reiterated; but the writer of the volume before us, not content with going over the whole ground traversed by Hume in his attack on miracles, and proving it altogether untenable and illogical, proceeds to show that the presumption in favour of the possibility of miracles actually grows with our growing knowledge of the phenomena of nature, and of the laws which govern it. One of the best portions of this able work is the author's refutation of scientific atheism from its boasted theories, such as 'Evolution,' from which he shows that only Might everywhere, only Wisdom everywhere, only Life everywhere are the due correlation of a universe so miraculously wonderful.'

In the Beginning. Remarks on certain Modern Views of the Creation. By RICHARD HILL SANDYS, M.A. (London: Pickering and Co., 1879.)

6

THESE pages present us with a well-meant, but rather shallow vindication of the creation of the world by a personal and intelligent God, against those who prefer to believe in its gradual evolution from matter, as well as a vindication of revelation against the recent attacks upon it by Mr. Matthew Arnold, who sets aside the Divine teaching of the Gospel for an eternal tendency not ourselves tending to righteousness.' The writer, with singular inconsistency, goes out of his way to attack Bishop Wilberforce's opinion that 'in the mysterious visitation of the three strange forms before her tent door, subsiding into the single presence of Jehovah, was already the declaration of the hidden mystery of the Trinity in unity,' notwithstanding this professed member of the Church admits that this very passage in Genesis has been selected by the Church for the first lesson on Trinity Sunday, because it teaches the doctrine of the Trinity. The work would gain much by compression and judicious weeding. Its best portion, by far, is that which exposes the fallacies of Materialism, and we can only regret that the author did not more exclusively confine his labours to the subject, which grows in importance every day with the progress of scientific investigation and discovery. We must further give the author credit for some very able and useful quotations from the ancient Greek poets, which are admirably rendered into excellent metrical English poetry in spirit as well as in form.

The Divine Legation of Christ. By the Rev. T. W. FOWLE, M.A. (London: C. Kegan Paul and Co., 1879.)

THE professed object of Mr. Fowle is to deliver the Christian mind from the burden of the erroneous impressions by which the very existence of the Christian religion is endangered,' and these ' erroneous impressions' are, as he explains afterwards, the popular doctrine of an everlasting hell, and the belief that the doctrine of Evolution is necessarily antagonistic to the Christian faith. In the latter portion of the work Mr. Fowle is unquestionably successful, proving, as he does, that not only is there no incompatibility between Christianity and Evolution, but that the Christian teaching concerning the certainty of a future life and its conditions both vindicates the truth of Evolu

tion, and also its own truth under the most searching tests that the criticism of modern scientific thought can apply to it. The arguments in favour of a belief in a resurrection here given are made to gain considerably in force and point by frequent illustrations; as, for example, in the way in which the author shows that the argument from experience is not, as is commonly urged, conclusively valid against the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. Suppose,' he writes,

' a lawsuit about a right of way, and let it be granted that an immense degree of evidence has been called to prove the negative, that no one has been known to claim the right or to have used the way. Suppose, then, it was proved that one person living in a particular spot had always enjoyed the privilege, no one disputing it. We know what the result of it would be. Even so the resurrection of Jesus Christ, seen and testified to by competent witnesses, decides the question whether there is, as it were, the right of way through death to life. The creative power is herein revealed to our knowledge, as connecting what was merely possible with what is actual, and the whole stress of the argument from experience is thrown into the opposite scale. For we do know one Man who lived after he was dead, and we do not know one man of whom we can with certainty assert that he has remained dead for ever.'

But, having acknowledged this, we have to add that a very large portion of the book is devoted to maintaining two grave errors. In the first place, Mr. Fowle not only denies the existence of an everlasting hell, but virtually explains away the term 'everlasting' as found in the Holy Scriptures, in its plain, literal sense. In the next place, the writer tells us, with more than the audacity and the arrogant spirit of Bishop Warburton, that 'between Moses and Jeremiah there is not only no allusion to a future life, but much to discredit any practical belief in it,' and, further, adduces Mr. Algers' account of the Rabbinical doctrine of a future, to confirm Bishop Warburton's view that the doctrine of a future life came from Pagan sources, 'patched up with dark and scattered insinuations from their own prophets.' Here we deny (1) that there is any sound Talmudic authority for the libel of Mr. Algers on Jewish belief; (2) we hold, with some of the highest Rabbinical authorities, that the doctrine of a future life is taught in the Books of Moses, and in other inspired writers before Jeremiah. If we are to believe the Talmudist, we must believe that Job was of the race of Abraham, and was contemporary with Moses, and the same authorities, as well as ourselves, find in Job the belief in a future state. It is surely only as interpreted in the light of such a belief in a future state that Enoch's translation to heaven, and the dying prayer of Jacob, 'I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord,' and Balaam's wish to die the death of the righteous, can have any reasonable signification at all.

1. The House of Achendaroch. (Edinburgh: Douglas, 1879.) 2. Cartouche. By the Author of Unawares. (London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1879.)

