I. OUR VILLAGE CHURCHES.-Could not our Conferences render acceptable and valuable services to the churches in the villages by deputing two or three brethren to visit them twice or thrice a year, hold a week evening meeting, enquire after their welfare, and render them all the assistance in their power. The advantages of such a plan would be manifold. It would give encouragement to them in their quiet plodding labours of love, sustain them in the unequal conflict they wage with the officers of a richly endowed Establishment, attract the notice of outsiders to the grounds and principles of our faith and practice, and above all, lead souls to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are sure the local preachers who self-denyingly visit these churches from month to month, would hail such a visit, and the members of the churches would give us the heartiest welcome. It is our hope to adopt a plan of the kind for the London Conference, and we earnestly entreat the attention of our brethren in the other Conferences to this suggestion.

II. "BAPTISMAL NONSENSE" AND THE CHILDREN'S PRIZE.-We heartily endorse the following protest, sent us by Mr. Chas. Appleby, secretary of the Osmaston Road Sunday school. Our teachers should look very carefully to the literature they allow to be circulated in the schools:-"Many of your readers will no doubt have perused the correspondence which appeared under this heading in the Christian World of Jan. 10, and subsequent issues. In these communications it was shewn that the 'false and pernicious doctrines' of Baptismal Regeneration was, in a most unmistakeable manner, set forth in the above-named magazine. The subject was introduced at our monthly teachers' meeting, held Feb. 14; and I append copy of a resolution then passed, which I have been directed to forward to you :"That in view of what has come to the knowledge of the teachers of this Sunday school as to the contents of the Children's Prize, they hereby express their disapproval of that magazine, and henceforth prohibit its circulation in the school, together with all periodicals under the same editorship." I think you will agree with us, sir, that no uncertain sound ought to be given by Nonconformists in deciding upon this question, and I trust that, in many other schools, a

*"Sunday" and "Chatterbox" are amongst these.

similar course will be adopted, so as to put a stop to such unscriptural teaching as far as practicable."

III. EDUCATION BY INJUSTICE.-The pass to which Mr. Forster has brought us is most painful. In Plymouth more than fifty summonses have been issued to compel men to pay for the teaching of dogmas which they "steadfastly disbelieve." In Sheffield the same iniquity is being committed. Only the brave determination of the Town Council of

Birmingham stops the way of similar practises on a more extensive scale there. At Liverpool, Church of England and Roman Catholic schools take of public money £5,145 8s. 4d. out of a total of £5,284 15s. 8d. And this is a sample of the way the Act works elsewhere. It is the "Poor Man's Church" on the one hand, and "Roman Catholics" on the other, who everywhere benefit by Mr. Forster's unjust clause. And they are not ashamed to take the money. They will denounce us, point the finger at our poverty, and then thrust their hands into our pockets to get money to inculcate that the same process shall go on for ever. Brave brother Hester is right to resist. We must do it. The nation teaches by its laws, and by the spirit they display. And so long as the 25th clause stands, the British Parliament is giving a lesson to the people in injustice.

More

IV. BE SHORT.-Here is a scrap of fine advice. We like it exceedingly. Put Magazine for Union and read on. It is all true. "Readers like short articles. An intelligent layman says that some of our contributors are too lengthy. We agree with him. The articles in the Union average less in length however, than in most other papers; but they should be shorter still, and more condensed. thought and fewer words, must be our motto. Two columns can usually be crowded into one, and suffer loss of words only. Such writing is hard for the author, but easy for the reader. Useless words are a burden. About twice as many are used as are needful. Direct, sharp, warm, terse sentences are what readers like. Cream is better than diluted drinks. Long, wordy articles empty the mind of thought; short, meaty ones, make it swarm with ideas; the former impoverish, the latter enrich."-Bap. Union.

V. BISHOPS TO THE FORE.-From the address of Dr. Thomson, Archbishop of York, at the recent meeting of the Malton Church Defence Association, it appears

that the attitude to be taken by the episcopal bench to the Disestablishment has received serious consideration; and that they have decided, whilst not actually working the movement, yet to give it their valuable aid. This is as it should be. Of course they will not be "political" in doing so. What is "political" in a dissenter is refined spirituality in highly salaried bishops. But we hope the bishops will not all adopt Dr. Thomson's mistake. It is bad policy. He says that the Disestablishment movement is but the noise of a few agitators talking in an empty room and getting

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well reported. No good general underrates the force of his enemy. The Liberation movement has its stronghold in the profound convictions of thousands upon thousands of Christian men; of men who supremely desire the spiritual welfare of their country, and see no greater foe to it than the Romanizing Church of England, supported and endowed by the state; of men who can fight, and suffer, and in their unalterable conviction that truth and righteousness are with them, can afford to wait. Let the bishops come. They will get light. Truth will have the victory.

