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or obstinate; reproach is cast upon her, which she feels to be unmerited; and thus a comparatively slight error in physical discipline becomes a fruitful source, not only of bodily injury, but of moral depravation. In a short time, the muscular energy becomes impaired; to remedy which, mechanical aid is resorted to, and laced waistcoats, technically termed stays, are worn, which supersede in a considerable degree muscular effort, and support for a time is given, by trusting to what is, at best, a broken reed. A muscle consigned to inactivity, not only loses its power, but becomes attenuated and wasted, its nutrition failing from want of that energy which due exercise only can confer. This fact is notorious. The muscles of the back and chest, restrained in their natural and healthy exercise, by the waistcoats called in to aid them, become so much enfeebled that at length they are wholly dependent on the mechanical aid, being quite incapable of dispensing with it for any continuance. The mischiefs to which this unnatural pressure gives rise are fearful in the extreme, into which we cannot fully enter. One of the first that is perceived is, the impediment to the motion of the ribs, which this constriction of the chest occasions. For perfect respiration these motions ought to be free and unrestrained; for in proportion as respiration is impeded, the blood is oxygenized; and in the same ratio are the nutrient and other functions dependent on the blood inadequately performed. Here, then, is a source of evil which seriously affects the whole frame, reducing every part below the standard of healthful vigour. As each inspiration of air becomes less full, the wants of the system require, as a compensation, increased frequency; and thus quickened respiration commences, disturbing the lungs, and creating in them a tendency to inflammatory action. The heart becomes excited, the pulse accelerated, and palpitation is in time superadded; and as the evil is continued, these may be followed either by curvature of the spine, or alarming derangement of the stomach, liver, and other organs subservient to digestion. So fully are aware of the bad consequences of the practice condemned, that we conjure every parent to consider seriously and with attention the subject. Stays, if used otherwise than as a support for the other articles of dress, are improper. When tightened, in order to support the back, instead of giving strength, they produce real weakness, by the effect on the

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dorsal muscles above described; and when further straitened, so as to diminish the waist, they then commence that suicidal process, which years of suffering and ill-health are afterwards to complete. "Our promenades," says Mr.

Hare, "public streets, and places of fashionable resort, afford abundant evidence of the sad effects resulting from the universal prevalence of this baneful practice. The absurd notion that a woman is more beautiful with a remarkably small waist, ought long ago to have been exploded: as well might we admire as beauties the flattened heads of some tribes of Indians; or the extremely contracted feet of the Chinese. Genuine taste admires no such eccentricities." Mr. Hare has performed the part of a real philanthropist in bringing this momentous subject before all classes of the community, in a manner that is capable of being understood and appreciated. We hope every parent will peruse the volume carefully, and contribute towards removing that swarm of ill which has on this account fallen upon our population, but, unlike the contents of the fated box of Pandora, leaves not even hope remaining.

A Church without a Prelate: the apostolical and primitive Church, popular in its Government, and simple in its Worship. By the Rev. Lyman Cole

man.

With an introductory Essay, by Dr. Augustus Neander, Professor of Theology in the University of Berlin. 8vo. pp. viii, 120. Ward.-It is generally known, that a few years ago our author published a work on the "Antiquities of the Christian Church," compiled from various German authors, having Augusti's Compend for its basis. This work aroused the suspicion of a certain Presbyter in Philadelphia, who thought that a dangerous infection was covertly propagated by the circulation of the book. Alarm was excited, and the public were warned of their danger by a review, which was crowded with random assertions, contradicting, with an assurance seldom equalled, some of the plainest statements of ecclesiastical history. To this review Mr. Coleman offered a reply that gave a direction to his studies which he had not contemplated; and the result is the work before In the prosecution of his researches he has relied considerably upon the labours of Mosheim, Planck, Neander, and Rothe; and the references with which the work abounds are copious, pertinent, and authoritative. Although the present investigation has hitherto

