late years-namely, the essential conditions of all Western Diplomacy in the East, the necessities and exigencies which govern our action, and the limits within which we may reasonably look for success in our efforts to amalgamate two conflicting civilisations.

With the details of his daily life, and the leading events which marked the first three years of a permanent Mission in Japan, the author has interspersed illustrations of the life, manners, and customs of the Japanese;-from the Feudal Princes, Daimios and Samourai, to the humble and peaceloving peasant, with all of whom he came continually in contact, and often under very unlookedfor and striking circumstances. No traveller, probably, since the first exclusion of foreigners, has seen so much of the life and social state of the Japanese, and the relations between the different classes, as was revealed to the author in his first journey in the interior, for the ascent of the sacred mountain of Fusiyama; and in his second expedition from the southernmost port of Nagasaki, across Kiusu, and through great part of Nipon to Yeddo.

But

While in these journeys and in his daily intercourse with rulers and subjects, the author obtained the materials for a new and original work on Japan, he trusts that his steady purpose of relating nothing but what he has himself seen, or had the means of verifying, has imparted value as well as interest to his narrative. the time has not yet arrived when it can be possible for any foreigner to produce a complete and exhaustive work on a country still jealously secluded from all scrutiny, except such as Diplomatic Agents can make in the practical discharge of their duties, or during occasional journeys through the interior. He believes, however, that the work is not likely to disappoint the reader, as a description of the character of the people, their daily life, manners, and customs, and as giving many curious glimpses of the working of their laws, their system of government, and peculiar policy-the value of which can scarcely be overestimated. He has sought, especially, to lay bare the inherent difficulties under which all relations with the far East must be maintained, if maintained at all; and the risks to be encountered in all efforts to open new markets for our commerce in these regions. In his effort to enlighten the public, and remove erroneous impressions as to the actual dangers of collision, which all intercourse between the East and the West must of necessity entail (whatever may be the desire for peace on the part of European Governments or their Agents), the writer has addressed himself to a subject on which reliable information was much needed.

The value of the work is further enhanced by a

great number of illustrations from the pencil of the Special Artist of one of the London periodicals, who accompanied the Minister on his last journey overland, and sketches by the Author. As these were all studies from nature, they have a peculiar value. There are, in addition, two maps taken from native sources-one, of all the islands comprising the Empire of Japan, with the names and situation of all the Capitals and Fortresses and the principal Daimios information never before obtained, and which may at no distant date become of great value; and another, of OSACA, the great commercial emporium of Japan - the Venice of the East-with its rivers and canals, its 300 bridges, its Daimios' palaces, and its thriving commerce. The work itself was composed from notes and fragments of a Journal, which were reduced to their present form partly to beguile the anxious time that had necessarily to elapse between the attempted massacre of the whole Legation in July 1861 and the receipt of specific instructions from home, as to the course of action to be adopted. In presenting to the public, as the fruit of this labour, the narrative of a residence full of exciting incidents and anxious responsibilities, the author has endeavoured to meet satisfactorily a want, very generally felt, of fuller and more authentic information on the present state of Japan, than it has hitherto been possible to attain.

History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin. By J. H. MERLE D'AUBIGNÉ. VOLS. I. and II. 8vo. pp. 1,266, price 28s. cloth. [March 9, 1863.

As

IN this work, which is to some extent a continuation of the History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, the Author describes the course of events, both civil and religious, which prepared the way for the great Christian revival which bears the name of Calvin. Geneva is the centre of this new phase of the Reformation, as Wittemberg had been to that of Luther. an episcopal principality, the city of the Leman had to contend against the tyranny of its bishops and the ambitious designs of the Dukes of Savoy. The various changes, the hairbreadth escapes, and the singular deliverances which Geneva went through during the first half of the 16th century, are recounted at some length, and prove how strictly conservative were the proceedings of the Huguenots, who, like the founders of English freedom, are found constantly referring to old charters, immunities, and franchises. Among the chief victims of episcopal or ducal tyranny were Berthelier and Levrier, who were foully murdered, and Bonivard, whose long imprisonment

