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two-thirds of their salaries, that if the Society had the funds, a hundred might be sent forth instead of seventy, the number now engaged. It is pleasing to know that this number has been called forth by the Society's operations in addition to the ordinary agency; but it is earnestly desired that the hundred for which the Society appealed at the beginning of the year were all in the field, for this is decidedly the best system yet devised for meeting the growing evils of Ritualism, by carrying the Gospel from house to house, and getting into personal contact with the people.

The following report, from a ministerial superintendent of lay evangelists, will serve to show generally the character of the men thus designated, and the work they perform:—“ Our evangelist is peculiarly adapted for the work here, and is steadily gaining ground amongst the people. I spent the afternoon of yesterday with him in visiting one of the two villages where we preach. He himself spends some hours in that village almost every day in visitation work. The incumbent has recently become a resident in the village. He has lately commenced a Sunday evening service in the church, plainly because of the service we hold on Sabbath evenings. Still the bulk of the poor people come to us, and if we had a suitable chapel there, I suspect our congregation would outnumber that of the church. In visiting with one evangelist yesterday, I was struck with the thoroughness of his work. He aims to read the Word of God where this is possible, and I think rarely leaves any family without kneeling down in prayer. His visits look always to the conversion of the people to God, and his conversation and prayers point ever most plainly to this. Such work is sure to tell, sooner or later. To my own people the evangelist ought to be a blessing, as they all respect him greatly, and he never mixes with them

without aiming to leaven them with his own spirit. He carries the savour of Christ with him wherever he goes.'

TERRITORIAL MISSIONS.

There have been encouraging results in connection with a few Territorial Missions which the Society has established. At Brentford, for example, the old Independent Chapel was all but closed, when the Society secured the services of a very suitable minister, who, after working the place in the district on the Territorial principle, in which every member of the Church gets something to do, says: "İ have much pleasure in forwarding you a report of our progress at Albany Chapel. Our Sabbath morning congregation is nearly doubled during the last few months; at the evening service there is also an increase. The average morning attendance when first came here was twenty; in the evening, thirty. This had been about the state of things for several years. We gradually increased, till now in the morning we have 130; evening, 200 to 250. The greater part of these attended nowhere till they came to Albany Chapel. During the summer months, after evening service in the chapel, I preached in the open air, near the ferry that people cross from Brentford to Kew Gardens, thus catching them on their return from the gardens. The attendance was generally about 200. Several from this service have been induced to attend the chapel.

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Monday evening prayer meeting is well attended; we have generally from forty to fifty present, a great number, when one considers what a place Brentford is. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings I have cottage meetings; the people enjoy these meetings, and several have come to our chapel. Wednesday evening, our average attendance at the service in the chapel is fifty-after which I have an interesting class of young men. There is a good work going on among the young, and several of them are looking forward to join the Church. We have lost several of the members by death, but are making up again.

"The large distillery, five minutes' walk from the chapel, is pulled down, the ground sold, and they have commenced to build 200 cottages on the ground; this will be a new field for me to operate upon. Everything at present is encouraging. You will see that we have meetings every night in the week with the exception of Friday and Saturday."

It will thus be seen that the work of the Society continues to prosper. But spiritual destitution still abounds. The visits of the Treasurer and Secretary to Conference meetings in most of the counties of England, including the distant shires of Cumberland and Westmoreland, have afforded them valuable opportunities of knowing much of the spiritual state of the Churches, as well as the moral dark

ness of the rural districts; and it is their deep conviction that while there is much cause for thankfulness, there is also much cause for anxiety, for while "the enemy is coming in like a flood," we are yet raising but a feeble standard against it. We greatly need a fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost, and more thorough consecration on the part of all our Churches to Home Mission service. Our strength does not lie in our numbers, but in our purity, wisdom, and zeal. In not a few places there have been "times of refreshing," but in others, the Churches are in a stagnant or stationary state. Let us seek, then, for more spiritual life, ever remembering that in these days, as Dr. Vaughan has said, "work is worship," and that the duty of the Church of Christ is to bring the world to the rule of Christ-every Christian in one way or another being a missionary, and realising the great truth put forth by Dr. Guthrie, where he says, "We must work while we pray, and pray while we work. I would rather see a man, when saved from the gulf of sin, standing on the rock and casting life lines to others struggling in the maelstrom of death, than on his knees thanking God for his own deliverance; because I believe that, without neglecting his personal duties, God would accept this action as the best possible expression of gratitude that a saved soul can offer."

NOTICES OF

Symbols of Christendom. By J. RADFORD THOMSON, M.A. London: Longman, Green and Co.

CONGREGATIONAL Ministers have lately given to the world not a few valuable controversial works on Ritualism-which is, as Mr. Thomson observes, Symbolism applied to the services of the Church. The handsome little volume before us (also by a Congregational minister) is simply devoted to an historical and scientific

NEW BOOKS.

account of the chief symbols which have been used by the Christian Church, and controversy is avoided. The author writes calmly, and is at once interesting and brief. He gives a good deal of information which very many readers are not likely to meet with elsewhere, but which it is well that they should possess. The last chapter is on the "Recommendations and Dangers of Symbolism," and is written in a judicious and moderate tone.

The Family: its Duties, Joys, and Sorrows. By Count A. De Gasparin. London: Jackson, Walford, and Hodder. WITH the name and high reputation of Count Gasparin we are familiar. He was the only man who ventured in the old Chamber of Peers, in France, to stand up, amid sneers and mockery, to vindicate the claims of religion. And ever since his quitting France, and taking up his residence iu Geneva, he has been the enlightened, consistent, and eloquent advocate of progress, freedom, and Christianity. His "Schools of Doubt," published some years ago, yield ample proof of his high mental gifts and earnest piety. The present volume is a work of eminent merit, and in all respects worthy of the highest admiration. The Family, as the basis of social and national life, as the school in which all the highest virtues are trained, and as the atmosphere in which the noblest forms of manhood are nurtured, is pleaded for by Count Gasparin with great power, persuasiveness, and fertility of illustration.

We may just add, that our unqualified assent cannot be given to the Count's idea of Sabbath recreation and enjoyment; and that, whilst ou the whole the translation is clear and faithful, sometimes the French idiom is too closely adhered to to permit the mere English reader to catch the full force of the expression.

Hymns and Songs for the Christian Church;

and Poems. By EMMA JANE WORBOISE, MISS WORBOISE is known well in the department of prose fiction, but this is the first of her attempts in the "gentle science" of song that has reached us. She is evidently possessed of a portion of the "Vision and faculty Divine" which is originally given, not created by human culture. Many of the pieces in this volume remind us of the sweetness and music of Mrs. Hemans, and cannot fail to be read with feelings of admiration.

The Story of the White Rock Cove. With Illustrations. London and Edinburgh: Nelson and Sons.

THIS is a good and wholesome story for boys between the ages of ten and twelve. The illustrations are remarkably good. Representative Responsibility, a Law of the Divine Procedure in Providence and Redemption. By the Rev. HENRY WALLACE, Londonderry. Edinburgh: T. & T.

Clark.

THE aim of the author in this book is "to prove that the distinctive doctrines of evangelical religion are founded upon

principles of universal acceptance among men." In a series of seven chapters or discourses, he discusses consecutivelyThe representative Character of Adam; Original Sin; the representative Character of Christ; the Priesthood of Christ; the Atonement; Symbolical Ritualism; and, the Work and Witness of the Spirit. On all these points he endeavours to show that the great doctrines discussed are not only true as having their place in God's Word, but "on other and antecedent grounds," and that they have their place there on these other grounds. The book is able and logical. The author throws out a body of important thought. consider some of his positions forced, and others somewhat fanciful, and occasionally the severe scholastic character of his theology is in some of its aspects not to our thinking, but the book as a whole will reward perusal and prove suggestive to many a reader.

Old Merry's Annual for 1868.

We

Old Merry's Christmas Party.
Silver Lake, or Lost in the Snow. By R. M.
BALLANTYNE.

London: Jackson, Walford, and Hodder. THE first of these books contains the twelve monthly parts of "Merry and Wise," and will rejoice the heart of any boy who is fortunate enough to receive it as a Christmas present. The third is a beautifully got up edition of a story which ran through the monthly issues of "Merry and Wise." The second is a special contribution to the juvenile festivities of the season, and contains stories by W. H. G. Kingston, R. M. Ballantyne, Edwin Hodder, Mona B. Bickerstaffe, Sidney Daryl, R. Hope Moncrieff, and others.

Noble Rivers, and Stories concerning them. By ANNA JANE BUCKLAND. Edinburgh: Johnstone and Hunter.

WE like this book very much. It brings out briefly but graphically points of historical interest attaching to such rivers as the Jordan, the Euphrates, Nile, Cydnus, Tiber, Rhine, and Thames, and will stimulate intelligent young persons to enlarge their acquaintance with these subjects. The book is interspersed with some good illustrations.

1. The Cabinet of the Earth Unlocked. By EDMUND STEANE JACKSON, M.A., F.G.S. London: Jackson, Walford, and Hodder. 2. Down among the Water Weeds, or Marvels of Pond Life. By MONA B. BICKERSTAFFE. Edinburgh: Johnstone and Hunter.

3. Cockerill the Conjuror; or, the Brave Boy of Hanelm. Edinburgh: Johnstone and Hunter.

THE two first of these are extremely wholesome children's books. They are nicely got up and illustrated, and while they may be read with interest by the old, their style is so lively and pleasant as to be fitted to interest even a very young child in the marvels of natural science and history. "Cockerill the Conjuror" is a clever and amusing fairy tale, which we should very much enjoy reading to a party of children round a Christmas fireside.

4. Wise Sayings, and Stories to explain them. By M. H., Author of "The Children's Hour."

5. Little Tales for Little People. Edinburgh Johnstone and Hunter.

:

Two packets of little books, with ornamental paper cover, and engravings, fitted for presents to Sunday scholars. The Children's Hour Annual. Second Series. Edinburgh: Johnstone and Hunter.

THIS is the bound volume of a monthly magazine, and an exceedingly nice miscellany it is, consisting of narrative in prose and verse, natural history, Bible illustrations, &c. The volume is beautifully got up, with numerous illustrations, and will make a delightful Christmas gift for intelligent children of eight or ten years old.

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The Sunday at Home. 1867.
The Cottager and Artisan. 1867.

London: The Religious Tract Society. THESE periodicals hold on their way as freshly and strongly as ever. They have outlived all need of commendation, and we do no more than announce the completion of the volumes for 1867, and say that the editors seem prepared to enter on the labours of 1868 with undiminished zeal and interest. "The Leisure Hour" is à very treasure-house of all current facts and novelties in the departments of science, art, and biography; while it is never without the tale so imperiously exacted by the taste of the day.

Short Arguments about the Millennium. By BENJAMIN CHARLES YOUNG. Second Thousand. London: Elliot Stock. THIS is what it professes to be, "A book for the times." The principal arguments of the pre-millennarians are here fairly met, and generally answered in a satisfactory manner. Their literal interpretations of Scripture are shown to be untenable, and the spiritual reign of Christ by the uni

versal prevalence of the Gospel is proved to be the millennium which Christians are to expect, and labour to secure. We are glad to see a second edition, and commend these "short," and, we would add to the author's title, "strong" arguments to the thoughtful perusal of both schools of interpretation.

Stars of Earth; or, Wild Flowers of the Months. By LEIGH PAGE. Edinburgh: Johnstone and Hunter.

THIS is a beautiful Christmas volume, both in binding and letter-press. It consists of short and interesting descriptive sketches of the principal British wild flowers of each month, with an engraving of each flower. The engravings are extremely well drawn.

Ecrin Littéraire; being a Collection of Lively Anecdotes, Jeu de Mots, Charades, Enigmas, &c., for the Use of Schools and Private Students. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd.

A VERY good French class-book.

The Harvest of a Quiet Eye, or Leisure Thoughts for Busy Lives. London: The Religious Tract Society.