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attracted but little attention in the United States, the recent developement and spread of High-Church principles have compelled several of her gifted Divines to direct the attention of the public to the usages, rites, and government of the primitive church, and to exhibit the dangerous consequences of intolerance and superstition. The statement of Bishop Griswold, in 1841, is worthy of notice, that of "two hundred and eighty persons ordained by him, two hundred and seven came from other denominations;" and another Bishop says, "From the most accurate investigation that can be made, I am led to believe that about three hundred Clergymen and licentiates of other denominations have, within the last thirty years, sought the ministerial commission from the hands of Bishops of the Episcopal Church; and that at least two-thirds were not originally Episcopalians. Were they by education anything else? Would they have strayed away in such numbers from their own fold, had they been duly instructed in the principles of that order to which they originally belonged?" The instances which have come under our notice, of the sons of Nonconformists, and even of Dissenting and Wesleyan Ministers, entering the Episcopal Church in this country, justify the remark of our author. The contents of the work are as follows:Summary view; the primitive churches formed after the model of the Jewish synagogue; independence of the primitive churches; elections by the churches; discipline by the churches; equality and identity of Bishops and Presbyters; rise of Episcopacy; the diocesan government; the metropolitan government; the patriarchal and Papal government; prayers of the primitive church; psalmody of the primitive church; homilies in the primitive church; the benediction, &c. Viewing the volume as a whole, we have been gratified with our perusal of it, and consider it to be worthy the attention of every student in divinity and ecclesiastical history.

A Letter upon the Subject of Confirmation, addressed to the "little Ones" of his Flock. By an English Priest. 12mo. pp. vi, 32. Newbury.

Observations on Mr. Harper's Letter upon the Subject of Confirmation. By J. B. Pike. 12mo. pp. 21. Newbury.

The first of these pamphlets is a miserable hotchpotch of intolerance and superstition; displaying Mr. Harper's disgraceful ignorance of the veriest rudiments of scriptural theology, and 'ecclesiastical history, and written in a

style so entirely independent of the recognised rules of English grammar, as would have subjected the scribbling Curate at any of our common schools to the well-merited punishment of the birch.

indeed,

They must be "little ones,"

who can digest such rigmarole. In the castigation which Mr. Harper has received at the hand of his Baptist neighbour, Mr. Pike has proved himself to be far superior to the Curate, both in learning, talent, and piety.

Lantern to the Jews: or, Table of Analogies, wherein the Doctrines of the Jewish Liturgy are stated and compared with the Doctrines of the Old and New Testaments, in reference to the two Covenants; and the new Covenant is clearly opened to the Apprehension, Faith, and Conscience of the Jew. By Daniel Strickland Tatham, Wesleyan Minister. 8vo. pp. 16. Simpkin.-The title-page contains a full description of the contents of the pamphlet, which display patient research, and admirable arrange

ment.

Geneva and Rome; an Address to the Students of the Theological School, Geneva, at the Opening of the Session 1843. By the Vice-President, Professor Gaussen. Translated from the French.

8vo. pp. 16. Groombridge.-It appears to us to be a very laudable custom, at the re-opening of the College at Geneva, to direct the attention of the students to the present actual condition of the church, as well as to exhibit some of the errors with which she is assailed. The address of the preceding year was delivered by M. Merle D'Aubigné, on the subject of the Oxford heresy; that now upon our table is on the heresy of Rome. The Professor observes, that, during the last two centuries, Rome and Protestantism have borne much the aspect of two armies watching each other from a distance, and coming into conflict only by the skirmishes of their advanced guard; in both the one and the other, it was rather internal quarrels that engaged them. Rome has been for two centuries contending against

a

remnant of truth and life, which sought to establish themselves within her borders, under the names of Jansenism and Gallicanism; but, in this intestine struggle, by her very victories she has met with two disasters which have brought her lower into the abyss of apostasy. By her triumph over Jansenism, she has reached the complete Pelagianism of the Bull Unigenitus; by her success against Gallicanism, the entire ultra-Montanism of the Bull