in the Castle of Chillon has been described by one of the greatest of our modern poets. The influence of this learned and witty churchman upon the Genevese Reformation is not unlike that exerted by Erasmus in Germany and France. During the period comprised in these two volumes, Geneva had to contend with enemies within as well as without. By the flight of the canons, and afterwards of the bishop-prince, the city was, to some extent, liberated from the first; but it was not so fortunate with the latter. Pontverre, a determined partisan of Rome and the bishop, and one of the most distinguished gentlemen of Savoy, perished ignobly in a street quarrel. In proportion as the city regained its rights, the citizens became impatient of the disorderly lives of the clergy, who, by resisting all reform within the Church, brought about their own downfall. Much light has been thrown upon this portion of history, and the manners and customs of the people, by documents recently discovered in the archives of Geneva and Berne, some of which are here for the first time made known.

The second portion of these two volumes (forming one out of the three books into which the work is divided) is devoted to a history of the Reformation in France between 1525 and 1536. This includes the early portion of Calvin's career, and contains several new facts in the biography of that great man. The author shows, from original documents, that the popular estimate of the Genevese reformer is a mistaken one; and that he was not the cold theologian he is generally represented, but a man of warm heart, kindly feelings, estimable personal character, and ardent in his attachment to his friends. Among the curious documents concerning him now first brought to light, is the address (written by him, but delivered by the Rector of the University of Paris, in 1533,) which compelled both of them to fly from France. The history of Calvin's conversion, of which very little was known, is here traced minutely from year to year. Beginning with the time when he was studying for the priesthood in the College of Montaigu, we see him at first opposing the Reformers, then slowly and unwillingly opening his mind to the truth, leaving the Church for the Law, and struggling against his more advanced friends, who desired him to enter upon the duties of the evangelical ministry, until at last he attracts the attention of Queen Margaret, and becomes the most prominent among the enemies of the Church of Rome.

Simultaneously with this religious movement, a great but unsuccessful political movement was going on. Francis I., on his return from Spain, influenced by his sister and the Du Bellays, saw that an alliance with the Protestant princes of Germany afforded him the most effectual means

of humbling his great rival, Charles V. Although he had just given his son in marriage to the Pope's niece, he entered into diplomatic relations with Philip of Hesse, helped him in restoring Wurtemberg to its native princes, thus separating that duchy from Rome, and consulted the German divines on the best means of promoting religious union. The memoirs furnished by Melanchthon, Bucer, and Hedio were the groundwork of a Confession of Faith, nearly approaching to that of Augsburg, which he submitted to the Sorbonne, and which shows that Francis I. was at one time eager to follow the example of his friend Henry VIII. In this he was strongly influenced by Queen Margaret of Navarre, the friend and protector of the Reformers. The sincere piety of that illustrious lady, whose character has been much misrepresented, is proved by extracts from her letters and poems; and her zeal to promote a purer religion is shown by her attempts to throw open the churches of Paris to the preaching of the Gospel.

The Author believes that on all these points, and on several collateral topics of enduring historical interest (among others, the negotiations between Francis and Clement VII. previous to the marriage of Catherine de Medici with the heir to the French crown), he has been enabled to gather much information not hitherto accessible to the public.

The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua critically examined. By the Right Rev. JonN WILLIAM COLENSO, D.D., Bishop of Natal. PART II. The Age and Authorship of the Pentateuch considered. 8vo. pp. 264, price 7s. 6d. cloth. [February 3, 1863. THE following analysis may be considered to embody the view taken by Bishop Colenso of the method in which the Pentateuch was composed, and of the Authorship of its several parts.

The discovery of contradictions pervading the Pentateuch must lead to an examination of the alleged unity of authorship for the so-called Mosaic records. As long as this unity was taken for granted, it was possible to offer explanations of some at least among the many difficulties involved in the history of the Exodus. But all such attempts to explain away and reconcile contradictions become useless if the composite character of that history is once distinctly recognised, and the different ages of the different writers are clearly exhibited and established beyond a doubt. In the present volume, therefore, the Author has undertaken to show that the Pentateuch furnishes evidence of its composite authorship, as conclusive as that which its contradictions furnish against its entire historical accuracy.

