subject. No attempt has been made to paint him in colours not his own, in order to render the narrative more attractive or exciting. He is exhibited to the reader just as he might have been seen any day for more than twenty years, the unobtrusive, self-sacrificing, laborious, and successful missionary of the cross. His heart was set on one object, which he pursued with great singleness of eye and undeviating pertinacity of purpose-the glory of Christ in the salvation of sinners. This is the key to his whole character, the explanation of his entire conduct. For the promotion of this he chiefly valued life, and was prepared to suffer or die. It consequently gave that tone to his ministra tions which evinced that 'His zeal for man below Was more than earth-born love of human kind, "No other painting of the deceased having been made, than that from which an engraving was derived some fifteen years since, all which it has been in the power of the artist to do has been, to produce a new plate in his best style. This is the less to be regretted, as it furnishes a striking likeness of what he was in the mature vigour of life rather than in the period of decay. A sketch of Montego Bay is kindly furnished by the Rev. T. F. Abbott, for a vignette with which to adorn the title-page."—pp. vi.—viii. It is but just to add that the interesting article which commences our present number is derived entirely from this volume; the greater part of it being, in fact, in Mr. W. F. Burchell's words. BRIEF NOTICES. Biblical Commentary on the New Testament, adapted especially for Preachers and Students. By HERMANN OLSHAUSEN, D.D., Professor of Theology in the University of Erlangen. Translated from the German. Containing the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans. Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark. 8vo., pp. iv., 431. As the title-page shows, it is a portion only of Olshausen's Commentary that is contained in this volume, which is the thirteenth of Clark's Foreign Theological Library. The Commentary at large includes the Gospels, the Acts, and the greater part of Paul's Epistles. The Epistle to the Romans is, however, a portion which has been selected for publication with great propriety, as it is a part of the New Testament on whicn it is peculiarly desirable to have all the light which verbal criticism can yield. Being addressed to a people with whom the great apostle had had no previous intercourse, and owing its origin not to local necessities, but to his earnest desire to make known the gospel to the inhabitants of a vast city which he had been unable to visit, it contains a more systematic and comprehensive view of the truths of Christianity than any other production of his pen. As Olshausen observes, after refuting the supposition which some have entertained that a controversial purpose was in the apostle's mind when he sat down to write it, we find in the Epistle to the Romans a purely objective statement of the nature of the gospel." Every sentence, therefore, is valuable to all the churches in all ages and countries, and every thing that accumulating stores of eru 66 dition can do to elucidate it should be gratefully accepted. Dr. Hermann Olshausen, whose decease the learned world has recently had cause to regret, belonged to the best class of German theologians. His commentary on the Romans is of the same critical character as those of Tholuck and Stuart; his theological sentiments and predilections do not differ from theirs very materially; his standing-point is, however, more recent than theirs, and he has examined the epistle with independence and perspicacity. His is not a book for the unlearned, nor should we recommend it to a mere tyro in theological studies; but men who are competent to weigh, compare, and discriminate, will regard it as a very valuable addition to their biblical treasures. Institutes of Theology by the late THOMAS CHALMERS, D.D., LL.Ď. In Two Volumes, Vol. I. Edinburgh: Sutherland. This seventh volume of the Posthumous Works of Dr. Chalmers pleases us more than any of its predecessors. They have been interesting as the productions of an affluent mind, though thrown off extemporaneously, and generally speaking not prepared or even intended by him for the press; but this embodies his maturest thoughts, put forth with deliberation, and repeatedly reviewed for public use. Having read some large portions of the volume with pleasure, we anxiously desire to read the rest for our own sake, but we do not think it necessary to make our readers wait for our report till we have had opportunity to accomplish this. The plan of the work corresponds, in some degree, with Dr. George Hill's course of lectures, but in both the plan and the execution the pupil has far excelled his master. There is more originality, more mental vigour, and a more evident delight in the peculiarities of the gospel, in these lectures, than in those of the St. Andrew's professor under whom Dr. Chalmers studied. In respect to the arrangement of his course, he has made considerable improvements as the