Unam Sanctam, the Marianism of St. Liguori, and the immoralities of probabilitism. In the Protestant camp, too, strength was spent in domestic contendings; first, against Arminius; then against Socinus; and, later, against the teaching of men who professed no doctrine. In the mean time, the result has been, that, during this twofold internal struggle, Protestantism has become divided and weakened, while Romanism (whose weapons are carnal) has been extended and established. In the first camp you hardly see a national Church which can be called living, organized, aggressive; more and more is an isolated Christianity professed,-it seems to be confessed that the believer can fulfil his Christian profession by confining it, if not to the closet, at farthest, to the narrow circle of his family and friends. Doctrine on the subject of the church is everywhere relaxed; and if the new sect, which strives to overthrow the sacred ministry, has found so many adherents in these countries, it is because the heresy has been found to correspond with the evil tendencies of the times. In Romanism, on the other hand, individual feeling gives way to corporate. You shall see no more Jansenists, soon no more Gallicans; henceforth the Alps are no more,-all is ultra-Montane; and it is France herself who now gives the impulse to all Europe, with the "Society of Jesus," to throw herself at the feet of the Pope, and array herself for new combats. From this condition of the two armies, we may with certainty conclude, that the preparation goes on for a great struggle, when the Roman army, encouraged by our disunion, will come to rush upon us. The first victory, the Professor somewhat gloomily observes, will be an easy one: entering our camp, as did Cæsar that of Pompey after the battle of Pharsalia, she will find us in disorder; and we shall soon be trodden under foot. M. Gaussen, let it be observed, is not here speaking of a war of arguments and controversy, but of a contest of violence against the faith and patience of the saints. To the Professor it appears plain, that we are near the time, when, like our fathers, we must take our life in our hand to offer it to Jesus Christ. The church, apparently conquered, dispersed, reduced to but a few, must again begin to overcome by the preaching of the cross, by patience and faith. The pamphlet deserves an extensive circulation.

Geneva and Jerusalem. The Gospel at length preached to the Jews, and their

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Restoration at Hand. A Discourse delivered at a Missionary Meeting at Geneva, March 12th, 1843. By L. Gaussen, Professor of Divinity; with an Introduction by the Rev. E. Bickersteth, M.A. 18mo. pp. vi, 95. W. H. Dalton. We have read this unpretending volume with great satisfaction, and hope that its publication will stimulate Christians at home to cast their energies, their wealth, their influence, and their resources, into those enterprises of holy benevolence on which the evangelical Societies of Britain have so widely entered, both at home and abroad, on behalf of the Gentile and the Jew. rejoice to witness, that when the decree of the Inquisition was promulgated against the Jews at Ancona, and the edict of the Emperor of Russia is troubling them on the frontiers of Russia and Poland, God is raising up instruments in the Protestant churches to show unto them his salvation; so that we are led to hope that the somewhat romantic, but pious, wish of Frederic William of Prussia will in spirit at least be realized, in the churches of the Reformation burying their differences, and becoming united over the tomb of the Saviour at Jerusalem. M. Gaussen enters at large on a description of the motives which ought to induce the Protestant churches of Christendom to carry the Gospel to the Jews; and then he gives a luminous account of what these churches have already done towards the fulfilment of this duty within the last twenty years. The volume is full of interest, and cannot be read without producing powerful sympathy in behalf of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

The Pulpit Cyclopædia and Christian Minister's Companion. Vol. II. pp. 348. Houlston and Stoneman.

Modern Wesleyanism, compared with the Teaching of Mr. Wesley. 8vo. pp. 47. Leslie. This pamphlet, although published anonymously, is, as we learn from irrefragable authority, the production of a young man, formerly a candidate for the Christian ministry among the Wesleyans. His name appears in the Minutes of the Methodist Conference for 1835 as "John Davies, 2d," and stationed in the Holywell Circuit, North Wales. In the year 1837, we find him appointed to that of Lancaster; but shortly after, becoming discontented with the body of Christians with which he had voluntarily associated, (an uneasiness which equally pervaded the societies where he for a brief period laboured,

