egrrofuntkurt.
OPEN AIR PREACHERS.
NO. IX..
MM. WILLIAM TAYLOR, AND HIS OPEN
AIR MEETINGS IN CALIFORNIA.
1
BY EDWARD PAYSON HAMMOND
It is pleasant to notice that this sub
ject of open air meetings for the masses
is claiming the attention of journalists
on this side of the water.
A recent number of Montreal Witness
quotes the following from the Canadian
Messenger :
" The plan of building churches and try
ing to get the masses to come to them has
always been that preferred by religious men,
but the plan of going to the masses has
always been the ,most successful, and surely
it is the closest imitation of Christ. Now,
we would ask, what hinders the trying of this
plan in Canada? Why do not earnest men
everywhere attempt it? What would be the
difference in the attendance upon a religious
meeting called for any given church, school
house, or hall, and a meeting called for the
open air? The latter would, doubtless, be
far the largest, and probably the most. readily
impressed, whilst the speakers would be more
likely to rise to the importance of the occa
sion.
"It may be thought that our climate is not
so suitable as that of England fbr open air
meetings, but it is really, we think, more
suitable. There is much less rain here, and
with the exception of the intense cold of
some days in winter, there is scarcely any
time When an audience could not pass an
hour in the open air if so minded. The
French Canadians hold their political meet
ings at the church doors, and Protestants are
equally able to bear the open air. It may be
objected that our speakers have not the re
quisite strength of voice for the open air ;
but this strength comes by practice. Many
ministers of England or Scotland have made
open air preaching a part of their duties of
late years, and we hate heard of no one being
injured thereby. In Wesley's and Whit
field's time there was no lack of voice for
open air meetings, and we cannot think that
the human race has deteriorated. -
"These suggestions are thrown out with
great diffidence, in the hope that they may
lead to reflection, and if deemed expedient
some of our numerous, earnest, and able
ministers of the gospel in Canada, of all de
nominations, may try the plan of going to the
fields and lanes, the highways and hedges,
and "seeking" those who will not "come" to
them."
The career of Rev. WILLIAM TAYLOR
shows that he practically believed in
truths' like those expressed above.
For some years he preached to the
surging masses in the land of gold and
crime. The account which he gives of
his FIRST SERMON IN THE OPEN AIR IN
THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO can but
interest our readers. He says :
" On the 3d of December, 1849, I an
nounced to the congregation in our.
Church on the Hill,' that at three P. M.
of that day I would preach in the open
air on Portsmouth Square, known more
familiarly as the Plaza. It was regarded
as a very dangerous experiment ; for the
gamblers were a powerful and influential
party in the city, and the Plaza was their
principle place of rendezvous, and the
Sabbath the best day of the seven for
their business. The Plaza was nearly
surrounded by gambling and drinking
honses. The gamblers occupied the
best houses in the city, and had them
furnished in the most magnificent style.
Each house employed a band of the
best music the country could afford.
The walls of these houses were hung
with splendid paintings ; the tables'
contained piles' of gold and silver ; the
musicians occupied a high platform in
the rear end of the saloon ; the 'needful'
was served out by a gentleman of the
bar,' in one corner, near the entrance,
where many a jolly circle drank to each
other's health the deadly draught. These
places, especially at night, all night, and
•on Sunday, were crowded with moving
masses of humanity, of every age and
complexion. So powerful was this class
of men in the city, that I do not remem
ber of ever hearing of one of them, in
those days, being arrested, even for mur
der. Now, should a poor preacher pre
sume to go .into their midst, and inter
fere with their business, by thrilling
every house with the songs of Zion and
the peals of gospel truth, he would be
likely to wake up the lion in his lair 1
When the appointed hour arrived, I took
with me my sweet singer in Israel,' the
partner of my youth, who has. stood by
me in every battle ; and down I went to
the field of action. I selected for my
pulpit a carpenter's work-bench,• which
stood in front of one of the largest gam
bling-houses in the city. I got Mrs. T.
and another lady or two comfortably
seated in care of a good brother, and
taking the stand, I sung on a high key,
' Hear the loyal proclamation,
The glad tadings of salvation.'
" The novelty of the thing had a moving
effect. The people crowded out of the
gambling-houses, and gathered from every
direction as though they 'had heard the
cry, Fire. fire fire I' By the time the
echoes . of the song had died on the
breeze, I was surrounded by a dense
ci:44;.to whom I introduced the object
Of'.rriy . Mission.
