1848.] Notices of Recent Publications. 311 of closely printed matter, must have cost a great amount of labor. We have no personal acquaintance with Framingham, but have hardly read a page here without finding something of interest. We welcome the book as very complete in its way, and as a real acquisition to our historical resources; while it must be particularly prized and valued by those, who, either themselves or through their ancestors, have been connected with the families and events which it notices. Future generations in Framingham I will thank the author for his modest but useful labor. M. V. Huitful, Dramatic Poems. M. By HARRIETTE FANNING READ. Boston: Crosby & Nichols. 1848. 8vo. Pp. 297. THE titles of these poems, three in number, are sufficiently imposing, - "Medea," " Erminia," and "The New World." The first is a reproduction of the Grecian story; the second, an Italian tale of the republican ages; the third, a tragedy founded upon the early history of Hispaniola, and introducing the family of the heroic Caonabo, whose life and wrongs are so beautifully related in the familiar pages of Irving. A facsimile of a letter from Mrs. Madison is prefixed to the Poems, and the authoress, in her Preface, expresses her gratitude to many friends, whose kindness has sustained her in a publication to which she was impelled chiefly, she says, "by the pressure of want without." 8 Edilin * H-t. *WE are obliged, from want of room, to omit or defer several notices, some of which were prepared for this number. Among the subjects of them are Whitwell's Translation of the Epistle to the Romans; Curtis's Treatise on the Law of Copyright; Sparks's Library of American Biography; Turner's Biographical Notices of Jewish Rabbis, of which we shall speak in our next number. We must dismiss, in the briefest manner, Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates, with Notes, by R. D. C. ROBBINS, which does credit to the taste and scholarship of the editor; The Lesson of Life, and other Poems, by GEORGE H. BOKER, a volume which has some spirited portions, but which seems better fitted to amuse the privacy of friendship than to edify an exacting public; My Teacher's New Year's Present for the Year 1848, by F. T. GRAY,- a pleasant and useful offering to the young, containing short "stories" and hymns; Prayers for the Use of Families, by WILLIAM ENFIELD, LL. D., a reprint of an excellent manual of devotion; Progress of the Christian Life, being a Sequel to the Formation of the Christian Character, by HENRY WARE, D. D., -a valuable fragment republished from the late edition of Mr. Ware's Works; Rainbows for Children, edited by L. MARIA CHILD, a volume of fairy-stories, with illustrations, for which we are indebted to a lady of Boston, whose talent is shown in both the text and the embellishments. The Church Record. A Sermon preached in Grafton, Sunday, pp. 30. A Tribute to the Memory of Simeon S. Goodwin, delivered in the Unitarian Church, Louisville, Ky., September 5, 1847. By JOHN H. HEYWOOD. Louisville. 1847. 12mo. pp. 12. Unitarian Christianity, its Object and Influence. A Sermon preached at the Dedication of the Unitarian Church in Athol, Mass., Wednesday, December 8, 1847. By SAMUEL F. CLARKE. Boston: Crosby & Nichols. 1848. 8vo. pp. 24. Need of the Sanctuary in the City. A Sermon preached at the Dedication of the Indiana Street Congregational Church, Sunday Evening, December 12, 1847. By THOMAS B. Fox, Minister of that Church. Boston: Crosby & Nichols. 8vo. Pp. 28. The Christian in his Village Home. A Discourse on the Life and Character of Hon. Joseph Lyman, delivered on the 19th of December, 1847. By RUFUS ELLIS, Pastor of the Second Congregational Church, Northampton. Northampton. 1848. pp. 16. 8vo. The Four Anniversaries. A Sermon preached to the Unitarian The Public Man. A Discourse on Occasion of the Death of The Position of Unitarianism defended. A Discourse delivered at the Reopening of the First Independent Church of Baltimore, on Sunday, January 23, 1848. By its Pastor, GEORGE W. BURNAP. Baltimore. 1848. 8vo. pp. 31. 1848.] Notices of Recent Publications. 313 A Letter to the People of the United States, touching the Matter of Slavery. By THEODORE PARKER. Boston. J. Munroe & Co. 12mo. pp. 120. All War forbidden by Christianity. An Address to the Citizens of Dover, delivered on Thanksgiving Evening, November 25, 1847. By REV. W. P. TILDEN. Dover, N. H. 1847. 8vo. pp. 16. An Address delivered before the Boston Mercantile Library Association, January 3, 1848. By DANIEL N. HASKELL, a Member of the Association. A Poem (before the same). By S. A. Dix, a Member of the Association. Boston. 1848. Svo. pp. 40 and 17. A Citizen's Appeal in Regard to the War with Mexico. A Lecture delivered at Lyceum Hall, Lynn, January 16, 1848. By CHARLES C. SHACKFORD. Boston. 1848. 8vo. pp. 40. We have but recently obtained a copy of Mr. Willson's sermon, delivered late in 1846, and published last year. As its title states, it is historical, belonging to that useful, but unpretending, class of discourses, which gather up and preserve on the printed page facts which might otherwise be forgotten or lie buried in obscure manuscripts. To the future ecclesiastical historian of New England these discourses will prove an invaluable treasure. - Neither visionary, nor mystical, nor sentimental, but dealing in plain, substantial thought, President Wayland argues that governments are authorized to use force, when necessary to protect their own citizens against either a domestic or a foreign foe; he justifies defensive, and condemns offensive, war; he teaches the old-fashioned doctrine, that obedience is due to civil magistrates so long as they command nothing wrong, but no further; we are not to aid them in wrong-doing, but to labor in all constitutional ways to arrest them in a career of injustice and wickedness. These points are all well reasoned. A few years ago, parts of the sermons might have been pronounced commonplace; but the times seem to require the reassertion of first principles. We wish the President had literary conservatism enough to write "Cæsar," and not "Cesar," as the word uniformly appears on the pages before us. Mr. Heywood's discourse, in its style simple and direct, places before us a man of active business habits and great benevolence, a good man and a Christian. — Mr. Clarke's sermon is what the occasion and place of its delivery naturally demanded; it contains just views, clearly expressed, and is to be commended for its liberal and catholic spirit.