and Margaret. She did not care to remember that Christ might love them very dearly; she cared neither for Christ nor them, she cared only for herself; it was herself she admired and worshipped. As she looked at herself in the glass she said, "I am more beautiful than my sister, more beautiful than ever my mother was." As she said such things, love for her sister and her mother took flight and left her heart. She could no longer love mother, sisters, or school companions. The poor, vain, empty soul of her loved only herself. Her beauty was her snare, and took her away, first from Christ and then from human love. But then came God's wrath upon her wickedness. She became a fine lady, had a fine house, a coach, many servants-had the same hair, the same eyes, the same face and figure. But somehow the beauty had all departed. She was no longer beautiful-Mary, Jane, and Margaret, and all her sisters had grown up to be very beautiful. There was a quiet harvestevening-like beauty still resting on the face of her mother, but nobody thought the proud daughter beautiful. People spoke of her as haughty, unfeeling and hard, but never more as beautiful. The path she chose to travel on seemed good to herself, but the end of it was death. For want of a loving heart in it her beauty had died, and as for admiration or love, she had neither the one nor the other from man or woman, from angels or God. "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL." Two young men were one day looking earnestly at a large factory in a certain town. They had come hundreds of miles to see it, and to get into it. There was a secret there which they wanted to find out-a machine which a clever man had invented, which was doing work nothing else could do so well. And these young men had resolved to obtain a sight of this machine, and find out its secret, and make drawings of it, and then come home and make a similar machine for themselves. And their plan was this: they put aside their fine clothes and put on the clothes of mechanics, and in that dress meant to ask for work at this factory, and work until they found out the secret. But they had just arrived, and they did not mean to apply till next day. One of the young men had the habit of reading a chapter of the Bible every morning. And next day the chapter happened to be that one in Exodus where the Ten Commandments are. He had read it many times, and always to the end; but this morning, when he got to the Eighth Commandment, he could not go further. A great light flashed up from it and smote his conscience. Right up it came out of the words, "Thou shalt not steal!" He read them again, and every word seemed to kindle into fire-" Thou shalt not steal!" He laid the Bible on his knee, and took himself to task. "Is it not stealing I have come here to do? I have come all this weary way to search out a clever man's invention, and make it my own by stealing it." His agitation was very great. But he turned to his companion and said, "What we have come here to do, if we do it, will be a theft-theft of another man's thoughts, and skill, and honour, and bread." Then he took up the Bible again, and opened it in the Gospel of Matthew, and read: "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." And he said, "If this machine were ours, if we had spent years inventing it, and had succeeded in getting it to work, should we think it right if some stranger were to steal into the factory on a false pretence and rob us of the fruits of our labour?" His companion was angry at first. But by-and-by he acknowledged that it would be wrong. And they came back to their home without the secret. God's word was a lamp to their feet to help them to depart from that evil. Our Own Penny Hymn Book. Reviews. Pass more and Alabaster. We have made a selection from Our Own Hymn Book of hymns suitable to be used at Evangelistic services, and at special gatherings where strangers are present unfurnished with books. A large hymn book is too expensive to give away, and a mere sheet inay hardly be sufficient, a penny book is therefore desirable. We believe that our book is the best of its kind, for most of those of a similar character contain hymns which no congregation will ever sing, and pieces set to peculiar measures quite unknown to common assemblies. Our friends will do us good service if they will get a copy of this new pennyworth, and recommend its use at special meetings. Thoughts on the Essence of Christ's Atonement. By WILLIAM FROGGART. Hodder and Stoughton, 27, Paternoster Row. THE essence of the atonement is "Christ's living and dying testimony for God," so says this author. "He was never the object of penal displeasure," is an astounding assertion in the face of the Scriptures which reveal the Lord Jesus as bearing the "chastisement of our peace." The book is as full of error as an egg is full of meat. The author lives at Coventry, and thither his book will most appropriately be relegated by us. Israel in Egypt, or the Nursery_for Canaan. By T. J. TAYLOR. Pub lished by the Author, 105, Cator Street, Peckham. Ir is a great mistake not to have had a publisher in the "Row" for this book, for it is worth publishing, and nobody is ever likely to journey into the remote regions of Peckham to discover the terra incognita of Cator Street. As the production of a working man it does the author great credit, indeed it would do no dishonour to a professional writer. It is intended for young people in Sabbathschools, and is calculated to furnish them with much useful Scriptural knowledge. The Gospel Pulpit. Vol. XII. Sermons by Mr. J. C. PHILPOT, late of Stamford. J. Ford, Red Lion Square, Stamford, and J. Gadsby, Bouverie Street, London. ALTHOUGH We are far removed from the party which clustered around Mr. Philpot, we have no hesitation in saying that their leader was a Master in Israel, and a great proficient in his own line of things. In dissecting the heart, and declaring the symptoms of soul disease, he was at home, and no man was his superior. Of bondage, despondency, conflict, backsliding, and despair, he could speak marvellously, and we have