' " Perfect order was observed, and pro
found attention given to every sentence
of,theiermon that folloWed. That ser
mon proved to be the first of a series
.of
nearly site hundred, sermons preached in
these streets, the confluence of all the
various creeds, and isms, and notions,
aiiefeelitigs, and prejudices of the repre
sentatives of. all the nations, Christian
and 'heathen. And yet,-through the re
straining providence of Him who sent
me ; and the good common sense of the
people of California, I have never lost a
congregation, nor„ suffered any. serious
disturbance:
OriCe on the Plaza the congregation
was disturbed by a false alarm of fire, when
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN; THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1865.
I said :—My dear sirs, how quickly a cry
of fire, though often, as in this case, a false
alarm, starts you. You run as though
the salvation of the world depended on
the race. I come to you here every
Sabbath with an alarming cry, the danger
of which, I warn you, is more dreadful
than the burning of all the cities on the
globe at one time, and I never raise a false
alarm. I cry, fire ! fire ! fire ! hell fire I
It is breaking out in our very midst
every day, and sweeping down the souls
of your neighbors into the hopeless
depths of the burning lake beneath,
whence the smoke of their torments will
ascend forever and ever !' Why do you
not run, and fly as from the brink, of hell,
and take refuge in the cleft Rock of the
Gospel, the Rock of Ages,' in which, if
you abide, the conflagration that shall
consume the universe shall not singe a
hair of your heads? The decisions of
this day may probably decide the ques
tion with you forever."
In every city opportunities are con
stantly occurring, by which thousands
who seldom attend the house of God
might be led to hear of a•crucified and
risen Saviour.
Mr. Taylor seems to have been one of
those meairt any to seize upon every oc
casion tovarn men to " flee from the
wrath to come."
No one can help being interested in
the account which' he gives of the cir
cumstances under which he preached in
San Francisco upon
THE DEATH OF BELSHAZZAR
"On Sunday morning, January 4,
1852, I stood on the deck of the steamer
Webber, at Long Wharf, and announced
as my text: In that very night was
Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans slain.'
Nearly opposite to where I stood on the
other side of the wharf, lay the steamer
Empire, which had been chartered to
convey a company of California legisle
tors on that day to - Vallejo, the seat of
the legislature of the State at that time.
The Empire was steaming up for her
Sunday excursion. My song drew to
the side of our boat a large crowd, while
the embarkation of the honorable legis
lators drew an equally large crowd to•
their boat, but I had the whole of both
parties within the compass of my voice,
and I preached to the Empire party ;awe
especially.
" I illustraed, by the life of Belshaz
zar, that a Sabbath-breaking, licentious,
drunken man, was utterly unfit for any
official position in the gift of any
respectable nation ; and to elect men
to make our laws, 's hose brains were
addled with brandy, and who showed so
little respect for one of the highest laws
and most venerable institutions of God,
the holy Sabbath, was a wicked absur
dity, and a bu‘ning shame to the Ameri
can people. I illustrated, further, the
end of such a course of procedure, by the
Mene, Tekel, Peres, the numbering,
weighing, and dividing of the Chaldean
kingdom, and the slaying .43f her wickedl
king.
. " A number of months after thiq occa,-1
sion, a stranger called on me, and re- 1
.quested a private interview. Said he to
me : Do you remember preaching from
the deck of a steamboat•at Long Wharf,
nine months ago, from a text concerning
the destruction of Babylon, and the death
of Belshazzar ? That was the time to
which I allude,' said he ; and then re
lated the following facts concerning him
self: I was up to that morning a con
firmed Universalist; and was withal a
very wicked sinner. As I was walking
leisurely down the wharf that morning,
I heard you singing, and went into the
crowd, through curiosity, to hear what
was to be said on the occasion. While
you were preaching, a strange fearful
ness, which I cannot describe, came over
me. I felt a smothering sensation at
my heart, and thought I was dying.
