sentiments with equal freedom to your sister?' he inquired, with a sort of calm concentration of rage." He received such an answer as none but a christian daughter could have given. In a short time he is married, and Laura, rather than remain longer at home, elopes with Thornhill; and her father of course declares that he will never see her again. In the meanwhile, Raymond has proposed to Ethel; but they have frequently conversed on the subject of religion, and Raymond has frankly avowed that, beyond a vague idea of some incomprehensible Being, who has created the universe, he is an unbeliever; and although dazzled with the exalted purity, and overawed by the majestic sublimity, of the Scriptures, he is unable to satisfy his own mind as to their inspiration. Ethel, true to her promise to her mother and her duty to her God, is compelled to refuse him. But let us draw the veil over a scene of unhallowed agony, where, the idol of the soul being torn away, a proud heart rebels against the God who should thus interpose between himself and his happiness! Raymond, wandering in the world without God and without hope, a deceived heart has led him astray and the darkness of despair has already overshadowed him. The apparent sport of fortune, he is restless and ever changing; now seeking the dissipation of the ball-room and the theatre, now vainly attempting to find happiness in the beauty of scenery or the delirium of the gambling-saloon. He and an infidel travelling-companion cross the Alps; an avalanche descends with overwhelming force, destroying carriage and horses, and frightfully crushing his companion. Raymond himself is now like a man suddenly aroused from a deep slumber caused by some deadly narcotic: he sees the hand of God in this: his friend expires in excruciating pain, now uttering incoherent cries to Heaven for mercy, and now beseeching Raymond, by all he holds sacred, to seek God at once, lest, as in his own case, when he would seek forgiveness, it should be denied him. Raymond, naturally enough, becomes a most zealous Roman Catholic; but being far from satisfied on many points, desires to search the Scriptures for himself. This, the representatives of Christ upon earth sternly forbid; and the holy fathers, deeming that their young disciple's inquiring turn of mind and sad want of implicit obedience may perhaps be injurious to his spiritual welfare, are anxious to immure him without delay, hoping, under the full control of their church, to inculcate her doctrines with more effect. However, he escapes the snare by at once leaving the neighbourhood, and hastening to Switzerland. Having entered the Swiss territory, the yearnings of his soul for rest, guidance, and sympathy, hurry him on with feverish excitement, and he eagerly embraces an early opportunity to purchase a copy of the Scriptures, which he devoutly studies with anxiety; and having fallen in with an English clergyman, who kindly and patiently assists him in his search for truth, the bright Morning Star at length sheds faint gleams into the chambers of his soul, and slowly and surely the Sun of righteousness rises, dispelling the cold gloom which had blinded and benumbed him. The remainder of his life is spent in the enjoyment of the happiness, and the patient discharge of the duties, of a sincere and consistent Christian. Shortly after his return to England he is married to Ethel; and here the scene closes. The chief excellences of these volumes are, that, although a work of fiction, it is always natural. It never so enlists the sympathies or excites the interest, as to arouse a morbid passion for romance. We have little or no fault to find with it; the whole tendency of the work is to point out the source from which holiness springs, and gently and patiently to lead both friends and enemies of the truth to the hallowed spot, even the cross. As a religious work of fiction, there are some peculiarities in these volumes: in the first place, the children are not introduced to us as little angels, of whom we may have read, but whom we have certainly never been fortunate enough to see; in the second place, neither the hero nor the heroine is a divinity whom the human eye dare scarcely contemplate; but ordinary humanity, faithfully and patiently pursuing the heavenward path. The work itself is appropriately termed "Woman's Ministry." It beautifully illustrates the power of a loving heart, and the force of prayer; pointing out the numerous opportunities for those quiet and unobtrusive acts of kindness afforded especially to the gentler sex, which, if embraced, so greatly contribute to the honour of true religion, and to the sum of human happiness. The Life of Jabez Bunting, D.D., with Notices of Contemporary Persons and Events. By his Son, Thomas Percival Bunting. London: Longman, Brown, and Co.; Mason; and Black and Co. 1859.Dr. Bunting may be considered as Wesley's successor in the government of the Methodist societies. Administrative talent he possessed in a very high degree. Born in other circumstances, he might have been a minister of state; and, if so, the premier beyond all question. The volume now before us we regard only as an introduction; the chief interest of such a life must lie, not in the incidents of youth, or the struggles of early manhood, but in those anxious and busy scenes and conflicts amidst which his maturer life was passed. When the remaining volumes shall appear, the life of Dr. Bunting will require a much more patient and deeper consideration than, with the materials now supplied, it is in our power to give to it. The first volume is written with grace and