pulpit, lest we should flatter the earnestness and sincerity of some preachers at the expense of their intellectual gifts and acquirements. But we venture to admonish young men who are seeking an entrance into the ministry, that the past is not the present, and the present is not what the future will be in regard to the education and the requirements of the people. Working men are able to procure and to read works of considerable literary merit; and every writer is obliged to be not only master of his subject, but master also of the language in which he writes. The pulpit must be able to stand a fair comparison in these points, or it will cease to be what it ought to be, the most effective teacher of the people.*

J. H. C.

Connexional Affairs.

YARMOUTH, NORFOLK.

WE respectfully and earnestly request the attention of our readers to the following communication, which we trust will be immediately and liberally responded to. It presents a case on behalf of which prompt assistance will be doubly valuable; we hope soon to present a greatly augmented list of subscribers.

"Dear Sir,-Through you I beg, very respectfully, to commend the following statement to the attention of the Office-bearers, Members and Friends of the Methodist Free Churches in every part of our Connexion, and to solicit their hearty co-operation in carrying to a successful issue our great project. Yours sincerely,

J. COLMAN.

"In February, 1862, a handsome and substantial Chapel, in the best part of Yarmouth, was offered by the proprietors for sale to the United Methodist Free Churches. The Chapel has been built about eight years, is capable of seating six hundred persons, and has a good school-room attached, which will accommodate one hundred and fifty children.

"After hearing the statements of the late Rev. ROBERT ECKETT, who had visited Yarmouth by desire of the Connexional Committee, and who strongly advised the purchase of the premises, the Committee unanimously adopted the following resolution :

"That this Committee will rejoice if proper arrangements shall be made

for securing the Chapel at Yarmouth to the use of the Connexion; and would recommend the Annual Assembly to appoint a suitable preacher to Yarmouth, and to afford such aid towards his support as may be needful.'

"Yarmouth is an important seaport, and has become a very flourishing

This article, if chargeable with a little exaggeration, contains a great deal of truth which we commend to all "whom it may concern." Perhaps, our respected correspondent will favour us with another article on, "The duty of the Church in relation to the Pulpit." The Church which requires an intelligent and educated ministry must provide means for ministerial education.-ED.

watering place. The population is about 34,000; the increase from 1851 to 1861 being nearly fifteen per cent. The visitors, also, are regularly and rapidly increasing. There are good reasons for believing that Yarmouth will soon take rank with the most popular watering places in the kingdom; its extreme healthiness, its magnificent sea view, its fine beach, and its almost unequalled drive and promenade on the very edge of the sea, are matters of such notoriety as fully to justify the largest expectations; it is, therefore, indispensable that the United Methodist Free Churches should have a place of public worship corresponding with such progress; this has been secured, There are also two good houses immediately adjoining the chapel; the whole is freehold, and has been purchased for £1,700; a small, but finetoned organ, school furniture, and gas-fittings included.

"As, at the time the purchase was completed, a sufficient number of persons on the spot could not be obtained to form a trust, and to take upon themselves the responsibilities of the purchase, the property was conveyed to four members of the Connexional Committee, to be settled on the trusts of the Connexional Model Chapel Deed,' as soon as the requisite number of trustees could be obtained.

"A very effective Tea and Public Meeting was held in connection with the opening of the Chapel, which surpassed the highest hopes of the most sanguine. The congregations are steadily increasing, a Church has been formed, and the prospect of success is exceedingly cheering.

"As the entire amount of the purchase-money has been borrowed, it is absolutely necessary that a vigorous effort be made largely to reduce the debt. It is felt that, in order to the well working of the cause, the debt must be reduced to £1,200—consequently £500 must be raised.

"It is right to state that comparatively little can be obtained in Yarmouth at present, as we are few, and our means limited; nevertheless, we are resolved to work and do our best. Our hope is in God, and in the friends of civil and religious freedom generally, and of Free Methodism in every part of the kingdom especially.