read his utterances with great profit; deeply regretting at the same time that he did not enter more fully into the liberty of the saints, and dilate more at large upon the high privileges of the believer. He is gone to his rest, and we will observe the rule de mortuis nil nisi bonum. Those who can treat such sermons as these with contempt are not worthy of much better treatment themselves. Christ in the Tabernacle, with some Remarks on the Offerings. By FRANK H. WHITE. Illustrated by twelve chromo-lithographs. Third thousand. Partridge and Co. IN reviewing a former edition of this most excellent book we made some playful remarks upon the illustrations, which were somewhat inferior; in this edition this defect is removed, and the chromos are perfect gems. Our beloved friend writes as one who loves his Lord, and delights to see him in the types of the law, and at the same time as one who loves souls, and yearns to lead them to Jesus. We hope his book will circulate to ten times its present number; he must have incurred considerable expense in bringing out the illuminated plates, and we trust he will meet with pecuniary recompense, although we are sure that he will not be content without far higher results. If our College had no other son besides Frank White, she would still have reason to rejoice in the Lord's blessing on her work. The Tabernacle, or Easter Sunday with | the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, by a chance Visitor. Price 3d. William H. Clark, 49, Newington Butts. THE author of this tract is well known in the literary world; he here gives a short account of what he saw and heard at the Tabernacle. The subject is not new to us, and we have not much to say upon it, but the author writes with the kindest feelings. Memorials of the Rev. Francis A. West, being a Selection from his Sermons and Lectures, with a Memorial Sketch by one of his Sons, and Personal Recollections by Rev. B. Gregory. Wesleyan Book Room, 66, Paternoster Row. THE memorial of one who was a Methodist minister, the son of a Methodist minister, and a native of that wonderful town of Kettering where the birth of a great divine is an every-day occurrence. The life is well and succinctly written: Mr. Gregory's critique is judicious, and the sermons are admirable Methodist discourses. Francis A. West was no mean man, no shallow declaimer, no mere professor; his experience was of the kind which breeds Calvinists, that is to say deep-thinking believers; it helped to make him the great-hearted Christian which we are sure he was. The following paragraphs are a portrait of the man, and give us a glimpse into his inner life: "In short, he was a manly man. Simple, direct, modest, but courageous and independent; true to the very core, far more strict and severe towards himself than towards others; such he appeared to us, before whom he went out and came in, who saw him under all the many aspects of his character, and under continual changes of circumstance; who always respected him, often admired him, and have loved him truly all our lives. His piety was of the same robust type. The reverse of sentimental or emotional, it was deepseated and truly practical. His own words are: 'I bless God that he has given my mind a natural tendency to lean on principles; and though I have to grope and grapple in great darkness and with much toil till I reach them, yet afterwards I have great_repose—a blessed sense of security. It seems as if an impregnable wall was thrown around me. My heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.' This was written when a young man, but it was true of him all through life. To this anchorage he clung more closely as his powers failed. His views of himself became more and more humbled towards the close of life. On one occasion, after an unusual silence, and in evident depression of mind, he said to a friend, with tears in his eyes, I dread the judgment;' adding, 'I have had lately such views of my own heart that I tremble to open it to the of God. But,' said he, looking up, and smiling through his tears, 'I have a Divine Saviour.' eye "As showing his settled frame of mind, while conscious of the rapid approach of death, the following document may be quoted. It was written after disease had made serious inroads on his constitution, and when both body and mind were much shaken. Yet it will be observed that there is not the shadow of doubt or hesitancy in its tone: "I do hereby solemnly give my immortal soul wholly into the hands of my precious Saviour, who, by his voluntary humiliation in my nature, did graciously undertake to redeem it, by suffering (in its room and stead) the just and deserved penalty of the righteous law; dying for my sins, the Just for the unjust. And, in token of his having perfectly satisfied the law, he rose again from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of God, pleading the merit of his death on my behalf. On that death do I ever rely, both now and in the last day. This is my exclusive plea. Into his hands, with simple trust and hope, assured of his faithful promise, I cast my guilty soul, having no other hope, and yet having no fear or doubt. To his love I am indebted for all my enjoyment and all my hopes. To him I ascribe all merit and all grace. I have nothing, I am nothing. I gladly ascribe all to Christ. In the matter of my salvation he is all in all, eternal life. To him I give the glory of my salvation, and that he has kept me in the measure of his grace for so long a time. To me he has committed his Gospel to preach to others, often with his conscious approval and blessing; oftener had I been more diligent and faithful. The Lord pardon my sins in this solemn respect.' "These were almost his last written words. Let them be the last-mentioned here. The Saviour's name, and the Saviour's praise, and the sinner's plea, will most fitly close this record of a devoted life." We find in a foot note a list of weeknight lectures delivered by Mr. West to Sunday-school teachers; it is so suggestive that we subjoin it for the use of any brethren who may be running dry. Subjects for lectures. . to the Sunday-school teachers in the Liverpool South Circuit, designed to prepare for school lessons on the following Sabbath. Jan. 7. A great cure brings many patients. Matt. viii. 2-4; Mark i. 40 to the end; Luke v. 12-15. 