freedom by an affectionate son; but, to do justice to his father's memory, something more is requisite. The public will ask not only for clever and entertaining sketches of Dr. Bunting and his contemporaries, but for a calm, patient and almost judicial exposition of his principles of church government, of his theological system, and, at the same time, for a philosophical estimate of his intellectual character. Of his private worth and piety there can be no doubt; but this he had in common with multitudes of good men otherwise undistinguished. It is as a public man that we are anxious to estimate the true character of Dr. Jabez Bunting. We shall look with interest for the forthcoming volume or volumes, for surely Mr. Percival Bunting cannot mean to dismiss his father's life in a second volume such as that which is before us,—and then we hope to return to the subject. Dr. Bunting was one of those great men who in a certain sense belong to the church catholic; and we cannot but feel some regret that his life is written, so far, chiefly if not entirely with a view to Wesleyan Methodists. A great part of it is scarcely intelligible, and certainly not very interesting, except to Wesleyans; indeed the chief inte rest of the volume lies in the biographical sketches of Wesley's friends and favourites with which it abounds. We hope, however, that what is yet to come will make amends for this deficiency. There is much, no doubt, in every biography which an affectionate son cannot supply. He is not worth the name of an affectionate son, in our opinion, who could affect to write anything but a eulogy on his own father; but he may and ought to call in the assistance of others less partial than himself, when that father has been a public man. Christology of the Old Testament; and a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions. By E. W. Hengstenberg, D.D., &c. &c. Second edition. Translated from the German by James Martin, B.A., Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Clark. London: Hamilton and Co. 1858. Vols. 3 and 4.-These volumes complete a work which we think every critical student of the Bible would be happy to possess. Dr. Hengstenberg's merit as a critic and a commentator are now well known; and these translations, published at a comparatively cheap rate, place them within the reach of every English reader. A short notice does not permit us to explain the nature of the work further than to say, that each text in the prophets is considered apart, with reference to the Messiah. The treatment is critical, not expository; of course there is room for a great variety of opinions on many points; but as a work of great scholarship and orthodox divinity, the Christology of Hengstenberg will always deserve to be consulted. To the same publishers we are indebted for a Grammar of the New Testament Diction: intended as an introduction to the critical study of the Greek New Testament. By Dr. George Benedict Winer. Translated by Edward Masson, M.A., &c. &c.-The object it proposes is "to apply, if possible, the results of an enlightened philology, as deduced and taught by Hermann and his school, to the critical study of the Greek Scriptures." We can only add that as a Grammar of the New Testament it deserves the attention of the critic and the scholar. A Treatise on Theism, and on the Modern Sceptical Theories. By Francis Wharton, Philadelphia. J. B. Lippincote and Co. Trübner and Co., London, 1859.-The design of this work is to present the Theistic argument (or, in other words, to prove the existence of a God) "in such a shape," to use the author's words, " as the best to impress the American mind of the present day." It is a very interesting volume, even to us upon this side of the Atlantic. It may be placed with great advantage in the hands of thoughtful and enquiring young persons; for it conducts the several lines of argument it takes up to sound conclusions, while the path is made pleasant by anecdote and illustration. For instance, the evidence of the existence and character of God is argued, first of all from conscience, God's representative within us. We give two illustrations. Dr. Beecher, some years back, gave a sketch of a remarkable visit paid by him to the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane. He observed a man, then advancing in years, standing before him, frozen apparently to the ground. "I asked who that was, so fixed the image of despair. It was the son of Dr. Rush, (of revolu tionary memory,) and, in the dreadful hour of revenge and pride, he had killed a fellow-man in a duel. There he stood, like a pillar. Sometimes he would apparently wake up to recollection; he would pace off the distance, and give the word 'fire!' Then he would cry out, 'He is dead! he is dead!'" It may be added, that the quarrel was one between two friends, then scarcely past their boyhood; that the difficulty was about a mere trifle, but was carried on and consummated in hot blood; and that, from that period to a gray old age, the survivor continued to react, with all the sincerity of despair, the awful scene of the duel. (p. 37.) I may be permitted to close this topic with the following passage from a sketch given by the late Dr. Parrish, of Philadelphia-a very reliable witness of the last hours of John Randolph : "A napkin was called for, and placed by John over his breast. For a short time he lay perfectly quiet, with his eyes closed. He suddenly roused up and exclaimed -Remorse! Remorse! It was thrice repeated-the last time at the top of his voice, with great agitation. He cried out-'Let me see the word. Get a dictionary; let me see the word.' 