LITERARY NOTICES.

OUR MODERN PHILOSOPHERS: DARWIN, BAIN, SPENCER. By 'PsyCHOSIS.' London: T. Fisher Unwin, 26, Paternoster Square. The writer says in his preface: The facts of science will never obscure the facts of revelation; but by the eternal fitness of things, as true as God is true, both will harmonize, the spiritual and the material, and by their oneness become more luminous.' True enough this. But the writer has dealt with his subject in what he is pleased to call 'Rhyme with Reason,' and we are wearied with the endeavour to find out what his own special ideas are. He says, 'Why,' some of my readers may ask, if the subject is so intricate, do you put it into rhyme to make it more so? For the poetry of the present day is so hard to understand, that it is quite necessary to have a key to open the door to the hidden treasure.' We certainly must take our place with some of my readers,' and the answer neither excuses him nor comforts us: 'Well, the bard has a fancy to try and utilize rhyme by connecting it with reason.' The enjoyment of this fancy will, we apprehend, be the main result of its publication.

'TO THE WORK.' SOVEREIGN GRACE. OUT OF EGYPT. - FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH.-PREVAILING PRAYER.-DANIEL THE PROPHET. By D. L. MOODY. Morgan and Scott, 12, Paternoster Buildings.

All of them full of Mr. Moody's earnestness and directness of style, readiness of illustration, and entire consecration to his great missionary work, they make no pretence to style or finish or suggestiveness; but they are full of energetic religious enthusiasm, and of loyal devotion to the cause of Christ.

THE GOSPEL MALE CHORUS BOOK. By JAMES MCGRANHAM.—THE CHRISTIAN CHOIR. By IRA D. SANKEY and JAMES MCGRANHAM. Same publishers.

Each of these musical volumes is accompanied by a Tonic Sol Fa edition, and both are elegantly got-up and well printed-words and music together, which is a great boon. They ought to serve a wide end, in supplying each and all in schools and families with the aid necessary for united and harmonious hymnology.

SALVATION. By the REV. JAMES BROOKES, D.D. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 27, Paternoster Row, E.C.

The spiritual earnestness of this volume is undeniable; but many of its statements are bald and unsustainable. The writer belongs to a school who depreciate all endeavours after the divine life as savouring of doing he is thus led to ignore the co-working of the soul with God's Spirit in sanctification. Take this sentence, p. 120: The moment we are in Christ by believing on Him, God says we are sanctified'! Where is this said? Then, again, we have read of repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Here we read, p. 77: ""But," says another, “must I not repent before coming to Christ ?" If you mean as a condition upon which God will be merciful, or as a preliminary work to fit you to approach Him, I reply most emphatically, No! We thought that we read in Scripture, He commandeth all men to repent: Repent and be baptized every one of you.' 'Repent ye therefore, and be converted.' We had thought, too, that repentance meant

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sorrow for sin; but we are here told on p. 77: The word in the Greek which is translated "repentance" in our English Bible, does not necessarily imply emotion of any kind, but simply means an "after-thought, or after-mind," and hence a change of mind." About what then is the sinner called to change his mind? Obviously about God and His character, for he has had wrong thoughts of the Almighty all through his life.' (Sic!) The entire volume shows that when men are wedded to certain theories, they twist all Scripture to the theories, and much as we admire spiritual earnestness in all schools of Christian thought, we cannot trust the school to which Dr. Brookes evidently belongs for a Biblical exegesis of sanctification or repentance. There is much that we admire in the volume. We heartily agree with the author on p. 78: 'It is not thy badness, but God's goodness that leadeth thee to repentance; and also on p. 131: 'Whenever Satan can direct our minds from the Lord to ourselves, or to our circumstances, we are sure to lose heart and hope; and on p. 157: 'It is nowhere written in the Bible, " Believe that thou art a believer, and thou shalt be saved," but," Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." There are many more telling sentences of this kind.

RELIGION IN HISTORY AND IN THE LIFE OF TO-DAY. By A. M. FAIRBAIRN, D.D. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 27, Paternoster Row, E.C.

We are delighted to see these admirable addresses to the working-men of Bradford reproduced in this popular form. They are a mine of intellectual and spiritual wealth. We know no volume so complete as an 'apologetic' for Christianity, when the subject has to be treated of in the light of the controversies of the present age. These are what we may call 'living evidences of Christianity; they commend themselves to the reason and to the heart, and are so remarkably clear in style, complete in substance, and concise in argument, that the author's aim is well fulfilled, viz. To attempt to explain what religion is; how the Bible is to be construed in relation to it; what has been its action in history; and what is its bearing on the questions that most concern us to-day.' The following subjects are discussed: 'What is Religion? "The Place and Significance of the Old Testament in Religion; The Place and Significance of the New Testament in Religion; The Christian Religion in the First Fifteen Centuries of its Existence;' 'The Christian Religion in Modern Europe; The Christian Religion in Relation to the Political, Social, and Industrial Questions.' We heartily commend this volume to all who are in earnest in wishing to win the working classes to Christ.

A KEY TO THE WAVERLEY NOVELS. BY HENRY GREY. Sixth thousand. (One Shilling.) Griffith and Farran, St. Paul's Churchyard. Mr. Grey has a marvellous faculty of analysis and condensation. All students of Waverley will thank him for his cheap and compact volume. The correctness of each epitome is marvellous, and will whet the appetite for reading the volumes, rather than excuse the mind for neglecting their perusal.

THE CHRONICLE

OF THE

London Missionary

Society.

1.- Visit to New Guinea.

BY THE REV. W. WYATT GILL, B.A.

N the 6th of April I arrived in Sydney from New Guinea, after an absence of exactly three months. I spent seven weeks very pleasantly in New Guinea. The visit did me much good; for the joy of seeing the work growing rapidly under the hand of the teachers and brethren is very great. It was a great pleasure again to meet Ruatoka and Piri, whom I (associated with the Rev. A. W. Murray) located at Redscar Bay in 1872; and the others (not Savage Islanders) sent by me from the Institution at Rarotonga at different times.

On Wednesday, February 6th, we landed at Port Moresby a strong reinforcement of thirty-five souls. We were thankful to find the mission family in good health; Mr. Chalmers had just recovered from a severe attack of fever, caught in his last Gulf trip. He quietly remarked to me, "But for the unwearied care of Mr. and Mrs. Lawes, I certainly should have died." Of course it had been my intention to return to Sydney in the John Williams, which sailed from Port Moresby for Sydney, February 14th, but both the brethren asked me to spend a few weeks with them and inspect their work, adding that up to the present moment no outsider had done so.

The history of the New Guinea Mission is a thrilling story of hair-breadth escapes, of suffering patiently endured for the Master's sake, of premature deaths, and of cruel massacres; and despite all this on the part of the coast natives—a gradual transformation of manners, and in many cases a real turning to the one living and true God. The New Guinea Mission is yet in its youth, with a promise,