families generally. "The New Year's Voice to Sunday-school Teachers, by the Rev. P. B. Power, M. A. ;" "Co-operation: a New Year's Address to Parents of Sundayscholars, by the Rev. C. H. Bateman ;" and "Ways of Pleasantness: a New Year's Address to the Young, by the Rev. W. M. Whittemore;" are most seasonable tracts, the wide distribution of which amongst the classes to whom they are addressed, will be productive of good results.

The Leisure Hour, 1853. Religious Tract Society.

THE second yearly volume of this favorite periodical is before us, and contains a mass of family reading which for variety and excellence is rarely met with in one volume. Every subject, and every class of literature which could interest, amuse, or instruct,

has been impressed into the service for the benefit of its readers,-so that a single volume contains an almost inexhaustible library in itself; whilst in it, it is almost unnecessary to add, every other aim is made subservient to that of elevating the mind and cultivating the highest graces of character. The illustrations are an especial feature of interest, and are, many of them, in the first style of wood engraving.

The Autobiography of a Five-Pound Note. By Mrs. J. B. WEBB. London: Clarke, Beeton, and Co.

THIS is the second work of a series we have before noticed, entitled, the "Run and Read Library." All that we before said in commendation applies with additional force to the volume before us. The name of Mrs. Webb is sufficient guarantee at once for the healthy tone and attractive character of the book. Under the assumed autobiography of a five-pound note, the authoress presents a deeply interesting narrative, related in the most graceful style, and enforcing lessons of vital importance. We confess that we hail works of this description with considerable satisfaction. In the present age of cheap printing, when such facilities are presented to the young for coming into contact with light literature, it may be regarded as tolerably certain that they will find opportunity for reading fiction; it therefore becomes in the highest degree desirable to place in their hands works of that class, not simply unexceptionable in sentiment, but of the highly instructive and elevating tendency of the work before us. If the "Run and Read Library" progress in interest in the ratio which the two first volumes indicate, we safely predict for it the most complete success.

Miss Corner's Scriptural History Simplified, in Question and Answer; for the Use of Families and Schools. Revised by JOHN KITTO, D.D., F.S.A. London: Dean and Son.

We do not know that we can add anything to recommend this little work, beyond the announcement of the title. Miss Corner's histories for Children are so well known, and so generally appreciated, that we need only say, that all the simplicity and charm of her style is employed in rendering Bible history interesting and familiar to the young. The name of Dr. Kitto gives additional weight and authority as to the trustworthiness of the narratives.

The Powers of the World to Come; and the Church's Stewardship as invested with them. By GEORGE B. CHEEVER, D.D. William Collius: Glasgow and London. THIS work, we are informed in the preface, had its origin in a course of lectures on Hebrews vi. 4-6; "and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come." It is a practical survey of what is termed in some quarters, the Escholology of the Scriptures; the realities which, according to Divine revelation, we are to meet beyond the grave. The deep and absorbing interest of the subject, and the qualifications possessed by the Commentator on Bunyan for treating it, must at once commend the work to the Christian reader.

Home Thoughts; a Magazine of Literature, Science, and Domestic Economy. London: Kent, and Co.

THIS is the first completed volume of a Magazine, the carlier Numbers of which elicited our commendatory notice. The volume before us is a very complete repertory of miscellaneous family reading, at once useful, entertaining and instructive. Its range of subjects includes something for every member of the family, which will render it a favourite equally with the youngest who can lisp its first lessons, and with grandmanma.

Orr's Circle of the Sciences. No. I. London: W. S. Orr and Co.

THE aim of this work is to become a complete key to all the treasures of scientific knowledge, especially such as have the most direct bearing upon the happiness and progress of mankind. From the promise of the prospectus, and the first Number before us, we anticipate a very valuable contribution to the people's sources of useful knowledge, written in a style and published at a price, which entitle it to the favourable attention of all classes of readers.

American Scenes and Christian Slavery: a Tour of Four Thousand Miles in the United States. By EBENEZER DAVIES. London: W. Freeman, Fleet-street. THE title page to this volume bears date 1853; a perusal of its contents, however, led us to refer back, and we found the date of the preface 1849. This, in some respects, renders the work more valuable, because it gives to its manly protest against slavery an independence and

weight which might not have been so apparent had it been written since Mrs. Stowe's work so aroused the slumbering energies of the philanthropic and Christian world, by a pourtrayal of the living enor mities of this "peculiar institution" of the United States. The simple recital of the scenes of which the author was an eyewitness, is enough to make the cheek pale with horror; whilst the uncompromising candour with which he expressed himself amongst the apologists, if not the upholders, of the system, strikingly prove him a bold as well as honest man. Mr. Davis, at the time of his visit, was an agent of the London Missionary Society; but apart from any weight his narrative might derive from his ministerial character, we can vouch for his accuracy of detail and graphic faithfulness in sketching men, manners, and places, having ourselves spent some months amid many of the scenes the author describes. His descriptions are given in a lively easy style, which prevents even minutiae of detail from becoming tedious. The volume will well repay perusal.

The Nature and Treatment of the Deformi ties of the Human Frame. By W. J. LITTLE, M.D. London: Longman and Co.

THIS work consists of a course of lectures delivered by the author at the Orthopedic Hospital, of which he was the founder, on the nature and treatment of every class of deformity. It is somewhat out of our province to notice works of such a purely professional character; our chief object, however, on the present occasion, is to call the attention of any of our readers to whom the knowledge is, unfortunately, of peculiar interest, to a work written by a gentleman whose high standing and experience as a lecturer and physician at various London Hospitals give authority to his remarks. The work whilst thoroughly scientific is at the same time so clearly written, and so popular in style, as to be perfectly comprehensible to the general reader, to whom it is made further interesting by upwards of one hundred and sixty illustrative engravings and diagrams.

Notes, Critical, Explanatory, and Practical, on the Book of the Prophet Daniel. Two Volumes. By ALBERT BARNES. Blackie and Son.

ANY eulogy from us on "Barnes's Notes on the Scriptures," would be entirely supererogatory; still more so would any remarks on the features of peculiar interest presented by the book of Daniel to such a