NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

Physico-Prophetical Essays on the Locality of the Eternal Inherit ance, its Nature and Character, the Resurrection Body, the Mutual Recognition of Glorified Saints. By the Rev. W. Lister, F.G.S., Vicar of Bushbury, and Rural Dean. London: Longmans. 1861.—Some of our readers have written to us requesting a review of this volume, on which they desire to have the judgment of the Christian Observer expressed. We have taken it up repeatedly with the view of complying with their wishes, and laid it down again unable to proceed. It would be easy to say that the book is eloquent, the author pious, and the subjects interesting, (profoundly so to some minds,) and that it contains nothing contrary to the faith. But criticisms of this kind would satisfy neither our readers nor ourselves. There is scarcely a page of the book over which a discussion would be unnecessary, and not a few over which a stout battle might not be fought by intelligent and accomplished christian men. The conclusions are of necessity, in many cases, simply hypothetical. The probable truth of many ifs must be granted before the certainty of one therefore can be conceded. Yet the speculations are such as a christian may lawfully indulge. The writer often goes beyond "where holy scripture doth seem to take him by the hand;" but still he does so in a spirit which cannot be blamed. He raises, as of necessity he must, great conclusions on slender premises ; for, after all, how little is revealed of the subjects on which he treats. But to the spirit in which his inquiries are con ducted we have nothing to object. We have our doubts whether some of them are profitable in a spiritual sense, or whether the soul does not return from such excursions dispirited and fatigued,-Noah's dove upon the deluge of waters, but without even the spray of olive kaf. But minds differ; and we have no wish to make our own the standard. On the whole, we may venture to say that nowhere are the obscure and difficult questions on which Mr. Lister writes more safely and judiciously treated than by himself, and not often with more ability.

The Introduction of Christianity into Britain: An Argument on the Evidence of St. Paul having visited the Extreme Boundary of the West. By the Rev. B. W. Savile, M.A. Longmans.-The ebset of this work is to bring together, as succinctly as possible, the Ecle of the evidence which exists in favour of St. Paul having brought the light of the gospel to this country. It has been contended that there was not sufficient time after the Apostle's release from his imprisonment at Rome, as recorded by St. Luke, previously to his martyrdom, for him to have visited Spain and Britain, the extreme

tick of the West. A chapter is devoted to that branch of the subject. Cheter i, contains the chronology of the Acts of the Apostles generally, and it will be seen that a period of nearly ten years of St. Paul's die after his release from Rome remains to be accounted for, of 2ach Scripture takes no notice. The succeeding chapter contains the

evidence of St. Paul having visited Spain and Britain after his two years' imprisonment at Rome, together with the time and place of his martyrdom. The author believes that he is thus enabled to prove, by a satisfactory catena of authorities, the Pauline origin of the British churches. The subject, always interesting, is by no means destitute of importance. The evidence, it is true, is chiefly inferential, but Mr. Savile has brought it to bear with much effect. The learned bishop Burgess of Salisbury was a strong advocate of Mr. Savile's position, and the reader will, we think, allow that, as the venerable bishop says, "there is at least as strong a presumption that St. Paul visited England, as that St. Peter ever was at Rome."

Lyra Sacra: being a Collection of Hymns Ancient and Modern, Odes, and Fragments of Sacred Poetry. Compiled and edited, with a Preface, by the Rev. B. W. Savile, M.A. Longmans.-The first division of Lyra Sacra contains a selection of the best specimens of ancient and modern hymns, brought together in as small a compass as possible for the purpose of comparison and reference. The ancient hymns commence with the hymn to the Creator, attributed to Eupolis, the pupil of Socrates, and composed nearly five centuries before the Christian era; they include many which were sung by the early Christians, and are brought down to the beginning of the last century. A few Latin hymns are added, the principal one being the traditionary translation of the hymn sung by our Lord and His disciples the night before the Crucifixion. A short collection of Psalms follows, selected with a view to show their superiority over those versions commonly sung in our parish churches. Amongst the Odes are several that have never before appeared in print, including one by an unknown author on the Burial of Moses, bearing a strong resemblance in cadence and rhythm to the well-known Ode on the Death of Sir John Moore.