My - Universalism all vanished like smoke;
and I felt that if I died then, I should
certainly go to hell. For some time. I
knew not what to do. I came very near
crying out ; but something seemed to
say to Pray, pray to God, in the
name of Jesus Christ, for pardon.' So I
began earnestly to' pray: -- For three
weeks I suffered a constant fearfulness
and trembling. I 'felt every moment as
though some dreadful calamity:or judg
ment was about to befall me. I was
afraid to go to sleep at night, lest I
should wake up in-hell ; and every day
there seemed to be literally a heavy mist
before my eyes, which made everything
look dark and dreary. But all these
three dreadful weeks I continued to pray;
and suddenly, while I was praying, and
trying to trust in Jesus Christ, I realized
that my burden of sin was ,gone; and
instead of fearfulness, and a nervous
tremor, I felt all the vigor of renewed
youth. _The mist of Tay eyes gave way
to the brightness of morning. I praised
God for his pardoning mercy. I have
been up in the mountains ever since. I
have had but few public religious privi
leges, but have had my private prayers,
and have been recommending religion to
all my associates. Jesus has been very
precious to my soul all the time. To-mor
row I expect to embark for China; and I
wanted to "get some, tracts and religious
books for distribution aboard ship. I feel
as though I ought to do all I can in the
cause of Christ, for his great mercy to
me, and for the great desire he has given
me to see poor wandering souls con
verted.' "
Mr. Taylor has since gone to Australia,
where his open air services have been
very successful.
MEN may cheer theniselves in the morning,
.and they may pass on tolerably well perhaps,
without God at now; but the cool of the
day is coming; when God will come down to
talk with thetn.--"Cecii.'
"THE ENLIGHTENMENT" OF THE MOD-
ERN HINDOOS.
The enlightenment or intellectual
awakening among the' native -Hindoos,
especial of Bengal, which has already
resulted in estranging thousands from
the heathenism of their fathers, without
bringing them to Christianity,- originatbd
in two distinct sources. One was the
English government schools, the first of
which, called "The Hindoo College," was
founded in Calcutta, forty years ago.
These first threw light upon the confu
sion of Hindoo systems of history,
geography, and the sciences generally.
With them fell the religion inwoven with
them. In the course of ten years, there
arose a formal crusade against super
stition, priestcraft, and the like. But the
educated youth had only learned nega
tions in all this. Religionitself had gone
by the board with the faith of their
fathers; men made open avowals of
atheism. So stood the case in 1830,
when Dr. Duff arrived in the country,
and set himself to stem the flood with all
his might. He, commenced . a course of
lectures and public conferences, which
resulted in gaining over no small num
ber to Christianity. Marty of these
persons are still laboring as catechists,
preachers, or ordained : ministers,_ in, the,
employ of the Free Church, or of other
denominations. And Dr. Diff's labors
had their influence upon the others.
Atheism fell into disrepute. - A sort of
deism came in its place, to which its
advocates sought to accommodate, as far
as possible, the usages of Hindooism,
with the object especially of maintaining
their caste:
About this time another and a distinct
movement came to light. Its author was
the distinguished Rajah, Rarnmohun Roy,
a man, of great natural gifts, and bril
liant -attainments. He had thoroughly
studied Sanscrit, - Hebrew Arabie, and
Greek, in order that being thus acquainted
with original sources, he might be able to
judge for himself, as to the merits of the dif
ferent systems of religion. By this pro
cess pe became a' thorough and avowed
mon6theist. c Towards the Gospel he had
great respect. He made a selection from
the New Testament, and published it, at
his own: expense, in 'English. and Ben
galee, under the titic, of "Maxims of
Jesus,- our guide? to happiness." Accord
ing to his conviction, however, this very
same true religion was already taught
in the - Vedas, but •in a great Measure cor
rupted by the later Shastas andthe preva
lent Hindoo polytheism of the day,
(Puranaism) just •as happened to the
ame truth in the Gospel, by the, abuses
of the Roman Catholic Church. Now,
as Luther put the light again;upon the
candlestick, so the Rajah believed him
self, called to be the reformer of India.
And with body and "soulhe devoted him:-
self to his mission. But at first nothing
but mistrust met him on every. hand.
Only a few adherenis attached' ';them
selvesto him, the very first of whom;
strange to relate, was a renegade mis
sionary, the English Baptist Adams,
who had been the Rajah's tutor in
Ilebrew and Greek.
A union took place in 1828, between
the little company and another body, the
the resultant body being the 'Brahma
S anaadsch."
Every Sabbath a service-was held in
Calcutta, accompanied with the singing
of original hymns and reading and expo
sition of the Vedas.