result of long experience. Instead of proceeding chronologically "in the order of the divine administration, beginning with the constitution of the Godhead, and proceeding onward in the footsteps of a history which commences with the original purposes of the uncreated mind and terminates in the consummation of all things," Dr. Chalmers now "proceeds chronologically in the natural order of human inquiry, beginning, therefore, with the darkness, and the probabilities, and the wants of natural theology, and after having ascertained the scripture to be a real communication from heaven to earth, seeking first after those announcements that are most directly fitted to relieve the distress and to meet the difficulties of nature." This volume contains Preliminary Ethics, Metaphysics, and Mental Physics Natural Theology - Evidences of Christianity-and "The Disease for which the Gospel Remedy is provided." Grace and Truth. By A. WINSLOW, M.A. ever, to form a high estimate of the talents of the author as an instructor of the young, and to wish him great success in his endeavours to promote their welfare. His suggestions to ministers and teachers deserve consideration. This is the first volume of a series which the publisher intends to issue under the title of "The Sunday School Library,"-" a series of manuals, cheap, comprehensive, and portable." The external aspect of the volume is admirable; and, if this may be taken as a fair specimen, the internal qualities of the series will entitle it to a large measure of public patronage. Truth or Orthodoxy; to which must we Sacrifice? A Friendly Address to the Wesleyan Methodist Preachers of Great Britain. By HENRY BURGESS. Leeds: Heaton. 8vo., pp. 23. A well written pamphlet designed to show that the Doctrinal Standards of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion tend to produce in the preachers a low estimate of the truth;" that "there is danger of tampering with conscience when the alternative is, to maintain our belief of certain doctrines unaltered or to suffer from changing it;" that "the influence of doctrinal standards is unfavourable to that free biblical research which is the duty of Christian ministers;" that "a fixed doctrinal standard lessens the usefulness of the pulpit, by keeping it in the rear of the public mind;" that "doctrinal standards have the effect of involving religious societies in the charge of persecuting those who can no longer follow them;" and that "doctrinal standards, as far as they restrict the progress of truth and fetter the conscience, grieve the Holy Spirit, and cause the withdrawal of his gracious influences." The Missionary World: a Quarterly Journal of Biography and Intelligence. Edited by Rev. F. A. Cox, D.D., LL.D. No. I., May, 1849. London: B. L. Green. 8vo., pp. 56. This volume is designed to be a companion to one recently published by the same author, entitled, "Glimpses of the Truth as it is in Jesus." It contains much that will commend itself to every experimental Christian, with some things on which difference of opinion may exist. Mr. Winslow makes use of Old Testament scripture in ways which some of his brethren could not conscientiously adopt. Some Christians will regard it as evidence of eminent spiritual-mindedness, while others will think it not in accordance with that reverence with which we ought to treat inspired history, that All who know Dr. Cox will expect to find in the first chapter of this work, entitled, "Jesus a journal of this kind, conducted by him, the full of Grace," is founded on the words in 2 traces of extensive reading, refined taste, and Kings iv. 6, relating to a prophet's widow-candour. Expectations founded on acquaint"And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed." Our Lord Jesus Christ is represented as "the vessel which Jehovah was pleased, in the covenant of grace, to constitute the head of all salvation to his church," and the several incidents in the story are allegorized in accordance with this principle. Addresses to Children, with Introductory Sug- Educated children would listen to these addresses with great pleasure and advantage; but that they are level to the capacity of the children in most Sunday schools, we would rather hope than assert. They lead us, how ance with his previous works will not be disappointed in this, the main object of which is "to furnish every quarter as extensive a view as possible of the actual state of Christian missions; avoiding sectarian preferences; presented in a continuous narrative, enabling the reader to perform a rapid tour through the most important missionary regions.' Each number, price one shilling, is to contain from forty-eight to sixty pages, of the same size as our own, with a life and portrait of "some individual who has been distinguished by missionary efforts abroad, or missionary activity, co-operation, and counsel at home.” The North British Review. No. XXI. May, 1849. Edinburgh: W. P. Kennedy. 