The Secret History of the Court of France under Louis XV. Edited by Dr. Challice. 2 vols. Hurst and Blackett. 1861.-We cannot say that these volumes add much to our stock of real knowledge. They are gossiping and pleasant, if scenes may be called pleasant in which the chief actors are a melancholy, debauched, superstitious king, and his mistress Madame de Pompadour. Yet they are not without a moral; a moral so obvious, so often repeated, that it seems to have lost its effect-five words embrace it: Splendid vice is abject misery. The horrible profligacy of French morals appears in the short annals of Madame de Pompadour. She was the young and, in a worldly sense, the happy wife of an affectionate husband, in whom she placed the utmost confidence; as a proof of this, she informed him, and so she tells us without a blush, that she would never be unfaithful to him unless it were to become the mistress of a king. The king shortly after passed by her husband's mansion hunting. He was invited to alight, and the desired result soon followed; her husband seems to have been delighted with the arrangement, and her own mother died exulting in the advancement of her daughter, having now, she said, the last desire of her heart fulfilled. Such was domestic life in France a hundred years since. Who can wonder that a revolution heartless and ferocious beyond all example followed.

Ten Weeks in Japan. By George Smith, D.D., Bishop of Victoria, Hong Kong. London: Longman. 1861.-The bishop of Victoria has given us his first impressions of an almost unknown land. His volume is lively, yet instructive. The instruction centres in thisthat, after all, St. Paul was right: heathenism is everywhere only another name for whatever is most horrible, most degrading, most polluting to human nature. Travellers told us that Japan was an exception; travellers told our forefathers that the South Sea islanders were an exception. Even missionaries told us how kind and gentle were the Patagonian savages. In each instance, experience dreadful experience, in some instances-has shown us the ignorance, and indeed the folly, of these credulous romancers. The heathen are everywhere such as they are described in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans-they are steeped in licentiousness. The gentle Japanese are not a whit better than the worst of them; and we have to thank the good bishop for making us acquainted with this fact, in a volume which, notwithstanding, is fit for general perusal.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

WINTER draws on, and the year seems likely to close upon the world in mist and storm. We have again to report peace and comfort, and comparative prosperity, at home; but beyond our own shores the prospect on all sides is even darker than ever. We are so used to hear of continental broils, that they make but little impression upon

us.

That martial law is proclaimed at Warsaw-that the university at Petersburgh is closed on account of the real or apprehended disaffection of a few hundred students-that Hungary offers the obstinate barrier of passive resistance to her stern master-such things are heard without emotion, and soon forgotten; perhaps too soon. Our insular position has a tendency to promote selfishness. An Englishman need not be a worse patriot, and would probably be a better Christian, if he took more interest in the well-being of those other nations, which he is too much accustomed to look upon merely as pleasant fields of travel-recreation grounds, where he can spend his holidays. We are disposed to regard as the most important event of the month, one which has scarcely received the slightest attention from those who profess to enlighten the public on political affairs. The island and adjacent territory of Lagos, on the West African coast, has been ceded to Great Britain by the native king, in a friendly spirit, and upon terms of fair remuneration. If our acquisition be wisely made use of, it seems impossible to overstate the beneficial results which may be expected to follow. It secures a free communication with Abbeokuta, its thriving missions, its incipient civilization, its capacity of yielding immense and almost inexhaustible supplies of native produce, when brought into cultivation under European skill and science. It will enable us to overawe the king of Dahomey, and in time

to put an end to his hideous immolations, and his abominable traffic in slaves. It will afford a more economical, and at the same time a far more effective, means of watching slavers, and so preventing the slave trade, than our expensive African squadron, with all its vigilance. Should Africa become a great cotton-growing and exporting country, Lagos in a few years will probably be its Liverpool, the emporium of its commerce.