The clue to this evidence is furnished in the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis. That there are apparent inconsistencies between the two narratives of the Creation is admitted on all hands, whatever may be the explanations offered for them. These contradictions might of themselves suggest that the two accounts proceed from different writers, and the suggestion receives strength from the fact, that throughout the first narrative the Creator is always spoken of by the name ELOHIM, God, whereas throughout the second, as well as in the story of the Fall, he is, with a single exception, called JEHOVAH ELOHIM, Lord God. The same fact is observed in the contradictory accounts given of the selection of the clean and unclean creatures which were to enter the ark. But the most solemn passage in the Book of Exodus states that the name Jehovah was unknown to the Jews until it was revealed to Moses; hence the use of the name Jehovah throughout certain portions of the Book of Genesis not only points to plurality of authorship, but becomes, as it were, the pivot on which the whole argument turns, since the revelation of that name to Moses is the very core and centre of the story of the Exodus. If, therefore, it can be proved that the name did not originate in so early an age, it would follow not merely that one of the most vital portions of the narrative is shown to be unhistorical, but that the later writer who makes use of the word Jehovah freely inserted matter of his own into the earlier narrative of the Elohist. This distinction, grounded on the use of these two names, is in most cases so clear, that it cannot be mistaken by any attentive reader; while it further proves that the original Elohistic document was not considered so venerable and sacred by the second writer, that he was restrained by any religious fears or scruples from altering, enlarging, or curtailing at his own pleasure, and mixing up with it, his own compositions as of equal value.

An examination of the Pentateuch furnishes the most cogent reasons for concluding that the Elohistic writer was the prophet Samuel, to whom may be ascribed about one-half of the book of Genesis, a small part of Exodus, still less of Numbers, and a few passages in the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua. As a summary of the evidence which is given at length in support of this conclusion, it may be stated that the Elohistic narrative which asserts the first revelation of the name Jehovah to Moses in the wilderness, contradicts the Jehovistic narrative in Genesis, which places that name in the mouth not only of Eve and Abraham, but of the heathen Abimelech, and so calls into question the historical truth of all the other statements of the Jehovist-that, although among the names given in

the book of Genesis down to the age of Joseph, there are many compounded with Elohim, there is not one compounded with Jehovah; that, inasmuch as the impossibilities found in the story of the Exodus are equally conclusive against the historical truth of the whole, the Elohist must be regarded as introducing the name Jehovah as a new name for the God of Israel,-that there is not in the book of Judges a single name which can be appealed to with confidence as compounded with Jehovah, while many are combined with the name EL, but during and after the time of Samuel, an increasing partiality is discernible for names compounded with Jehovah,-that the supposition of Samuel being the Elohist becomes almost a certainty when it is proved that David in his earlier Psalms made little or no use of the name Jehovah, while in his later Psalms he used it more freely. Hence the Jehovistie writer must have written in a later age than the early days of David, and not earlier than the latter part of David's life, when the name became more common. There is, in fact, reason for believing that all those portions of the first four books and the book of Joshua which are not due to the Elohist were composed by one or more writers who wrote in the latter days of David and in the early part of the reign of Solomon, with the exception of some interpolations which were introduced by the Deuteronomist. These interpolations, together with the questions relating to the composition of the book of Deuteronomy, will be fully examined in the THIRD Part.

