of the discourse. After an exordium, in which he vindicates his departure from custom in the subject and style of this his parting address, and casts himself on the indulgence of his audience, the Preacher adverts to the peculiarity of his station as brought into the ministry of a people accustomed to listen ⚫ to the most eloquent of men;' and he expresses his grateful acknowledgements for the favour and friendship extended to him. From his personal feelings, he then makes a transition to the duty of trusting continually in God.

Therefore, let all the people trust in the right hand of the Most High. Especially, let the young men, in the season of their youth, when they begin to venture upon life, inexperienced and headstrong, their path unknown, their name and fortune in the hidden womb of the future-then, when a thousand cloudy uncertainties overhang them, and a thousand solicitations perplex them in their path, let them cease from the flattery of the great, and the cozenage of the wealthy, and be ashamed of sinister policy, and all impure arts of aggrandisement. Let them stand by stern honesty, and walk in the ways of the Lord, which are truth, industry, and religion, then shall their mountain stand strong, and their horn be exalted; yea, the Lord shall make his name glorious by their exceeding exaltation. And most especially let the youth destined for the holy ministry stand aloof from the unholy influences under which the church hath fallen; from the seats of power and patronage let them stand aloof; from the boards of ecclesiastical intrigue on both sides of the church let them stand aloof; from glozing the public ear, and pampering the popular taste with unprofitable though acceptable matter, let them stand aloof. And while thus dissevered from fawning, intriguing, and pandering, let them draw near to God, and drink inspiration from the milk of his word; and though poor as the first disciples of Christ without staff, without scrip, still, like the first disciples of Christ, let them labour in the ministry of the word and in prayer with their families, their kindred, their neighbourhood, the poor who will welcome them, the sick who desire them, and the young who need them-then, their Master will find them field enough of usefulness, though the church should deride such puritan youth; and the providence of God will find them in food and raiment, though no patron's eye may deign to look to such friendless youth; and the paradise of God will find them an eternal reward, though the world should cast forth from its fortunate places, such heavenly-minded youth. Such a seed would make the church once more to be glorious. One such youth trained amidst nature's extremities and hope's obdurate fastnesses-his soul fed not on patron's hopes nor favour's smiles, but upon the stern resolves and heavenward enjoyments of an apostle's toilsome calling-that youth, I say, were worth a hundred, and a hundred such were worth a host, to revive and quicken this our land-the land, the only land, of a free plebeian church, which never pined till she began to be patronized.

There is more than one reference to the secularized and fallen

character of the Church of Scotland, from which, under the unsanctioning coldness of the priesthood, despair of being. serviceable,' by the Preacher's confession, had well nigh weaned him.' Referring to the satisfaction he had derived from his pastoral intercourse with the people of the parish, Mr. Irving says:

They who will visit the poor, shall find the poor worthy to be visited. They who will take an interest, not as patrons, but as fellowmen, in the condition of the poor, shall not only confer but inherit a blessing 'Tis the finest office of religion, to visit the widows, and the fatherless, and those who have no helper-so secret, so modest, so tender-hearted; most like it is to God's providence itself, so noiseless, and unseen, and effectual. Communion of this private kind is likest prayer to heaven: two spirits conferring, the one needing, the other having to give; no third party conscious, the want is made known, the known want is supplied, love and gratitude all the return. There needs no formality of speech, every word being addressed to a present feeling; there needs no parade of benevolence, every gift being offered to a pressing want. There needs no society, no committee, no subscription-list, nor memorial of any kind to make it known. Would that in this age, when our clergy and our laity are ever and anon assembling in public to take measures for the moral and religious welfare of men, they were found as diligently occupying this more retired, more scriptural, and more natural region! Would they were as instant for the poor, the irreligious, the unprotected of their several parishes, and several neighbourhoods, as they are for the tribes whose dwellings are remote, and whose tongue is strange! Then would they find what we have found, and have oft averred in the teeth of prejudice and power, and are proud now in public to aver, that the poor and labouring classes of Scotland are Scotland's pride and glory still, as they were wont to be; the class they are, out of which have sprung her noblest men, who have earned the far-famed honours of her name in all foreign parts. They stand as superior to the peasantry of the modern world for knowledge, religion, and character, as in ancient times the Greeks did for arts, or the Romans for glorious arms. The peasantry of the country parts, and the unadulterated Scottish population of her towns, are not yet fallen from: the places of their fathers; and if this mother church, which has, been to us in the place of all liberal institutions, and to which we are indebted, under God, for almost every thing we have worth the having, almost as much indebted as was Israel to the law and the ephod-if she would again become the church of the people, to whom, and not to rank, she is indebted for her being, and would study the real interests of the people, and gather them as the great Head of the Church would have gathered the people of Jerusalem, even as a hen doth her chickens under her wings, then the national character, whereof the root and branches are still in vigour, would cover itself. with its ancient fruits of peace and godliness, and overpower that canker of disaffection and discontent, whereof, through bad husbandry, some signs have appeared of late.