8vo, pp. 292. This number contains a seasonable account of the Buonaparte family, tracing the course of its principal members since the downfall of their celebrated head, and adverting to their present remarkable circumstances. It reviews elaborately Mr. J. D. Morell's work on The Philosophy of Religion, treating him respectfully, but opposing decidedly some of his theories, in an article which occupies forty-three pages, and is to be concluded next quarter. Two interesting works illustrative of sacred history are also described at length,-Smith's Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul, and Layard's Nineveh and its Remains. There are, also, papers on Ragged Schools-Vaughan's Poems-Daniel Scott's Poems-The Temporal Sovereignty of the Pope-and The Scotch Registration Bill. A Manual for the Young: being an Exposition Part of the author's "6 Exposition of the Book of Proverbs," of which a second edition is now on sale. Mr. Bridges is one of those commentators who expound "wisdom," in the eighth and some other chapters, as designating the Son of God. He says, "So glorious are the rays of eternal supreme Deity, distinct Personality, and essential Unity, that the mysterious, ever-blessed Being-the Word who was in the beginning with God, and was God,now undoubtedly stands before us." Facts in a Clergyman's Life. By the Rev. | RECENT PUBLICATIONS Approved. [It should be understood that insertion in this list is not a mere announcement: it expresses approbation of the works enumerated,-not of course extending to every particular, but an approbation of their general character and tendency.] Prize Essays on the Temporal Advantages of the Sabbath to the Labouring Classes, and the consequent importance of Preserving its Rest from all the Encroachments of Unnecessary Labour. By Five Working Men. With Prefatory Remarks by the Rev. E. BICKERSTETH, A.M., Rector of Watton. London: R. T. S. 24mo., pp. 211. Price 18. 6d. Working Men's Essays on the Sabbath. Second Prize. The Light of the Week, or, the Temporal Advantages of the Sabbath considered in relation to the Working Classes. By JOHN YOUNGER. With a sketch of the Author's Life. With EnLondon: Partridge gravings by George Measom. and Oakey. 18mo., pp. 70. Working Men's Essays on the Sabbath. Third Prize. The Torch of Time, or, the Temporal Advantages of the Sabbath in relation to the Working Classes. By DAVID FARQUHAR. With Five Engravings by George Measom. London: Partridge and Oakey. 18mo., pp. 102. The Soul's Errand, or, the Neglecter of Salvation Addressed, Warned, and Entreated. By GEORGE STAPLES, author of "Macedonia." London: Houlston and Stoneman. 24mo., pp. 171. The Silver Trumpet; or, the Church Guided and Warned in Perilous Times. By OCTAVIUS WINS Low, M.A. Second Edition. London; J. Shaw. 18mo., pp. 91. "It is I;" or, the Voice of Jesus in the Storm. By NEWMAN HALL, B.A. London: Snow. 18mo., PP. 72. - Christian Fidelity in the House of Mourning. By the Rev. DAVID MITCHELL, Free St. Luke's, Glasgow. With Recommendatory Notice by the Rev. Dr. CUNNINGHAM, Principal of the Free Church of Scotland College, Edinburgh. Second Edition. Edinburgh: Kennedy. 24mo., pp. 97. If this book should fall in the way of any of our brethren in the ministry they will do well to peruse it. When we had gone through a fourth part of it, though we perceived that it was written in a good spirit and in an excellent style, we doubted the propriety of our noticing it, as it appeared to us to be a work likely to be useful among church-people but not much adapted to the meridian of dissenters. But, proceeding onwards, we saw so much that was calculated to impress ministers of every denomination with the solemnity of their position Original and Selected. No. I. May Meetings in the and the importance of consistency, that we determined to recommend it to our fellow labourers; and, near the end, we have found, with some objections to dissent, so much that is kind and candid with reference to dissenters, that we cannot help availing ourselves of the opportunity to reciprocate the good-will expressed, and hail the author, with whom we have no personal acquaintance, as a brother. Images. By W. WELDON CHAMPNEYS, M.A., The Thumb Bible. Verbum Sempiternum. A very small square volume, republished now as a curiosity. It is a brief summary in verse of the contents of each book of scripture, by J. Taylor, with a dedication, in verse also, to Queen Anne's son, who died in 1700. Missionary Stories from the South Sea Islands. South Seas. London: Williams. pp. 20. Oaths Unchristian, Immoral, and Impolitic. A Plea for relieving Conscientious Objectors from Compulsory Oaths. London: 16 pp. Price 2d. The Eclectic Review. Contents: I. Ranke's History of Prussia. II. St. John's Adventures in the Libyan Desert. III. Art-Chemistry. IV. The Duke of Argyle's Essay on the Ecclesiastical History of Scotland. V. Sutton's Poems. VI. M. Guetelet's Theory of Probabilities. VII. The Rev. James Shore and the Bishop of Exeter. VIII. Macfarlane's Glance at Revolutionized Italy. IX. The Dissenters-their Grievances and their Policy. May, 1849. London: Ward and Co. Bunhill Memorials. By J. A. JONES. No. X. May, 1849. London: James Paul. The Christian