THE "Desert of the Exodus" gives a detailed account of the labours of two expeditions, the first having for its field of investigation the Sinaitic Peninsular, and the second being devoted to the Bádiet et Tíh, or, as the name signifies, "The Desert of the Wanderings." The former of these districts includes only the mountainous region at the southern extremity of the peninsular; while the desert of Tíh extends from the Sinaitic mountains on the south, to the Mediterranean on the north; and from the Isthmus of Suez on the west, to the hills of Judah and the valley of the Arabah on the north-east and east. The first expedition was undertaken in connexion with the Ordnance Survey of Sinai, in 1868-9. The party consisted of Sir Henry James, as director of the Survey, and Captains Wilson and Palmer, together with several non-commissioned officers of the Royal Engineers, the Rev. F. W. Holland (who had already paid three visits to Sinai), Mr. Wyatt, to whom was assigned the natural history department, and Mr. Palmer, the writer of these volumes, who had "the task of investigating the names and traditions of the country, and of copying and deciphering the inscriptions with which the rocks in many parts of Sinai are covered." These names are a guarantee of complete efficiency and thoroughness in the work of each department which they represent, and will secure the strongest confidence and deepest respect for the conclusions arrived at and the opinions expressed in this work. The origin and purpose of the expedition will be best explained in the writer's own words: "The question proposed by Dean Stanley in his masterly exposition of the connexion between sacred history and sacred geography, namely, 'Can such a connexion be traced between the

scenery, the features, the boundaries, the situation of Sinai and of Palestine on the one hand, and the history of the Israelites on the other?' embodies the whole idea of those who conceived and matured the scheme for making an accurate survey of the Peninsular of Sinai." Acting on this idea, our travellers start from Suez along the supposed track of the Israelites; and gleaning all the information that may be derived from the sacred history, or from tradition, archæology, or the natural features of the country, they endeavour to identify the Scenes of the Wanderings, and to fix the scripture topography. We have not space to sketch the route of the first expedition, or even to recount the names of places visited, but must confine ourselves to a remark or two on the object of paramount interest, namely, Mount Sinai. The various members of the expedition seem to have been unanimous in their opinion as to the claims of Jebel Músa to be considered as the true Sinai-the scene of the giving of the Law. The magnitude and imposing appearance of "this mountain,"t its accessibility from all sides; its command of the extensive valleys, Er Rahar and Esh Sheikh, affording ample room for the encampment of the Israelites,§ and the general correspondence of the locality with the scripture narrative, serve to identify this spot as the "Mountain of the Law," and the scene of the most solemn and momentous event, save one, in the World's History. The work of the expedition in determining this point alone is certainly worth all the cost and trouble expended. The only difference of opinion that seems to have existed on any matter of importance had reference to the latter

part of the route taken by the Israelites on approaching the open space_called the "Wilderness of Sinai,"* Mr. Palmer and the rest of the party holding to the southern valley, Wady Soláf, as the more likely route, and Mr. Holland, whose view Mr. Palmer greatly respects, regarding the more northerly course, by Wady Sheikh, as the more probable. In the former case, Feirán is identified with Rephidim as the scene of the encounter with the Amalekites, and in the latter, the pass at el Watiyeh is fixed upon.

The second volume takes us through the desert proper, the scene of the forty years' wanderings. This district, known by the name of Arabia Petræa, or the Stony, includes the desert of Et Tíh, and parts of Idumæa and Moab. The investigation of this region was undertaken by Mr. Palmer and Mr. C. F. Tyrwhit-Drake, under the auspices of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Mr. Drake's work was chiefly confined to the taking of photographic and pencil sketches of ruins, scenery, &c., met with along the route.

His beautiful illustrations from photographs add very much to the value of the second volume. With a very small escort, and as slight an equipment as possible, the two travellers set off on their bold and arduous enterprize on the 16th of December, 1869. Much of the district to be traversed was utterly unknown, and the tribes to be encountered on the way were many of them of the most dangerous character. It therefore required no small amount of nerve and determination, and, still further, of love for the work before them, to induce these two gentlemen to devise and carry out their bold project. Bible-readers and Bible-lovers can scarcely be too grateful to men like Mr. Palmer, Mr. Holland, Lieutenant Warren, and others, who, in order to elucidate and confirm the Sacred Scriptures, have undergone the severest hardships and encountered the greatest perils, "men that have hazarded their lives" for the word of God.