'There is none in the room sir.' Write it down then let me see the word.' The doctor picked up one of his cards, Randolph of Roanoke. "Shall I write it on this card? Yes, nothing more proper.' The word Remorse was then written in pencil. He took the card in a hurried manner, and fastened his eyes on it with great intensity. Write it on the back,' he exclaimed. It was so done, and handed him again. He was extremely agitated— Remorse! you have no idea what it is; you can form no idea of it whatever; it has contributed to bring me to my present situation. But I have looked to the Lord Jesus Christ, and I hope I have obtained pardon. Now, let John take your pencil and draw a line under the word; which was accordingly done. What am I to do with the card?' inquired the doctor. Put it in your pocket-take care of itwhen I am dead look at it."" (p. 42.) 6 The existence of God, as " an eternal executive punishing the violators of his law, may be inferred from the physical consequences of a violation of conscience." This position is illustrated thus: Let us go, for instance, to Augustus the Strong, of Saxony, and observe in him, in early life, the "maximum of physical strength: can break horse-shoes, nay, halfcrowns, with finger and thumb;" of superb beauty, and possessor of two crowns. Meet him again when in the prime of manhood, and you see him bloated and putrid. A life of eminent dissipation has broken a constitution of eminent strength. So it is everywhere. We are placed, in fact, under recognizances to obey the decrees of conscience, and our bodies become our bail. If the bond is broken, the bail is seized upon and made to pay the forfeit. Nor is it bodily strength alone that is thus taken in execution. Nervous power, intellectual integrity, simplicity of heart, even lustre of genius, all these are in like manner sacrificed as penalties. Byron, Burns, Mirabeau themselves desolating and desolated-lead us, in the agonized confession of their early though self-destroyed manhood, to the same truth of the organic connection between spiritual and physical demoralization. Nor does the penalty stop here. The finer and more generous capacities of the heart become in like manner involved. The susceptibility for innocent joys—of all susceptibilities the finest is lost. Burns speaks with a sad truth on this point: "I waive the quantum of the sin, The hazard of concealing, But oh! it hardens all within, Another chapter, more in the style of Paley, treats of design from Nature. The OCEAN supplies some beautiful proofs of contrivance which are ranged under three heads-the Sea-breeze, the Ocean Salts, and the Gulf Stream. Under the last head, we have the following illustration: Let us first view its effect on England. The port of Liverpool is never closed with ice; it is 2° farther north than that of St. John's, Newfoundland, which, being frozen half the year, is of course incapable of sustaining commerce. Let us look, for a moment, at the consequences, had the same bands existed round the English coast. Cowper has well described the spectacle that now awaits the visitor to those shores : "From side to side of her delightful isle This scene would be changed to one where ice-choked ports would be fed only by rivers, themselves frozen half the year, and where a mist, as constant as that of Labrador, would give through its fissures and breaks only sunlight enough to mature the coarsest grain. From such a climate commerce would be excluded, and agriculture would obtain but a scanty subsistence. The England of our fathers, and the England of our own days, would never have existed. Other chapters shew the existence of a deity, from the progress of Society, from Geology, and from Natural Theology. And the second book, treating of sceptical theories, answers the objections drawn from the imperfection of the present state of things, from "positivism," from fatalism, and from pantheism; and lastly from the recent, or rather extremely ancient but recently revived, theory of "development," which makes matter the creator of mind. A more interesting book, or one likely to be more useful to young and ardent minds passing through that anxious state which often intervenes to such between the simple happy acquiescence of childhood, and that firm faith and undisturbed repose which is the fruit of many a bitter conflict, we have not lately met with, and we shall be glad to contribute anything to its success and wider circulation. PUBLIC AFFAIRS. THE month now closing has not been less prolific of important events than any of those which preceded it. It opened with accounts from the seat of war of an indecisive battle at Palæstro, on the Ticino. The Austrians, as it has since appeared, were already preparing to retreat, and a few days afterwards they recrossed the Po and the Ticino, and the rash invasion of Piedmont was at an end. The emperor Napoleon has proved himself to be a master of strategy and of the art of war; he conveyed his army in force across the Ticino, and, it is now admitted, surprized the Austrians, and compelled count Gyulai to accept of battle unexpectedly. A furious conflict took place at Magenta, near the bridge of Buffalora, on the 4th of June, in which it is said 120,000 Austrians were engaged against the combined army of the Allies. The Austrians were defeated with great loss; estimated by Napoleon, in a telegraphic dispatch to the empress, at 15,000 killed and wounded, and 5,000 prisoners. These numbers were exaggerated; but the Austrian official account admits a loss of upwards of 9,000 killed, wounded, and missing; while the Allies state |