History of the Colony of Natal, South Africa. By the Rev. W. C. HOLDEN. Heylin, Paternoster-row. MR. HOLDEN thoroughly understands the subject on which he has set himself to address the British public, forasmuch as he has been no fewer than fifteen years resident in the colony. While the work dwells on Natal, there is also appended to it a brief history of the Orange River Sovereignty, concerning which, of late years, we have had so much talk at home, and so much conflict abroad, and of the various races inhabiting it, the Great Lake Ngami, Commandoes, the Dutch Boers, and other matters connected with the general question of African Colonization. We learn from the preface that the history was finished at the close of 1852, and transmitted for publication to London; but circumstances led to its delay till 1853, when Mr. Holden very properly turned his attention to the present condition of the country, composing a small work on the Orange River Sovereignty, the abandonment of which by the British Government was then in contemplation; and this, as we have just stated, explains the circumstances of the Appendix. In that publication, Mr. Holden, writing from extended personal knowledge, adduced and urged the strongest arguments for not abandoning the control of that important territory. The worthy Author has concurred with all who deemed the intention an infatuation as well as an injustice, and who deprecated the idea of a surrender as an impending calamity. The work opens with a description of Natal, the Bay, and the adjacent country, setting forth its geographical position, and natural history; giving at the same time an account of the locality from the description of it by Vasco de Gama in 1497, till the arrival of Lieutenant Farewell in 1823; the history of the first English settlers from that period to 1842, when Natal was taken from the Dutch; the immigration of the Dutch farmers to Natal with the slaughter of Retief and his party at Dingaan's Capital; the taking of Natal by the English; the establishment of the British Government there, with its Laws and Regulations at the present time. To this succeed interesting disquisitions relative to the English Government, and the Natives, Towns, Villages, and Settlements. We have then a chapter on Emigration, and the Capabilities of Natal, a chapter of great importance after the controversial discussions which have taken place relative to its capabilities, as to the cultivation of sugar, coffee, cotton, and so on. The work concludes with a dissertation on the Cape War, Roads, Banks, Gold, and Coal, and some other kindred matters. What is called the Appendix already referred to, is no minor consideration; it is a very considerable publication of itself, comprising some 120 octavo pages. The illustrations are unusually numerous, and we presume, correct as well as striking, materially aiding the reader to form an accurate conception of the dismal country in which the scene is laid. The Glory of the Holy Ghost. By PETER M'LAREN. Johnstone and Hunter. THIS is in several respects an original and in every way a very important work. The following paragraph is explanatory: a In order to illustrate the work of God as perfected by the Holy Ghost, it has been found necessary to explain first of all the doctrine of the Trinity. This has been done according to the Augustinian theory, which is simple, and apparently consistent with the Word of God. In the Scriptures we find one divine Person distinguished as the Father; another distinguished as the Son, and the Wisdom, and the Word of God; and another distinguished as the Holy Spirit, or Breath of God. These words bring out the figure of man speaking, · wherein there is the speaker's will to produce an intelligible sound; his understanding and vocal organs defining and forming the words; and his breath receiving this form, and carrying out into separate existence, in the formed words, the intended speech. There is nearly the same relation between God and the created universe, as betwen a speaker and the words uttered by him; hence the propriety of representing the Trinity acting by the figure of a man speaking. This is the skeleton of the reviled scholastic theory; and whatever the reader may think of it, it has satisfied men eminently wise and good, and it serves to connect the revealed facts of the case better than any other theory. After a disquisition concerning the Trinity, the Author proceeds to discourse on the operations of the Holy Ghost in the creation and government of the world; on the person of the Messiah, in his saving work on the people of God, and his Ecclesiastical Work in the Church, its ordinances, its officers, and its operations. Mr. M'Laren demonstrates an ardent love to the Old Divines, and an intimate acquaintance with their best productions. He appears, in particular, rightly to have estimated, and deeply to have pondered the golden treasures of John Owen. The present work, notwithstanding the magnitude and variety of its subject, is confined to laudable dimensions, so that both as to price and magnitude, it is a book for the people, for all the people; and to every reader of these pages we may cordially commend it. To The Resurrection of Israel-a Poem. which is added Death and the Sculptors; or, Art against Art, and other Poems. By the Rev. H. NEWTON, B.A. Blackwood. MR. NEWTON's is a name new to the world of letters, but we trust it will frequently return; for there is much in this brief Volume to inspire hope for the