Perhaps the most interesting and valuable portion of the second volume is that which treats of the Negeb, or "South Country" of scripture. In this region, which is now almost treeless, "a desert and wellnigh "without inhabitant," and which is spoken of in the Mosaic narrative as a land of plenty, Mr. Palmer met with abundant traces of former cultivation. One object of interest is specially deserving of notice as an illustration of the exact truthfulness of

*Exodus xix. 1.

+ Exodus xvii. 8-14.

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scripture even in the minutest matters: long walls of stones were met with, arranged in parallel lines and evidently not intended as boundary marks. On inquiry of the Arabs, the common reply was that they were grape mounds," built by the ancients to train vines upon, in the place of the trellis-work used for the purpose in countries where wood is more abundant. These relics, the ruins of garden-towers, abundant springs of water, and extensive remains of well-built and fortified cities, met with so frequently throughout the Negeb district, attest the fidelity of the description given of this southern border of Palestine when the Israelites, encamped in the neighbouring wilderness of Kadesh, sent spies to explore the country.* * The descriptions of prehistoric monuments and tombs, and of the more modern specimens of Greek and Roman churches and temples of the period from the 5th to the 7th centuries; the account of Edom, with its famous city of Petra, built in the sides of the red sandstone rocks; the narrative of a visit to the "Land of Moab," and the site of the worldrenowned "Moabite-stone" are full of interest and value to the Christian student. Mr. Palmer gives the history of the discovery of this famous stone, and of the unfortunate diplomatic blunders which led to its destruction by the Arabs. His account was received from eye-witnesses and parties in the transaction. Of course the Arabs are now alive to the value of such relics, and are all on the alert for further discoveries. It is amusing to read of the eager attempts which they make to palm off upon the traveller some comparatively modern specimen of Greek inscription or fragment of Roman sculpture as a priceless archæological gem. We feel confident that all the reliance that skill, impartiality, and strictest truthfulness deserve, may be placed on the statements and opinions found in this invaluable work. A more prudent investigator and impartial and competent critic could scarcely have been found for the survey of the "Desert of the Exodus" than Mr. Palmer. We can imagine no better proof of the genuineness and authenticity of the Pentateuch, and no better method of reply to the arguments of the school of Colenso, than the bare statement of facts like those which are found in these volumes. Books like these are amongst the best tools the Christian "workman" can possess. Happy is the" minister "that hath his " library "full of them."

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W. E. WINKS.

*Numbers xiii. 17-27.

THE SECRET OF A HAPPY LIFE. By G. W. Conder. Religious Tract Society. pp. 160. ANOTHER book on the Beatitudes; but again we have to say not one too many Though differing in many respects from the able work of Mr. Dykes, noticed a short time ago, it has merits all its own. There is a freshness as of spring breezes, and a fragrance as of banks of violets about the book. The studious commentator is forgotton in the free, hearty, and brotherly grip of the hand the writer gives you, in the directness and pungency of his speech, in the quiet beauty of his figures, in the homely conversational mode of address, and above all in the intensely earnest desire to do good. We get out of the covers of the Bible into the wide suffering world, see its gnawing hunger and feverish restlessness; but everywhere we carry with us the soothing words of Him who alone can give us rest and joy. The key note is the world's quest for happiness. The answer is found in Christ Jesus Himself, and in His words of blessing. A more winning or more useful book on the Beatitudes we cannot conceive.

JOHN, WHOM JESUS LOVED. By Jas. Culross, D.D. Stock. pp. 216.

THIS monogram on the beloved apostle leaves nothing to be desired. The man is pictured for us in all the phases of his long experience and the modes of his activity. His character at the start, the "make" of the man is carefully analyzed, so that it may be the more clear what Divine grace uses and what it adds. His devoted and affectionate discipleship, his labours by lip and pen, his theology and his influence on the Christian church, are set forth with keen appreciation of detail, great breadth of treatment and manly spirituality. As a defence, it is masterly, as an exposition clear and effective, as a portrait vivid, striking, and realistic, and as a help to devotion and service it beats with stimulus and throbs with living power.

SERMONS, PAMPHLETS, &c.

The Sinking Disciple Saved. W. Baker, B.D.-Stock-is a fruitful application of the lessons suggested by the loss of the Northfleet.

Christian Baptism. J. M. Dennison, M.A. Stock. Another interesting pamphlet on the persons, mode, and meaning of baptism. It is written in the form of a conversation between minister and inquirer.

The Pentateuch, by Robert Young, LL.D., (Young, Edinburgh) is a lecture on the formation of the first five books of the Bible, and a statement of the principles for its interpretation. The account is ably rendered, and the rules of interpretation are sound. The lecture will do much good.