with regard to himself,) he bade his friends good night, and sought shelter within the pale of the Church of England, where, in the capacity of a London Curate, he endeavours to discharge his appointed duties. We have perused this production of Mr. Davies with mingled sensations of indignation and grief, that an individual can be found so far under the influence of a party-spirit, as to give utterance to sentiments, as being those which are held by the Wesleyan Methodists, being at the same time aware that such by no means pertain either to the character, principles, or conduct of that community with which he was formerly united, as he must be if he acted an honest and honourable part, when, in the presence of a number of Christian Ministers, he stated that he had not only made himself acquainted with the ecclesiastical position of Wesleyanism, but that he also knew and approved of its discipline and doctrine. Mr. Davies cannot be igno rant, that one of the publications from which he has so largely, and indeed chiefly, quoted, is no more an accredited organ of the Methodist Connexion, than are the publications of Mr. Beverley those of the Church which have received our truant Wesleyan. Far be it from us to say, that, on the abstract principle of right, Mr. Davies may not change his opinions and associates as often as his neighbour may turn his coat, or wear a fool's cap; but we do say, that he is guilty of an unmanly and dishonourable action, who knowingly adduces, as the sentiments of an opponent, principles which that opponent cordially repudiates and condemns. Such ungenerous behaviour we charge upon Mr. John Davies. Conduct of this description, we believe the honourable mind of Charles James of London would equally with ourselves censure, especially if Mr. Davies, when he presented the copy of his tract to his Lordship, had the honesty to inform him that it was crowded with quotations of no higher authority than a weekly newspaper, officially unknown and unauthorized by the Wesleyan community. Had Mr. Davies thus enlightened Dr. Blomfield, as to the getting-up of his pamphlet, we soberly think, that instead of having to inform his country-cousins that his Lordship had expressed his "warm approbation" (we write guardedly) of his labours, he would have had to tell of some bitter rebuke which his diocesan had conceived it imperative to inflict upon him. The production bears ample testimony how deplorably ignorant the author is of the subject, upon which

he with consummate sang froid attempts to illuminate his readers. This, in our opinion, is undeniable proof of the utter incompetency of Mr. Davies for the ministry among the Wesleyans to which he primarily aspired, and also of his desire to conciliate the good opinion of his new friends by giving public demonstration, that every vestige of attachment to his former companions has been sponged away, and practically declares that, like the decoy-duck, he is willing to exercise what talent he may possess, in order to induce others to follow his example. It is somewhat amusing to contemplate this juvenile Cleric with an appearance of gravity, exhorting the Wesleyan Methodists all over the world to confine themselves henceforth to the services and sacraments of the Church, when throughout his pamphlet he scarcely adverts to the causes which led to their partial separation! If Mr. Davies have perused the Works of Mr. Wesley, he cannot have failed to discover, that that venerable man, at a very early period of his career, (1744,) believed that a separation from the Church would take place; and in our opinion such a separation was inevitable; but why does Mr. Davies so systematically and entirely shirk even a reference to the causes of such a separation? Imitating the example of a number of scribblers, he vexatiously keeps back that truth which, as an honest man, he ought to have brought forward. Does not Mr. Davies know, that one cause of the separation was, that the Clergy did not preach the doctrine of their own Church, and of the Reformation? We ask Mr. John Davies, is not this the case at present ? Another ground of the separation was, that many of the Clergy did not adorn their profession by their lives. Is Mr. John Davies prepared to assert that the body of the Clergy do this? A third reason was, that the Clergy were the persecutors and calumniators of the Wesleyan societies. Can Mr. John Davies maintain the contrary? Our author acknowledges, that "Mr. Wesley's views of Episcopacy were modified in his later years; but this modification did not lead him to oppose the Church." Very true; but will Mr. Davies inform us, when he again resumes his pen to write against the Wesley ans, how far the Church opposed and persecuted Mr. Wesley for holding these tenets ? On the equality existing between Presbyters and Bishops in the primitive church, Mr. Wesley spoke in terms the most decisive: "I firmly believe," said he, "I am a scriptural Bishop as much as any man in England