Treasury: containing Contributions from Ministers and Members of various Evangelical Denominations. Edinburgh: Johnstone. The Herald of Peace for May, 1849. London: Ward and Co. INTELLIGENCE. EUROPE. SWEDEN. Mr. Nilsson, who has recently become pastor of a small church in Gothenburg, writing to Mr. Wilkin, May 8th, says, "Oh! how wonderful things the Lord has brought about in Sweden ! Would you believe me, sir, if I tell you that we are now thirty-five baptists in Sweden? Who would have believed such a thing two years ago? But so it is, and we must confess that it is the work of an almighty master-hand. But persecution has commenced, and we do not know how it will turn out with the poor sheep amongst the ravening wolves. "Two of our brethren have been before the ministerium several times, and have nobly held fast to the truth, although threatened with fines, banishment, and other punishments. Nine others-five brethren and four sisters have also been cited, and have appeared and made a good confession, choosing rather, if it be the will of God, to leave all, house, property, country, yea life if need be, rather than to forsake the Lord and his truth." GERMANY. Mr. Oncken speaks of the kingdom of our Lord as rapidly advancing on every point, believers being added to the churches daily; "Last week," he adds, "brother Köbner and I visited the six hundred prisoners of the Christian VIII. and the Geffion taken at Eckernförde. They are at Glückstadt. We were well received, found brethren among them, and distributed eight hundred tracts and thirty testaments in Danish. We have applied for permission to preach to them." THE DUNGEONS OF THE INQUISITION AT ROME. The Roman correspondent of the Daily News, writing on the 31st of March, says :"Talking of excavations, I visited this morning the works going on in the subterranean vaults of the holy office, and was not a little horrified at what I saw with my own eyes, and held in my own hands. Though I have been familiar with everything in and about Rome for a quarter of a century, I confess I never had any curiosity to visit the inquisition, taking it for granted, that everything was carried on there fairly and honestly, as I was led to believe by people worthy in other respects of implicit trust. Besides, the place itself is out of the beaten track of all strang ers, and in a sort of cul de sac behind St. Peter's, where it naturally retired to perform its blushing operations, and do good by stealth.' I was struck with the outward appearance of civilisation and comfort displayed by the building, which owes its erection to Pius V., author of the last creed; but, on entering, the real character of the concern was no longer dissimulated. A range of strongly-barred prisons formed the groundfloor of a quadrangular court, and these dark and damp receptacles I found were only the preliminary stage of probation, intended for new comers, as yet uninitiated into the Eleusinian mysteries of the establishment. Entering a passage to the left, you arrive at a smaller court-yard, where a triple row of small, barred dungeons rises from the soil upwards, somewhat after the outward look of a three-decker, accommodating' about sixty prisoners. These barred cages have been fully manned, for there is a supplementary row constructed at the back of the quadrangle, on the ground-floor, which faces a large garden. All these cellular contrivances have strong iron rings let into the masonry, and in some there is a large stone, firmly embedded in the centre, with a similar massive ring. Numerous inscriptions, dated centuries back, are dimly legible on the admission of light, the general tenor being assertion of innocence- Iddio ci liberi di lingua calumniatrice;' Io domenico Gazzoli vissi qui anni 18;' Calumniatores mendaces exterminabuntur.' I read another somewhat longer, the drift of which is, The caprice or wickedness of man can't exclude me from thy church, O Christ, my only hope.' The officer in charge led me down to where the men were digging in the vaults below; they had cleared a downward flight of steps, which was choked up with old rubbish, and had come to a series of dungeons under the vaults deeper still, and which immediately brought to my mind the prisons of the Doge, under the bridge of Sighs, at Venice, only here that there was surpassing horror. I saw embedded, in old masonry, unsymmetrically arranged, five skeletons in various recesses, and the clearance had only just begun; the period of their insertion in this spot must have been more than a century and a half. From another vault, full of skulls and scattered human remains, there was a shaft, about four feet square, ascending perpendicularly to the first-floor of the building, and ending in a passage off the hall of the chancery, where a trap-door lay between the tribunal and the way into a suite of rooms destined for one of the officials. The object of this shaft could admit of but one surmise. The ground of the vault was made up of decayed animal matter, a lump of which held embedded in it a long silken lock of hair, as I found