14. Where there's a will there's a way. Matt. ix. 2-8; Mark ii. 1-12; Luke v. 17-26. May 7. The blind see and the dumb speak. Matt. ix. 27-34. 14. 28. Twelve preachers ordained at once. Matt. x.; Mark vi. 7-13; Luke ix. 1-6. The life of the greatest Prophet a prey to a dancing girl. Matt. xiv. 1-12; Mark vi. 14-29; Luke ix. 7-9. June 4. Little for many, yet plenty to spare. Matt. xiv. 15-21; Mark vi. 35-44; Luke ix. 12-17: John vi. 3-15. 11. Firm waters to firm hearts. Matt. xiv. 24-33; Mark vi. 47-53; John vi. 16-21. 18. Many sick and all are healed. Matt. xiv. 34-36; Mark vi. 53, to the end. Common bread and bread from heaven. John vi. 22, to the end. 25. Present Issues. By Rev. ROBERT W. MEMMENGER. Hodder and Stoughton, 27, Paternoster Row. THE work of an American clergyman, who evidently sighs after the union between church and state, which blights so terribly the Christian unity and purity of this land. He says, "Some specific church organisation must, in the end, hold supreme power." True, we say, the truth will prevail; and the one church will be composed of immersed believers. As to this federation of churches which he advocates, a "Christian republic" made up of states of different denominations moulded into one, and united to the state, we exclaim "Save us from it!" If our brother had any experience of the bondage and injustice of such an arrangement as must follow if you bow your neck to any human yoke, he would flee, as from a plague, from the arrangement which Whohe so strenuously advocates. car ever may confederate, our Baptist brethren in America will be strangely different men to what we hold them to be, before they could be harnessed to any such state as the author would have the American churches drag forward. The book is worth reading for the insight it gives as to the religious life of an Episcopal church in America. We agree with but few of its views, and miss with sadness the Bible element alike in word and spirit. There is no savour of the pure gospel in the book, and the opinions enunciated as to "man's will" and power are as opposed to what we deem the scriptural ones as light is to darkness. Sermons to Children, preached in Christ Church, Brighton. By the Rev. JAMES VAUGHAN. Containing numerous Anecdotes and Stories. Dickinson and Higham. BATING the references to infant baptism, which are doubly absurd when mixed up with so much clear gospel teaching, we are greatly pleased with these sermons. They are less stilted and artificial than the excellent addresses of our late venerable friend Dr. Alexander Fletcher, but have all his vivacity and winning power. We have sent a copy to our Sabbathschool, and superintendents cannot do better than follow our example. The book is in the fifth edition, and well deserves to be. The following story will serve as an illustration of Mr. Vaughan's style when preaching to children :"I will tell you now about God's redeeming a little girl in another way. Her name was Alvi, but she was always called Allie. She was three years old, and one day little Allie jumped upon her father's knees, and said, "Pa, when's spring?" Her papa stroked her little curly head, and patted her on her cheeks, and she looked up, and smiled, and said, "I fat as butter." She said again, "I loves my pa, I does; I loves my pa." And her papa loved her very much. She said, "When's spring, pa?" The father said, "Why do you want to know when spring is? Do you want to see the pretty flowers, and hear the birds sing, and play in the sunshine?" She said, "No, pa; me go to church in spring." "Do you wish to go to church, Allie?" 66 Very much, pa." Why, Allie ?" "God there! God there!" “And do you love God, Allie ?” “Oh, so much, papa, so much!" "Well, my dear," papa said to little Allie, "tomorrow is spring-spring will be tomorrow. And little Allie jumped 66 down from her father's knees, saying, "To-morrow! to-morrow!" And she went about the house singing, "Allie is so happy! to-morrow, to-morrow, to morrow. Allie is so happy!" That night Allie was very tired; she wanted to go to bed an hour before her proper time. During the night, she fell into a burning fever, and they sent for a doctor. When he came he shook his head, and said, "Too late! too late! Nothing can be done." They sent for four doctors, and all said, "Too late! too late!" And when the morning came little Allie was dead-she was gone to heaven. Her mamma stood and looked at her, and thought of what she had said the day before-"To-morrow, to-morrow, Allie; so happy to-morrow!" and she wiped away her tears at the thought. So God "redeemed" little Allie! The Human Mind. A System of Mental Philosophy for the General Reader. By JAMES G. MURPHY, LL.D. William Mullan, Belfast. of MENTAL Philosophy needs to be clear as well as deep to be suited to our taste. We think it well at times to examine how we think, and reason, and feel, if it were only to be reminded how little we know of ourselves; and when our metaphysical writers have agreed upon some one arrangement of the powers the human mind, and upon the several laws of its operations, we shall be much more disposed to receive instruction from them. The book before us is not so much a consecutive treatise upon the subject as an explanation of the whole of the varied terms which are usually employed in connection with it. The work is pervaded by a healthy tone of morals and a becoming reve rence for revealed truth, and we hope, therefore, that it will fully accomplish the author's design. Notes. ON Saturday, Aug. 16, the secretary of the Orphanage reported to us that all bills were paid, but upon balancing the account he found only £40 left upon the current account. Now, as we need £100 every week, this was by no means gratifying tidings. Our brook Cherith is certainly running rather low, and threatens to dry up; but the Lord of the waterfloods is the God of our Orphanage, and at his |