future. These pieces indicate not only high poetic genius, but superior intellectual culture, a thorough appreciation of, and an entire consecration to the Gospel. The matter of the Sculptors is one peculiarly seasonable to the times which are passing over us. Mr. Newton is duly alive to the dangers of the day flowing from a variety of sources, and in particular from the great and growing extent of our intercourse with the Continent. His own observations in prose, in the vivid piece, "Death and the Sculptors," possess a special value. "This piece," he tells us, was composed while the Crystal Palace was standing in Hyde Park, under a strong apprehension, justified by the event, that the devil was about to bring a fearful evil upon the country." In the course of these striking remarks, it comes out that "Pauline, the sister of Napoleon I.,-divested of all shame, stood a model for the robeless Venus of Canova! When remonstrated with for this act, she coolly observed, that the temperature of the room was not uncomfortable. She did not in consequence lose caste in Italy, simply because all society there was Paulinised as well as denationalised." How revolting the idea, that the sister of the Emperor, Napoleon the Great, should present herself naked in the room of a sculptor, that her form might be chiselled into the resemblance of an imaginary Venus! Mr. Newton properly remarks, that this is what the enemy of England's Protestantism has been all along attempting upon our own country. Let the moral purity of the English people be once tainted, and Popery will advance with rapidity. Under these circumstances then, the Author well observes, that "We cannot silently stand by and see a deadly poison infused into the heart of England; that all similarly naked statues imply acts of similar baseness and degradation of the female sex." Mr. Newton then proceeds to advert to the divers matters touching Popery, May nooth, and Statuary, after which he again appeals with great force to the parenthood of the land. He justly expresses his deep concern that the Directors of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham should have suffered the love of Art so completely to overthrow their love of morality! He considers the exhibition there of naked male figures to be such an outrage on society, and on so grand a scale, that if tolerated, modesty or decency would have ceased to stand for any human idea or human feeling. Nothing like it was ever known in the worst times of the most demoralised people in Europe. "Even in Italy a guide has been known to refuse to lead an English family into a complete Artistic Chamber, because the statuary was a little indecent.' They had not got so far in Italy as the Crystal Palace people in England." We believe there is much more in this matter than has yet found its way to the public mind; and we suspect, that from the spirit of the present age, things will become worse before they become better. Mr. Newton's Appeal to the so called Christian Artists is striking and pungent. But we must stop; all this is, so to speak, by the way, and touching the prose and the morality of the volume, for which we greatly admire the Author, while we tender him our special thanks. The Resurrection of Israel is a masculine and powerful piece, as well as are the subsequent articles on Creation, and the Cave of Anak; Moses on Mount Nebo is a noble production, constituting, indeed, the chief poem of the volume. Lectures Delivered before the Young Men's Christian Association in Exeter Hall. Nisbet and Co. Or all the volumes of a kindred character which have preceded the present, we doubt if there be one containing a larger measure of substantial excellence. The Subjects are well chosen, as well as the Lectures. The Origin of Civilization-Labour, Rest, and Recreation-Popular Fallacies-the Glory of the Old Testament-Philosophy of the Atonement-Man and his Master-The Intelligent Study of the Holy Scriptures-Constantinople and Greek Christianity-Agents in the Revival of the Last Century-God's Heroes and the World's Heroes-the Dignity of Labour-Ragged Schools-Opposition to Great Inventions and Discoveries. Such are the topics, and it is not too much to affirm, that very worthily were they severally worked out, and that very admirable and valuable is the aggregate presented in this handsome volume. We never like to lose a fair opportunity of speaking a good word for a Bishop; and only regret that we have so seldom an occasion to gratify ourselves in that direction. In the present case, an occasion is supplied in the person of one of the most erudite, enlightened, patriotic, and noble-minded men that ever occupied the bench-Archbishop Whately, of Dublin. This most distinguished prelate did not think it beneath him to undertake the opening lecture of this series, and thus to appear before the Chris tian Young Men in London. All honour to the Archbishop! One such act would do more to conciliate opposition to a State Church, to render men tolerant to the defects of the system, than a thousand bitter homilies such as those of Henry, of Exeter, Charles James, of London, and Samuel, of Oxford. The Bishop in the opening paragraph of his Lecture states, that he proposes to lay before the audience "a small portion of the results of his researches and reflections upon them;" and it is greatly to be hoped that the store, from which this small portion is detached, will, in due season, and soon, meet the public eye. Dr. Whately is one of the few