FARNINGHAM. James Clarke and Co.

PRETTY and pleasing. Not inferior, but not superior. Poetical when not poetry, and good though not great. Many will read these poems with pleasure, and find profit in so doing. What they have to do with Elim we cannot tell; the name puts one in mind of a place of much water, and suggests the idea of dilution. However, the well-known authoress always sings melodiously, and with good design, and therefore we wish her works success.

Kings of Israel and Judah; their History Explained to Children. Being a continuation of "Lines Left Out." By the Author of "Peep of Day," etc. Hatchards, Piccadilly. THE author of "Peep of Day" has a wonderful aptness for putting things plainly and prettily for children. We have read this History of the Kings with great profit, although at forty years of age we are a little beyond the mere peep of day. Boys and girls will read this well-told history, and remember it; they cannot help doing so. Every mother should have a copy, and teach her little ones from it. We consider the talent for writing such books to be far more precious than that which has given the world its statues and its pictures; and we trust the writer will long be spared to write so pleasantly and profitably.

Contrasts. Dedicated to the Ratepayers of London. Strahan & Co. AN exceedingly interesting book of very great practical value. It ought to suggest many reforms, and aid in sweeping away abuses. Our author's tribute to the Stockwell Orphanage greatly encourages us, though we fear he has done us even more than justice. He shows what different results arise from the careful management of charities, and from the lavish expenditure of irresponsible trustees and parish vestries, and gives our Orphanage as an example of the right kind. Every practical philanthropist should read this book.

Thousand Precepts for Practice. Edited by GODFREY GOLDING. Cassell, Petter and Galpin.

As thought-breeding a book as we have ever met with, wide in the range of its subjects, and yet judicious in its selection of extracts. The pages are encom passed with pithy, proverbial precepts, and many of the passages quoted are masses of terse, sententious utterance. It is altogether a live book, and a very beautiful one.

The Practical Philosopher; a Daily Monitor for the Business Men of England. By DAVID THOMAS, D.D. The Book Society; Hamilton, Adams, & Co.; and Dickinson & Higham. THIS is a ponderous volume, quite a monster in this age of little books, and may be regarded as a commentary upon the Book of Proverbs, in Dr. Thomas's characteristic style. He has generously devoted a large edition to the building of a new Congregational Chapel and Hall in the neighbourhood of Stockwell. We hardly think that many business men will read day by day the portions into which the work is divided, but for our own part we shall value it as a considerable contribution to the literature of the Proverbs, and after its own order, a work suggestive and instructive. Pulpit Notes with an Introductory Essay on the Preaching of Jesus Christ. By JOSEPH PARKER, D.D. Strahan & Co., 56, Ludgate Hill. We like this book better than anything we have seen before by Dr. Parker. It consists, we suppose, of notes of his sermons, and they are clever and sug gestive. The great ability here displayed makes us the more deeply regret that the Doctor should have occasionally uttered such worse than doubtful opin ions, and should have given such occasion to enemies to vaunt themselves, and such offence to friends by accepting the Corporation pulpit. No straightforward Nonconformist minister ought ever to enter it, certainly not without a public protest.

for Home and School. For thirteen weeks. Houlston & Sons.

VERY good lessons in the great truths of Christianity. The writer does not flinch from teaching the distinguishing doctrines of grace to young people, and therein we honour him. Children need all the gospel, and it ought to be taught to them. We have no right to teach one gospel to adults and another to juveniles. Why is such a book printed on such rubbishing material? We dare not call it paper. The stuff must surely have been bought of a grocer who found it too poor to be used for doing up his tea, and therefore disposed of it at half price. It is a pity.

Foolish Dick: An Autobiography of Richard Hampton, the Cornish Pilgrim Preacher. By By S. W. CHRISTOPHERS. Haughton & Co., 10, Paternoster Row.

OUR first article is the best review we can give of this singular book, which is quite a little curiosity in its way.

The People's Encyclopedia: a Compendium of Universal Information, with the Pronunciation of Every Term and Proper Name. By L. COLANGE, LL.D. London: The Encyclopedia Publishing Company.

An inquisitive reader asks us if we read all the books which we review, quite through. Now in this instance we cannot be imagined to have done so, for the matter of a dictionary may be very interesting, but one easily loses the thread of the subject; but we have tried words of different characters, from all points of the compass of knowledge, and have found valuable condensed information under every head; we tried Nematoids and Spiritualists, Sauerkraut and Templars, Neology and Glanders, and this we thought quite range enough. Plain people who want in one volume all the uncommon words of the language, and a little information upon almost every subject, had better invest a guinea in this cyclopedia. It is not perfect, for we could not find Plymouth Brethren or Christadelphians perhaps the compilers had never heard of these worthies, and we sincerely wish we never had.

A BOOK which we have used occasionally for some years. There are now more modern ones, giving the recent results of matured criticism on the Hebrew text of Genesis. It is, however, quite worth a place on the shelf of a student commencing the study of the Hebrew tongue.