or in Europe." Again: "I still believe the Episcopal form of church government to be scriptural and apostolical; I mean, well agreeing with the practice and teaching of the Apostles. But that it is prescribed in Scripture, I do not believe. I think that Bishop Stillingfleet has unanswerably proved, that neither Christ nor his Apostles prescribe any particular form of church government, and that the plea of divine right for diocesan Episcopacy was never heard of in the primitive church." In 1784, he said he had been for many years convinced, that "Bishops and Presbyters were the same order, and consequently had the same right to ordain." "I verily believe," said he, "I have as good a right to ordain as to administer the Lord's supper." Mr. Davies would probably term these Mr. Wesley's "modified views;" but he knows, that by the ecclesiastical hierarchy, they are designated "heretical and schismatic," such as would prevent even Mr. Wesley being recognised as one of her accredited Ministers. In perusing this futile and feeble attempt, the author has brought vividly to our recollection the following fable, which we remember to have read in by-gone days :-A fox, being caught in a steel trap by his tail, was glad to escape with the loss of it; but, on coming abroad into the world, began to be so sensible of the disgrace it would bring on him, that he almost wished he had died rather than lost his tail. However, to make the best of a bad matter, he called an assembly of the foxes, to propose that they should all imitate him. He made a long speech about the uselessness of tails, and tried to show the awkwardness and inconvenience of a fox's tail; adding, that he never enjoyed himself so well, and found himself so easy, as he had done since he cut off his tail. He said no more, but looked about with a brisk air to see what proselytes he had gained; when a sly old fox in the company answered him, with a grin, "I believe you may have found it convenient to part with your tail; and when we are in the same circumstances, perhaps we may do so too." Whenever Mr. John Davies is charging the Wesleyan Connexion with inconsistency, and exhorting her members to "come out of her," we hope his readers will remember the fox without a tail!

Lay Lectures on Christian Faith and Practice. By John Bullar. 8vo. pp. xii, 517. Longman.—The publication

of this instructive volume we conceive to be alike honourable to the author and to the members of the church and congregation assembling Above-Bar, Southampton, who requested it. For a period extending beyond that of twenty years, Mr. Bullar has been an expositor of the records of divine truth on the afternoon of the Lord's day, when his services have been duly appreciated. We rejoice that they are now presented to the public; and, having read them with considerable pleasure and profit, we do not hesitate to say, that they are strictly evangelical and scriptural, being the product of a mind accustomed to think closely on topics of the weightiest import. Differing as we do from Mr. Bullar, on several minor points of Christian doctrine and church government, we can cordially congratulate him on the appearance of this volume, as the reward of an unblemished reputation, honourably earned in public and private stations which he has faithfully filled in connexion with the town of his birth, by unflinching integrity, legitimate liberality of sentiment, and a cordial and an affectionate urbanity of deportment towards all with whom he has had intercourse. The Lectures will, we doubt not, meet with a wide circulation.

Lives of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest, with Anecdotes of their Courts, now first published from official Records, and other authentic Documents, private as well as public. By Agnes Strickland. Vol. VII. 8vo. pp. 485. Colburn.-This volume contains the conclusion of the Life of Elizabeth II., Queen-Regnant of England and Ireland, together with the Life of Anne of Denmark, Consort of James I., King of Great Britain. The work maintains the high character which it obtained on its first appearance, and promises to be increasingly popular.

The Temple of God: A Sermon preached at the Opening of the new Episcopal Chapel at Huntley, N. B., on Tuesday, March 26th, 1844. By J. D. Hull, B.A. 8vo. pp. 40. Seeleys. A discourse full of sound, evangelical sentiment, stated with fidelity, and enforced with power.

Payne's Universum; or, Pictorial World. Nos. and 6. Quarto. Brain and Payne.-A work which increases in beauty and interest as it proceeds, and bids fair to be a favourite with every lover of the fine arts.

VOL. XXII. Third Series. JULY, 1844.

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