VOL. XVIII. N.S.

2 E

Nevertheless, my brethren, though the church may seem to have parted interests with the people, let me pray you to nourish, and not to desert her.'

After endeavouring to enforce this appeal on behalf of the Church, by recurring to the benefits conferred by her influence in her better days, the Preacher proceeds:

But the people of this parish, whom I now address, I need not court by ancient recollections, but by present enjoyments, to the love and admiration of our national church. Theirs it is not to complain of glory departed, but to rejoice in glory returned to their borders. Theirs not to lament over the cure of their souls neglected, but to joy in the cure of their souls watched over with more than primitive diligence. For it hath been the lot of this parish, brethren, as you well do know, to possess the voice of the most eloquent, and the assiduities of the most tender-hearted of Scottish pastors, who hath gathered around him a host of the most pious and devoted agents,— a college doubtless of the best men that it hath been our lot to find around any single cause. Go ye to the cathedrals of our sister church: you shall find a bishop, a dean, store of stalled prebends, priests, singers, and officers of every name. There shall be all the state and dignity of office, and all the formalities of the various degrees of the priesthood; magnificent fabrics withal; infinite collections of books; unlimited convenience for every religious enterprise, and unbounded command of all the means. Inquire what is done by these dignitaries, with their splendid appointments. Prayers are said each morning to some half dozen of attendants. Anthems sung by trained singers, and cathedral service performed each sabbath by well-robed priests. Ask for week-day work, for the feeding of the flock from house to house, for the comforting of the poor, for the visitation of the sick, for the superintendence and teaching of the children; all assiduous nourishment of the flock of Christ, and all apostolical earnestness with the enemies of Christ

these are no where to be found. Come then to this parish; ye shall find no chapter-house of ancient furniture, nor lumber-rooms of undisturbed volumes, no array of priests, nor legal command over means or assistance. One priest to attend the cure of many thousands, with what voluntary help he can draw from the flock itself. Yet such is still the vigour of our religious institutions, when wrought with the spirit of Christ; and such the willingness and practical wisdom of our people, when properly called out, that our single priest hath been surrounded with pious, intelligent, and industrious men, unhired with money, unpaid with official honour, deriving nothing but trouble, and consuming nothing but their means, and their more precious time; who do a Christian father's office to the children, a brother's office to the poor, a friendly office unto all-stirring and stimulating the lethargic spirit of religion; forcing vice from its concealments, or overawing it with their observation; making the Sabbath orderly in the day season, and in the evening rejoicing every street with the voice of children hymning their Maker's praise. There is not a child who need grow ignorant of its

duties to God and man, for spiritual instruction comes beseeching to every door. There is not a misfortune which may not find the voice of a comforter, nor a case of real want which doth not find a seasonable relief, nor a perplexity which may not be met with religious counsel. These things are not to seek, they are ready at hand, and served not out of constraint, but out of a willing mind. And while nature's ailments are thus healed by ministering hands, and the poor of God's house fed in time of need, the spirit is not debased by sense of dependence, nor broken, by insolence of office. There are no official visits of inquisition, nor speeches of harsh authority. Every thing cometh forth of Christian willingness, and is tender as nature's feelings, and soft as the administration of mercy, which droppeth unseen upon the pining spirit, like the dew from heaven upon the parched earth. Such another institution as this parish hath, for raising the tone of virtue and religion among you, I am bold to say, the church, perhaps the world, doth not contain."

pp. 33-35.

This is a glowing picture, which may be suspected of owing some of its brilliancy to the fervid imagination and impassioned gratitude of the Writer. But we are far from being disposed to underrate the efficiency of Dr. Chalmers's parochial labours; and we cordially participate in Mr. Irving's admiration of his apostolic zeal and fervid eloquence. Under such men as he, could such men be found, there can be no doubt of the success of his system of parochial economy; and in such hands, even the illegitimate influence of an ecclesiastical Establishment may be turned to account. But the Preacher fails in shewing that the labours of his admirable friend, supply any recommendation of the National Church; upon which his whole Sermon forms an emphatic though indirect satire. How far the Church of Scotland is from corresponding to the Church in Scotland, will be evident on a moment's comparison of the efficient labourers within and without the Establishment in that country. Even in Glasgow, where that Establishment has to boast of its most distinguished ornament, there are names which fairly rival his, men whose talents, and attainments, and virtues, and distinguished usefulness, supply an argument and a reproach against any Church or any ecclesiastical system, which, if it cannot retain them within its pale, scruples, on that account, to recognise them as ministers and as brethren with a cordial sentiment of Christian fellowship.

Art. IX. 1. English Stories; illustrating some of the most interesting Events and Characters, between the Accession of Alfred and the Death of John. By Maria Hack. 12mo. Price 7s. London. 1820. 2. English Stories. Second Series: including the Period between the Accession of Henry the Third, and the Death of Henry the Sixth. By Maria Hack. Price 7s. London. 1820.

THIS is not a happily chosen title: it is unassuming, but not sufficiently descriptive, or adapted to attract attention. The volumes in fact contain a connected abridgement of the History of England, from Alfred to Henry VI., in the form of Stories, enlivened by conversation. The Stories are given, for the most part, nearly in the words of the best historians; the dry outline being relieved by picturesque descriptions, judicious reflections, and illustrative details, collected evidently with much pains and research, and arranged with great judgement. The authorities are specified at the foot of the page, with a precise reference to the page of the Author. In the former volume, Sharon Turner, Henry, Lyttleton, Hallam, Blackstone, Prideaux, and Gibbon, have supplied the materials. Froissart, Rapin, Hume, Gilpin, and Russell, are chiefly followed in the second. A fund of historical information, drawn from these and other voluminous sources, is thus compressed into a small compass, separated from the intricacies of political detail, and purified from allusions to the gross and licentious manners which prevailed among our ancestors.' The volumes are entitled to our most unqualified praise. We know of no work on English History, so proper to be put into the hands of young persons, or so well adapted to render the study of history subservient to moral improvement. The enlightened views of the Author will best be understood from her own words.

Next to those lessons of primary importance which Christian parents feel it their duty to impart, and which the examples afforded by History are so eminently calculated to illustrate, perhaps no object more powerfully claims our attention, than to present the youthful mind with such a view of the story of our own country, as may at once strengthen the influence of moral and religious principle, and inspire a warm and enlightened attachment to the English Constitution. Would British parents avail themselves of their countless opportunities for exciting and cherishing such feelings, they would not only supply their children with a delightful exercise of the understanding, and with inexhaustible materials of thought and conversation; but, under such impressions, the Spirit of Patriotism would take deep root in the warm soil of domestic affection, and shed its ennobling, animating influence on future generations. Surely, in a moment like the present, all who wish well to our country, will teach their children to view the institutions of our ancestors with filial