Memoir of Mrs Ann Johnstone, Greenock. Edinburgh, Oliphant. 1846. ! We do not doubt that the principal subject of this memoir must have been very useful and greatly esteemed in the sphere of her own family and neighbourhood. Mrs Johnstone seems to have been a child of God from an early period of her life, and to the close of her pilgrimage on earth she walked with God. At the same time we feel, in reading this volume, as if there were not substance and breadth enough in her character to constitute her example a lesson and a guide beyond her immediate circle. Unhappily, were it not for the pen of the biographer, this publication, small as it is, would not have attained even to its present size, and this is at all times a heavy drawback upon a memoir. "A life" should, if possible, be all text and no comment, as in the biographies of Martyn, Lady Glenorchy and M'Cheyne, and just the more comment and the less text it furnishes, as is the case in the present instance, its value will in proportion be diminished. Hymns from the German of Dr Martin Luther. By the Rev. J. ANDERSON, Helensburgh. Edinburgh: J. Johnstone. 1846. Though these hymns are not new to us, even in this translated form, (for they have passed through the hands of many an admiring translator,) yet we read them from beginning to end with much interest and pleasure. Mr Anderson has executed his task well, and has out of Luther's sturdy German rhymes produced a volume as elegant as it is profitable. A Century of Scottish Church History; an Historical Account of the Church of Scotland from the Secession to the Disruption. With an Account of the Free Church. By the Rev. J. DODDS, Belhaven. Edinburgh: J. Johnstone. 1846. Within these 98 pages a large mass of most precious history has been condensed. The period chosen, though in some respects barren, is in others very inviting to the historian, especially when connected with, and brought to bear upon events which our own eyes have seen. Mr Dodds has written his story of a century honestly and well, and his volume promises to be most useful as a household book, which Scottish families will prize, and in which they will find many an eventful story of their church's annals, both the dark and the bright. Mr D. writes clearly and vigorously, without ostentation, and with sufficient ornament to attract the reader and illustrate the subject. A Dissertation on the Scriptural Authority, Nature, and Uses of Infant Baptism. By R. WARDLAW, D.D. Third edition, with an Appendix. Glasgow: Maclehose. 1846. It is many years since we read this dissertation. We remember to have admired it much at the time. Nor has the lapse of several years altered our judgment. We reckon it one of the best defences of infant baptism that exists; and moreover, we reckon it one of the very best of Dr Wardlaw's writings. In saying this we certainly do not say little; but we are not saying too much. And with such an opinion of the merits of the work, we need not say that we welcome a new edition-an edition considerably improved and enlarged. Clark's Foreign Theological Library. Vol. III. Hagenbach's History of Doctrines. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. 1846. Hagenbach is much sounder than many of his learned fellows-yet he is by no means a thorough Calvinist. A reader will require to keep this in mind while studying his "Compendium of the History of Doctrines." He is fair and honest however; very learned withal, and profound in Continental research. We say Continental, for even the most learned Germans know almost nothing of the Biblical literature of England. We remember once to have asked one of them-no ordinary scholar-" If Horsley's Critical Works were translated into German, or read at the Universities ?" 66 Horsley! He had never heard of the name and he was quite sure that he was quite unknown in Germany." The translator of the present volume, Carl W. Buch, acknowledges something of this kind, and endeavours to supply the deficiency. The volume is a truly learned one, and on a subject little known amongst us, yet deserving of far more study than it has yet received. It is a volume which no minister or student would like to be without. It may lead the way to something of the same kind among ourselves, only in a higher tone. The Rockite; an Irish Story. By CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH. London: J. Nisbet & Co. 1846. No praise of ours can now reach the ear or the eye of this gifted writer. Her ear is now listening to other sounds, her eye gazing on other scènes. She rests from her labours. She has gone to be with Him, whom, having not seen, she loved. Hers was a busy life-a life of labour for God and the church of Christ. Outwardly, indeed, she was debarred from what the world calls busy life; but her spirit was ever in motion. No time was trifled away. She redeemed it all for God. She sought to be spent for him. Her pen, like some unwearying machine, went unceasingly. She was always thinking, planning, writing, or praying. The church of Christ will miss her much. Ireland will miss her much. Israel will miss her much. 66 'Help, Lord, for the godly man faileth." This new edition of one of her early tales of Ireland was, we believe, among the last works which she wrote or superintended. We need not® praise it. We need not recommend it. The British public knows it, though British statesmen despise the truths which it teaches, and slight the historical lessons which it so beautifully, so forcibly conveys. The Pearl Fisher of Ceylon. Story of William Tyndal. Congo's Kraal; or, the Lost One Found. Shesh Achurjya, the Young Brahmin who wanted to see God. The Little Black Servant. By the Author of "The Peep of Day." Edinburgh: W. P. Kennedy. 1846. These form part of a series of small works intended for the young. They are both elegant and cheap, which is one recommendation; but they are also of a very superior kind in all respects-well written, instructive, and full of interest. Sabbath-school teachers will find them very useful. A Greek-English Lexicon. By H. G. LIDDELL and R. SCOTT. If for nothing else, yet "to have a good report of them who are without," the Free Church must see to it, that her ministry be at once godly and learned. Of course, with the Latin tongue all her students are competently familiar, ere they cross the threshold of her College. But we would like them-every one of them-to be equally proficient in the language of Athens as of Rome. "To the Jew first," beyond all question. The Old Testament is written in Hebrew, and he must be a sluggish Levite indeed who cannot read his own sacred books in their original. But also "to the Greek" is not to be overlooked. The thorough Hebraist and the well-versed Grecian must go together; and our students should feel as much at home in the idiom of the New Testament and the Septuagint, as in the vernacular of Moses. But let them not pursue this end by the study only of biblical Greek, and the assistance of such Lexicons as are avowedly designed for the Holy Scriptures. In regard to Hebrew, it is otherwise. A Hebrew Lexicon can be nothing else than a Lexicon for "the Law, and the Psalms, and the Prophets.' "Gesenius" should at once be the student's manual. Not so with Greek. It was spoken before the Saviour lived; and it was stereotyped ere his Apostles wrote. Let it, then, be studied first of all in the works of those who knew it best, and gave it its mould and fashion. Homer and Thucydides must take precedence of Luke and Paul; and Schleusner ought, to say the very least, to be but sparingly resorted to by a beginner. Schleusner will at a later stage be found useful in various respects, in spite of all its faults; but our advice to every student would be, to acquire his Greek, not from a biblical lexicographer at all, but from a classical. And of all we have met with, there is none we would sooner recommend than "Liddell and Scott." Donnegan's Lexicon is not in high repute. Dunbar's is much superior. But "Liddell and Scott's" will now, we should think, become the standard work. It is large-it is expensive-it wants, what Dunbar's has, an English-Greek part. But still it is the Lexicon which we would advise our students to purchase, as the one that will best suit all their purposes, and more than return their outlay in the end. They will never require another. Life and Correspondence of David Hume. By J. H. BURTON, Esq., Advocate. 2 yols. Edinburgh. 1846. This is a work of some importance, and will require to be examined at length. Our space will not admit of the discussion that is called for, in the present article; but in our next, we expect to overtake it. We have no doubt that Mr Burton has put us in possession of all that is valuable, or new, in the papers connected with Hume, which were bequeathed to the Royal Society of Edinburgh by his nephew, the late Baron Hume. And therefore we may assume that all the materials for forming an estimate of Hume's character we shall ever get, are now before the public. VOL. XIX. NO. IV. 2 N Contributions, Biographical, Literary, and Philosophical, to the Eclectic Review. By JOHN FOSTER. 2 vols. London. 1844. These volumes came into our hands some time ago, through the kindness of the publishers; and had we not been desirous of examining them in connexion with "the Life and Correspondence" of the author, we should have laid their contents before our readers previously to this. The latter publication is now upon our table as well as the other, and we shall hasten to fulfil our design. All, however, we can say at present is, that nothing, either of Foster, or about him, can be devoid of surpassing interest. He was, beyond all doubt, the greatest thinker of his day. Carlyle is not his superior. Let all who have it in their power, then, study his writings. They would do well to possess them for themselves. A Voice from North Africa. By NATHAN DAVIS. Edin.: 1844. An interesting subject. Northern Africa was once famous in the annals of the church, and could boast an array of names that no other region might. But from no scene of its triumph was the faith of Jesus so thoroughly abolished in the lapse of a few centuries. Mohammedanism