A NONCONFORMIST OF IGG2.
BY REV. E. H. GILLETT, D.D.
In Palmer’s Nonconformist’s “Memo-
rial,” among the ministers ejected in
1662 from Buckinghamshire, - mention is'
made of a Mr. William Dyer, 11 late
preacher of the Gospel at Chesham and
Chouldsbury.” It is simply added that
he preached in London in the time of the
plague (1665); that from his writings
he appears, to have been a man of great
piety, and a serious, fervent preacher,
and that in the latter part of his life he
inclined to the Quakers, among whom
he was buried in in April,
1696, aged sixty years.
This is all that we know of the man,
except from his writings. But a muti
lated copy of these, containing “ A Cabi
net of Jewels: or, A Glimpse of Sion’s
Glory “ Christ’s Yoice to London ;
and the Great Day of God’s Wrath
“ Christ’s Famous Titles,” and “ A Be
liever’s Golden Chain,” carries us back
more than two centuries, and enables us
to listen to a style of preaching which
might perhaps be described as “ sensa
tional,” but which must, at least at such
a time as that of the plague, have been
unusually impressive. It combines the
pungency of Baxter with much of the
simple discussions of Flavel.
In the very time of the pestilence he
said, “0, friendp, how much doth it
concern you and me to examine our
standing, that we may be able to stand
in the day of God’s wrath, which is
coming so fast upon us!' You see now
that his wrath is but a little kindled,
and yet how hard it is for man to stand
and abide it! Thousands have been sent
to their graves by it, and many hundreds
have left their habitations because of it,
and are fled out of the city, into several
parts of the kingdom for refuge. 0,
what a sad and ddfeful place hath this
city been for several weeks! The great
est trade among us hath been to bury
the dead, and tend the sick! 0, my
brethren ! if thiß little be so much, what
will it be 'nthen the great day of His
wrath is come ? Who will then be able
to stand ? 0, examine yourselves, and
try your faith, whether it be true; your
knowledge, whether it be sanctified;
your hope, whether it be purified ; your
love, whether it be sincere; your evi
dences, syhether they be sound; your
hearts, whether they be gracious; your
desires, whether they be holy; your
ends, whether they be right; and your
conversations, whether they be heavenly;
that you may be able to stand in the
day of wrath, in the day of death, and
in the day of judgment.”
His “ Cabinet of Jewels” was his fare
well to his flock in Buckinghamshire.
What a glimpse does the following pas
sage from it give of the hardships to
which not .a few of the Nonconformists
of the time were exposed ! “0, belov
ed, what an opportunity have you now
to do good, if Satan do not hinder you!
Are there not many of Christ’s servants
now in want, and'members in want—
some in prison, and some out of prison ?
Remember those that are in bonds as
bound with them. There may be many
men that have a great deal of this world’s
wealth and riches, and goods in their
hands and in their houses; but they have
no grace in their hearts, and therefore
they do no good with the goods of this
world. They live so unfruitful, that
their lives are scarce worth a prayer, nor
their deaths worth a tear. Men may
■as well go to hell for not doing good as
for doing evil. He that bears not good
fruit is as well fuel for hell as he that
bears bad.”
It is thus that he counsels peace—in
words that well reflect the charitable
spirit of the great mass of his injured
brethren. “0, consider what a dis
honor it is to the Gospel, that those that
profess themselves sons of the same God,
members of the same Christ, temples of
the same Spirit, heirs of the same glory,
should be at jarring, one with another:
that God’s diamonds should cut one an
other ! For wolves to devour the lamb
is no wonder, but for one lamb to devour
another is a wonder, and monstrous! . .
Do not wicked men warm themselves
at the sparks of our animosities, and say,
'lt is as we would have it?’ 0, be
loved, hath God not made his wrath to
smoke against us for the' divisions and
heart-burnings that have been amongst
jos ? 0, th«at you would lay this to
heart, and throw away all discord and
divisions and heart-burnings, and labor
for oneness in love and affection with
-every one that is one with Christ. There
4>e many that cannot love a man unless
he be of their opinion, or a member of
their Church, though ne be a member of
Christ. Every man has a good opinion
of his ovjn opinion. But, alas !it is not
this opinion or that opinion, this way
or that way, will bring a man to heaven,
without faith in Christ; and he that
hath faith in Christ, hath right to all the
ordinances of Christ, the promises of
- Christ, the privileges of Christ. There
fore, let me beseech you, to love every man
that is a godly man, let him be of what
way or form he will.” Who could'charge
bigotry upon such puritanism as breathes
forth in those words ?
In some of his other treatises, the au
thor occasionally indulges a quaintness
worthy of “ Smooth Stones from An
cient Brooks.” “ Tis not always seen,”
_ he says, “ that the sparkling diamond of
a great estate is set in the golii ring of
a gracious heart. A man may be
great with Saul, and graceless; rich tufith
Dives, and miserable. The richest are
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY. JANUARY 4, 18C6
oftentimes the poorest, and the poorest
oftentimes the richest. 0, how many
threadbare souls may there be found un
der silken coats and purple robes ! They
who live most downward, die most up
ward. A sight of ourselves in grace,
will certainly bring us to a sight of our
selves in glorv. Those sins should never
make a hell for us, that be a hell to us”
In another place, we might imagine
that Dyer has copied from the “ Milk
and Honey” of his contemporary, Yen
ning. “Do not turn your backs upon
the truths of God, as too many in your
days have done. They have gone from
one religion unto all, till at last they
have come from all religion unto nbne.
That man’s beginning was in hypocrisy,
whose ending was in A.postasy. Indiff
erency in religion is the next step to
apostasy from, religion. Do not make
Him a stone of stumbling that God hath
made a stone for building. If the golden
chain of duty will not bind you, the iron
chain of darkness shall bind you. If
you abuse your liberty in one world,
you will lose your liberty in another.”
Such sentences as the following are
common. “ Christ hath a crown for run
ners, but a curse for runaways,”—
“ Though the believer live a life that is
dying, he shall die a death that is liv
ing.”—“ A sanctified heart is better than
a silver tongue.” Overflowing ' with
quaintnesses like these, and sometimes
pouring forth his thoughts in a kind of
volcanic tide, not unworthy of old Robert
Bolton, William Dyer passes on to the
obscurity that covers his fame, along
with that of hundreds of kindred spirits
and fellow-witnesses.
LETTER FROM KOLAPOOR, INDIA.
Kolapoor, India, Oct. 25, 1865.
Dear Bro. Mears :— I meant to have
sent you some account of the dedication
of our new church, but pressing duties
prevented at the time, and now it is a
past - event, though one of much interest
to us ; and the luxury of our Christian
sanctuary' in this dark, heathen city—
one suitable place in which to preach
Christ and him crucified to these idola
ters—is a present and blessed reality ;
and we hope in God it may become a
“ fixed fact” in all coming time. Its au
dience-room furnishes space for five hun
dred persons, with room for some three
hundred more when crowded, and its
proportions are such as to give effect to
the voice, both in speaking and singing.
Bear in mind that this is the only
Christian church within seventy miles
of us, north and south, and hundreds of
miles in all other directions—that it Oas
cost us two years of unceasing care and
toil, the high prices of material and labor
constraining the utmost economy and per
sonal exertions, even to the sawing of
planks and boards for the floors and
window-sash, and the driving of almost
every nail in the building, with our own
hands—that it is the second church we
have built here, the first having been
ruthlessly sold and converted into a
mosque for the worship of the false pro
phet just before we got back to our
mission—that we have prosecuted the
work amidst ceaseless hindrances and
perplexities, caused by the artful schemes
of perverse native workmen and subor
dinate native officials aiming to delay and
defeat our undertaking—bear in mind
these facts, and do you wonder that the
sight of this Christian temple, begirt
with the two hundred and fifty-two idol
shrines of this heathen city, two idol
temples almost touching it, one on either
side, and the tall spire of Ambabae —this
“Great Diana” of the Kolaporeans,
rising just in its rear—do you wonder
that'the sight stirs very deep feelings?
Could the Psalmist have exclaimed with
profounder gratitude, “ The Lord taketh
my part with them that help me ?”
God bless the dear Sabbath-school of
Brother Shepherd, and the other generous
friends who have sent us money,to build
this Christian temple,' and would that
they would all now help us with their
fervent prayers that God will accept the
house and fill it with his presence !
Dr. Livingstone is now in Bombay,
fitting out another expedition for explor
ing the sources of the Nile and the inte
rior of Africa. Doubtless many will feel
that the Doctor has turned aside latterly
from strictly missionary work. But his
efforts have evidently a high philanthro
pic purpose. He gave a public lecture
last week in the town hall of Bombay,
which seems to have been listened to
with much interest. It was mostly on
secular topics, but on the subject of
Missions he expressed himself as fol
lows :—“ I feel very warmly in the cause
of missions and missionaries. lam not
associated with any missionary society
now; but when I see papers written
in a sort of scoffing manner because of
the fewness of converts which mission
arms make, I think they sire treated very
unfairly I don’t think that the number
of converts is any gauge of a mission
ary’s There is a great
movement going on through the world,
which must result in the benefit of man ;
better principles are working in the na
tive mind like leaven; it is not in indi
viduals only; it is a movement which is
affecting the mass of the population.
Missionaries are performing a part, and
that part cannot be measured. They
are not alone in the work. Judges in
giving judgment-, merchants in just
dealing, masters in more kindly and
sympathetic treatment of their servants,
and in devising beneficial measures,
were all contributing to the same re
sult.”
These last sentences evidently require
some qualification. Heathen judges and
merchants often claim to judge and deal
justly, even when they condemn the
better judgments and dealings of Chris
tian men; whereas so-called Christian
judges and merchants, in heathen lands,
are often found swerving from the high
standard of Christian justice and moral
ity, and making compromises with idola
try and superstition. Christ and him
crucified is the only Gospel that will
ever permanently enlighten and reform
the heathen, and raise them in thought,
and practice to the high'spiritu
alities of Christian faith.
GOVERNMENT REPAIR OP HINDU TEMPLES,
If the above paragraph needs confirm
ation take this item (enclosed) from a re
cent report of “Works'of Public Util
ity” executed by Government in the
Poona Collectorate in 1664. Of these*
twenty “ Works of Public Utility,” you
will observe seven were* dkunnsalas, or
little native rest-houses, Ijwo were wells,
one a school-house, and -ten wepe tem
ples of the Monkey god aind other Hindu
charities —one school-hov!se to tin idol
temples, and this in the most enlightened
portion of British India! and tiis'the
merest item in the annual expenc lture of
more than six lakhs from the British
treasury for the general support of idola
try in India! Do Christian judges and
officials make no compromise with' idola
try ?
MAN DEVISETH, BUT GOD OVERRULETH.
two years ago I sent you an
account of an unrighteous decisionjof a
British judge in the case of Hemnath
Bose, a young Hindu in Calcutta jwho
had become hopefully converted,/ and
sought Christian baptism at the hands
of the Scotch Free Church Missionaries.
The British judge, Sir Mordaunt Wells,
took the young convert froni the protec
tion of the missionaries and forced him
back under the power and influence of
his , heathen father. But young men
wont always stay young. } After /two
years’ patient endurance of persecution,
young Bose has reached an sjge at which
parental restraint can no longer be en
forced by any judicial decisions, arid the
younm convert, still faithful to Gojl and
his Wn conscience, has ‘hastened to
carry out his convictions by publicly re
ceiving baptism and professing his faith
in Christ.' The following account of jthe
matter is from a Calcutta paper:
A CONVERT.
■ “ The native community here appears
just now.in the throes of religious ex
citement. This is owing partly tcj a
controversy amongst themselves, partly
from the working of the missionaries.
Some two years ago, a Hindu lad named
Bose left his father’s house and went jto
reside with the missionaries. The
father appealed unto Ctesar, in the shape
of an application to Sir Mordaunt Wells,
on account of his son being a minor.
Oh this ground Sir Mordaunt ordered
the youth back to the care of his parents,
But these ungracious lads do not always
continue minors. Young Bose is of age,
and has again cast his lot with the mis
sionaries. His father has addressed a
letter to the Rev. Lai Behari Dey, a
copy of which he also sent to the news
papers, in which he sets forth the char
acter of the youth in such colors as
would indicate that he would be no or
nament to his adopted church. The
father is somewhat severe upon the son ;
and yet the letter is full of good parental
feeling, all indicative of the great con
flict that is yet in store for India on this
question, if she is ever to be won from
her old idolatries. 'The missionaries
have a very delicate game to play. If
they make their church the refuge for all
the dissatisfied and lax portion of young
Bengal, they are not likely to maintain
that lofty moral standard which a model
church ought to exhibit. And yet in
their zeal they are not likely to turn a
deaf ear to applicants who profess a de
sire to turn from the worship of idols in
jA’hipb they have lost all faith, to a purer
religion which perhaps they do not com
prehend.”
There are yet other phases of this re
ligious spirit moving upon the face of
the waters. But these I must leave for
another opportunity.
A WHOLE EAMILY GATHERED IN.
I think I mentioned to you the bap
tism of a Mahratti family in June last,
consisting of the father, mother, and
three children. There was a fourth
child, the eldest of the children, who
seemed to be a wayward boy.
the teachings and influence of heathen
friends, he left his parents from the day
they became Christians, and went to
live with these friends, adhering to his
Hindu caste and superstitions. The
parents, in their grief, besought qs to
carry the case to Government and en
force his return. We felt much sympa
thy for them, but our exceeding reluc
tance to seek Government interference,
led us to delay, and eventually to leave
the whole matter -to parental wisdom
and affection. The result is, that after
four months’ absence, the lad has come
home again; has given up his foolish
notions about caste and idolatry, and at
his own earnest request, and on the faith
of his Christian parents, he was last
Sabbath baptized. The father and mo
ther are rejoicing to have all their chil
dren thus brought under the seal of the
.covenant.
00ME OVER AND HELP TIS,
Our mission work is growing on our
hands. Our need of help is great, press
ing, and constantly increasing. The
daily services and duties that have come
existence just here, in and about
our house, are enough to consume the
time and strength of any missionary>
however strong. Our newchapel in the
city, opens a centre of influence and effort
which should have the best energies of
a whole, stroDg man. A preaching
place and school among the Mahars,
with the other schools of the mission,
should have another man constantly en
gaged in preaching and giving Christian
instruction. The cool season is at hand
now, and for four months we would
gladly spend every energy in preaching
Christ and salvation in these sorround
ing villages. At the same time the
climate is drawing solar lines on the pale
faces of dear wife and children—espe
cially our little invalid boy—and I ought
to take them to Mahalenleshwur for a
few months of cooler air. But I can
neither do this nor go to the villages with
out suspending preaching services and
schools, scattering converts and inquir
ers, and virtually breaking up the mis
sion in our absence. -
Do we not need help ? What shall
we do? Can you not tell us of some
young brother who will gladly come and
join us in this work—one whose heart
the Lord has touched with the glow of
His own love for souls, and the fire of
His own zeal for the glory of God, so
that he will not confer with flesh and
blood or wait for a guarantee of support,
but, taking a wife of like spirit, will has
ten to us, trusting for all supplies to
Him whose grace and love and resources
never fail ? If you can find us such
associates, let them embark by the first
vessel, with an assurance of the warmest
welcome here from human hearts and
the thousand fold blessings pledged in
the sweet promises of Him who has de
clared, “ Lo, I am with you always.”
In the love and service of the Gospel,
Yours sincerely, R. G. Wilder.
MONUMENT TO RET. WILLIAM RAM
SEY, D.D.
Passing along the river path, in the
South Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadel
phia, I recently came to a monument in
scribed with the name of “ Ramsey,” in
bold relief upon a shield. Pausing here,
and reading down the stone, I remarked
those words which were the burden of
all our brother’s preaching: .“ Gome to
Jesus and then the sketch of our
brother which follows:—“ Sacred to the
memory of Rev. William Ramsey, D.D.,
born at Thompsontown, Juniata county,
Pennsylvania, February 11, 1803. Hav
ing preached the Gospel in his own, and
foreign lands, for more than 30 years,
which was blessed to the hopeful con
version of several thousand souls, he
ceased from his labors, January 26,1858.”
Below this is the line which speaks
such heavenly comfort to a sister’s heart,
“Thy brother shall rise again.”
This monument is a plain marble shaft,
with its four faces. One of these faces
commemorates the name and Christian
hope of one of Dr. Ramsey’s daughters,
who was born in India, brought, with
another daughter from Bombay, and
placed under the tender care and unfail
ing love of an aunt, who was all that a
mother could be to these motherless
little ones, and who trained them, not
only for earth, but also for heaven.
This daughter was possessed of a rich
imagination, an ardent temperament, and
an unusual affluence of thought and
language, and her effusions, in prose and
poetry, under the signatures of “ Geneva”
and “ India,” occasionally found their
way into the religious journals. One of
these pieces, addressed to her “ beloved,”
that is, her honored, loved, and almost
idolized father, on his departure for St.
Augustine, Florida, in pursuit of health,
and published in a late number of’the
American Presbyterian,' is so tender,
so sweet, so sad, and yet so pervaded
by the triumph of Christian hope, that a
reader can scarcely go through it with
out being melted to tears.
This daughter suffered with her fath
er’s disease, but she was buoyed up by
her father’s cheerfulness, and her coun
tenance was often illumined by the bright
visions of her father’s hope in Jesus.
After patient, wonderfully patient en
durance o‘f pain and sorrow, she fell
asleep in those arms which had support
ed her from infancy to womanhood, and
her mortal remains were brought to
Laurel Hill, to rest by the side of those
of her father, until the trumpet voice of
their best beloved shall bid them arise,
and enjoy the full, blessedness of His
heavenly kingdom.
The face of the monument devoted to
this daughter, bears first the simple
name— Jeannie. Under this is a mod
est cross. Then follows the inscription:
“Jeannie M. W., second daughter of
Rev. -William Ramsey, D.D., born at
Bombay; fell asleep in Jesus, Septem
ber 1,- 1862. ‘We know that when
He shall appear, we shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He is.’ I John
iii. 2.” '
On the opposite side of the shaft is
an inscription commemorating the name
and ministry of the brother-in-law of Dr.
Ramsey. 1 have not dared to copy it
for your paper, lest I should trespass on
your columns. It begins: “In Memo
riam of Rev. W. Wilson Bonnell, who
departed this life, December 2, 1849,
aged 40 years.”
This brother-in-law was a faithful
minister of Christ in the German Re
formed Church, while Dr. Ramsey labor
ed in the Presbyterian field, and as in
life they preached in perfect harmony,
so in death they are not divided. #
I had loDg wondered that no monu
ment was erected, during the seven
years since the death of Dr. Ramsey, to
mark tho spot where his remains rest
until the resurrection. He was sp in
defatigable as a student—so zealous in
his search for knowledge—so compre-
hensive in his scholarship—so laarned in
all things appertaining to the Bible —
and, at the same time, so childlike in
his piety, so untiring in his efforts to do
good—so devoted, body and soul, to
his great work of preaching the Gospel
to dying men, that it would be reasona
ble to suppose that some stone would,
by some loving hand, be erected, where
friendship might come and muse over
the dead, and say of the departed : Here
lie the remains of a true man of God!
Blessed be Me, whom our brother so
ardently loved, and so reverently adored,
that such a loving hand has been provi
ded, that such a loving heart has been
sustained in its work, until the modest
marble has been reared over his dust,
and his name and record have been in
scribed upon it, for the instruction of
coming generations.
l&itflrt Salik
PRESBYTERIAN PUBLICATION COM-
MITTEE.
Bowen. Daily Meditations. By the Rev.
Geo. Bowen, American Missionary, Bom
bay, India. 12m0., bevelled boards, full
gilt,-tinted paper, pp. 429. Philadelphia :
Presbyterian Publication Committee, $2 50.
Precious thoughts are these ; full of
Scripture comfort and instruction, tersely,
yet simply and clearly expressed, and
furnishing a convenient starting-point
for meditation from dayto day. A calm
and quiet beauty pervades the style,
which is yet never dull and never bar
ren or commonplace in thought, but
singularly appropriate to the author’s
object. The results of diversified learn
ing enrich the meditations without obtru
ding themselves on the reader’s notice.
Frequently pregnant suggestions are
substituted for full developments of the
thought, thus making the book a help,
and not a substitute for one’s own medi
tations.
The externals are of marked beauty
even among the elegant issues of the
Publication Cemmittee.
Farquharson. Brook-Side Farm House,
from January to December, for the little
folks. By Martha Farquharson. 16m0.,
pp. 176. Presbyterian Publication Com
mittee.