by personal examination as it was shovelled up from below. Why or wherefore, with a large space of vacant ground lying outside the structure, this charnel-house should be contrived under the dwelling, passes my ken. But that is not all: there are two large subterranean lime-kilns, if I may so call them, shaped like a bee-hive in masonry, filled with large calcined bones, forming the substratum of two other cham bers on the ground-floor, in the immediate vicinity of the very mysterious shaft above mentioned. I know not what interest you may attach to what looks like a chapter from Mrs. Radcliff, but had I not the evidence of my own senses, I would never have dreamt of such appearances in a prison of the holy office, being thoroughly sick of the nonsense that has for years been put forth on that topic by partizan pens. But here the thing will become serious, for to-morrow the whole population of Rome is publicly invited by the authorities to come and see, with their own eyes, one of the results of entrusting power to clerical hands. Libels on the clergy have been manifold during the last four months, and have done their work among the masses. But mere talk is nothing to the actual view of realities. "Segnius irritant animos demissa per aures Quam quæ sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus.'" BAPTIST UNION. The thirty-seventh annual session of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland was held at the Mission House, Moorgate Street, April 20, 1849. At a few minutes past ten o'clock a hymn was sung, after which prayer was offered by the Rev. E. Bryan of Oxford. The Rev. T. Morgan of Birmingham then delivered an address; after which a verse was sung, and prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Murch. After an adjournment of a few minutes, the business of the session was proceeded with, the Rev. Dr. Murch taking the chair. It was moved by the Rev. S. J. Davis, seconded by the Rev. R. Roff, and resolved "That such Christian friends, not members of the Union, as may desire to be present, be requested to take their seats." It was moved by the Rev. C. E. Birt, seconded by the Rev. Dr. Steane, and resolved "That the Union feels itself laid under great obligation to their venerable and honoured brother, the Rev. Thomas Morgan, for the counsels and admonitions he has been led to address to them on this occasion, and begs to offer to him their respectful and heartfelt gratitude for them, with the "That the Rev. T. Morgan be requested to allow the valuable address he has delivered to be printed, Union." under his revision, among the documents of the nomination, to prepare a list of officers and The chairman appointed a committee of committee for the year ensuing. The Rev. J. H. Hinton read the report of the committee and the treasurer's account, and laid on the table the materials prepared for the Manual. It was moved by the Rev. W. F. Burchell, seconded by J. H. Allen, Esq., and resolved"That the report now read be received, and printed under the direction of the committee." That part of the report relating to the statistics of the denomination having been again read, it was moved by the Rev. T. Winter, seconded by the Rev. R. Roff, and resolved churches in the denomination with the deepest "That the Union, regarding the state of the interest, cannot without grateful pleasure record the fact, that the clear average increase of the churches, after having, during seven successive years, and by an uninterrupted progression, been reduced from ten per annum to little more than one, has at length begun to augment, and has been, for the year ending the 1st of January last, nearly four. Painfully conscious at the same time, tha: numbers constitute but a very imperfect index of the condition of the churches, and that very much remains to be done before they can be regarded as in a condition truly prosperous, the Union would still regard the improvement of the numerical of revival may also be found to exist, and as returns as warranting a hope that other evidences affording at once a stimulus and an encouragement to enlarged prayerfulness and activity.” It was moved by the Rev. G. W. Fishbourne, seconded by J. H. Allen, Esq., and resolved "That the pastors and churches be affectionately invited to appoint services on Lord's day, the 10th of June, and in the week following, for seeking the increased out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, and the extension of godliness among them." That part of the report relating to the Baptist Building Fund was again read, but no proceeding was adopted thereon. That part of the report relating to a Manual of Chapel Building having been again read, it was moved by the Rev. C. M. Birrell, seconded by the Rev. W. Pulsford, and resolved "That the committee be instructed to act upon the plan now recommended to the session, to take measures for procuring plans and estimates of chapels actually built, for deposit in the denominational library, and to employ a professional man to arrange the information they may contain for easy reference." |