mation, both doctrinal and practical; and would become possessed of many weighty and conclusive arguments against the antiscriptural and unscriptural tenets and practices of the modern Church of Rome.

Thoughts on the Land of the Morning: a Record of two Visits to Palestine. By H. B. WHITAKER CHURTON M.A., Vicar of Icklesham, Sussex; Chaplain to the Lord Bishop of Winchester and late Preacher to the Charter-House. London: Hatchard. 1851.

It is always a subject of regret to us when a volume of the character of that which we are now called upon to notice reaches us at a time when our number is not only in the press, but when the bulk of our matter is already printed off, and when the rest of it has been arranged beyond our power to alter it. For we are placed in a dilemma: either we must appear to neglect the volume by postponing it to a future number in which we could command space to deal with it as its claims demand; or we must notice it at once with limited means of discussing its merits. In the spirit, however, of the proverb which says bis dat qui dat cito, we will give it the benefit of the brief space that is left to us, and introduce it at once to our readers, who, from the specimens which we shall proceed to lay before them, will, we doubt not, refer to its pages and judge for themselves. It is simply and touchingly dedicated to an "Elder Brother." The writer, whose immediate motive for his journey to the East was to recruit his failing health, informs us that his object in publishing his journal "has been to give such a view of the 'Land of the Morning' as may not merely describe its darkness, but also point to brighter days to come;" and he proceeds to express his conviction, founded on twenty years' study of the Bible, that "light is yet to shine forth, mediately from Jerusalem and from her people, and immediately from her King in, perhaps, a yet darker day of the Gentiles;" and he goes on, in the sequel of his preface, to remark upon the contrast between the intensity of feeling with which the Jew looks to the coming of the Messiah and the lukewarm interest commonly displayed by Christians on the same subject.

These introductory observations will serve to possess the reader with a key to the feelings with which the writer set out on his travels, and which deeply embue every page of his book. He was one of a party of five-two ladies and three gentlemen. He travelled with the Bible-if not in his hand, in his heart; and a text of Scripture is prefixed to every chapter of the work, which is in the form of a journal. Although the habit of his mind is to regard everything with a spiritual eye, his natural eye

is not closed to the outward world as he saw it in the East: nothing escapes him in the shape of local interest or picturesque attraction; and his remarks discover an intimate acquaintance with profane as well as sacred history, while the style of his book, simple though it be, has all the graces of an elegant and scholarly mind. Nothing that can illustrate, explain, or confirm, the history or doctrines of Scripture escapes him; and, if occasionally the bias of his thoughts betrays him into a forced or questionable conclusion, his inferences for the most part carry conviction to the reader. He appears also to have taken infinite pains, and to display considerable tact, in drawing out the character and genius of the natives with whom he was brought in contact. We have also interspersed in his pages specimens of the author's powers of versification, which, if they be not distinguished by the the higher attributes of poetry, are redolent of graceful and pious feeling, and are vastly superior to the ordinary staple of sacred lyrics-a species of metrical literature in which, in the present day, so much is done, and so little done well.

There is much of interest, though but little of adventure, in this journal: indeed, the facilities for travelling, even in the East, are now so great that one would almost as readily speculate upon an adventure on a journey between London and Edinburgh as between England and Palestine. We quote as a specimen of our author's style his account of the locust :

"In this day's ride we put up from their settling place two considerable swarms of large locusts. We could have counted three or four hundred probably in each swarm; and, no doubt, there were numbers more which we did not see in both swarms. Their appearance was something between that of a grasshopper and a dragon-fly; but, at the first glance in the air, they might be taken for little birds. They were of a bright yellow straw-colour, with a slight greenish tinge; had four wings, and were a long finger's length. Mr. at Beyrout, enquired of us, subsequently, if we had seen any, and remarked that he was sorry to hear of them, as they do great mischief to the corn, and, indeed, he said to every green thing. They rose up as our passing disturbed them, and flew across our path with a hurried and rather rapid flight, rising about ten or twelve or fifteen feet, or more, in the air, and then settling down again at about forty or fifty yards distance. The expression in Psalm cix. 23, "I am tossed up and down as a locust," probably alludes to this flitting, uncertain, flight, somewhat between a bird and a grasshopper. David's flittings appear to have resembled both (Psalm xi. 1-8)."

With this sample of Mr. Churton's style we reluctantly, and only for want of space for further extract, dismiss the volume; which, we should add, is liberally illustrated by some very picturesque subjects printed in colours, as well as by some well drawn and delicately engraved woodcuts.

1. Man and his Migrations. 2. The Ethnology of the British Colonies and Dependencies. By R. G. LATHAM, M.D., F.R.S. London: Van Voorst. 1851.

ETHNOLOGY, if not unknown, was for many years an unrecognised science: indeed, it was not until of very late years that it took its rank among the sciences at all. Its sudden rise into importance and interest is doubtless attributable to the new and abundant materials which the researches of modern travellers have supplied for its cultivation. We owe to Mr. Van Voorst the publication of the two elegant and inexpensive volumes, the titles of which are prefixed to this notice. The first-named is, as will be gathered from its designation, of a more catholic and and comprehensive character: the latter has an interest which will be generally acknowledged at a period when our colonies are absorbing so largely, and, in the instance of our South African possessions, so painfully, the attention of the mother country. And thus it is that the volume devoted to our colonies has an especial value from the portion assigned to the African tribes, and particularly to the Kaffirs. The two volumes, to adopt the phraseology of the prefatory notice, "represent a course of lectures," six of which (No. 1) were delivered at the Mechanics' Institution, Liverpool; and the other six (comprised in No. 2) at the Royal Institution at Manchester. Dr. Latham's reputation is a sufficient warrant for the manner in which the subjects of both volumes are treated, while the simplicity and perspicuity of the style add greatly to the value of the volumes.

