blessing to the dear young girl; for if she remain steadfast, what a blessing she may be made to others. I congratulate you upon the privileges bestowed upon you by the Master of Assemblies; may he abundantly bless your labours of love in this sacred cause. I desire to be thankful to the Lord for his goodness in putting it into the heart of one, descended from such an unworthy stock, to be thus useful. 'Bless the Lord, O, my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.' May your ministrations be abundantly blest, and while you are breaking the bread of life to others, may your own soul be nourished up unto eternal life."

In all her illnesses (and they were many, and often very severe,) she appeared to possess a very desponding turn of mind, and until the last one, she seemed to have a considerable dread of death, and many doubts of her safety. She was much harassed by Satan in reference to her title to a heavenly inheritance. Still, it was always observable that she was clinging to Jesus, and felt that all her safety was in Him only. In her last illness, which commenced in its more severe form in July, she appeared to have lost her extreme dread of death, and was, apparently, ready to depart and to be with Christ. She expressed a desire to see all the members of her family, and on her son saying, "You feel perfectly safe in the hands of Jesus." She replied, "I hope so." He then said, "Jesus is your rock, and you are building upon Him." She replied, "Do you think so?" He said, "He was sure of it. None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good." She replied, "None but Jesus." Her son observed," What a mercy it is that you have not now to seek an interest in the Saviour, that He has long been your rock, your refuge, and your portion!"

On another occasion, when he asked her if she felt quite comfortable in her mind, and had the presence of Christ, she replied, "She did not feel it so much as she wished." He then endeavoured to impress on her mind that our frames and feelings varied; and that we should always find it so, while in this tabernacle, more or less; but that it was a mercy to know that our salvation was secured by an unchangeable God, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, and who knows our feeble frames, and remembers that we are dust.

At the close of various petitions, which were offered in her presence, she would say "Amen," as far as her strength would admit. When parting, and not expecting to see her again alive, her son remarked that he trusted the Lord would be with her in life and in death, in time and eternity, now, and for ever. She replied with a firm tone," Amen."

On the 16th, he again visited her, and found her exceedingly weak, but perfectly sensible, and in reply to various questions, put by himself and others of the family, respecting her safety, peace of mind, and security in a covenant Jesus, she answered with considerable firmness, that she felt happy and safe in the hands of Jesus, and was going to heaven.

The following lines were repeated :

"Jesus, my all, to heaven is gone,
He whom I fix my hopes upon,
His track I see, and I'll pursue
The narrow way till him I view."

She listened with evident pleasure, and showed symptoms of a firm reliance on the Lord Jesus. It was evident that she was much in prayer, sending up, constantly, silent petitions to the throne of grace. The Lord was gently leading her through the valley, his rod and staff sustained her. There did not appear the shadow of a doubt upon her mind. The heavenly Canaan was doubtless opening up before her, and the Spirit of the Lord was present to chase away all doubts and fears. This was the more remarkable, as in all previous illnesses, she was much troubled with darkness of mind, but in this last all was confidence and calmness in God, feeling assured that his arms would bear her safely over the Jordan of death, and land her where there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor sighing.

Her son again saw her on the 17th, and found her still confident in her hopes of salvation. She remarked to her attendants, during the night, that she was going to heaven. She was evidently expecting her dismissal, which was supposed to be nearer than it really was, for she remained in the same frame, until the 19th, when she entered into her eternal rest, leaving her surviving friends to exclaim, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours."

Our Book-Shelf.

MANCHESTER EDUCATIONISTS. By John Howard Hinton, M.A. Snow.

The design of this pamphlet, of 116 pages, is to present a digest of the voluminous evidence furnished by the house of commons, in a blue-book of 600 pages, bearing principally on the Local Scheme of education, only partial evidence having as yet been given on behalf of the Voluntaries, and the Seculars not having been yet heard at all. By the Local Scheme is to be understood a plan for furnishing a free education to the poor by a parish rate. object is

Its

"To secure for education a religious character, making education gratuitous, providing for liberty of conscience, and placing the whole movement under the Town Council, subject to the Committee of Council on Education."

Mr. Hinton is opposed to the scheme, as not called for by the necessity of the case; as unjust in taxing the whole community for the benefit of a part; as undesirable, in suppressing the present voluntary endeavours of parents and others, so "neutralising benevolence," as pernicious in " pauperising the people," and gradually undermining a spirit of self-reliance, as throwing the education of the people into the hands of government. Mr. Hinton's words are, "A more palpably mischievous scheme of charity, in our judgment, it is difficult to conceive."-p. 76.

"Let the friends of voluntary education, therefore, see what is before them, and judge in good time whether they think the proposed system of parish relief, a much better means of supplying the energy hitherto developed by voluntary effort." -p. 79.

The author further complains of the proposed scheme as creating a religious endowment. "The Seculars are resolved on throwing religion altogether out of the scholastic routine, and committing it extra scholastic instructors; the Locals promise, what they agree with us in declaring essentially important, a religious education."-p. 82. The regulation, clause 86, is," that in every school the Scriptures in the authorized version shall form a part of the daily instruction." But the question was asked whether this did not give the managers and teachers sufficient opportunity for conveying their peculiar opinions? And this was confessed. The consequence, in the author's judgment, is

that under the form of Christianity, every mode of nominal religion may be introduced, even scepticism. None but a religious man can impart a really religious education." The name of religion may become a veil to blind the eyes, a condiment to render palatable what would else be too nauseous to be swallowed.