THESE both deserve special and honourable mention as excellent novels. The former is the history of a weak man—a sad one of course, but remarkable and valuable, because it does not close, as usual, when he marries, but goes on through his gradual descent into evil habits. His bondage to an unprincipled clerk who saves him trouble, and his foolish dread of being mastered by a good woman, are well worked out. So is the dignity of the lady, mingled with a shyness that cannot bend to flatter and influence him, even though she loves him to the last. The Scotsman's journey to Worcester is described with true Scottish humour, and it is altogether an excellent tale, full of soundness and depth, though some may be impatient of its length. Cartouche is more slightly written, and might have been the better for some of the study evidently bestowed on Achendaroch; but it is a graceful, charming story of Anglo-Italian life, and has a most pathetic dog hero, who gives his name to the book.

1. Chronicles of Escendune. (London: Rivingtons, 1878-9.) 2. Through Rough Waters. (London: Bell and Sons, 1879.) 3. The Constant Prince. (London: Mozley and Smith, 1878.) HISTORICAL stories require of course a greater degree of culture, but are very useful in verifying history. We once heard an Oxford tutor say that he was wont to refer his pupils to good historical novels as illustrations of the period. For young people such tales are excellent, and not only those of the upper class delight in them, but cultivation is now sufficiently spread among the upper standards of schools and pupil-teachers to render them pleasant as well as desirable reading. We could give a list of older ones, which never weary, but we will only recommend Mr. Crayke's excelling Chronicles of Escendune, dealing with Berkshire at various periods of English history; Through Rough Waters, a very beautiful story of the French Revolution; and the Constant Prince-namely, the Portuguese Fernando, who deserves to be called the Christian Regulus. The remarkable beauty of the characters of this prince and his two brothers, Duarte and Enrique, has caused this little book to be set down as a mere ideal sketch; but any one who will take the trouble to look, will find that the description is fully borne out by facts.

1. The Conversion of the Celts. (London: S.P.C.K., 1879.) 2. The Conversion of the English. (London: S.P.C.K., 1879.) 3. The Conversion of the Northmen. (London: S.P.C.K., 1879.) 4. The Conversion of the Teutonic Nations. (London: S.P.C.K., 1879.) THESE are by Dean Merivale and Mr. Maclear, admirable little monographs, full of interest, and excellent to give to those who need to be taught what the Church has done of old.

1. Girls and Boys. (London: Skeffington and Son, 1879.)
2. Jeanie Gordon. (London: Mozley and Smith, 1878.)
3. Miss Toosey's Mission. (London: Mozley and Smith, 1878.)
4. Wild Thyme. (London: S.P.C.K., 1879.)

5. Half-Hours with my Girls. By LADY BAKER. (London : Hatchard, 1879.)

6. Harry Deane's Life-Boat. By FLORENCE WILFORD. (London : Hayes, 1878.)

7. No Man's Land. By FLORENCE WILFORD. (London: Hayes, 1877.) 8. Little Pattens. By Rev. FORBES WINSLOW. (London: Skeffington and Son, 1878.)

It is often a boon to hear of parochial books, and so we have culled from many quarters a list that we can thoroughly recommend, as not merely goody, but good. Girls will, for the most part, read anything with a story in it, however weak; and if it have no harm in the book, it is a safe way of keeping them out of mischief; but boys require something more to induce them to sit still and be interested, and unfortunately they are very seldom well supplied. Few can, with the best intentions, write a book real enough to be useful to the village lad. Only Tom Brown' himself could have written Tom Brown's School Days, and even that is cared for less by real school-boys than by aspirant younger brothers, while the Tom Brown of the village lad is yet to come. So a book like Boys is, perhaps, more likely to be useful to him than a story, being direct good advice, carefully avoiding patronage and prosiness, sympathising heartily with him, and far from narrow in its views of his pleasures. Girls is of the same calibre, and a stock of the two might well be always at hand for parting gifts to young people when leaving school, or Confirmation classes. Half-Hours with my Girls is almost equally useful, and is principally addressed to young maid-servants, being a set of 'talks' with G. F. S. girls, very sensible, and dealing with matters of temper, helpfulness and the like, in a sound and spirited manner. Miss Toosey's Mission is a beautiful tale for dispersion among those who need to learn how to give heart and hand to a good work. Feanie Gordon, a Scottish girl, crippled by a terrible shock, teaches a beautiful lesson of patience; Little Pattens is delightfully quaint, and gives a most telling lesson on faith in prayer. Harry Deane's Life-Boat is a noble picture of modern chivalry in a lowly form; and No Man's Land traces the work of a mission among the poor. These last three are not quite so recent as the others, but they all are marked with letter A in our parochial list for their unusual excellence.

The Children's Fairy Geography. By the Rev. FORBES E. WINSLOW M.A. (London: Skeffington and Son, 1879.)

MR. WINSLOW is favourably known as a writer of pleasing and popular sermons. He now comes before us as the compiler of one of the prettiest and most entertaining juvenile books that we have seen. It is really a useful book, as well as an amusing one, and its illustrations are excellent.

INDEX TO VOLUME VIII.

ABBEY, Rev. C. J. See Eng Brewer, Professor, cited, 99