A feeling of great uneasiness prevails in Manchester, and the manufacturing districts of the North, as to the supply of cotton. Mills are already working half-time for want of the raw material, and it is feared before the winter closes great distress will be felt. Those who are the best informed do not agree upon the question, whether, even excluding America, the supplies will totally fail. But should the distress be such as those who take the most unfavourable view of the case anticipate, a national grant or loan ought, beyond all doubt, to be cheerfully conceded. This may seem extravagant to some, and will be complained of by others as an interference with those great principles by which trade, in all its relations, ought to be controlled. But to be humane, and considerate of the happiness of others, is always politic, especially when they are our own countrymen, suffering from no fault of theirs, but from the inexpressible folly and wickedness of others. An armed resistance to the blockade of the American ports is suggested by some few; but the voice of England condemns it. Let it be considered not on moral grounds, but only as a question of finance and policy. It would unquestionably lead us into a war; and then the ten or twenty millions which, under the worst of all possible circumstances, it might cost us to feed the manufacturing population for a whole winter, would not be sufficient to bear the cost of war, with its preparations and outfit, for a single month. But we do not anticipate the necessity for such a measure, which nothing indeed but the utmost extremity would justify. We rather believe that the stock of cotton will enable the manufacturer to tide through the winter, and that with the spring large supplies will be poured in. Meanwhile the good conduct of the working classes deserves the highest praise, and must commend them warmly to the sympathies of every patriot and every Christian.

The tidings from America are melancholy; each side becomes more embittered. In the Northern States, the war upon the whole is not only popular, it has become a passion, a national frenzy; and the South, if less noisy in its demonstrations, seems no less stern and resolute. Each side has called into existence armies in strength scarcely inferior to those which Napoleon wielded in his Russian invasion. The border states see them encamped in sight of each other, and will probably soon be the theatre of events which we can anticipate only with the deepest sorrow. A great battle is again expected, but no one now believes that the most profuse bloodshed will ever cement the breach. Such an interference would no doubt be resented as an insult, but we could wish that England observed a day of humiliation on behalf of these our infuriate kinsmen across the Atlantic. But what the state cannot do every christian household may undertake in its daily ministrations before the throne of grace.

How appropriate just now is the petition of our Liturgy: "That it may please thee to give to all nations unity, peace, and concord!"

Many of our politicians are spending the autumn in speech-making to their constituents; a harmless recreation, if nothing more; and occasionally weighty thoughts find expression, and important sugges tions are thrown out. On the whole, the tone is good; it bespeaks in favour of a greatly improved state of feeling in our higher classes. They talk as men who take a real interest in the well-being, and not unfrequently in the spiritual welfare, of their neighbours and constituents. Education, too, is much discussed, and the new Minute comes in for its full share both of praise and blame. Mr. Adderley, who was lately at the head of the Educational department in Lord Derby's administration, commends it as at least sound in principle; but, in general, it meets with but little approbation. However, it is postponed till March, and in the meantime all parties will be able to give it full consideration. It still appears to us well meant, though ill considered; and if it had been enforced at once, its effects would have been oppressive, if not unjust.

The National Society is celebrating its Jubilee. Ten years ago, it drove away evangelical churchmen by a display of arrogant highchurchmanship and exclusivement which we are persuaded its present leaders heartily deplore. Our own pages bear witness to the violence and turbulence of its annual meetings at that time; and the descriptions came from the gentle pen of one whose faults, if he had any, were certainly not on the side of too much severity. An opportunity now occurs to heal the breach, and evangelical churchmen are quite ready both to forgive and to forget the past. Only let it be clearly understood that their return involves no compromise of principle. If the popish practices which then prevailed at St. Mark's training school at Chelsea were now, as then, sanctioned by the Board of the National Society, no reconciliation could possibly be effected. The Society is much wanted; and if government should change their system, and to any considerable extent withdraw their aid, it will again occupy an important position, and require the assistance of all church

men.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

THE request of the writer of "the So-called Catholic and Apostolic Church" will be complied with.