Introduction to the Apostolic Epistles. By a BISHOP'S CHAPLAIN. Deighton and Co., Cambridge.

OUR readers will be able to peruse this book with composure. A BISHOP'S CHAPLAIN, is a man, after all, and if we may judge from this work, avery ordinary mortal, a thought humdrum if anything. We are not aware what the duties of a chaplain may be towards his bishop. Does he do the praying, after the manner which Sidney Smith felt to be so dignified, when the chaplain came in, said grace at dinner, and walked out, leaving the others, including the bishop, to eat it. A Bishop's chaplain must surely be as a seraph appointed to wait upon one of the cherubim; our imagination fails to realise a being so heavenly. We picture to ourselves a most reverend ecclesiastic in glossy black cloth and immaculate white linen, seated, pen in hand (a long goose quill), with wisdom serenely looking forth from his goldrimmed glasses. Note after note is written in faultless letters in his elegant commonplace book, and now for the help and good of others we have this volume in print. For what we now receive may the Lord make us truly thankful. We opened the volume with becoming awe. Scholarly it is, as becomes its origin, and, perhaps, as port wine is best when old and dry, the excellence of this book may be found in that direction, and it may be esteemed by some accordingly. We have respectfully laid it to sleep on our shelf, and nobody will be the better or the worse for its harmless proprieties. We shall consult it when we need to know what a dignitary of the Church of England thinks of the Articles and creeds of his church, as they used to be believed by honest churchmen.

A Commentary on the Gospel according to Mark. By JAMES MORISON, D.D. Hamilton, Adams, & Co. RESERVING judgment upon disputed doctrinal questions, we are happy to call the attention of our learned ministerial readers to this painstaking and exhaustive work. No student can well do without it. It is a marvellous display of learning and labour. It is a hopeful sign of the times that there is a market for such massive expositions; we are thankful to Dr. Morison for his addition to the works we prize beyond all others, viz., comments upon the Word of God.

Blackie's Series of Little Books by John Bunyan. Blackie and Sons, Paternoster Buildings.

THIS is a true Bunyan Library, and will enable those who wish to read Bunyan in little handy books, and to give them away without the expense of a huge volume, to accomplish their desire. We need not praise the honest tinker and heavenly dreamer,-that were to enamel the lily. Eighteenpence will furnish a reader with "Come and Welcome," ," "The Pharisee and the Publican,' " "The Strait Gate," or "The Water of Life," or some other work from honest John's ready and racy pen.

THE funds of the Orphanage will speedily need replenishing. The enlargement and building of the junior schoolroom are going on at this time. Boys will eat, and their clothes will go into holes, hence we need the continued generosity of our friends. All has been well with us hitherto, and it will be so to the end.

The College vacation will soon end, and the men will reassemble for study; we therefore ask the prayers of friends that the Spirit of God may rest upon all the brethren, and that they may become able ministers of the New Testament. The Swiss Times has discovered that Mr. Spurgeon owes the freshness of his ministry to the fine thoughts which he gleans from his eloquent body of students. We wonder what next! Men will say anything sooner than give glory to God. They know not the meaning of that sweet line, "All my fresh springs are in thee."

We are not responsible for other people, and cannot undertake to be censor in general to the church of God, but we quite agree with several of our correspondents in the opinion that the practising of Poedo-baptism, and the immersion of believers by the same person, shows either a failure of understanding or a lack of principle. It is clear with half an eye that one or other of these ceremonies must be wrong; there cannot be two baptisms any more than two burials of the dead. We can believe in the conscientiousness of either the Baptist or the Poedo-baptist, but a combination of the two is neither fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red herring. We have long ago given up understanding men's conscience. The old-fashioned sort

used to work straightforwardly, but the modern ones act on a swivel most unaccountably. In the day when the Lord calls all his servants to account, there are some of his professed servants who will need to be very scientific arithmeticians to make their reckonings square with simple truth.

We wish our Episcopal friends all success in keeping the Confessional out of their churches, but we are not at all sanguine of their success. The Church is semi-popish, and only demi-semi Protestant. Why do not the gracious men come out in a body, and clear their consciences of all complicity with Romanism? This is the only remedy. Government will not help them, bishops dare not, public meetings cannot. Who would be free himself must strike the blow. An Episcopal church, cleared of error, and willing to take up a Christian position towards all other churches would be a blessing indeed. The present synagogue of error, arrogant, and self-exalting, is the

reverse.

We are glad to hear that Satan is angry at the work of our brother, Mr. Wilson of Downham Market; we hope that his preaching may more and more grieve the ungodly and comfort the saints.

Owing to frequent indisposition we have not this month collected any information upon the churches, but as this is generally to be found in the denominational papers, we do not think it will be much loss to our readers.

Baptisms at Metropolitan Tabernacle by Mr. J. A. Spurgeon:-June 30th, seventeen.