Several years later, after. Rammohun
Roy's return from his journey to Eng
land, the sect received many additions
from graduates of the Government schools,
who riad become convinced of the un-
tenableness of their atheism. A vigo=
rous movement was made for the spread
of the new faith, a newspaper established,
travelling preachers sent out, schools
founded, -&c All this time the Vedas
were recognized as the foundation of their
faith.-
But the Vedas contain no trace of
Monotheism, but a sort of Sabeanism, or
worshiV-of the elements:-• Pire, air,
water, and the sun .are the objects of
reverence according to this authority.
It is, onlymodern commentaries that have
drawn by a philosophical process from
these books, not monotheism, but panthe
ism. These facts became constantly
clearer, a's acientifieinquirY was Ors - tied,
until at length the adherents of the
Brahma Samadsch could not e 'deny that
they had all this time been under a delu
sion. Gradually and reluctantly did they
relinquish their faith in the supreme
authority of the Vedas. At this crisis,
Unitarian, works .from England and
America, particularly those of Parker,
came into place. There • was an utter
aversion to a written revelation. The
"Book of Nature" was put in its place.
For several years, the papers and writings
of the sect were full of proofs of the
attributes of. God, particularly His good
ness, the proof being drawn from nature,
chiefly after the stVe of then English
natural theology. Yet no permanent
satisfaction for the religious wants of the
sect was obtained from these sources.
A new step was the acceptance of
Intuition as the sole ground of the true
religion. Repontanee and prayer would
be sufficient, without any mediation, for
the salvation of men. While under the
former set of views, just abandoned, all
the emphasis , was laid upon the good
ness of God, and His righteousness was
suffered to lie, in the back-ground, now,
the latter attribute alone was made
prominent. All have broken God's law,
all deserve punishment accordingly. The
sinner himself must suffer it. He can do
it •
partly here, but part he takes with
him' into the next world, in his con
sciousness of guilt, and so makes a hell
for hindelfr'l*hether there is one; in 'a
literal sense, or no. Of course he will
get through his repentance soonest there,
if he has borne the largest part of it
here. At the close will come everlast
ing happiness—in one case sooner, in
another later. This is the view at
present entertained by the Brahma
Sainahsch, and which perhaps a majority
of the gralduates of the Government
schools profess, or at least very nearly
approximate. But the numerous fluctu
ations through which the sect has passed,
intimate that we have not yet seen_ the
end of the movement.
The Calcutta correspondent of the
Christian Work expresses himself very
favorably in regard to the Brahma
Samadsch. He recognizes in their
worship a devotion and an order quite
foreign to the Hindoo. They are extra,
ordinarily interested in religious confer
ences, and listen with deep attention to
the lectures of missionaries. Our readers
may remember that not long ago, a
lecture was delivered by the Bishop of
Calcutta on the Greek play of Aristo
phanes, called "The Clouds," in which
Socrates and the Athenian youth, and
philosophers are introduced. Loud
applause greeted those portions of the
lectUre in Which a parallel was drawn
between these educated young Hin
doos.and the youth of Athens, and the
earnest - exhortation not to go astray
again, in breaking loose from .old errors,
was received with marks of assent. And
when Dr. Duff's name was mentioned,
as their Socrates, who would lead them
in the path of, true wisdom, it was greeted
with hearty applause. It is to be hoped'
that this movement of "Young Bengal"
will result in a still closer and a practical
approach to true evangelical Christianity.
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES.
We cheerfully give place to the fol
lowing communication, premising that
the article to which exception is taken,
advocated the endowment of agricultu
ral colleges for instruction in the sci
ences relating to farming, proposing on
ly that students should be sent to some
good farmer for instruction in practical
farming.
READING, February 9th,j865.
REV. JOHN W. MEARS your is
sue of February 2d, I notice an article
entitled "Learning Farming," copied
from "Moore's Rural New Yorker." I
must beg leave to take exception to the
author's first statement—viz: that he
knows of no institution where practical
farming is taught." Ido know of such
an institution, and as a student, a grad
uate, and since, an assistant professor
in such institution, I feel that I should
be untrue to my duty, if I made no ef
fort to circulate a knowledge of its exis
tance and aims. I refer to the Agricul
tural College of Pennsylvania.
This college-is located upon a farm of
four hundred acres in Centre County,
Pennsylvania, and is an institution de
signed for the instruction of farmers in
scientific and practical agriculture.
