The Eclectic Review

tures-the one on Religious Progress, and the other on The Lord's Prayer.
Both are distinguished by qualities of a very high order, and prove the
title of their author, so far as mental endowments are concerned, to take
rank in the first class of preachers. What his secondary qualifications may
be we know not; but if on a par with those of his intellect he cannot fail
to be a most attractive, as well as most instructive preacher. His lectures
are full of materials for thought. There is no mere wordiness in them.
Dr. Williams clearly apprehends his own meaning; he sees distinctly the
thoughts he designs to express, and feels the emotions he wishes to convey;
his intellect is keen, searching, and powerful. It is so far metaphysical as
to penetrate far below the surface. He feels the difficulties of his subject,
and can afford to admit them; at the same time that the ardor of his spirit
throws a glow and animation over the most recondite discussions. His
intellect and his emotions are in happy keeping, so that while the one
illumines, the other warms; he addresses himself to the whole nature of his
hearers-a thing not common with his brethren-and thus awakens affec-

tion as well as commands assent. His mind is also fraught with varied learning, and his style is clear, spirited, and masculine. We commend this volume to the attentive perusal of our young ministers especially.

Cyclopædia Bibliographica; a Library Manual of Theological and General Literature, and Guide for Authors, Preachers, Students, and Literary Men; Analytical, Bibliographical, and Biographical. Royal Svo. Part I. London: James Darling.

THIS work promises to supply what has long been felt to be wanting,— an extensive and well-digested bibliographical work on theology and subjects connected with it. If executed in the spirit of its projector, it will prove one of the best additions to our theological literature which modern times have witnessed. Judging from the Part now before us, we have good reason to hope that it will do so, and have therefore much pleasure in introducing it to our readers. The work is to consist of two volumes, printed in double columns, with a clear legible type. It will be published in Parts of eighty pages each, price 2s. 6d., the second of which is to appear on the 1st of November, after which a Part will be issued monthly until the work is completed.

The first volume will be complete in itself, and contain the authors and their works in an alphabetical arrangement. Anonymous books, whose authors cannot be ascertained, will be placed under the most prominent word of the title. The name of each author will be accompanied by a short biographical and characteristic notice, so far as can be ascertained from authentic sources. This will be followed with the full titles of their works; and in all cases where more than one subject is treated of in a volume the whole will be enumerated.

'Where necessary, critical notices of the works will be given, the result of a careful investigation of what has been delivered by the most impartial and able writers. The variations of editions will be noticed, and those that are considered the best will be specified.

'In the second volume the whole of the matter contained in the first will be arranged under heads or common-places in scientific order, with an alphabetical index, by which any subject can be readily referred to; and all authors of any authority who have written on it at once exhibited, with the titles of their works, treatises, dissertations, or sermons, and a reference to the volumes and pages where they are to be found. Sermons and other illustrations of Scripture will be arranged, not only under the books, chap-` ters, or verses of Scripture on which they treat, but also under the subjects of Divinity; and the festivals, fasts, and other days observed by the Church throughout the year.'

We shall have other opportunities of examining the work. At present we are concerned to do little more than announce its appearance and indicate its general character. It is not to be a compilation, but to be founded on original research, and to embrace a far wider field and more numerous authors than any work of analogous pretensions. The evil we most apprehend is that of party bias, as the work will be mainly founded on the books contained in Mr. Darling's Metropolitan Library, which, it is well known, is specially designed for clerical readers. Against this evil we

trust that the editors will carefully guard, as it would be matter for unfeigned regret that so noble an undertaking should be injured by the infusions of any such element. We shall watch the publication with much interest, and report its progress from time to time.

Ivar; or, the Skjuts-Boy. By Emelie Carlen. Translated from the Swedish, by Professor A. L. Krause. London: Office of the Illustrated London Library.'

UNTIL lately our knowledge of the literature of the Scandinavian nations was most meagre and unsatisfactory. Even now we have not much to boast of; but a commencement has been made; and we hope ere long to be much better acquainted with the social life and literary labors of the descendants of those ancient Northmen,' to whose daring and romantic adventures even modern civilization is so greatly indebted. Miss Bremer is already well known to us through the admirable translations of Mrs. Howitt, who has further increased our obligations by the work recently issued in her own and in her husband's name, on The Literature and Romance of Northern Europe.' The clouds are beginning to disperse, and we may anticipate, without being over sanguine, that we shall soon walk in the light of a clear, comprehensive, and harmonious knowledge. The present tale is a worthy contribution to this good cause, and we give it a hearty welcome. It bears the same national features as the Neighbours' and 'The President's Daughters,' and will find acceptance with the same class of readers. Miss Carlen enjoys a high reputation in Sweden, and, judging by this volume, she is worthy of it. Her sketches of female character are exquisite; as chaste and true to nature as the most perfect statue ever formed by the master chisel of Canova.' Her success is equally marked in other departments. There is, in fact, a verisimilitude in her paintings which places her reader amid the scenes described, and almost beguiles him into the notion of his being a participant in the incidents of the story.' We say nothing respecting the present tale. Let it be gathered from the book itself, which is published at a low price, and may be read by all classes without fear of contamination. They who resort to novels for excitement will not find what they seek in Ivar;' but those who wish to see the interior of Swedish life-whether among the high-bred or the lowly-to enlarge their knowledge of our nature, to separate the accidental from the essential, and to learn something of the purity in which, after all, much of the power of the novelist consists, will close its pages with regret, and rejoice in the opportunity of further acquaintance with its author.