more eminent public writers who have not written too much. He is careful always to chose his subject well, and wisely; and having so chosen it, he is also careful to elaborate it to the utmost, so that when he comes before the public, he is in a position rather to demand their applause than to beg their indulgence. Granting no indulgence to himself, he requires to ask none of the public. The present dissertation is worthy of Archbishop Whately, manly, luminous, well digested, strongly conclusive, with here and there a dash of carelessness, which shews that this distinguished writer on logic, and on rhetoric, is always more careful of the former than of the latter. In expression the Bishop is often slovenly; in argument very rarely at fault. The volume as a whole is one of very great value. Public Worship; or, Praise, Prayer, and Preaching. By JOHN SMITH, M.A. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. THOUSANDS will be glad to receive a volume on the subject of" Praise, Prayer, and Preaching," from the practised pen of the Author of the "Scottish Clergy," comprising two volumes of sketches of ministers of all denomi nations who, during the long course of seven years, continued to excite an extraordinary measure of attention throughout all parts of Scotland. This was a species of labour for which the author was, to an unusual extent, qualified. We doubt whether, all things considered, there is any man of his time equally endowed with the peculiar gifts which called for so peculiar an enterprise. Mr. Smith's original qualifications are such as fall to the lot of few public writers. Had he lived two or three thousand years back, he would undoubtedly have taken his placeand a high place, too-amongst the critics of his time, and have come down to us in the same roll with Dionysius, Quinctilian, and Longinus. The present work has the advantage of being the last effusion of the author's genius, and it has consequently derived the full benefit of his multifarious studies, in connection with his disquisitions on contemporary clergymen. This essay on praise comprises much that is entitled to general attention. He has a thorough conception of what ought to be, and is keenly alive to the errors and evils which prevail. It is the best essay upon the aspect of the subject which Mr. Smith has selected in our language. The writer, here and there, uses a freedom of expression, however, which perhaps may stumble people of tender sensibilities, and lead them to look upon him as a man of the Edinburgh Review School-more daring than devotional, and perhaps they will not be greatly out; but for all that, and even while they "strike," we hope they may "hear." The essay on Prayer is brief-we think too brief. The subject is of sufficient importance to have authorized, if not to have demanded, much more expansion. The chief talent is the department on preaching, which is entitled to special notice. Creation's Testimony to its God; or, The Accordance of Science, Philosophy, and Revelation. BY THOMAS RAGG. Longman and Co. THIS volume is offered by its devout and gifted Author as a Manual of the Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion, with especial reference to the progress of Science and the advancement of Knowledge; and is one of the most instructive and interesting works of its class that we are able to name. Nothing, indeed, for a considerable number of years, of the same kind, has appeared at all comparable. It is sound alike in its science and in its religion, and very strongly exemplifies the advantage, other things being equal, of religious men dealing with scientific subjects. Their piety affects alike the intellectual and the moral character of their productions, imparting at once a glory and a lustre which add exceedingly to the charm. In the present case, the philosopher and the poet walk hand in hand in delightful harmony. We have said, the "poet," for many of our readers are aware that Mr. Ragg has distinguished himself in that capacity by his excellent publications, "The Incarnation," "The Deity," &c. The range of the present volume is very wide, comprising all Ñature, all Science, and all Inspiration, and bringing the whole to bear united testimony to the power, the wisdom, and the goodness of the Almighty Creator. There is not one of these twenty chapters which presents not evidence of solid inquiry, deliberate study, and deep earnestness. We could quote whole sheets of passages of striking excellence, the perusal of which would impart both instruction and pleasure in a high degree, and leave on the mind impressions which no time will obliterate. Of all the publications of its Author, it is, unquestionably, by far the most important; entitling him to a place amongst the ablest and most useful writers of his country. Mr. Ragg, unquestionably, will henceforth take rank with our Bentleys, our Butlers, our Paleys, and our Sumners. Altar Gold; or, the Worthiness of the Lamb that was Slain to Receive Riches. By the Rev. JOHN MACFARLANE, LL.D. GlasSecond Thousand. London: J. gow. Snow. WE are more pleased than surprised to find that ten hundred copies of this most noble Sermon have already been dispersed throughout the ranks of the supporters of the London Missionary Society. The demand does credit alike to their reason, their judgment, their piety, and their zeal. The text is one of the happiest ever selected on such an occasion, and the working out of the idea has never been surpassed. The thing is thoroughly