Lexicon are too well known and appreciated to need any mention here. The bulk and price of that volume entirely precluded its use in schools, and, indeed, even in colleges, it would only be attainable to a comparatively small number of students. It is therefore satisfactory to find that Mr. Riddle has not thought it beneath him to publish a smaller work, which may be considered as an adaptation of the great folio to the use of colleges and schools. He has, as will be seen by the titles of these two works, gone even one step further, and abridged the abridgment, and thus given the little learner a helping hand on his very first introduction to the study of Latin. Both these dictionaries appear to be both well devised and well executed, and altogether admirably adapted to the purpose for which they are designed.

Lectures on Entomology. By John Barlow Burton. London: Simpkin and Marshall. 8vo. pp. 48.

THE author of these Lectures has contrived to make an amusing little brochure, which contains a good deal of the information which works of this kind usually convey. It may prove, perhaps, an incitement to some persons to pursue the study of entomology, by giving anecdotes of insects, and shewing how varied and how interesting are the marks of our Creator's skill displayed in this minute world. The mode pursued is, after mentioning the seven orders of Linnæus, to give a description of some insects of each order, with an account of their habits, &c. The pamphlet concludes with some proper remarks on the uses of a collection of insects, and a caution against supposing the mere collecting of specimens to be worthy of the name of a study. The following passage is curious enough, and may be worth extracting, as containing some original observations of Mr. Burton :

"My own observations tend to confirm some of the statements which I have related. I put some Ants of the yellow species (Formica flava) into a large glass bottle, that I might watch their proceedings under-ground; and I had likewise obtained some of the Black Ants (Formica rufa), which I likewise placed in the same situation. For the first two or three days no work was carried on; at the end of that time, the top of the mould which was placed in the bottle was covered with dead and dying of the black species; for the Yellow Ants, being in much larger numbers, had conquered the Black Ants and destroyed them. They then set about constructing galleries; for, unlike the species I have related above, they dig into the earth instead of raising chambers on the top of it. I have not been able to ascertain whether the Ants are totally blind, but I have reason to think that their antennæ, or feelers, answer the purpose of eyes; for as I was watching them one day, I perceived that an Ant had lost one of its antennæ, and, in consequence, was proceeding very slowly, almost every second touching the earth with its remaining feeler, as if it had been totally blind. They proceeded very quickly in their work of excavating galleries, and made passages in every direction. In about a week after I had placed the first Ants in the bottle, I procured another quantity and put them on the top of the earth. A very curious circumstance then occurred, which, if I had not seen with my own eyes, I certainly should not have believed. One of the Ants had been accidentally cut in two, and I saw the legs and the head running about the mould evidently in search of its body. In about two hours it had been successful, for I saw it joining its body to its head and legs, and it then walked about with as much activity as the rest."

There are a few plates, containing a coloured specimen of each order; they are, however, as in a little work like this they would naturally be, rather coarse. The author, in his account of flies, does

not take any notice of the late observations relative to their means of walking on ceilings and the under surfaces of glass, by which the common account, which attributes this to the pressure of the atmosphere against a vacuum, is attempted to be impugned.

The First Rejection of Christ, a Warning to the Church. A Sermon preached in Christ Church Cathedral, on Sunday, Feb. 9th, 1834. By the Rev. J. C. Crosthwaite, M.A. of Trinity College, Dublin, Dean's Vicar in Christ's Church Cathedral. London: Wertheim. 12mo. pp. 33. In this plain and energetic discourse, Mr. Crosthwaite enters upon the motives which engage men to reject Christ. He maintains, that "men continually deceive themselves by imagining that it is peculiar views of Christianity which excite the enmity of mankind ;" and he contends that it is the acting up to the spirit of Christianity, and requiring other men to do so, which gives this unpardonable offence. He first lays down two positions; one of which is, that no man can be uniformly popular who is perfectly righteous; and the other, that no man can be uniformly popular who is perfectly honest. He then considers the state of the church when Christ first came into the world, and the causes which produced his rejection; and uses this inquiry as a means of suggestion to ourselves, that we may inquire in what respects we are under a similar condemnation, and that we may be taught thus to turn from the error of our ways. It is a vigorous and able sermon, well worthy of the author. It has been printed in a cheap form as a tract for general circulation.

Gleanings, Historical and Literary, &c. London: Simpkin and Marshall. 1837. 8vo. pp. 400.