"Subscriptions towards this most important movement will be gratefully received by the Rev. WILLIAM REED, 15, Creed Lane, Ludgate Street, London, E.C.; Mr. JOHN CUTHBERTSON, 18, Walpole Street, Chelsea, London, S.W.; Mr. THOMAS CUTHBERTSON, 23, Wellington Square, Chelsea, London, S.W.; and by the Rev. Jos. COLMAN, Regent Road, Yarmouth.

"The following is a list of subscriptions up to March 8, 1864:

Review and Criticism.

Memoirs of the Life and Philanthropic Labours of Andrew Reed, D.D., with Selections from his Journals. Edited by his Sons, Andrew Reed, B.A., and Charles Reed, F.S.A. Second Edition. London: STRAHAN & Co., 32, Ludgate Hill. 1863.

"THE memory of the just is blessed." This aphorism, so gloriously true in its general application to the pious dead, has a special signi ficance when applied to those who blessed by Providence with suitable gifts, and faithfully discharging their stewardship, have, on an extensive scale, been benefactors to their species.

To the noble few who have thus "served their own generation," Dr. Andrew Reed belonged, and long will his memory be fragrant in the Church and country which he loved so dearly, and served so well. It was our privilege, at the commencement of our ministry, to hear him deliver, in Dr. Hamilton's Chapel, Leeds, his Sermon on "The Day of Pentecost," and the impression then made on us by his venerable appearance, silvery voice, and earnest delivery, is still fresh and powerful; and now that he rests from his labours, we are glad to renew our acquaintance with him in these "Memoirs," penned by filial hands in honour of his virtues.

The manner in which his sons have discharged their pious task entitles them to high commendation. Remembering that" the chief aim of biography is not so much to preserve the memory, as to prolong the usefulness of a valuable life," they have drawn such a portrait of the mental and moral character of their venerable parent, as, while it cannot fail to secure for him the admiration of the wise and good, will probably lead many to strive to imbibe his spirit and follow in his steps. Their determination that the "Memoirs" should be comprised in one volume has necessarily excluded many interesting incidents and instructive letters; but we are consoled for their absence by the reflection, that the work will have a wider circulation, and, consequently, be rendered more extensively useful in its present form, than if it had been more comprehensive.

Andrew Reed was born in London, on the 27th of November, 1787. His parents were distinguished by eminent piety, and "rejoiced with exceeding great joy" when their son dedicated himself to God. In 1807 he entered the Theological College at Hackney. In 1811 he accepted the pastorate of the Congregational Church, wor shipping in New Road Chapel, London, as successor to the Rev. Mr. Lyndall, under whose ministry he and his parents had long sat. This settlement was advantageous to both pastor and people; the Church and congregation prospered. In June, 1831, they removed to Wycliffe Chapel, a new and elegant structure, adapted to their pros perous circumstances; and here Dr. Reed continued to labour with great success, until, in consequence of the infirmities of old age, he resigned his office, in November, 1861, about three months before he went to his reward in heaven. His pastorate, which extended over halfa-century, was productive of much spiritual fruit. Endowed with mental powers of no mean order, and influenced by a noble

ambition to make the most of this short life, he devoted himself to every good word and work with an ardour not often witnessed.

As a minister, he preached the word in season and out of season, with rare ability and unction; and, as an author, produced works which have been rendered extensively useful. Among these we may mention, “Martha, or Memorials of a Beloved Sister," "No Fiction," and "Religion, the Claim of the Times." The second of these volumes brought on him a great deal of obloquy. He was charged with the violation of confidence and self-elevation; in the " Memoirs," facts are mentioned which he did not deem it proper to publish, and which completely vindicate him from both accusations.

As a philanthropist, Dr. Reed will not soon be forgotten. He originated various charitable institutions which bid fair to be perpetuated, and be blessings to many generations. The following are their respective designations, and the dates of their establishment:-London Orphan Asylum, 1812; Infant Orphan Asylum, 1827; Asylum for Fatherless Children, 1844; Asylum for Idiots, 1847; Royal Hospital for Incurables, 1854; Eastern Counties' Idiot Asylum, 1859. Of all these Dr. Reed was the originator. With indefatigable perseverance he sought the patronage and support needed for their establishment; from his own not very large resources, he subscribed towards them not less than £4,540; and, notwithstanding the opposition he met with from the bigotry of some, and the cold-heartedness of others, he lived to see them all in a flourishing condition.