Scotch-that is to say, analytic, argumentative, and every way logical; - and nothing is wanting to its perfection, but a few tints, a stroke of pathos, or a flash of splendour, such as it is more especially the prerogative of English genius to impart. If there is to be any comparison, we must compare our eminent preacher not with English preachers, but with those of his own country who have come to serve the Society; and thus tested, he will occupy a chief place amongst men of the former rank. The appeal to the intellect is throughout most powerful; but amidst the homage done to intellect, the heart is by no means forgotten, although power rather than sentiment is the predominating feature of the preacher's mind. Dr. Macfarlane undertakes to discuss three points: the sense in which the cause of Jesus Christ appears to be dependent on the favour of men;-the worthiness of the Lamb that was slain to receive the riches of men;-the qualification of the judges that bore witness to this worthiness of the Lamb that was slain to receive riches. Under these points we have a beautiful and impressive embodiment of principles, doctrines, and facts, the whole pressed home with an eloquence worthy of the subject. A Poetical Grammar of the English Language, and an Epitome of the Art of Rhetoric. By ROBERT CLARKE. Houlston and Co. The THIS is an ingenious and interesting volume, Take first this maxim of important truth, Here there is certainly no great profundity. It simply amounts to this-that with straw and clay a man may, perchance, make bricks, but that, with neither, he will get sorrily on. There is a great deal throughout that might be turned to ridicule, but nevertheless there is merit in the production. We greatly prefer, however, Mr. Clarke's prose to his verse; and here we have a respectable example in his disquisition on Extemporaneous Speaking; the whole of his Rules may be summed up in a few words:-"Be natural, and give yourself up to the guidance of common sense." Among these Rules are the following:-"Never admit unnecessary parentheses; exclude all redundant words and phrases; do not conclude your sentences with an adverb or preposition, or any inconsiderable word." The book, to the young beginner, will supply both help and amuse ment. On Sabbath Reading; a Lecture delivered at Zion Chapel, Carmarthen, on Wednesday, April 25, 1855. By Rev. W. WILLIAMS, Wesleyan Minister. Hamilton and Co. WHAT are we coming to? Is the agitation against the sacredness of the first day of the week being transferred from our great and, as to the majority, ungodly Metropolis to the remoter districts of the realm? It would seem so; and hence this valuable Lecture was called forth by a proposal made for opening the Reading Room of the Carmarthen Literary and Scientific Institution on Sundays! The valuable Address is dedicated to the Young Men and Artizans of Carmarthen, with the view of furnishing them with a few practical reasons for adhering to an English Sabbath, and resisting the introduction of a continental one. this occasion, the Author has done excellent service to the locality in which he is exercising his ministry. The subject is discussed with great freedom, in a good spirit, and on the best principles. Mr. Williams observes, it is a very strange thing that while there is such solicitude manifesting itself in Great Britain to trample on the Sabbath, the people of France, who have had no Sabbath for generations, should be anxious to recover it, and to establish a day of rest! Many tradesmen in Paris have actually closed the shops, and many people throughout both France and Germany are longing for a religious Sunday. Well says Mr. Williams, “Bible reading and Bible practice are the great want of our times. No theory for the relief of our social evils which ignores this source of highest wisdom and power can possibly succeed." Those are among the true sayings of God, and all attempts to give them the lie will only issue in confusion. A Guide to the Knowledge of Life. By R. J. MANN, M.D. Jarrold and Sons. THIS work is avowedly designed for the use of schools, and of all who desire to be informed regarding their own organization, and its relation to the natural influences that are concerned in the maintenance of health; in other words, for all rational beings to act in a rational manner. The volume itself is, in its way, something more than a curiosity; it is a compend or digest of a vast subject in all its ramifications. What Dr. Brewer has done in another direction, that Dr. Mann has done in this; it is a sort of encyclopædia of the subject. We have nothing like it in the English tongue, nor, so far as we are aware, in any other. After a series of copious chapters on organized structure, elementary materials, composition of the atmosphere, water, plants, soil, and so forth, we reach Man, and are entertained by a long chain of admirable disquisitions on food, digestion, blood, circulation, organic fabrics, the animal body, the muscular parts, the nervous parts, the brain, the operations of the mind, the external senses, and other subjects of a kindred character. The volume is copiously illustrated by cuts, which materially aid in the comprehension of the text. For the higher order of schools the volume is invaluable. To conduct the elder scholars through a course of instruction such as that here presented, would confer upon them a permanent obligation. Dr. Mann, by the preparation of the volume -which has been the result of not a little labour-has