country; but a great proportion of those who sink under it, are little better than suicides, who will not regard the rules necessary to secure their health, and are therefore called to pay this solemn penalty for their violation.

In the chapter on the subject of behaviour to parents and their friends, the author touches upon a subject of great importance.

"Whence comes it, then, that there is so little demonstration of respect, in the manners of the rising generation, toward the authors of their being? What can the state of feeling be, when the language to a parent is such, as would be scarcely tolerable when addressed to a young companion? Is it compatible with filial reverence, flatly to contradict a father, to laugh at a mother's ways, to reply to a grave question jocosely, without giving the information required, to interrupt parents in the midst of speaking, to oppose their opinions in a tone of self-confidence, implying that your judgment is quite as good as theirs, or to leave the room whilst they are still addressing you? Yet all these things are continually done by girls, who, if questioned on the state of their feelings towards their father or mother, would say, they loved and respected them, and would not do any thing to give them pain."— pp. 202, 203.

The evil here alluded to, is one which no one can help observing. Considered merely in relation to manners, it is improper and ungraceful: but it implies a more serious defect: for reverence is inseparable from virtue. Those who know how to estimate high attributes of character, always respect them in others: and where this respect is wanting, we may be certain that there is an indifference to every thing really excellent and exalted. We give the author's remarks on this subject; they are written with great discrimination, and what is of less importance, with great beauty of style.

"The sentiment of reverence is one of the noblest attributes of the human mind; to its exercise, God has affixed an exquisite sense of enjoyment; it operates in a thousand ways to elevate and embellish the character. Its first developement is in the feelings of a child for its parents, and this is the natural preparation of the mind for its rise to a higher object, even to the Father in heaven. As the understanding ripens, and this sentiment is cultivated, it embraces all that is great and good among men, all that is vast and magnificent in nature and in art; shedding over the character of its possessor an indescribable grace, softening the very tones of the voice, and rendering it impossible for the manners to be wanting

in deference and courtesy towards parents, or teachers, or the aged of any description.

"Where the sentiment of reverence is deficient, a foundation is wanting for many graceful superstructures; and the defect shows itself in various ways, of which the irreverent are little aware, or they would endeavour to supply the deficiency, as a mere matter of taste, if not of principle. Such persons will have unpleasant manners which no rules of good breeding will correct; and as the irreverent state of feeling grows by indulgence in disrespectful demeanor, they are in danger of becoming bold, reckless, and even impious.

"You whom I address are yet young; whatever may have been your education, you are yet young enough to reeducate yourselves; you have hearts capable of being touched by the beautiful, the true, the sublime; you feel reverence for God and the things that belong to religion; but you have not perhaps considered how the same sentiment is connected with other relations in life. In all the great moral authors whom you have read, you have found filial piety, and reverence for the aged, treated as indispensable qualities in a virtuous character, whether heathen or Christian; but you may never have reflected on the indications which you give of the want of it in your own. If then your conscience tells you that you are guilty of those faults of manner, which I have described as but too common in our society, you may be sure that your feelings of reverence need quickening and cultivating; and if you would escape becoming the harsh, ungraceful character which grows out of such delinquency, you must reform your manners."

205.

- pp. 204,

In the chapter on conduct at public places, are some remarks which we extract without comment, save to say, that they allude to an evil which we have heard lamented by the poor. They say, and with reason, that it is not in human nature not to feel the contrast between their own dress and the exhibition of finery with which their rich neighbours at church oppress them. Those who thus make use of the church as a Vanity-Fair, will doubtless say that their thoughts on such occasions ought to be otherwise employed. There is some weight in the remark; and if they who make it, will take it home and act upon it, the evil will soon be corrected.

"The display of finery and of new clothes, which is too often made at church, is so out of place, and grates so harshly on the feelings of more sober-minded people, that I have heard wishes expressed that we had a fixed costume to wear to places of worship, like the Spanish ladies, who always put on a black dress and

veil on such occasions. If our ladies were obliged to appear at church all dressed alike, in some very plain guise, I fear their attendance on public worship would not be so frequent as it is now. Better than this, however, far better, would it be, if every soberminded Christian woman would dress, at all times, in a style suited to her character, and not let the tyranny of fashion force upon her an outward seeming, wholly at variance with the inward reality. I hope the time is not distant, when it will be considered ungenteel to be gayly dressed in walking the streets of cities, towns, and villages; when a plain bonnet that shades the face, a plain dress, and thick shoes and stockings, shall be as indispensable to the walking costume of an American lady as they are to that of most Europeans." - pp. 338, 339.