It is, however, of paramount importance to estimate at their right value the conclusions to which these investigations appear to lead. If they teach us that the Pentateuch most probably originated in a noble effort of one illustrious man, in an early age of the Hebrew history, to train his people in the fear and faith of the living God, we are not justified in imputing to him either fraud or imposture, or in asserting that the narrative which he put forth was baseless. The most searching analysis of all national traditionary history tends inevitably to the conclusion laid down by Mr. Gladstone, in his work on Homer and the Homeric Age, that men may exaggerate history, but they cannot invent. There is no legendary narrative which has not its foundation in fact; and if the legends of Rome before the rise of contemporary history could not have come into existence if there had been no pre-historic struggles between the several orders in the state, so neither could the Hebrew narratives have assumed shape if there had not been a real Exodus. It is impossible not to feel that some real movement out of Egypt in former days must lie at the base of the Elohistic story. It is inconceivable that such a narrative should have been written by Samuel

or any one else without some real tradition giving the foundation for it. But the supposition that he worked on the basis of such traditionary accounts is in no way inconsistent with the belief that Samuel was a true servant of the living God, in whose name he spoke and of whom he witnessed; still less are we warranted in imputing to him, on such an alternative, any deliberate and unworthy fraud. Even into the very name which he introduced, we at the present day import a fulness and depth of meaning which the seer himself did not ascribe to it. In his mind it was only the expression of the idea of a Living God, in opposition to the dead idols of the heathen. Such conclusions will still lead us to regard the Bible as the best of books, in which the word of God will be heard by all who will humbly and devoutly listen for it. They will not clash with the conviction that the Hebrew Scriptures are a precious gift of God, which He in His providence has caused to be written for our learning' in divine things, and that the Jewish nation was singled out by His express will from all other nations, to be the instrument by which His more clear and full revelations of Himself should be in the earliest

days conveyed to mankind, and thus to be the speci messenger of His grace and goodness to all the ends of the earth.

The Constitutional History of England since the Accession of George the Third, 17601860. By THOMAS ERSKINE MAY, C.B. In Two Volumes. VOL. II. 8vo. pp. 658, price 188. cloth. [February 21, 1863.

HE FIRST VOLUME of this work (published in THE February 1861) comprised an historical review of the prerogatives and influence of the Crown, and of the relative powers of the two Houses of Parliament. It exhibited the ascendency of the king and the aristocracy in the councils of the State, and the manifold corruptions by which the popular branch of the legislature had become their tool. It traced the progress of popular power, until the Commons acquired their proper constitutional position-controlling the executive, without encroaching upon its authority --predominant in legislation, without overbearing the House of Lords, and themselves accountable to their constituents and to public opinion.

The present volume (which completes the work) continues the survey of constitutional progress, under aspects no less interesting. It illustrates the influence of party organisation in a free State, and the principles which have advanced public liberty. It describes the progress of freedom of opinion-including the press, public meetings, and political agitation. It reviews the history of the Church, the progress of Dissent, and the

struggles and final triumph of religious liberty: It sketches the constitutional history of Ireland; of municipal institutions, and local self-government; and of Colonial administration. It concludes with a summary of the general legislation of the period, which evinces-as the natural result of extended liberties-not only enlarged principles of government, but a wider spirit of humanity and a more generous consideration for the interests of the people.

While the narrative embraces many of the most stirring incidents of political history, it follows the development of the laws and liberties of England during a period which, more than any other, affects our present political condition and future destinies.

The Alpine Journal; a Record of Mountain Adventure and Scientific Observation. By Members of the ALPINE CLUB. Edited by H. B. GEORGE, M.A., Fellow of New College, Oxford. No. I. 8vo. pp. 48, price 18. 6d. sewed. To be continued Quarterly. [March 2, 1863. IT is felt that the geographical and other information acquired during each summer by members of the Alpine Club deserves to be made known more generally than by means of the papers read at their monthly meetings. It has therefore been resolved to establish a Journal, which shall not only give an account of their proceedings, but also contain other matter relating to mountain explorations.

The Journal will report all new and interesting mountain expeditions, whether in the Alps or elsewhere, and give all such new items of scientific and geographical knowledge as can be procured from the various available sources, together with some account of all new books treating of Alpine matters, and, generally, of all facts and incidents which it may be useful to the mountaineer to know. As the Club is responsible for a Journal published under its direction, all the narratives will be written by members; but a section devoted to Alpine Notes and Queries' will be open to all persons interested in the matters with which the Club is concerned.

The CONTENTS of the First Number are as follows: