embracing "Day and Night," "Seed-time and Harvest," "The Old and New Year," "Baptism and Childhood," "Holy Communion," "Holy Matrimony," "Burial of the Dead," "Church Dedication," "The Lord's Day." Part IV. contains "Songs of the Heart," under eight divisions"The Call,-The Answer,-Faith,-Love,-Hope,-Joy,-Discipline, -and Patience."

The result, the Reviewer in The Nonconformist pronounces "the best collection extant;" and considering that the work is published, not as being adapted to congregational worship, but as a collection of Hymnic Poetry, I am inclined to concur in this opinion, excluding, of course, our own collection, which no doubt never passed, nor was likely to pass, under the inspection of a collator of strong orthodox, or, as they are called, evangelical principles.

The following analysis of "The Book of Praise," in relation to our own Collection of Hymns, has been furnished me by a New Church friend, in whose judgment in such a matter I have the fullest confidence :

"There are 412 Hymns in this collection.

"1. Number of these Hymns found also in the Conference Hymn Book, collected by the Committee from Old Church sources, and adapted to New Church views-55.

"2. Good compositions that might suit, and be available for a New Church Hymn Book, with more or less revision-162.

"3. Hymns unsuited for New Church worship, either doctrinally, verbally, or metrically, containing also endless repetitions of the same ideas, and those often of a superficial and sometimes of a vapid character-195; total, 412.

"Of the 162 good compositions (No. 2) eighty-five bear a date subsequent to the publication of the Conference collection. Among the 195 hymns (No. 3) is included Cowper's extravagant production commencing—

'There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Immanuel's veins.'

The admission of this hymn by a gentleman of education, shows how great an enemy to refinement as well as to truth is ultra-orthodoxy. Future ages must contemplate this offspring of this occasionally demented poet with extreme disgust. Two hymns of Toplady's, strongly flavoured with the doctrine of Predestination, are admitted."

There are a few very sweet and soul-moving hymns in the First Part of the work, but I presume that more favourites can be found in the other divisions. Montgomery's beautiful hymn on Prayer commences the Second Part:

"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,

Uttered or unexpress'd;

The motion of a hidden fire

That trembles in the breast.

178

One on "Thy

It commences

"O Thou, by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod;

Lord, teach us how to pray!"

Kingdom come," by Bathurst, is exceedingly fine.

Another exquisite hymn on the same subject, anonymous, begins

"Light of the lonely pilgrim's heart,

Star of the coming day!

Arise, and with Thy morning beams

Chase all our griefs away!"

Charlotte Elliott's touching hymn on "Thy Will be done,” is included under that section.

Under the title of "The Burial of the Dead," there occurs a fine composition by Henry H. Milman, 1822 :

"Brother, thou art gone before us; and thy saintly soul is flown
Where tears are wiped from every eye, and sorrow is unknown;
From the burden of the flesh, and from care and fear released,
Where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest.

"And when the Lord shall summon us, whom thou hast left behind,
May we, untainted by the world, as sure a welcome find!

May each, like thee, depart in peace, to be a glorious guest
Where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest!"

It is natural that we should be led to make some comparison between a collection so pretentiously presented to the public and our own collec

tion. Of course, no one would venture to affirm that our collection is perfect; but I do venture to affirm that, taking into consideration the number of precious truths peculiar to the New Jerusalem which it contains, and the general respectability, to say the least, of their versification, it transcends in value, as indeed it ought, Sir Roundell Palmer's "Book of Praise;" and that is the same as saying that it transcends every other collection. To compile such a work was a task full of difficulty. To have avoided all imperfection, would have required more than human powers. To have collected and revised so much, and that much so satisfactorily, and with so few observable imperfections, is to merit the lasting gratitude of the Church. It is so much easier to find fault than to arrange such materials, that we cannot wonder that there should sometimes be captious and carping criticism. Every time that we make use of the book, we cannot but be struck with the large amount of valuable spiritual truth, expressed in often exquisite, generally elegant, and almost invariably respectable phraseology; and if some few of our hymns, which are intended to illustrate the more interior thoughts or truths of the New Church, seem a little "too didactic and prosaic," the very nature of their subjects involves the peculiarity of their style; and their worth may fairly be regarded as consisting chiefly in their substance, rather than their form.*

Few compositions tend to the cultivation of a spirit of devotion more than do hymns; and although we cannot concur in many of the sentiments and doctrinal ideas set forth in the collection made by Sir Roundell Palmer, yet, as an effort thus to foster devotion among men, we must hail its appearance, and anticipate that the large circulation which it is certain to obtain will be productive of good. H.

TEN CHAPTERS ON MARRIAGE: its Nature, Duties, and Final Issues. By WILLIAM B. HAYDEN, Minister of the New Jerusalem Church, Boston, 1863. pp. 160.