To this end, students are required to
labor three hours per, day upon the
farm, and in this time they have an op
portunity of. testing by practice the theo
ries which they have heard propounded
in the class-room.
The institution is, as yet, by no
means what it is intended to becorrie ; it
came into existence under many difficul
ties, and it has been struggling against
difficulties ever since ; but Ads gradually
advancing in point of usefulness.
-- Every year since its opening, in 1859,
it has„_ shown, a marked improvement
from year to year, and now thaf - its en
dowment is becoming available, its
greatest. drawback, "want of funds,” is
melting away ; and with this drawback
removed, the Agricultural College of
Pennsylvania will rise, and bids fair to
nitaßitain „the position!! it has thus :.far
of the leading agricultural
college the' ITnited States. '
," I remain very respectfully,
0. ALFRED AIITH.
.M.R.RAMOND AMONG THECHILDREY.
We have recently received the,follow
ing letters from Newarli:!ina from 3;fack
ettstown, N. J. :
THE CHILDREN'S EVANGELIST
We have read with great interest the
article on the first page of your last
issue with the above heading. It has
been our privilege to see very much of
Mr. Hammond, and to orserve his
method with children. With none but
the simplest fundamental truths of the
Gospel, he certainly does possess the
power to fascinate, lead and direct the
children's mind to Christ, beyond that of
any man with whom we have been ac
quainted. We have been familiar with
preachers and preaching. for a half cen
tury, and we had fallen ~into the impres
sion that the Gospel was principally adapt
ed to the adult mind, in spite of the numer
ous texts
,of Scripture which teach very
differently. The success of Mr. Ham
mond lets in a -flood of light upon such
lekts as "Remember now thy - Creator in
the days of thy youth," "Except ie be
as this little child," &c., "Out of the
mouth of babes and sucklings."
Recently we met him in Hacketts
town, New Jersey. He was a stranger
there. He spoke to the church in the
morning, and in the P. M. held a "chil
dren's meeting." We observed the stage
of inquisitiveness•and surprise pass away,
as well -as that of laughter. We watched
the effect of the application. At the
close there was a complete breaking
down. We spoke with a dozen in
quirers, and believe that at the end of
the inquiry meeting that followed, not
less than fifty hoped in Christ. Their
countenances were radiant with joy, and
they sang "I love Jesus,"- with raptu
rous delight. These children never saw
Mr. IL until a few hours before. We
have heard him between fifty and a
hundred times, and have never heard the
Gospel adulterated br the slightest ad
mixture of error or ism. We knout hun
dreds of these little "lambs of the fold,"
and we never knew such "continuance
in well doing" as they exhibit. We
happened to see a little girl meet Mr. H.
in the streets of Newark, a few weeks
ago. Her little eye sparkled, and said,
"Oh ! how I wish he would speak
to me." He did see her, for children
never escape his observation. When she
said, "Oh I how .do you do, Mr. Ham
mond ?" Taking her by the hand, said
he, "Do you love Jesus ?" She said,
"Oh, yes." "How long ?" " A:year—ever
since you was here." "How old are you?"
She "replied : "Ten years." "Do you
belong to the church ?" "Yes, sir ; to the
German Church, in Market street" In
reply to the question she gave a German
name. We saw her watch Mr. H. until
out of sight, while . a tear of delight
glistened in her eye, and she tripped
homeward to tell that she had seen Mr.
Hammond
With, Rev. Dr. ARNOT, of Glasgow,
whose remarks you quote, we have
often envied Mr. Hammond his power
over children. It is unique—peculiar to
himself, and certainly very remarkable.
The seals to his ministry among chil
dren may be counted by thousands in
New Jersey alone. Mr. H. deserves the
title of the CHILDREN'S EVANGELIST.
That he may live long to bless the chil
dren of other communities and train
other children's evangelists, is the prayer
of A GRATEFUL PARENT.
HACKETTSTOWN, N. J., Feb. 7, 1865
Mn. MEARS.—Dear Sir :—Mr. Ham
mond commenced his labors with us on
Sunday, Jan. 15th. A meeting was .
held in the afternoon,. at which many
children were present. Mr. H. addressed
them particularly. They were very
much interested, for he has a happy
facultj - of pleasing and interesting
children. He has a seemingly inex
haustible fund of anecdotes of children
he Hos met in different parts of the world,
and his love for them makes him a favor
ite with them all. At the close of the
meeting many were weeping, as he had
told the story of the Cross. He requested
the Sabbath school teachers to speak to
them, and many gave their hearts to
Jesus that afternoon.
