pose. The Hat tells a good and useful tale, and the whole is intended, in a history of the changes of life, to inculcate confidence in God, and submission to His will, under the varied adversities of our earthly pilgrimage.

19.-WILEY & PUTNAM'S LIBRARY OF CHOICE READING.

We have already spoken favorably of this enterprise; and as a whole the selections are good. We have made an occasional exception to what we considered not very wholesome in its tendency. Yet even the most exceptionable portions of the Library are far better than the cheap trash which has been so long floating on the surface of society, and, alas! too often sinking, we fear, into the depths of the inner man, there to repress all good principles, and quicken into life the evil passions of human nature.

The last number we noticed was the twenty-fourth, and the Library has now reached the fortieth. The intervening numbers are all worthy of a place in this selection. They are wheat, not chaff, as the bare mention of the titles will sufficiently evince :-Hazlitt's Table Talk, second series-Basil Montagu's Selections from Taylor, Barrow, South, Fuller, etc.-Tupper's Twins and Heart-Hazlitt's English Comic Writers-Lamb's English Dramatic Poets-Tupper's Proverbial Philosophy-Vicar of Wakefield-Lord Mahon's Life of Condé-Hazlitt's Lectures on the English Poets-Hervey's Book of Christmas-Carlyle's Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell.

We said all these were good and useful books. We like even "The Book of Christmas," although we could wish the author or the editor had modified the enchantment which, on page 148, is thrown around the theatre, as a Christmas amusement. The entire representation of it there is adapted to awaken in youth a passion for visiting it.

20.-Notes from Over Sea. Consisting of Observations made in Europe, in the years 1843 and 1844: Addressed to a Brother. By Rev. JOHN MITCHELL. In two volumes. New York: Gates & Stedman.

1845.

These are the notes of a New England minister of the gospel, obliged to travel for his health. They are the record of what he saw and heard, told in a manly, easy style, without affectation and without fear.

Although we have abundance of Travels and Observations, Notes, etc., yet almost every one having his own stand-point, his idiosyncracy, presents us, at least, with some new reflections, if not with novel objects.

Mr. Mitchell's stand-point is Mount Zion, his inner man the Christian. Hence his observations are characterized by pious feeling, regard for God and his glory.

He seems, in some quarters, to have met with rudeness, where it was not to be expected, because of his moderation on the subject of slavery.

21.-The Jesuits. Translated from the French of MM. Michelet and Quinet, Professors in the College of France. Edited by C. EDWARDS LESTER. New York: Gates & Stedman. 1845. pp. 225, 12mo.

Of the Jesuits we need to know much now, and shall yet have occasion to know more. Revived, they begin to live with all their artfulness, knowledge of human nature and undying perseverance. They are in the midst of us, and too often we know it not. Let us be on the alert. They require watching.

The controversy which called forth this volume is well known. The Professors wrote in self-defence, and in defence of right. What they have written is exceedingly valuable, at the present time. Let us use the weapons they furnish us, but not forget, at the same time, that while they fight the Jesuits, they have no affection for evangelical religion. The book, consequently, is to be received and read with caution.

22.-The Roman Church and Modern Society. Translated from the French of Professor E. Quinet. Edited by C. EDWARDS LESTER. New York: Gates & Stedman. 1846. pp. 198, 12mo.

We cannot but ponder the sayings and reflections of such a man as Quinet with interest. They are influential, whether for good or for ill. His sketch of the Roman Church and its relation to modern society is graphic, and must tell, at home at least, if not here and elsewhere. It is well to enlist such a mind in such a cause; and let us pray that it be converted from all forms of infidelity, and imbued with the spirit of evangelical religion.

To Mr. Lester we are becoming more and more indebted for his translations. May they, too, be well selected, and only good in their tendency.

23.-The Complete Works of N. P. Willis. New York: J. S. Redfield. 1846. pp. 895, royal 8vo.

Whatever may be thought of some of Mr. Willis's foibles, and however much we may regret that he has departed from the simple faith and manners of his earlier years, yet are we glad to see a vol

ume of his complete works: and we doubt not it will be a very acceptable present to many of his friends.

Whatever faults he may have been guilty of in his "Pencillings," he certainly has written in it many beautiful things, and furnished some graphic delineations of scenery and society. His offence against the proprieties of social intercourse he has himself regretted: and although we feel bound to express unqualified censure of some of his doings, yet do we believe, at the same time, that some of his English censors have been guilty of much worse things in the same line. We have no sympathy with those who run after British critics in their unqualified and matter-of-course denunciation of every thing American.

Some of Mr. Willis's earlier poetry is beautiful and impressive, especially his Scriptural pieces. For instance, his Abraham-David's Grief for his Child-Absalom-Baptism of Christ-Contemplation, etc., etc.

24.-The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. First American Edition (complete): with some Remarks on the Poetical Faculty, and its Influence on Human Destiny, embracing a biographical and critical notice. By G. G. FOSTER. New York: J. S. Redfield. 1845. pp. 750, 12mo.

This is quite a pretty edition of Shelley's Poetical Works, and as the first which has appeared among us, will probably find admirers enough to secure a ready sale.