The Natural History of Creation. By T. Lindley Kemp, M.D. London:
Longman and Co.
Electricity and the Electric Telegraph; together with the Chemistry of the
Stars; an Argument touching the Stars and their Inhabitants. By
George Wilson, M.D., F.R.S.S. London: Longman and Co.

THE first of these publications is designed to unfold the laws by means of which our world has been fitted for the occupation of plants and animals, and to trace the creation daily going on around us in the transference of

dead matter into living beings. I have particularly dwelt,' says the author, upon the constant passage of atoms of matter from the ground to the plant, from plants to animals, and from them back again to the ground.' The work also treats of the action of causes of disease on living bodies, and displays throughout intimate knowledge of the matters discussed, a scientific cast of mind applied to a popular elucidation of its theme, and a sound discriminating judgment.

The other treatise has special attractions, even for the general reader. The Electric Telegraph is amongst the wonders of the age, and anything which unfolds its principles and explains its machinery is sure of a cordial greeting. The two publications forming numbers 24 and 26 of The Traveller's Library,' are really valuable additions to our popular scientific literature.

African Wanderings; or An Expedition from Sennaar to Taka, Basa, and Beni-amer, with a particular glance at the Races of Bellad Sudan. By Ferdinand Werne. Translated from the German by J. R. Johnston. London: Longman and Co.

Sketches in Canada, and Rambles among the Red Men. By Mrs. Jameson. New Edition. London: Longman and Co.

EACH of these works consists of two Parts of The Traveller's Library.' They are totally dissimilar in character to those just noticed, are well suited to the series, and will be read with considerable pleasure. African Wanderings,' as the title-page intimates, is translated from the German, and brings us into acquaintance with various races in the interior of Africa, seldom seen by Europeans, and still less frequently described by a truthful eye-witness. The work is written with much vivacity and vividness, throws light on the condition and habits of a people rarely visited, and shows the terrible effects of that precocious and unhealthy civilization to which the ambition and cruelty of the late Egyptian viceroy has given birth. Mr. Johnston was right in concluding that a translation of such a work would be acceptable to the British public. He has executed his task with ability, and we cordially recommend the publication to our readers.

Mrs. Jameson's 'Sketches in Canada' consists of a reprint of the most interesting chapters of a work which she published in 1838, in three 8vo volumes, under the title of Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada.' The work was favorably received by the public, and is now out of print. All that was of a merely transient, or merely personal nature, or obsolete in politics or criticism, has been omitted.' The Messrs. Longman have acted wisely in including this work in their scries. It is admirably adapted to 'The Traveller's Library,' and will be found most amusing and instructive, whether in the railway-carriage or in the more quiet seclusion of home.

Popular Scripture Zoology; containing a Familiar History of the Animals mentioned in the Bible. By Maria E. Catlow. London: Reeve & Co. THE Bible is capable of being made the most interesting book in the world, even to young people; but in order to this, a very different course

must be pursued from that which is commonly followed. Some portions of it have come down to us from a remote antiquity, and the whole abounds with references which, when properly elucidated, throw much light on the past history and condition of mankind, as also on the various other inhabitants of our globe. We always look with favor on any judicious attempt to illustrate the facts, whether historical or social, whether pertaining to the science, the natural history, or the philosophy, of the Bible. Especially is this the case where the benefit of the young is contemplated. There is much yet to be done in this way; and the small volume before us is proof of what may be accomplished. Leaving doctrinal, critical, and antiquarian matters to their respective investigators, Miss Catlow has directed her attention to the field of natural history, in the hope of aiding young readers of the Bible to understand more correctly many of the allusions which it contains. In this hope she has succeeded, and her small and unpretending volume will be found, in consequence, to be an instructive, as well as an entertaining, companion.

A Ride through the Nubian Desert. By Captain W. Peel, R.N. London: Longman and Co.

THIS small volume does not furnish much novel information, yet it has a peculiar charm in the simplicity of its narrative, and the admirable tone which pervades it. Captain Peel, a son of the late Sir Robert Peel, left England in August, 1851, 'with the object of travelling in Soudan, hoping, by the blessing of the Almighty, to help to break the fetters of the negro, to release him from the selfish Mussulman, from the sordid European, and to tell him there is a God that made us all, a Christ that came down and died for all.' He was accompanied by a friend, Mr. Joseph Churi, and proceeded by way of Alexandria and Cairo, to the scene of his contemplated mission. The hardships endured were considerable, and the alarming illnesses of himself and his companion frequently retarded his progress. Against many warnings he persisted in his route, until Labeyed, the capital of Kordofan was reached; but fever and ague then compelled him to abandon the idea of further advance, and he returned in consequence to England earlier than was designed. His volume consists of the journal which he kept during his travels, and notes, day by day, the occurrences which befel him. It is the production of an intelligent and benevolent man, whose movements were too rapid to allow of minute investigation, or to consist with any large and comprehensive view of the people visited. His observations, however, on what he saw are worthy of much attention; and if not original or profound, may, on this very account, exercise a more immediate influence over the men of this busy age.

A Book for the Sea-side. With numerous Engravings. London: The Religious Tract Society.

AN excellent little volume which answers well to its title, and will be found an instructive and pleasing companion amid the leisure and recreations of a sea-side visit.

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