ascended upon its wreck, and to this day the yoke of this sad superstition has been resistless. What is worse, no attempt has been made to dispel the darkness and bring back the light—at least no attempt worthy of the name. Mr Davis has felt and deeply felt this as a sad reproach; and his volume is intended to fix the eye of the Church on this long-neglected field, where once Cyprian and Tertullian and Augustine were so blessed. We thank Mr Davis for his unpretending work, and trust it will have a good effect. The Rescue. A Narrative of a very Recent Case of Conversion. London: 1846. We warmly thank Mr Nisbet for the publication of this "Narrative.” It contains "A Case of Conversion," as unquestionable and singular as any we have ever read. The history is told with great simplicity, and the statements of Divine truth are remarkable for their accuracy and clearness. There is "a letter," given as an Appendix," which contains an argument with "a Deist," on the objections to the truth of the Bible. We regard "the dilemma" that is here urged, to be put with uncommon force. It would be a real service to the church were "The Narrative” and "the Appendix" printed separately, and sold at a small cost as Tracts. They both merit, and will yet obtain the widest circulation. The Life of General Lord Hill. By the Rev. EDWIN SIDNEY. London: 1846. Croly wrote a memoir of George IV. We think a clergyman might have employed himself better than in surrounding with an equivocal charm, a graceful, but licentious prince. Sidney writes a memoir of Lord Hill. We are almost inclined to think that in this instance, too, a clergyman should have left "the dead to bury their dead." In many points of view, Hill's character is full of interest. He belonged to a fa mily which will ever be associated in our minds with the revival of true godliness in England. He was a most amiable man, and great as was his merit, he never seemed to be aware of it. His constitution was almost effeminately sensitive, yet the Duke of Wellington could not exceed his marvellous intrepidity in action. And unquestionably he was one of the most effectual instruments God called forth in an hour of danger, to maintain the security and honour of this kingdom. Few warriors have carried to the grave a more honourable name as a soldier, or a more spotless name as a man, than General Lord Hill. Still he was a soldier, and it suits not, as we imagine, that his life and actions be recorded by one whose ministry is the Gospel of peace, especially as there is nothing in the whole volume that would even encourage us to hope that the brave nephew had found Him who was all the joy of his venerable uncle. We may trust that ere his spirit fled, Lord Hill washed in the blood of sprinkling and was saved. But Mr Sidney has nothing to tell that would lead us to this belief. His book is on the whole rather a compliment to the family than a gift to the church. "Every Eye shall see him;" or Prince Albert's Visit to Liverpool used in illustration of the Second Coming of Christ. A Sermon by the Rev. HUGH M'NEILE. London: 1846. We have always respected Mr M'Neile for his courage. What he believes to be the truth he proclaims, and nothing makes him afraid. it is this high characteristic that has given him the position of influence which he occupies, more than either eloquence or originality. Connected with this quality-so rare, yet so needed in all ministers of Christ-is the readiness with which Mr M'Neile seizes on all public events as a channel of spiritual counsel, and thus enlists the world in the service of the church. It is quite possible that he may sometimes go too far in this direction, and allow the politician to overshadow the preacher. At all events, we shall say that he does well in seeking to subordinate the movements of time to the interests of eternity; and of this we would quote the present discourse as a specimen and proof. There is a difference between an allusion and an "illustration." The one suggests a mere passing reference, the other a lengthened comparison. The former is no more than a metaphor, but the latter would lead us to expect something like an allegory. Now, had Mr M'Neile's sermon really been what its title-page bears, “an illustration," and not a mere illusion, we must have condemned it as frivolous, if not profane. But it runs no parallel betwixt the coming of Prince Albert to Liverpool and the advent of Christ to judge the world. It merely takes occasion of the former event, to call deep and solemn attion to the latter. And what in this may be blamed? Let him be blamed who, in the midst of all the excitement that prevailed in Liverpool in connexion with Albert's visit, took no notice of it, and turned it to no account. Such a minister is no representative of Him who, when on earth, laid all creation and providence under tribute in enforcement of the truths he declared, and thought no allusion too mean if it would arrest the heart of a careless world. But him we dare not censure, but highly approve, who, seeking to become all things to all men, derives in |