We should prefer the Poetry without Mr. Foster's Remarks. The former is, in some parts, objectionable, and the author of it a man, whose character is far from being one to be imitated. The latter is full of dreamy sensibility, Fourierism, and foolish pantheism: e. g., "Man shall discover that he himself is heaven-that every wild hope and aspiration was but a sparkling forth of that universal light-fluid in which God and all his creation swims"-" if poetry and imagination be not a part of God, then is it nothing"-"every word and syllable of it is as precious as the breath of God."

25.-The Lord our Shepherd: An Exposition of the Twenty-third Psalm. By Rev. JOHN STEVENSON. New York: Robert Carter. 1945. pp. 239.

The author is already favorably known as the author of a delightful work entitled "Christ on the Cross. This on the 23d Psalm is equally interesting and profitable. It is of a practical character, and unfolds, in succession, the themes-The Shepherd-No WantGreen Pastures-Still Waters, etc. etc.

26.-Penny Magazine.

It is enough to say that No. 16 has been issued by the publisher, J. S. Redfield.

27.-The Greece of the Greeks. By G. H. PERDICARIS, A. M., late Consul of the United Statesat Athens. In two volumes. New York: Paine & Burgess. 1845.

The author is a Greek, who, after having spent some years among us, returned to his native land, as Consul from the United States at Athens. This gave him an opportunity of intercourse with the King and Queen, and of acquiring a true knowledge of the country. In this volume he gives us the results of his observations, and a better insight into the present state of that country than can be derived from any other source easily accessible.

The grammar and style need improvement, but we can overlook that, when we remember who has written the work.

28.-Rambles by Land and Water; or Notes of Travel in Cuba and Mexico, including a Canoe Voyage up the river Panuco, and Researches among the Ruins of Tamaulipas, etc. By B. M. NORMAN. New York: Paine & Burgess. 1845. pp. 216, 12mo. Mr. Norman is already known to us by his Rambles in Yucatan, etc., which were read with eagerness and interest by many. This second volume of travel and of discovery will be of no less interest. Indeed it will well repay a perusal, abounding as it does in novel developments and vivid sketches.

29.-The Fruit of the Spirit. By GEO. W. BETHUNE, D. D., Minister of the Third Reformed Dutch Church, Philadelphia. Third Edition. Phil,: Mentz & Rovoudt. New York: Saxton & Miles. 1845. pp. 304, 18mo.

Dr. Bethune has evidently thought deeply and written elaborately on the topics presented in this volume. The theme is one of exceeding importance, and it has certainly lost none of its importance in the author's hands. The several chapters are based on the topics presented by the Spirit himself, whose fruits are here delineated-to wit, love, joy, peace, etc.

We have read the volume with great interest, and heartily commend it to the perusal of Christians, with the hope that its spirit may be more generally diffused through the Church.

The chaste, polished style in which the book is written, were compensation enough in itself for the reading of it.

30.-Lectures on the Pilgrim's Progress, and on the Life and Times of John Bunyan. By REV. GEORGE B. CHEEVER. Fourth edition. 1845. pp. 514, 8vo.

At so late a day, we can, of course, say nothing to recommend this work. Suffice it to say that Dr. Cheever has infused into it all

the charms of his peculiar style, and made a book which every Christian will love to read, and from which every poet and scholar may derive both pleasure and profit. It is the best commentary on the Pilgrim's Progress ever written.

The author knew well that old Bunyan is a favorite with the aged Christian; and that he may read it readily, a large clear type has been selected, and printed on a good fair paper. The edition by Mr. Walker is handsomely illustrated, and makes a beautiful book for a present, at any time.

31.-The History of Romanism: from the earliest corruptions of Christianity to the present time. By Rev. JOHN DOWLING, A. M. Eighth edition. New-York: 1845. pp. 671, 8vo.

This is an exceedingly popular book, having in a very short time reached its eighth edition. The author has evidently investigated extensively and thoroughly, and has furnished a succinct, and for all practical purposes, sufficient history of the origin, advance, cruel persecutions, and present state of the Papacy. The story is forcibly, fearlessly, truthfully told, and makes a correct impression of Popery as it is and as it was.

Then the beautiful wood-cut illustrations tend greatly to add to the interest and usefulness of the book. Mr. Walker deserves much credit for his painstaking in this respect, and Mr. Lossing has shown what can be done in xylography.

We wish the volume a place in every family.

32.-The Attraction of the Cross; designed to illustrate the Leading Truths, Obligations and Hopes of Christianity. By GARDINER SPRING, D. D. New York: M. W. Dodd. 1846. pp. 413, 8vo.

We always expect something good from Dr. Spring, and seldom, if ever, are we disappointed. This we think one of his best books. The subject is one of deep interest to man, and one that can be made attractive. The Cross, indeed, is a point of attraction to the Universe. The death of God's only Son for a rebel race must be known to all intelligences; and in all must awaken new emotions of wonder and praise. The reading of the first chapter of the "Attraction of the Cross" is sufficient to excite a desire to read more. It is a graphic, impressive narrative of the Cross. We must not omit to say that the book is got up in a very neat style.

33.-Play-Room Poetry. By S. S. A. New York: M. W. Dodd, 1846. pp. 128, 18mo.

A very pretty little book, suitable for very young children. The poetry is of a simple character, such as to meet the wants of infancy.