There is a suggestion with respect to conversation which deserves regard. Every one must have noticed that there are young ladies, who, in social life, have nothing to say for themselves, and who listen to the benevolent persons who strive to entertain them, with a frigid silence that drives patience itself to despair. If it were owing to diffidence, it might be forgiven; but in almost every case of the kind, this bashfulness is created by the consciousness that their manners are too free for refined circles, and therefore the young lady, who at other times is somewhat too eloquent, is obliged to shelter herself in silence on these occasions. Great talkers are certainly great evils; but they do not abound among us: and in mixed society the difficulty generally is, to find those who are willing to do their part.

"Good conversation is one of the highest attainments of civilized society. It is the readiest way in which gifted minds exert their influence, and as such, is worthy of all consideration and cultivation. I remember hearing an English traveller say, many years ago, on being asked how the conversational powers of the Americans compared with those of the English, Your fluency rather exceeds that of the old world, but conversation here is not cultivated as an art.' The idea of its being so considered anywhere, was new to the company; and much discussion followed the departure of the stranger, as to the desirableness of making conversation an art. Some thought the more natural and spontaneous it was, the better; some confounded art with artifice, and hoped their countrymen would never leave their own plain honest way of talking, to become adepts in hypocrisy and affectation. At last one, a little wiser than the rest, explained the difference between art and artifice, asked the cavillers, if they had never heard of the art of thinking, or the art of writing; and said, he presumed the

art of conversing was of the same nature. And so it is. By this art persons are taught to arrange their ideas methodically, and to express them with clearness and force; thus saving much precious time, and avoiding those tedious narrations, which interest no one but the speaker. It enforces the necessity of observing the effect of what is said, and leads a talker to stop, when she finds that she has ceased to fix the attention of her audience.

"The art of conversing would enable a company, when a good topic was once started, to keep it up till it had elicited the powers of the best speakers, and it would prevent its being cut short in the midst, by the introduction of something entirely foreign to it.

"Fluency of speech seems to me a natural gift, varying much in different individuals, and capable of being rendered either a delightful accomplishment, or a most wearisome trait of character, according as it is combined with a well or ill disciplined mind. If as a nation we are fluent, it is especially incumbent upon us to be correct and methodical thinkers, or we shall only weary those who are so, by our careless and thoughtless volubility."-pp. 385, 386.

On the whole, we think this a very valuable work, and as such we recommend it to those for whom it was designed. Some parts of it will, no doubt, be ridiculed as needlessly minute; but the author must have foreseen this: and we like the moral courage which induced her to overlook all such apprehensions, and to make free reference to every thing which she thought useful and important. She has an 'independent and observing mind, and a power of communication that must give her great influence with the young. She seems disposed to use her talents for their benefit, and as this kind of labor requires a measure of self-denial, we trust it will be rewarded by their permanent gratitude and applause.

ART. VIII.-Remarks on the Four Gospels. By W. H. FURNESS. Philadelphia: Carey, Lee, & Blanchard. 1836. 12mo. pp. 340.

CHRISTIANITY is historical. It consists, essentially, in its facts; and the evidences of these facts naturally divide themselves into two classes, the direct and the indirect, or external and internal; understanding by the latter, principally, those incidental traits of truth and nature, circumstances of probability,

casual allusions to well-known facts and usages,-undesigned expressions that mark the time, or the country; and various other particulars that distinguish reality from fiction, and honesty from artifice, with which the Gospel narratives abound.

To this latter branch of the subject, the remarks of Mr. Furness, in the work before us, are confined; and we regard them as generally pertinent and striking. They manifest a true and enlightened interest in the subject, and throw, often, a new, and always, a beautiful light on the records of our faith. Mr. Furness has evidently contemplated his subject from the true point of view; and there is a freshness and warmth in his manner that commends it to every reader of taste and true feeling.

We regard his remarks on the character of the Gospel narratives, on the unconscious consistency of the writers; their singleness of purpose, and disregard of effect, on the harmony and keeping of the characters, and especially that of Jesus, as among the finest specimens of moral criticism with which we are acquainted. In his delineations of the character of Jesus, the most strikingly interesting characteristic is their moral power, the spirituality of feeling, with which they are manifestly imbued. And it is this spirit, too, that constitutes their peculiar excellence, even in a critical point of view. For, without this spirit, it is impossible to appreciate the character of Jesus, or understand his words, - his words, that are but the expressions and exponents of his character. We say, the exponents of his character; and they are so in a sense, and to a degree, never paralleled, perhaps, in the case of any other being. Of him it may be said, with literal truth, that "out of the abundance," the up-springing, overflowing abundance "of his heart, his mouth spake." In him was exemplified, as in no other instance, the mysterious power of true speech. His language was action, and his action language. There was no discrepancy between them; but they were perfectly blended, and harmonized together. And hence their power on the hearts of men. In him is set forth the deep philosophy of that Hebrew usage, not altogether peculiar, however, which has so much puzzled verbal critics, the substitution of the term "word" for the external manifestation

of intellectual or spiritual power. In Jesus, as well as in his Father, they were identical. The words that he spake, they were spirit and they were life. We repeat, the true key to