done a great and important service to society. Sabbath Evening Readings on St. John. By the Rev. JOHN CUMMING, D.D. Hall, Virtue, and Co. Of all the New Testament Scriptures none are comparable with the writings of John for unction, sublimity, and a something resembling the utterances of his Divine Master. Dr. Cumming has felt himself peculiarly at home in slowly threading his way through this ethereal memoir of God Incarnate. He appears to have entered most deeply into the spirit of his subject; sympathy has everywhere manifested itself, and the success with which he has imbibed the spirit, and embodied the views of the Apostolic writer is such as cannot fail especially to commend it to the devout reader. The way to use the work with advantage, is not lazily to sit down and read the commentary first, or read the commentary alone, but to take the Scripture on which the preacher expatiates, reading it carefully and devoutly, and with the closest attention to get at its meaning, and its bearing on the heart and the life; and having done so, then, to take Dr. Cumming and see what he has said on the subject. The reader will be frequently pleased to find that he has anticipated the preacher, and sometimes, perhaps, surprised, that he should have overlooked what the preacher presents to his attention; and sometimes it may be, his own thoughts will supply him with considerations greatly important which have been overlooked or omitted even by the preacher. Christ and his People. By the Rev. F. W. KRUMMACHER, D.D. Seeley and Co. IT is now a considerable time since the star of Krummacher burst upon our horizon. His mode was original, his subjects well selected, and the reception given him was such as to encourage a repetition of his services. He has, however, been slow to avail himself of the advantages supplied by British popularity. Yet, from time to time, proofs have been given that, if not working hard, he was not wholly idle. The present volume consists of themes peculiarly suited to the exercise of the author's talents. His power consists in portraiture; he is a great moral painter; nor is he defective in transcribing to his page the lineaments of physical nature. In his present work, we have something of order in a very comprehensive outline. John the Forerunner forms Part I., and is descanted on throughout a number of captivating chap: ters. The Messiah next succeeds, and the great events of his wondrous career are expatiated on at great length. Then comes a dissertation, entitled, The People of God, followed by The World. Under these several headings, we have a large amount of instructive teaching and edifying matter. Preces Paulina; or, the Devotions of the Apostle Paul. Jas. Nisbet. THIS is a volume of a thoroughly devotional character. Paul has been presented in such a variety of aspects by writers of every class of devotional pretension, that it might have been supposed little more, if anything, remained to be done. Only a careful hand and a keen vision could expect to reap even a few solitary ears; but it is otherwise, as the present volume abundantly shows. We have here stated, under two heads,-the first entitled Historical Notices, and the second Epistolatory Records-no fewer than thirtyeight classifications of the prayers of the Apostle. This intimation will show with what minuteness the New Testament Scriptures have been examined, and with what care all the points have been selected and arranged. The book is alike distinguished by devout sentiment aud elegant expression; and is, in an unusual degree, calculated to further the ends of personal piety. The Congregational Pulpit. Nos. I-III. AMONG the more recent projects of a serial character is the Congregational Pulpit, edited by the Rev. T. G. Horton, of Tonbridge Chapel, New-road. Already we have three numbers, and six sermons before us. Number III., however, is that with which we are mainly concerned; and here the first discourse is, "Christ Crucified," by the Rev. James Baldwin Brown; and the second, "An Appeal to Young Men from a Brother's Grave," by the Rev. Josiah Viney. Both are excellent, and calculated alike to instruct and to edify. The conception of a Congregational Pulpit is excellent, such as entitles it every way to the support both of ministers and of people. That matter, in abundance, will be found from month to month to keep it well filled, we have no doubt, and by proper arrangements on the part of Messrs. Judd and Glass, we cannot doubt of the success of the publication. The Church of the Millennium. By the Rev. ALEXANDER ARTHUR. Shepherd and Elliott. THE object of this tractate is to refute the arguments of Dr. Cumming on the end of the world. Whether Dr. Cumming seriously believes his own arguments we know not, but sure we are, that nobody else believes them. Multitudes may crowd around the rostrum of our millennial orator, admiring his plausibilities, and unitedly testifying to his genius, but we believe neither man nor woman of sound mind ever for a moment placed the slightest confidence in the truth of his lucubrations touching this subject. But if any such there be, they are neither beneath notice nor sympathy; and we commend to them the able disquisition before us as one very likely to be of service in rescuing them from their preposterous delusions. Life of Napoleon III. By F. GREENWOOD. Partridge and Oakey. THEY who desire a clear outline of the extraordinary career of the present occupant of the Throne of France, will find it in this vo |