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and wife all the rest of their lives. For there can be no true marriage, except between one man and one woman; and if husbands were allowed to leave their wives and take new ones, and wives to leave their husbands and take new ones whenever they got a little tired or vexed with the old ones, they would never learn to love each other as they ought to do, and would be miserable, instead of being happy. Such a breaking up of marriage is called adultery, and because of the mischief and unhappiness it causes, the Lord has forbidden it in this commandment."-p. 69-71.

This is by no means the whole of what the author says in reference to this commandment, but enough has been quoted to shew the method of treatment and the success attained in dealing with what most people feel to be a difficult matter.

Part II. is divided into fifteen chapters, the subjects being "The Lord the Creator, The Lord the Redeemer, or Saviour, The Holy Trinity, The Sacred Scriptures, or Word of the Lord, The Internal Sense of the Word, Correspondences, Faith, Charity and good Works, Repentence, Reformation and Regeneration, Baptism, the Holy Supper, The Second Coming of the Lord, The New Heaven and the New Church, Heaven and Hell, and the Life after Death."

The plan followed is to print in large type a few passages from the Word at the head of each chapter which bear upon the subject of it. Thus at the head of the chapter on "The Lord the Creator" we have the following striking series of passages ;

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

"For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth; the sea and all that in them is."

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"By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth."

"For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast."

"All things are made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."

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"It is easy to see that the Lord must have made the earth, and the sun, and moon, and stars, for they are too big or too far off for any man to have made them. And you can also see that the Lord makes the grass, and flowers, and trees, and men, and women, and children, and all living creatures, because no man can make anything that lives or grows. But perhaps you may think that there are some things which men can make, as, for example, their houses, their clothes, their furniture, books, and the tools they use. Yet it is the Lord, after all, who is the Creator of even these things. He gives us the strength to work, and the mind which learns how to use that strength and the materials which we want to work with. . . The Lord, too, did not make the world and all that is in it, and then stop and let it all go on of itself. He did not make you as a little baby, and then let you grow up without any further help from Him. He keeps you alive all the time, night and day, summer and winter, year after year. When you go to sleep and do not know what is happening, He makes your body

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breathe and live, and grow, just as He does when you are awake. it was because of His great love, that He created all things. He was so full of love that He could not bear to be without something to love. You can partly understand this by trying to imagine how you would feel if you were left entirely alone, in no matter how pleasant a place. Suppose you were put into a beautiful garden, full of all kinds of flowers and fruits; suppose there were clear lakes with gold fish in them, and boats floating upon them which went of themselves whereever you wished; suppose you had plenty of dolls, and toys and candies, a whole library of story-books, and the prettiest clothes that were ever seen, how long would you be happy if you had no other children at all to speak to or play with?"

Mr. Hitchcock recognises the necessity of interesting his little readers. Children are all " romancers," and their teachers must romance in their style if they would be heard. A perfect children's paradise is described in the last quotation, sure to arrest the attention of children, and thus through the imagination open the way to the higher faculties of reflection and comparison.

The above selections are by no means offered as the most favourable that could be made, but strictly as fair specimens of the general style of the work; and it is needless to multiply them. The author further says in the note before quoted from ;—

"It is not intended that the book should be used as a catechism, but rather as a hand-book, both for teachers and children, to aid them in comprehending in a rational manner the leading doctrines of the New Church. The only portions which are to be committed to memory verbally are the parts of the Word prefixed to each chapter."

The volume is neatly got up, printed in good clear type, and firmly bound in a cloth case, lettered; being both pleasing to the eye and likely to prove durable in use.

INDEX.

TOIL ON!

TOIL on toil on! your labour's not in vain!
This life's the seed-time; but the harvest ear
In Paradise shall ripen, and appear

Waving in golden beauty o'er the plain.

Toil on, and bear on patiently! a stain

Is washed from the worn heart with every tear:

Sorrow may now prevail; but fear

Shall turn to faith, and peace shall spring from pain.

Toil on the Lord is guiding thee: His eye

Upon thee rests each moment; and His hand

Is leading thee to heavenly mountains high,

Though dark be now the path, and drear the land.
Toil on the dawn will open presently,

And find thee one of the celestial band.

O. P. H.

Miscellaneous.

MINISTERS' AID FUND.

THE General Conference of the New Church some years since instituted a fund to aid students in their preparation for the ministry, and the ministers of small or poor societies in their labours. The question of endeavouring to increase the stipends of ministers is one which has of late engaged considerable attention on the part of all Christian communities. The incomes of curates in the Established Church, and of the great bulk of dissenting ministers, are confessedly below what might be reasonably expected, and could be easily provided. Unfortunately, when the effort has been made to remedy this state of things, it has too often taken the form of charity instead of that of the just reward of honest labour. "For years past," says a correspondent of the Times, charity has been substituted for just payment, until now we have 10,000 clergy with a professional income of about £100 a year, and no fewer than 86clergy charities' in London alone to administer a too tardy alleviation of the miseries inevitably consequent on such an estate of poverty."