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THIS is a beautiful book in every sense of the word. The papers of which it is composed appeared originally in "The Sunday at Home" and "Leisure Hour," under such titles as the " Maydays of the Soul;" "Musings in a Wood;" "Musings in the Twilight," &c. Their object is well described in the preface :-" They have but the ambition of a flower that looks up to cheer, or a bird's note, that tranquilly, amid storms, continues a simple melody from the heart of its tree. They will, like these, be easily passed 'by; but, like these, may have a message for hearts that will look and listen." The thoughts are neither profound nor superficial, but they will be enjoyed by minds akin to that of the writer, contemplative and devout souls, who can perceive and appreciate the delicate and beautiful analogies subsisting between the material and spiritual worlds. The book is beautifully printed and illustrated.

Manual of Hermeneutics for the New Testa

ment. By J. J. DOEDES, D.D., Professor of Theology, University of Utrecht. TransIlated from the Dutch by W. S. Stegmann, jun. Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1867.

AN admirable little handbook, which we warmly recommend to Biblical students. It will serve as a guide and stimulus to many in the interpretation of Scripture. We regret to notice, however, the often absurdly idiomatic style of the trans

lation. If another edition be called for, as
we hope it may be, we beg the translator
to have his work revised by some one
who has a greater mastery of English
than he appears to possess.

A True Briton. The Story of a Life.
London: Jarrold and Sons.

THIS admirable tract for working men is
one of an extensive series, of which we
can scarcely speak too highly, whether
addressed to parents or children, young
men or young women.
Their homely,
practical, and Christian teaching, and the
simplicity and freshness of their style,
make them thoroughly adapted for general
distribution.

Essays and Discourses on Popular and
Standard Themes. By T. W. TOZER.
London: Elliot Stock.

IN the first two of these discourses the
popular excuses for the neglect of religion
are fairly met. In the remaining dis-
courses and essays there is no straining
after novelty in the themes selected, or
originality in their treatment; they are
such discourses as the 66
portfolios of
many of our pastors contain. We do not

endorse all the author's views and state-
ments, yet their general soundness, force,
and beauty, so preponderate, that we can
give them a word of very hearty recom-
mendation.

Our Earthly House and its Builder.
London: Religious Tract Society.

"THE object of this little book," as stated
in the Preface," is to point out and illus-
trate the proofs of intelligent design and be-
nignant wisdom afforded by the structure
of the human body. The anatomical and
physical facts adduced are carefully di-
vested of technicalities, and the whole is
presented in language suited to the
young." We think the writer's aim has
been successfully accomplished, and his
book will be read with interest by intelli-
gent young persons.

The Rocket, or the Story of the Stephensons, Father and Son. A Book for Boys. By H. C. KNIGHT. London and Edinburgh: Nelson and Sons.

HERE we have the story of the two famous engineers briefly but graphically told. The little book is well got up, and there are two remarkably good illustrations.

MOFFAT'S MISSIONARY LABOURS AND SCENES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. WE cannot commend too earnestly or emphatically the shilling edition of this true "Romance." No family pretending to any interest in missions should be without it. Let parents put it into the hands of their children, and they will not find it necessary to persuade to the reading of it. Sunday-school superintendents should take care that it is introduced to their scholars. We hope Messrs. J. Snow & Co. will find that they have not reckoned without their host on a very large circulation.

OUR COMMON AFFAIRS.

EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE.-On the 20th of November, 1867, some two hundred Congregational ministers and laymen met at the London Tavern, on the invitation of Mr. S. Morley and Mr. E. Baines, M.P., to discuss together the present aspects of the Education question: Mr. Morley and Mr. Baines reported that they had had an interview with the President and Vice-president of the Committee of Council, and had subsequently embodied the views which they had urged in the form of a memorial, which was read to the meeting. This memorial approved the recommendations which had been made, in 1858, by the Royal Commission on Popular Education. But the reply of the Government fell short of these recommendations, and stated merely that the Lord President was 'prepared to recommend the Committee of Council to receive the name Congregational, Baptist, Independent, or Calvinistic Methodist, as sufficient to dispense with the necessity for any question or inquiry extending beyond the sanitary condition or secular instruction of schools applying for aid from the Parliamentary grant, under any of those designations." Mr. Baines proposed a series of resolutions, the practical point of which was "That under the system of the revised code, which pays only for the results of secular instruction, with the promised exemption of Nonconformist

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