As this is only a collection of acknowledged extracts from various writers, accompanied by a few illustrative observations by the compiler himself, it seems difficult to give any account of it. It can only be said, that it seems to be composed of amusing and interesting passages, and may serve pleasantly to beguile a leisure half-hour.

Marriage Scripturally Considered. A Sermon preached at South Hackney Church, on Sunday, July 2, 1837, on occasion of the New Law of Marriage coming into Operation. By the Rev. H. H. Norris, A.M., Rector of South Hackney, and Prebendary of St. Paul's and Llandaff. London: Rivingtons; Cochran, Wix. 1837. 8vo. pp. 20.

THE excellent author of this sermon has here done what in his titlepage he professes to do-considered the subject of marriage in a scriptural point of view. He has collected together various passages of the Bible, from the very first institution of marriage, at the creation of the human race, which tend to throw light on the manner in which God looked upon this holy state of life; and the conclusion of the whole matter is, that as God's blessing is that alone which can render it a holy and a happy state, the desecration of it, by making it a mere matter of civil contract, is a national calamity, and that it ought to be discountenanced in every possible way, lest it should fearfully demo

ralize our people. To those who seem to think this a question of indifference, or a matter which the legislature does right to treat as a civil question, this sermon may be recommended most strongly, as likely to prove to them that, at all events, scripture revolts from such a view of the case.

The Protestant Missions Vindicated against the Aspersions of the Rev. N. Wiseman, D.D., involving the Protestant Religion. By the Rev. James Hough, M.A., Perpetual Curate of Ham, Surrey, late Chaplain to the Hon. E. I. Company at Madras, &c. London: Seeley and Burnside. 1837. 8vo. Pp. 146.

THE subject here treated is a grave and important question, and this volume is calculated to be of considerable service to those who are desirous of obtaining accurate information, and forming just views, with regard to our missions in the east. It is published with the best motives, the desire of refuting error, and of promoting the propagation of the truth; for any profits which arise from it will be given to a society which has for its object to promote education on Christian principles at Madras. The experience of Mr. Hough, as a former chaplain at Madras, enables him to speak as an eye-witness to many points, and gives weight to his opinions whenever he touches on what belongs to opinions rather than to facts. But with all these claims to a favourable reception, there are still some circumstances which render the book less satisfactory than Mr. Hough, no doubt, might make it. The writer of this notice, at the time Dr. Wiseman's Lectures appeared, had noticed certain instances of craft and positive unfairness in that part of them which relates to missions, and his impression was, assuredly, that the cunning displayed in making out a case, however creditable it might be to Dr. Wiseman's ingenuity, was disgraceful enough to his honesty. A notable instance of this special pleading in getting up his case is to be found in Lecture the Seventh, p. 228, where he quotes a passage from Dr. Buchanan, which is favourable to the Romish church, but the effect of which would be tolerably neutralized had Dr. Wiseman quoted another passage from the same writer, which is to be found in p. 94 of his " Essays on Colonial Ecclesiastical Establishments." This, and other passages, gave the writer a sufficiently unfavourable impression of Dr. Wiseman; but still the answer of Mr. Hough is not so full in its statements as he conceives an answer to Dr. Wiseman ought to be. As, however, it supplies those who are inclined to take up the question with much useful matter, although not with all which Mr. Hough could have furnished, it will be desirable to give a somewhat detailed account of this book. But it will previously be necessary to make one or two remarks on the position into which Dr. Wiseman has endeavoured to place the question between the protestant and the Roman-catholic churches. The state of the case, then, when shortly put, is simply this: Dr. Wiseman contends

1. That no success, worthy of mention, has attended the missions of protestant churches; and hence, that the blessing of God is not with their labours, and therefore that the protestant church is no true Christian church.

2. That such success has been and is vouchsafed from God to the missions of the Roman-catholic church as to establish its claim to be that "system whereon God's blessing and promises of eternal assistance was pronounced."

There is considerable ingenuity in the idea of setting the question upon this footing, and it is followed out by an execution fully worthy of the design. Every one knows the fable of the lion and the statuary when the lions become sculptors, there is an end to the supremacy of man in marble statue or on animated bas-relief! Dr. Wiseman is a very skilful artist, it is readily acknowledged; and he is admirably qualified, by peculiar impartiality, to tell the tale of protestant missions ! But he is subtle enough not to tell it in his own words that would be too barefaced; but if he tells it in the words of protestants favourable to the missionary cause, how can it be gainsaid? Here is the secret of the artifice employed by the Roman-catholic controversialist. If a person can contrive to string together a multitude of desponding expressions, and those regrets which every missionary must experience when the state of things fall short of his too highly-raised expectations, or his own success is not commensurate with his wishes, he will make an impression on the ill-informed and the half-reasoning. This is a valuable stock in trade to a Romancatholic trader in controversy; but of course this is not all. There are cases in which a missionary or one of our Indian bishops mentions very small numbers of native Christians, or shews that their numbers have hitherto been exaggerated. Here is another highly valuable ingredient in spicing the tale of protestant failures in the work of evangelizing the world. It is easy, on these occasions, to cry out " Ex uno disce omnes," and to form calculations on any scale of reduction which a single instance would give. This, and a few more tricks of controversy, which a greater adept in the art than the writer of this notice would readily suggest, are very plausible arguments, and serve a very good turn in making out a case. It may be imagined that Dr. Wiseman has not overlooked the advantage which such a course would give him, nor been slow to avail himself of every method which the most ingenious advocate could devise of packing a mass of evidence in favour of his cause. But this, again, is not all. Doubts may be cast on all protestant accounts which mention any large number of converts or native Christians, while the reports of Roman catholics, even down to a private letter, are to be admitted without the shadow of an imputation on their accuracy. Those who have any acquaintance with the early letters of the jesuit missionaries will know how to appreciate such confidence. With them (the writer means the missionaries of the 17th century) one meets with narratives of wholesale conversion of the heathen which certainly put to shame all the reports of protestant missionaries. Those who can convert and baptize thousands in one day are placed far beyond competition with human beings of ordinary powers. No doubt, the thousands converted by the apostles in one day (vid. Acts, ii. 41) will be brought forward in defence of the possibility of such conversions. Those who bring forward such an instance, besides the circumstance of divine inspiration and

supernatural powers being vouchsafed to the apostles, do not exactly consider from what state of mind these thousands were converted to Christianity. The change from Judaism to Christianity, great as it was, was only the adoption of a new interpretation of their own sacred books, or an acceptance of ideas with most of which they had for a time been in some degree familiar. It is not a parallel case to the conversion of superstitious heathens, or idolatrous and ignorant sa

vages.

Then comes also another question. It is well known that the jesuit missionaries, in order to obtain proselytes, made such a compromise in some instances, by adopting the dresses and the customs of the idolatrous priests, that it would seem almost doubtful on which side the conversion had taken place. This is pointed out in section ii. of Mr. Hough's former work in reply to the Abbé Dubois, pp. 61-64. Now, in estimating the number of converts made by the two churches, the compromise made, and the portion of idolatrous practices retained, is a most important element. Such a conversion is merely nominal; and, on the other hand, where protestant missionaries are as scrupulous as Henry Martyn, the rite of baptism is perhaps refused to many who have accepted the truth, though not so as to satisfy a conscience like his. All these considerations are of primary moment in forming a correct estimate of this matter, and they are therefore suggested here; but it is impossible to do more than suggest them, as points which must be taken into the account.

To return now to Dr. Wiseman and Mr. Hough. Mr. Hough points out another artifice in the conduct of his opponent's argument. It is this: Dr. Wiseman, in order to make more of the failure of protestant missions, grossly exaggerates the amount of the means at their command. He is thus enabled to exclaim to something like the following effect: "See, with all this lavish expenditure-with all this command of money-how little the protestants can do! And on the other hand, with the small means which the Roman catholics possess, see what wonders they have wrought! The Divine blessing must be with these, and must be withheld from the former!" This, too, forms a very plausible argument; but it seems to the writer of this notice that the proper mode of meeting all this plausible array of argument is, not by attacking the detail, but denying the propriety of appealing to this success as a sufficient test of truth. It is applying our own interpretation of the providential dealings of God as the means of discovering truth, and thus subjecting ourselves to the liability of error in two different ways. First, in ascertaining the facts of the case we are liable to error from prejudice and partiality; and, secondly, even supposing we had ascertained the facts correctly, we should be liable to err from judging of the Divine scheme of salvation by the miserable part and portion which our own time and our own confined operations can possibly disclose. It is not meant to be denied that success is an earnest of God's favour, a legitimate source of encouragement, and, in some degree, a confirmatory argument; but as a test of truth thus applied, it is as unsafe and slippery a test as enthusiasm or crafty cunning could devise. But all this is too familiar to the man of education to need