Besides his labours in England, Dr. Reed, in company with Dr. Matheson, at the request of "The Congregational Union," went, in 1834, as a deputation to the American Churches. He left England for the United States in March of that year, and after an eight months' tour, which he greatly enjoyed, returned in safety to his native land. In the "Narrative" of this mission, which was published officially and widely circulated, he does justice to what in America commended itself to his approval, and bears a judicious, but unflinching, testimony against the slavery by which it was and is disgraced. Yale College showed its appreciation of his talents and virtues by conferring on him the titular distinction by which he was afterwards known; it is not always that American diplomas are awarded to equal merit. After an eventful and useful career, Dr. Reed died, February 25th, 1862, aged seventyfour. His body was interred in Abney Park Cemetery, and there, with the remains of many other eminent servants of God, awaits "the resurrection of the just."

We regret that our brief space will not permit us to extract largely from these "Memoirs," and conclude this necessarily brief notice by commending them to all who wish to see to what noble purposes life may be made subservient.

The Mother of the Wesleys. A Biography by the Rev. John Kirk. London: HENRY JAMES TRESSIDDER, 17, Ave Maria Lane. 1864. PROBABLY no man, since the sixteenth century, has exercised such a wide-spread beneficial influence as John Wesley. The religious

movement of which, under God, he was one of the chief originators is still perpetuated, and extending itself, not merely in the organi zation, which, par excellence, claims him for its founder, but also in the various sections of Liberal Methodism, in most of the other nonconforming communities, and in the Establishment itself.

The fame of John Wesley has naturally excited considerable curiosity with regard to the character and circumstances of his parents. Susannah Wesley, his mother, was a woman of fervent piety, much intelligence, great decision, and, though somewhat extreme in her notions of order and decorum, was well fitted to exercise a pow erful influence for good over her family. "The Wesleys' mother," says Isaac Taylor, "was the mother of Methodism in a moral and religious sense ;" and this eulogium is scarcely chargeable with exaggeration. It is singular that, until the appearance of the present volume, no fitting memorial of this extraordinary woman was given to the world; the age of biographies, however, had not come when she passed from earth. Many sketches of her character had, indeed, been published; but Mr. Kirk's, so far as we know, is the first attempt to give a complete portraiture of her mental and moral excellencies. Our author, besides the ordinary sources of information, has had access to "two valuable collections of unpublished letters connected with the Wesley family;" and though his work does not contain much of which we were previously ignorant, it casts "a new light upon several important incidents connected with family-life at Epworth." His task has evidently been to him a labour of love, and his work will, doubtless, take its place among the standard literature of Methodism. It abounds with incidents related in a pleasing and instructive style. While Mrs. Wesley is the biographer's theme, the narrative is rendered additionally interesting passing glances at other branches of the ancestral tree from which the Wesleys descended, and the history of the times in which they lived. The volume, though dedicated "to the Fev. George Osborne, D.D., as a slight tribute to his eminent talents and private worth, and an expression of the value placed upon his friendship," is catholic in tone, and contains little to which, we opine, even the reputed author of the "Fly Sheets" would object.

The Peep of Day; or, A Series of the Earliest Religious Instruction the Infant Mind is capable of Receiving. With verses Illustrative of the subjects. Hundred and Eighty-first Thousand. London: HATCHARD & Co.

THE author of this little Book is of opinion that children of a very tender age may be taught the great truths of religion, and has prepared it for their special benefit. His language is very simple, and his style of narration such as is likely to interest those whose dawning reason resembles "The Peep of Day." The fact, that one hundred and eighty thousand copies of the work have already been sold says much in its favour; the present is a very cheap edition.