Ir is not surprising that the subject of marriage, on which the Writings have shed so pure and radiant a light, should have employed the pens of many New Church writers. That sublime philosophy which traces

* Those readers of the Intellectual Repository who have not seen it, will be glad to know that there is published a full and very interesting explanation of the course pursued by the Committee in preparing our Hymn Book. It is drawn up by the only surviving member of the Committee, who was also its secretary, and with whom the work originated, the Rev. W. Mason. This explanation will be found in the now extinct magazine, The New Churchman, for 1856, p. 133.

creation, with its wonderful laws and beneficent results, not simply to the Divine will but to the Divine nature,-which shows that sex is essentially of the soul, and that marriage is a spiritual and eternal union, the outbirths and images of the distinction and union of love and wisdom in the Creator Himself, cannot fail to awaken in the mind of every earnest recipient a profound interest in a subject at once so high and so practical, and to prompt those who wield the pen of the scribe to delineate the beauties and blessings of a state designed for all on earth, and provided for all in heaven. It is, no doubt, difficult to do justice to such a theme; yet the attempts hitherto made have not proved altogether unsuccessful. From "The Golden Wedding Ring" of Clowes to "The Feminine Soul" of Mrs. Strutt, several excellent productions have appeared, either as explanations or as vindications; for the treatise on "Conjugial Love," one of the most beautiful of Swedenborg's works, has not escaped the assaults of the adversary. Mr. Hayden, one of our American brethren, has given us a work which, for its intrinsic merit, is entitled to take its place with the best of our English productions, while, as a treatise, it is more complete than any single one of ours.

Those who desire to obtain a brief but very comprehensive view of marriage, will do well to consult this work; nor can they perhaps find one better adapted for putting into the hands of their friends to whom they wish to introduce the doctrine of the New Church on the subject.

WILD FLOWERS, gathered by a Wandering Pilgrim. By PENELOPE DOWLING. London: J. and I. Tierbuck.

THE authoress of this little volume seems to have called her poems "Wild Flowers," as having sprung from a natural, rather than a cultivated, talent for poetical composition. One who is so candid as to make this admission will take no offence at our saying that the poems bear evidence of a deficiency in the art of ryhming. They have proceeded, however, from "a gentle spirit," which has humour as well as pathos, and may help to transfuse something of that spirit into the mind of the reader. We give the last little piece as a specimen:

The Last Hour.

"O! that some peaceful, heavenly band,
May near thy pillow take their stand;

With soothing love upon thee wait,
And show thee heaven's wide-open gate;

While streams of living light from thence
Shall be thy portion and defence!

REVIEWS.

"Then will those cruel foes depart,
Who have so long assailed thy heart;
Nor with temptation more distress,
Or stagnant gloom thy soul oppress;
Since thy blest spirit then will see
A GLORIOUS HEAVEN awaiting thee!"

THE ROYAL MARRIAGE.

181

A LITTLE more than twelve months ago, we recorded the death of the husband of the Queen; we now record the marriage of her eldest son, and the heir of her throne. If religion requires us to mourn with those who mourn, it tells us also to rejoice with those who rejoice. Marriage is an occasion that calls forth our warmest gratulations and our best wishes. To the virtuous, marriage is the portal of happiness; and all hearts beat sympathetically and hopefully with those who enter it. There is no difference in this respect between the prince and the peasant. But as those who occupy high stations exercise a greater influence than others for good or evil, we have an interest in this union not only in, but beyond the happiness of the youthful royal pair. For the realisation of this blessing, we have reason to hope as well as pray. Their union has the promise of being a happy one. The parents of the Prince have shown him a bright example of conjugal love and domestic virtue. Victoria, who is as eminent as a woman as she is illustrious as a Queen, rules in her house with as much wisdom as she governs in her kingdom. As if aware of the temptations and perils that surround a throne, she has provided for the early and suitable nuptials of her children. State considerations, to which the best affection of the heart has been so often sacrificed, has been set aside, and, as far as the still limited scope of regal choice extends, her children have been left free to choose. The present marriage, we believe, is one that has originated in, and is cemented by, sincere mutual affection, and therefore promises to be fruitful in the legitimate results of true marriage. That it may be so, we have no doubt is the earnest prayer of every member of the New Church. And while we desire that a holy life may render their union daily more interior, and therefore more happy, in this world,— knowing that the continuance of true marriage extends beyond the term of mortality which the liturgical form of their nuptial ceremonial assigns to their union, we trust that when they close on earth what we pray may be a long and illustrious career, men may be able to say of them-"They were lovely and pleasant in their lives," and angels respond, " and in their death they were not divided."