No Popery! A Course of Eight Sermons Preached at the Episcopal Jews Chapel, Palestine-place, Bethnal-green. By the Rev. J. B. CARTWRIGHT, M.A., Minister of the Chapel. London: Wertheim. 1850.

THE subject of this course of sermons will be sufficiently indicated by the "war cry" which heads the title. If we were to enter into the merits of every publication on this subject which covers our table, we should require a supplementary number of our periodical; and, therefore, we must refer our readers to the volume itself, if they would judge of its quality.

The Hebrew Captivity. A Poem in Three Parts, being a Dissertation in Verse. By MRS. TAYLOR BURY: Vickerman. 1851. WE regret that we cannot award to this publication any higher praise than that which is due to good intention and a pious spirit. The "Dissertation in Verse" is a more correct designation of it than the antecedent and more pretending word in the title, "Poem," to which it has few and feeble pretensions.

1. Chaldee Reading Lessons: consisting of the Whole of the Biblical Chaldee, with a Grammatical Praxis, and an Interlineary Translation. 2. Syriac Reading Lessons: consisting of Copious Extracts from the Peschito Version of the Old and New Tastament, Grammatically Analysed and Translated: with the Elements of Syriac Grammar. Bagster and Sons. 1851.

A CONSIDERABLE portion of the book of Daniel, and some portions of Ezra and Jeremiah, are written in Chaldee; and the Targums or Jewish Commentaries are also written in that dialect. It, therefore, becomes necessary to one who would thoroughly understand the Hebrew, and may be attained by such an one with scarcely any other help than that which this little volume affords. The Syriac version of the New Testament is one of the earliest, and has on that account often served to turn the scale in favour of a particular reading when manuscripts of equal authority have differed. The Syriac version also is printed with the Polyglott of Bagster, and he could, therefore, hardly do otherwise than furnish such an assistance as these reading lessons; and, as Syriac grammars are not so common as Hebrew grammars, he has very considerately prefixed an elementary grammar, which, however, will be found sufficient for most persons, as few will desire to study the Syriac who are not already acquainted with the Hebrew or Arabic, all of which dialects bear a close affinity.

Blots on the Escutcheon of Rome. By Six Protestant Ladies; with an Introduction, by the Rev. HUGH STOWELL, M.A., Canon of Chester. Wertheim & Co.

MISS CHRISTMAS and her companions have very ably performed their task in giving a history of the Inquisition and the many other blots which disgrace and disfigure that body which calls itself the only true Church of Christ; and there is a very able and stirring Introduction" by Canon Stowell, calling upon all Protestants, and especially the clergy, to be at their posts, and strenuously to resist the Papal aggression by every means in our power, as a crisis has now arrived, in which, if we give way, all will be lost-not only the Church, but the throne and the nation.

The Monthly Packet of Evening Readings for the Younger Members of the English Church. Nos. VI., VII., VIII., and IX. London : Mozley.

THESE monthly publications sustain the character which we have ascribed to the previous numbers. They contain a vast and varied store of historical and other information combined with some pleasant and instructive fictions.

An Introduction to the New Testament. By SAMUEL DAVIDSON, D.D. Vol. III. First Epistle to Timothy to the Revelation. Bagster, 1851. THIS Concluding volume of Dr. Davidson's "Introduction to the New Testament" is distinguished by the same research and critical acumen that we have found in all his other works; and in these respects we have to bestow our commendation on the volume before us. But there are two of the books of the New Testament which require something more than research and critical acumen namely, the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the Apocalypse; and, in his remarks on these books, Dr. Davidson is not so successful.

We attribute it to his position as a Dissenter-an Independent Dissenter we believe; for as such he cannot comprehend what is really meant by a Church-still less what is meant by the Church of all generations-the one house of Christ contradistinguished from the house in which Moses was a servant (Heb. iii. 5, 6); or the Bride, the Lamb's Wife, and the Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. xxi). Dr. Adam Clarke in England, and Moses Stewart in America, have both avowed that the Book of Revelation was one from the interpretation of which they for many years had shrunk, from the consciousness that they did not in the least understand it. Better would it have been for the reputation of both if they had continued in this mind, for they have gained no credit with any party by what they have written and have lost credit with many. And such seems to be the case with Dr. Davidson: he does not understand the book and cannot understand the interpretations, regarding them only as hypothetical and conjectural-one no better than another, or rather all equally worthless. "We feel disinclined (says Dr. Davidson) to adopt any of the rival hypotheses till they be better supported. But it is easier to find defects in prevailing schemes of apocalyptic interpretation than to propose a new and a better one. We may see the errors inherent in them without being able to show a more excellent way" (p. 627).

The "Hypothesis" of Dr. Davidson is, that it is a prophetic poem, indicating by loose imagery the spread of the Gospel and the ultimate triumph of Christianity over every obstacle. "The imagery is varied and copious, well fitted to strike and impress the reader's mind, but it should always be remembered that it is poetic imagery." And he rather naively adds—" It appears to us very unlikely that the history of the Church Universal is depicted." If this were so, it would appear rather strange that a prophetic poem should be ushered in with so much pomp as that God gave it to Christ, who sent his angel to signify it to John, commanding him to write it and send it to the Seven