Without passing judgment on all the opinions of the author, enough has been said to show that the proposed measure deserves to be well considered before it is generally adopted. That the pamphlet deserves the immediate attention of all who are interested in one of the most important controversies of our times. We hope to resume our review of the work next month.

SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION MAGAZINE, 1852.

This is a well got-up volume, the typography neat, the contents interesting. It contains the Rev. J. Sherman's Sermon to Sunday-school Teachers, full reports of the meetings for the Jubilee Hall, and the manly and earnest appeal of the Rev. Dr. Campbell on behalf of the same object.

BIBLE CLASS MAGAZINE, 1852.

Another neat and interesting volume, issued by the Sunday-School Union. It is really a pleasure to open such natty books. This magazine forms a channel for correspondence between members of Bible Classes, on Scripture difficulties, many of which are explained in this volume for the by-gone year.

THE CHILD'S OWN MAGAZINE, 1852.

A simple and instructive little book, composed of the first six numbers of the Children's Monthly Halfpenny! Every number has wood-cut illustrations, simple poetry, and information on Scripture and general history, in a style adapted to juvenile readers.

NOTES ON SCRIPTURE LESSONS. 1852.

Another volume of a most useful work for Sunday School Teachers. One might entitle it "Teaching made easy." Really with such facilities for imparting biblical knowledge, it will be inexcusable if our Sunday Schools are not a mightier instrument than they have ever been for overthrowing every Anti-Christ, and furnishing the churches with some of her best members and ministers. Teachers! Your responsibility is great! Your means of doing good are unprecedented. We confess,

however, to a fear that even these useful notes sometimes make lazy teachers. When the heart gets wrong, even such helps may become hindrances. Nothing will serve as a substitute for the Teacher's own personal and prayerful study of the Book of God.

As these notes have been issued some few years, it occurs to us whether the Scriptures might not now be so arranged as to be gone through after the several leading plans adopted in these notes, in the course, say, of two or five years; the whole of the published notes revised, invigorated, and condensed so as to form a kind of standard, stereotyped set of Sunday-School Teachers Aids. The stimultaneousness of the system might be preserved by starting, say, in the year 1854, if two volumes for two years would suffice. Every even number, as 1854, 1856, 1858, 1860, would be the year for the first volume, and every odd number, as 1855, &c., would be the year for the second. Or if the notes occupied five years, it would be easy to start afresh every five years, say, 1855, 1860, 1865, and so on. And the volumes being numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, there could be no difficulty in knowing which was the volume for the year.

It can hardly be necessary to go on for ever issuing fresh notes, and much expense would be saved by the plan proposed; as every School Teacher would soon obtain these standard volumes, and be set up for life. The School periodicals could issue, every month, such fresh illustrations of the subjects as may be furnished by modern travels and discoveries, and these could be noted in the Teacher's Diary. As to the difficulty about the varying dates of Sabbaths, it would be casy to number the Sabbaths in the yearly calendar, on the margin, in bold figures. No. 1, 2, &c., throughout the whole fifty-two weeks.

One word more. It is a pity such useful notes should be useless when the year is over. Could not the best preserved copies be collected and presented to some Mission Schools, or other similar institutions ? "Let nothing be lost." SUNDAY-SCHOOL CLASS REGISTER AND DIARY FOR 1853.

The REGISTER is published separately in limp cloth, as a respectable memorandum book, with a calendar for the year, scripture lessons, and ruled spaces for children's attendance, and subscriptions for books.

The DIARY, with ample space for written notes on the Sunday Lessons, is attached to the CLASS REGISTER, and is bound in gilt, with stiff cloth covers. They are admirably got up, and are eminently adapted to promote the order and efficiency of our Sabbath-Schools. Really they furnish lessons to many desultory, unsystematic teachers, such as ought to be useful to them in all departments of secular as well as sacred employment. Let no SundaySchool Teacher be longer without his REGISTER. Let no Bible Class Teacher, employing the Union arrangement of Scripture Lessons be longer without the DIARY.

IRON AND CLAY. A Discourse on the death of the Duke of Wellington. By J. De Kewer Williams. Snow.

The design of this well-written discourse is to shew the strength and the weakness of the illustrious warrior, his excellence in the original powers of his mind, the studies by which he brought them to perfection, and the moderation with which he used them. These are what the amiable author calls his "First Thoughts." "His Second," relate to the physical strength, and mental determination of the Iron Duke. But then he was "part of clay." He could not withstand the progress of our age, nor his own deThen follows some judicious remarks on the end of the Duke, and the lessons to be gathered from his life and death. We regret that we have not space for a few excellent passages, but the whole can be had for a few pence, and we have not read a more interesting discourse on the subject to which it relates, than this "Iron and Clay."

cease.

POPERY AND PROTESTANTISM. Simpkin and Marshall.

This is a very complete catechism, bringing all the leading doctrines of Rome to the test of the Holy Scriptures; with some important illustrative notes, in an Appendix, upon the deeds of the papacy. We know no little book so suitable for the use of schools and families whereby to arm them, from their youth, against the errors of popery. It is a precious two penny-worth. A homeopathic dose, yet quite sufficient to nerve a child for a contest with a giant. A stripling with his sling and stone need not fear the uncircumcised Philistine.