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Various efforts have been and are still being made to remove this eleemosynary feature of the assistance rendered to ministers of religion, and to give prominence to the only ground on which such assistance can be beneficially rendered that of a just reward for labour honestly rendered. Had the precepts of the Saviour been observed by His disciples, this principle would have been observed from the beginning. It is in relation to the office of the Christian teacher that He gave this great canon "The of justice to the labourer : labourer is worthy of his hire." It is a law of providential wisdom that every man should live in the use he performs to his fellow-men. And if those who minister use to the natural life, who provide food and clothing and habitation for the body, are to be suitably provided for, certainly those who minister to the spiritual life-who foster, instruct, and build up the mind in truth and virtue, should not be left without the means of a comfortable subsistence. If men indeed felt as deep an interest

in spiritual as in natural things, they would as cheerfully provide for the wants of those who minister therein; and with an increase and elevation of the spiritual life in the churches will be a wiser estimate of the value of the Christian ministry, and a greater willingness to contribute to its support. In the meantime, it is pleasant to see the manifest desire to do something for this purpose and to improve the manner of its accomplishment. The correspon

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dent of the Times, whom we have already cited in a letter inserted in their issue of December 25th, calls attention to "The Curates' Augmentation Fund,' the principle of which is this: "That, for the support of an unendowed clergy, rich and poor parishes should combine to form a central fund, out of which the stipends locally raised may be augmented. The plan on which such payments are made is very simple. No augmentation is granted except in cases where the stipend paid by or through the incumbent is of sufficient amount to guarantee the efficiency of the recipiThe minimum now fixed for the local stipend is £100 a year. The only other regulation relates to the length of time which a curate has been engaged in parochial work.' Some time since, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners determined to increase the income of all incumbencies to not less

ent.

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than £300 per annum. This Society proceeds upon the hope and purpose of increasing its augmentations to £100 a year. This will increase the incomes of curates to not less than £200 per

annum.

This letter has given rise to considerable discussion in the public press. The principle enunciated is worthy of thoughtful consideration, and is as applicable to the New Church as to any other body of professing Christians. Our great want is an earnest, intelligent, and increased ministry. The harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few.

RITUALISM.

This question has again obtained unusual prominence by the final judgment in the case of "Martin v. Mackonochie." This case was an appeal from the judg

ment of the Judge of the Arches Court to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Four charges were preferred against Mr. Mackonochie, in two of which he was condemned by the judge. On the other two he was acquitted. On these, however, he is condemned by the present judgment. All the ritualistic practices complained of therefore, have now been condemned by the proper legal authorities. This is apparently a great triumph to the low or evangelical church party; but the grounds of the decision seem to somewhat painfully affect all parties. The principal ground is a strict adherence to the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer. But this strictness is not observed by any of the parties into which the Church is at present divided. An eminent evangelical clergyman, Dr. Millar, has pointed out that evangelical clergymen must be prepared to modify their own practices as well as insist on change on the part of their ritualistic brethren. The judgment is a heavy blow to the ritualistic party. Anxious consultations and large public meetings have been held by them. A series of resolutions was proposed, and their discussion made manifest considerable diversity of opinion on the position of the party. With some amendment they were carried, their scope being condemnation of the constitution of the Court of Appeal, but qualified submission to its judg ment. One of the resolutions passed urges upon the clergy the more diligent teaching of the doctrines impugned by this decision.

It is here, therefore, will be found the real battle ground of these rival parties in the Church; and the present conflict may after all be only the skirmishing of the light troops which bring on the general engagement. Should the question of doctrine, which will be raised in the case of the Rev. Mr. Bennet, be also determined against the ritualists, it will exercise their utmost power of endurance to remain in the Church. Already there are intimations of the purpose of some of the more advanced to separate from their connection with the State Church.

WHITE'S SWEDENBORG.

A second notice of this work appears in the English Mechanic and Mirror of

Science of December 18. After a brief allusion to the sources of information respecting Swedenborg, to his style of writing and the manner of his departure out of the present life, the reviewer proceeds to give his estimate of the work of Mr. White. From this portion of the review, we make the following extract :

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Now, the reader may ask-But what of Mr. White's work? His subject is one capable of calling forth the powers of an intellectual giant, and the best feelings of the moralist and Christian man. Are those powers and feelings shown in these two splendidly printed and beautifully illustrated volumes? Our conviction is that they are not, and that a true Cyclopædia of Swedenborg's writings-if such be required-has yet to be given to the public. Such a cyclopædia should be utterly removed from personalities; the man ought to be left, as it were, to tell his own tale without the expression of opinions. There is extant a story of a person who, calling for a chop in a dining-saloon, complained to the waiter that it was covered with dirt. Said the waiter: You must eat your peck of dirt somehow or other.' 'Yes,' said the diner, but I prefer to have the dirt on one plate, the meat on another, so that I may mix them to my liking.' So with this sort of work; we prefer to have the synopsis by itself-the commentary in a separate volume. And yet, perhaps, one ought not to complain, for the great beauties in the books dwarf into insignificance the running commentaries and so-called explanations.