-Without uttering a philippic against wealth and the wealthy, Mr. Fox refers to the peculiar temptations of cities, from which he argues the need of increased attention to the erection of temples for Christian worship and instruction, and especially of "unexpensive mon. 66 experi churches"; the Indiana Street church, he says, is an ment"; there is to be "no classification or sale of pews, and the seats are rented at a uniform rate." The discourse, which is appropriate and animated, shows that the author has a right view of the nature of his work. - Mr. Ellis had a "noble theme," which he has worthily treated in a discerning discourse, vigorously written, and full of just and manly thought. Mr. Livermore's four Anniversaries are the Landing of the Pilgrims, Christmas, the Close of the Year, and New Year, each of which receives appropriate notice, and all together furnish materials out of which the author has constructed an impressive practical serWe have rarely read a discourse which has delighted us more than Mr. Allen's, on the death of Governor Fairfield. From the individual whom it commemorates, it leads the thoughts up to "the ideal standard of personal character," and alike in its eulogy and the wider range of reflection on which it enters towards the close, it is marked by a chasteness, a beautiful simplicity and freshness, which constitute the highest merit and charm of this class of discourses. Mr. Burnap's discourse contains a succinct but clear history of the church in which he ministers, with a vindication of the course pursued by its founders, and an explanation of the principles on which it rests, all so happily blended as to preserve a proper unity, with an increasing interest as the discourse proceeds to its close. One of the marked peculiarities of Mr. Parker's Letter is the multitude of historical and statistical statements it contains, designed to illustrate and fortify his general views and reasoning. Admitting, which we see no cause to doubt, their accuracy in the main, though the authorities are not given, they present a formidable array, and we can hardly believe that they can be spread before the public, with the aid of Mr. Parker's eloquent appeals, without effect.- Mr. Tilden, in his Address delivered on Thanksgiving evening, and published at the request of "gentlemen of different denominations of Christians," maintains the principle, that war is universally, and under all circumstances, condemned by the Gospel of Jesus. Mr. Haskell's Address before the "Boston Mercantile Library Association" is a production of uncommon merit, showing careful intellectual culture, sound views, and a right spirit, that speak well for the influence of the institution. The Poem by Mr. Dix, delivered on the same occasion, the dedication of the "New Rooms" of the Association, is creditable to its author. Mr. Shackford confines himself to a discussion of the war with Mexico, its origin, character, and consequences; his pamphlet is one of the best we have seen on the subject, excelled by none in intellectual power and pungent moral appeal. 1848.] Intelligence. INTELLIGENCE. E. J. Gammett RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. 315 Ecclesiastical Record. We have fewer notices than usual to include under this head. Rev. Mr. Willis has closed his ministry in Walpole, N. H. Rev. Mr. Nute has relinquished his pastoral connection with the church in Petersham. Rev. Mr. McIntire has resigned his connection with the church in Brattleboro', Vt. - Rev. Mr. De Lange has taken charge of the congregation in Quincy, Ill. - Rev. E. G. Holland is preaching to the society in Southington, Conn., under an engagement which will continue till the close of the spring. The society at St. Louis, Mo., have welcomed back their minister with a substantial liberality significant of the estimation in which they hold his services. The congregation at Chicago, Ill., is prospering under the ministry of Rev. Mr. Adam. - The Unitarians in Galena, Ill., who for the last two years have enjoyed the preaching of Rev. Mr. Woodward, are anxious to erect a meetinghouse, for which, however, they will need assistance from abroad. The society at Montreal, C. W., under the care of Rev. Mr. Cordner, is in a firm and prosperous condition. An impression has been diligently spread abroad, that the Unitarian congregations of Boston are falling into decay. The dedication of two meetinghouses within the last four months, and the completion of two others, which we shall probably have occasion to notice in our next number, do not indicate the approaching ruin of our denomination. One of our oldest societies has been greatly embarrassed by a debt incurred by rebuilding their meetinghouse, but we have no doubt they will extricate themselves by one of those generous efforts of which we have lately had most pleasant examples. Another congregation, that has suffered from unhappy internal difficulties, is gradually recovering its strength. Only one of our churches is in danger of dissolution, and that from causes affecting the population of the city, to which we referred in a former number. All our other congregations, we believe, are in as good a state, and some of them are actually stronger than they were a year ago. We observe that the religious papers of the country are beginning to notice the occurrence of revivals, after a period remarkable for the absence of such special manifestations of interest in religion. We should not be surprised if they should become frequent. Alternations of religious sensibility are among the established facts of experience, and may be explained on known principles of human nature. A community, or a country, like an individual, may be at one time in a lethargic, and at another time in an excited state. Under the restrictions which we believe their past history has taught the friends of revivals to impose upon their tendency to run into extravagance, we doubt not they may be productive of good. At least, we think their effect on our own denomination is decidedly beneficial. The excitement, which almost upheaves the churches around us, before it reaches us has spent its violence, and we feel only a healthful agitation. We should anticipate, and welcome, an increase of spiritual life in our churches, as the consequence of a revival in their neighbourhood. |