We had a meeting in the evening with
a still increasing interest, both with
childien and older persons. On Monday
morning, at eight o'clock; a prayer-meet
ing was held in the Methodist Church,
both denominations meeting together,
and . theLcontiniled to do so during Mr.
Hammond's stay. In the afternoon
another children's meeting was - held in
the same place, and in the evening Mr.
H. preached in =the Presbyterian Church;
and when those who desired - the prayers
of Christians were asked to rise, quite a
number rose for prayer. On Tuesday
we had meetings, morning, afternoon, and
evening, with an unabated interest. On
Wednesday morning Mr. H. addressed
the children for the last time. The meet
ing was a very interesting one, and the
children showed, by their attention, that
their hearts were in their work.
Rev. Dr. Sprague, of Caldwell, spent
a few days with us- after Mr. Hammond
left. Many hearts have been turned to
Jesus. ' Last Sabbath was communion,
and about sixty united with the Presby
terian Church, and many more think
they have. found Jesus, but will wait
until another communion season before
joining the Church., Since our revival
has commenced, clergymen and others
from a distance, bearing of the work
here, have come, saying they wished to
have their own hearts revived.• We
hear of good w-g-§ from many churches
around us, where the spirit of God is
working. With the hope that much
good may yet be done here, and that
other, places may share in the blessing
with us,
I am yours respectfully
fittrartj ttrutz.
Nnw ..RELIGIOUS, MONTHLY.—Rev. J.
M.- Sherwood, editor of the American Pres
byterian-and Theological Reiriew and _Eclec
tic Magazine, proposes, on. the .Ig, of May,
to commence the issue of a new-periodical,
to be called " Tun CHRIsnAN FAMILY
MONTHLY." He will be assisted by the
best religious writers in the country.
The Magazine will be unsectarian, but
thoroughly evangelical. Doubtless there
is room for a 'work of this sort, in which
talent of a high order may be profitably em
ployed. The great success of Good Words
and of Dr. .Guthrie's Sunday Magazine,
in England, may well suggest the inquiry
whether there is :not a field among the
evangelical Christians•of our own country.
Some foreign aid might well be called in
by Mr. Sherwood.
YUCATAN .—A dictionary
_of the Maya
language, now and centuries ago spoken in
this country, was compiled by..a Franciscan
monk, somewhere between 1570 and 1600.
It contains 20,000 words. It was brought
to New York and sold,`and is now in the
possession of a gentleman, in Providence,it.
I. Dr. Berendt, a German physician and
naturalist, who has resided for the past
twelve years in Mexico and Central Ame
rica, lately returned from those countries
with a <view to prepare himself for a
thorough exploration of I - neat-an, in which
country he has already made severl jour
neys. Learning of the existence of this
dictionary, he repaired to Providence-, where
he is now engaged in copying it -Dr
Berendt, who is already familiar with the
spoken language of the Mayas; intends
making himself acquainted with the lan
guage as written and spoken three centuries
ago,when he will set out on his -explora
tions. He learned, when there, that the
interior abounds with ruins, some of great
extent, which neither Waldeck, Stevens,
Norman, nor otheAravellers visited, and
which are only known to the natives. They
will not gratify the curiosity of travellers
by making these known; but to a doctor
familiar with their language, manners, and
customs, they will readily communicate all
they know. We believe no traveller or
writer has visited Yucatan during the last
century who knew the language of the peo
ple. It was the opinion of Messrs. Stevens
and Catherwood, as well as the most intelli
gent men in Merida (the capita l ‘ of Yuca
tan) that the Maya was the language of the
ancient people of the country, and, conse
quently, the language of the hieroglyphics
which are sculptured on the numerous
monuments, and which are also found upon
ancient manuscripts presepred in - the great
European libraries. Dr. Berendt hopes,
with the knowledge of the language as it
existed three centuries ago, he may, be en
abled to discover some clue to these remark
able hieroglyphic inscriptions. • :Few are
aware that the Maya language is now
taught in the schools of Yucatan, and that
many books are printed in it.