"Beginning with a biography of Swedenborg's father, we find there struck the keynote of the whole melody, if that be melody which jars on the intellectual ear right through. Despite the commentary, the life of the prelate looms up very grandly through the extracts from his letters, etc., and he shows himself the worthy parent of an exemplary son. How the philosophical works, the life and adventures of the author whilst writing them, and the life and character of Svedburgpere, are treated, may be in part understood from the fact that, in a work occupying 1278 pages, they occupy but 156! Emerson thinks it would require a 'colony' of men to do justice to Swedenborg; then certainly half a colony

could find work in the first half. Perhaps, however, it is as well for Mr. White that his summary is brief-the depths to be sounded in the philosophical works are very deep. On the 157th page, then, the philosophical works are dropped, and 'De Cultu et Amore Dei' is laid hold of. The curious in highly-coloured' newspaper literature, may remember the catchlines to the various police cases; in this section of the book we have samples of these―The Earth in its Boiling Days,' 'Adam came out of an Egg, Adam Sucking and Crawling,' 'About Eve and her Egg,' and so on. These are Mr. White's. 'De Cultu,' etc., was written at what we may term the ‘transition' state of Swedenborg's life; and we may term it a poetic bridge from philosophy to theology. Says one: 'It is written with so much poetic life and inspiration, that if divided between a dozen poets it would be sufficient to fix every one of them in the heaven of poesy as stars of the first magnitude.' We may not go quite this length: certainly we do not view it as does Mr. White. • Swedenborg,' he says, 'is to be protected from indiscreet praise.' We prefer downright indiscreet praise to lefthanded damnation. There is excellent scope, taking up a position on this 'bridge,' for an inquiry into the phenomena connected with the bringing into action the 'internal' organisation, but it is neglected.

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Early in the Second Part, and shortly after the notice of De Cultu,' etc., come in long extracts from-Theology? No; a 'Book of Dreams!' Well, if this be history, then may ours never be written. Fancy the historian of Lord Brougham or Sir David Brewster mixing up a jumble of air-drawn phantoms of the brain,' the account of

nights with,' which either may have related to a friend or left in a scribbling

book!

"But there is mixed up with this 'book of dreams'-(Swedenborg noted down his experiences by night; somebody found this book, and had it published!)-a story about a fit of madness which is stated to have seized the philosopher. Now, does the reader perceive the connection-or the 'inferred design?' We will not give honour to the memory of the departed story-tellers by giving their names here.

There does not appear the slightest foundation whatever for this precious yarn, which should long ago have been consigned to the vile Limbo whence it sprung. Barnacles somehow or other -'tis a 'nautical' question-get stuck on the bottom of the noblest ship that ever came into port or sailed away therefrom, and it would be a wonder indeed if they had not in this case. So with the yarn about a 'mistress;' the fair pages of the work are sullied by its mention. Had Mr. White sought to traduce the fair fame of his subject, he could not have gone a better way to work. We cannot believe this was his intention-though between hints of mistresses, dreams, and a shambling tale of madness, he has unwittingly done somewhat in this direction. In his next edition we sincerely hope Mr. White will follow our advice, heartily given, to expunge this stuff from his book.

"The remainder of the work, or threefourths, is devoted to the theological works of Swedenborg, and a backhanded slap at the Church founded thereupon. With neither of these have we here anything to do. The editor of this journal has already said that he admires the theology-the writer of this notice cannot wonder thereat, the beauty of them is their simplicity and the wonderful logic of the whole. The extracts from these works, covering hundreds of Mr. White's pages, are very beautiful; and the work of making them, contrary to Mr. White's opinions, is not a very difficult one-the gems lie scattered throughout, ready for the picking up. Ever and anon there gushes forth from the pen of the cyclopædist hearty applause and expressions of admiration, which leaves us in wonder at the passages of which we have complained. Of Mr. White's other biography, published years ago-little need be said; in it is given what he characterises as injudicious praise; he seems to have laboured in the first volume of this last beautifully got up work to mortify his own flesh; and we hope he has succeeded."

PROSPECTS OF THE NEW CHURCH IN AMERICA.

A correspondent of the Messenger, writing under the title of "An Encour

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