The vicissitudes of the Farmer’s Year,
from January to December, with their
very natural and profitable lessons, are
pleasantly depicted in this volume for
the young. A good illustration accom
panies each of the months. The type is
large, and the book decidedly attractive.
Knox. Love to the End. A book for the
Communion Sabbath. By the "Rev. Chas.
E. Knox. 16m0., pp. 58. Presbyterian
Publication Committee.
This little volume, by the pastor of.
the Church of Bloomfield, Yew Jersey,
is an exhibition, by careful analysis, of
the tender love of Christ in his final in
terviews with his disciples. The good
taste and wise attention to details of the
scholar, are united with the sweet and
reverent piety of the Christian in this
little treatise, which is well suited to
prepare the mind for the services of
communion.
Wheeler. Explanatory and Pronouncing
Dictionary of the Noted Names of Fiction,
including also familiar pseudonyms,, sur
names bestowed on eminent men, and analo
gous popular appellations. By William
A. Wheeler. 16m0., pp. 410. Ticknor&
Fields. $2 50.
The results of a great amount of learn
ing are compressed in- the narrow limits
of this volume. We feel thankful to the
author for relieving us, by his vicarious
labors, of the necessity of wading through
great tracts of literature, much of it of
very doubtful utility, in order to get at
the exact meaning of allusions to fictitious
names or personages, which otherwise
would be obscure. -Here are not only
Chaucer’s, Shakespeare’s, Spencer’s,
Bunyan’s and Coleridge’s characters,
but the vast lumber of modern fiction
has been ransacked, and we are put in
possession of all the facts needed to be
known about “ Jeames” and “ Becky
Sharp,” and “Micawber,” and “ Dom
bey” and “The Wandering Jew',” with
out reading a line of Thackeray, or Dick
ens, or Sue. Some of the most import
ant characters and movements of histo
ry Paving received nicknames, our author
does good service in tracing out their
meaning, and in giving their pronuncia
tion,- which indeed 1 is one of the best
elaborated features of the book. It is
impossible in these limits to give .an
adequate view of the volume, which is a
most valuable addition to our biblio
graphy.
Personal Reminiscences of the Life and
Times of Gardiner Spring, pastor of the
Brick Presbyterian Church, in the city of
New York. 2 vols., 12m0., pp. 348 and
293. New York: Charles Scribner & Co.
For sale by Smith, English & Co., Phila
delphia.
The serene old age of this patriarch
of the Presbyterian Church is one of the
most beautiful objects vouchsafed to this
generation. Like a calm and steady
river it has flowed on through eighty
years of eventful history, through a life
of consistent piety, of ceaseless industry,
of eminent usefulness, of noble patriot
ism, and of merited honors, from the
good of our own and other countries.
Aad now, when in the exercise of talents
yet fresh and vigorous, the octoge
narian rehearses the story, and leads us
through passages memorable two genera
tions ago scenes of theological contro
versy, of the first organizations for evan
gelical effort in our country, of wonder
ful revival, and of pastoral labor and
personal interest-who is there, in any
branch of the Presbyterian that
I’! \ privileged to listen ? It is
„ ® undertakings that stands in
small need of newspaper commendation.
The absence of all traces of sympathy
with the ultra Calvinism which rent the
Church, is plain all through the- book,
though it must be admitted that a want
of decision in resisting measures which
he disapproved, is equally plain. But
in the hope of an early reunion of the
two churches, the writer avoids any ex
tended discussion of the excinding acts.
Quite as interesting as any part of the
volumes, is the narrative of the scenes
in the (0. S.) Assembly of 1861, in
which Dr. Spring took so prominent a
part, and which resulted, after many
days of debate, in the passage of the
“ Spring resolutions.” The doctor fights
his battles o’er again, with the zest of a
man who has seen no reason to change
his views; the youth of this generation
owe him thanks for the firm and noble
example thus set them, by bne eminently
a man of peace.