GERMAN.—The best modern German
Commentary on the Old Testament, which,
as yet, has made any considerable progress,
is that of Keil & Delitzsch, which for years
has been going through the press at Leip
zig. It is both orthodox and scholarly. It
embraces, thus far, the five books of Moses,
in two volumes, and the books of Joshua,
Judges, Ruth, and Samuel, also in two
volumes—all these by Keil. A commen
tory on Job by Delitzsch, has also appeared.
The books of Kings, by Keil, and Isaiah,
by Delitzsch, are announced as in progress.
Whatever portion of the work, says a critic,
we take in hand, the result in every case is
edification, confirmation of our faith in the
eternal truth of the word of God, and a
better acquaintance with the depths of its
glorious wisdom and knowledge.
MISCELLANEOI3s.--Photolithography.
The process of photolithography, invented
and patented by Mr. John W. Osborne, of
Melbourne, Australia, is said to be one of
great practical valueto publishers. It con
sists in the copying of pert drawings, maps,
line engravings, or wood-cuts, by the
camera, upon a transfer paper, which readily
transmits its impression to = the surface of
'the lithographic stone. The use of this
paper and the mode of its preparation con
stitute the features of the invention. Since
1859 it has been in use in Australia by the
Governwent in the publication of their
maps, effecting an immense saving of time
and expense. The great advantage gained
by this method is that the artist is, in effect,
his own engraver ; his work does not re
quire to be copied by another. For all
purposes of transferring from paper to steel,
copper or stone, this is said to be the best
method extant.
Tacitus.—lt is reported that the lost
books of the Annals of Tacitns," so long
lost and so-much regretted, have been dis
covered in pulling awn an acient edifice in
Catanea. They relate to the reign of Cali
gula.
Eliza Cook.—This lady, whose muse has
been silent for a long time, has lately pub
lished "New Echoes: and other Poems,"
of which the English critics speak well.
Education of Women.—There is a pro
ject now on the tapis for establishing a
Worldng Women's College in or near Lon
don. This has risen out of the success of
the Workingmen's College, which has
been ten years in. operation. The instruc
tion is to be given in the evening, by
female as well as by male professors, all of
them volunteering, and already $l5OO a
year has been subscribed, and a suitable
house taken. John Stuart Mill, Professor
Cairnes, Professor Maurice, and other men
of progress are among the patrons of this
institution. The intention is excellent, and
the advantages which the working men
of London have derived from this descrip
tion of instruction guarantee like results to
the women.
FRENCH ITEMS.—Handsome Payment
of Authors.—From the Paris correspondent
of the American Literary Gazette we learn
that a new publishing firm from Brussels
is likely to make a complete revolution in
theTosition and fortunes of authors. "I
allude to Messrs. A. Lacroix, Verbeckho
yen & Co. They have firms not only here
and at Brussels, but at Leipzig and
at Leghorn. They published M. Victor
lingo's, 'Les Miserables,' for which they
gave him a princely fortune. They are
paying our authors handsomely, and will
soon gather around them the best French
writers. M. Jules Simon has deserted
Messrs. Hachette for them, and I hear of
other authors about to follow his example.
They intend introducing into France the
best English and American authors, and
have several authors busily engaged in this
undertaking. All of the late Mr. Haw,
thorn's works are to be published by them
in a French dress—all which have not
been published here. "Transformation'
will open the series. You may believe the
wretchedly-paid French authors are de
lighted with the prospect of better in
comes." •
M Renan's absence in Egypt will last
some nine months. He travels entirely at
his own expense, (it had been stated that
he was sent out by the government). He
lost his sister (the Mlle. Henriette Renan,
to whose "soul" his " Life. of Jesus" is
dedicated) while making his explorations
in the East. As an amanuensis was neces
sary, his wife insisted upon accompanying
him and acting as his secretary, thus -ad
ding another example of woman's true love
and valuable assistance even to scholars, to
be placed by the side of Mrs. Grote's, and,
more touching still, Mrs. Napier's - name.
Mme. Renan is a niece of Ary Soheffer.—
The Correspondence of Napoleon the First
costs the French Government $lO,OOO a
volume. As sixteen volumes have been
published, this brings their cost to $160,-
000.--Rev. A. Coquerel,Jr., lately exclud
ed for heresy from the National Reformed
pulpit. of Paris, has petitioned the minister
of Public Instrdction for license to deliver
lectures on the history of Protestantism,.in
order to support
_himself.