As apropos to our own immediate
circumstances, we quote some of the
declarations on the value of the Sabbath,
which he has gathered from various
literary and other authorities:
Adam Smith: “ The Sabbath, as a po
litical institution, is of inestimable value,
independently of its claim to Divine
authority.” Blackstone: “ A corrup
tion of morals usually follows a profana
tion of -the Sabbath.” Montalembert:
“ There is no religion without worship,
and no worship without the SabbatlL”
Macaulay: “.If Sunday had not been
observed as a day of rest during the last
three centuries, I have not the smallest
doubt that we should have been at this
moment a poorer and less civilized
people than we are.” Walter Scott:
“ Give to the world one-Half of Sunday,
and you will find that religion'fflas no
stronghold of the other.” Edmund
Burke : " They who always labor can
have no true judgment; they exhaust
their attention, burn out their candle, and
are left in the dark.” _ ’
PERIODICALS AND PAMPHLETS.
The Westminster Review. Octo
ber, t 1565. American Edition. Re
publication of the London, Edinburgh,
North British, and Westminster Quarter
ly Reviews.—Contents : Personal Rep
resentation ; Rationalism in Europe;
Capacities of Women ; Palgrave’s Tra
vels in Arabia ; The Holy Roman Em
pire ; The Doctrine of Nationalities and
Schleswig-Holstein; Mr. Grote’s Plato;
Letters from Egypt; Contemporary
Literature. New York : Leonard Scott
& Co. Philadelphia: W. B. Zieber.
Hours at Home, for January.—Con
tents: Embellishment:—The Cedars of
Lebanon ; The Child' on the Judgment
Seat, by the author of the Schoenberg-.
Cotta Family; Draper’s Civil Policy of
America; “Notions about Names,” by
Prof. Anson J. Upson ; “ Dolly Dry
den’s Christmas,” by Miss E. Stuart
Phelps; A D/eam of the Beautiful: a
Poem, by W. Gilmore Simms; Gusta
vus Adolphus, by Archbishop Trench ;
Geoffrey the Lollard, by Frances East
wood ; The late Yiscount Palmerston,
by G. M. Towle; Magnanimity, by H.
T. Tnckerman; Luther Watching by the -
Body of his Daughter Magdalene : a
poem, by the author of the Household of
Bouverie ; and other articles by Profes
sors Noah Porter, W. C. Conant and A.
J. Curtis; also by the Editor.
Godey’s Lady’s Book for January, a
Holiday number.
LITERARY ITEMS.
John Ruskin is coming out with a new
book, called “Ethics of Dust; being Ten
Lectures to Little Housewives.”
The Long Island Historical Society, a
new but amply endowed society, propose
to issue a History of Long Island, on a
scale commensurate with the importance of
the district and the richness of materials,
arising from its early occupation by Euro
pean settlers. Some of the rarest old
tracts on history, &c., of the island are
being reproduced—in limited numbers—
in elegant style, by a private printing as
sociation—“ The Purman Club ” —so named
from the late Gabriel Furman, whose
“Notes on Brooklyn” was one of the ear
liest topographical essays connected with
the island. A musuem is also contem
plated. A sub-section of the Historical
Publishing Committee is charged with the
natural history of the region, and great
progress has been made in the preparations
of monographs on each division, as zoology,
botany, and geology, by gentleman each
most competent by previous study to do
justice to their special departments. The
contemplated complete exhibition of the
fauna and flora, mineral productions, &c.,
of the island, will form a branch of the
museum such as few or no States can boast
of.— The Nation.
New Bible Encyclopedia. —Messrs. Har
per Brothers have long had in preparation
a work that must be based on some such
considerations, as more than fifty thousand
dollars will be laid out on it before any re
turn is realized. It is an Encyclopedia of
Biblical Knowledge, Theology, Ecclesiasti
cal History, and Biography, and the kin
dred sciences, included under one alpha
betical arrangement, wider in its scope
than any previous work, and equally tho
rough in its treatment. The whole of
Smith’s “ Dictionary of-dhe Bible,” or at
least such parts as are regarded as not sus
ceptible of improvement, will be incorpo
rated in it. This work, indeed, and Kit
to’s “ Bible Cyclopedia,” as improved in
the recent edition by Dr. Lindsay Alexan
der, will form the basis of the Biblical por
tion of the work. In the division of eccle
siastical history, antiquities, biography, &c.,
there is no work in the English language
that affords similar help to those just men
tioned, and a greater degree of originality
is required. The work is proceeding un
der the joint co-operation of two editors,
Dr. Strong and Dr. J. M Clintock, both of
the Methodist Church, who have devoted
many years to the execution of the plan.
Nothing can be politically right that is
morally wrong.