both interested and surprised me. His mind appeared to me original and well cultivated-startling and ingenious, rather than profound in philosophic science-a most excellent man, thoroughly disinterested, tolerant, and liberal, and in the midst of his unwearying activity and exhaustless flow of conversation, strangely absent, familiar, confused, amiable, and engaging, no matter what impoliteness he might commit, or what propriety he might forget. He was to speak on the 15th April in the House of Lords, in reply to the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of Exeter, on the question of the Clergy Reserves in Canada. I am not sure,' said Lord Holland to me, 'that in his indiscreet sincerity he may not say he sees no good reason why there should be a Bench of Bishops in the House of Peers.' He did not speak, for the debate was adjourned; but on that occasion, as on all others, he would certainly not have sacrificed to the interest of his order the smallest particle of what he regarded either as true or for the public good."" Thus writes M. Guizot in his "Embassy at the Court of St. James in 1840." (New edition, 1863.) Who that has any knowledge of archbishop Whately will not be amused at this graphic sketch? And yet there are those who may be disposed to allege that the boasted liberalism and toleration, always associated with this energetic prelate, have had their opposites in his episcopal rule. It is not our wish or intention to indulge in unkind remarks of a man who will live in the page of English history, as able and discriminating in the region of intellect, and as one abounding in genial qualities, and of enlarged benevolence. Venerable by position and by age, we would rather regard him entering "that bourne whence no traveller returns," as one whose faults ought to be passed over in silence. The archbishop has had the distinguished blessing of seeing more than one member of his family "not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ." If our information be correct, his partner in life's trials was a Christian, excellent among women; and her daughters are said to have been "partakers of the benefit." To our apprehension, this exhibits the venerable prelate "ruling well his own house." One of his daughters is well known for her employment of time and talent in promoting the Redeemer's kingdom in the East, as evidenced by "Ragged Life in Egypt," a work of interest, appealing to the sympathy of all engaged in trying to train, if not to rescue, the neglected youth of our country. Another Miss Whately is engaged in reproducing Sketches of Church History, specimens of which, noted at the head of this article, wel commend to the special notice of our readers. "The Story of Luther," and "The Story of Ulrich Zwingle," may, from the assumed familiarity of the subject, not present the charm of novelty. Miss Whately has rightly judged that "the great work of the Reformation" is still a moral battle-field. She assumes this position in her preface to "The Story of Luther," when she says, "The battle of Luther's days is still going on, openly in some places, secretly in others." That our readers may have confidence in the fitness of Miss Whately for the interesting task she has undertaken, we will give her dedication of the first-named production: "To the Rev. Hamilton Verschoyle this Book is, by his kind permission, grateVol. 62.-No. 303. 2 H fully and affectionately dedicated, by one whose privilege it has long been to call him Friend and Pastor; in happy days the helper of her joy,' in sorrowful, as one that comforteth the mourners: a pastor according to God's own heart. She waits to learn the full value of his ministry until time shall have given place to eternity, and there shall be no more tears, no more partings: when they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever." In pursuing her object, our author pretends to nothing new, but rather aims to bring before youthful readers "a simple, clear, and connected narrative of the leading events" in the lives of the two Reformers whose photographs she has brought to light. In adopting the story-telling style, she avoids much that is dry and tedious in history; and, by breaking up the narrative into brief portions, there is less to fatigue attention, or to oppress memory. It would be manifestly unjust to be other than sparing of extracts. Our desire is to excite some sense of the importance of making the subject of that era in the world's progress, the Reformation of the sixteenth century, a matter of historical education. It has been said again and again, that, though we are in a thinking age, it is not a thoughtful one; hence this necessity. Our notice of the well-performed task of Miss Whately will best effect what we desire, by stating the table of contents of each book; and giving one or two specimens, by way of stimulating a wish to peruse the works. The Story of Luther consists of 21 chapters:-1. Luther's Childhood; 2. College Life at Erfurt; 3. The Monk; 4. The Visit to Rome; 5. Light shining in Darkness; 6. Indulgences; 7. Confidence in God; 8. Conflict; 9. The Escape; 10. None but Christ; 11. Luther burns the Pope's Bull; 12. A good Confession before many Witnesses; 13. The Captive; 14. The Bible in German; 15. The War of the Peasants; 16. The Husband and Father; 17. The Protest at Spires; 18. Fears within, Fighting without; 19. Expectation; 20. The Confession of Augsburg; 21. Rest. Luther was born, 10th November, 1483, at Eisleben, where he died, 12th March, 1546. On New Year's Day, 1484, Ulrich Zwingle was born, and died 11th October, 1531, from wounds received in the exterminating effort on the part of Roman Catholic Cantons in Switzerland. The Story of Zwingle is told in 17 chapters, headed-1. Introduction; 2. Pastoral Life in the Alps; 3. Daybreak; 4. Broken Cisterns; 5. Physicians of no Value; 6. Faint yet Pursuing; 7. Wars and Rumours of Wars; 8. Lights and Shadows; 9. Helped forward by Difficulties; 10. Zurich abolishes the Mass; 11. Retrospect; 12. Passing Clouds; 13. Unity in Diversity; 14. Cast down, but not Destroyed; 15. Shadows Lengthening; 16. Sowing in Tears; 17. Rejoicing in Hope. With such a bill of fare we need not give extracts. It is a coincidence worthy of remembrance, that Luther and Zwingle, born within a few months of each other, were, without concert and in different countries, brought to accurate views on the great foundation principle, the supremacy of the Word of God, in matters pertaining to the salvation of the soul. That principle once adopted, popery and its idolatries, together with its assumption of supreme right and infallible rule, soon became unbearable; and each, "endowed with power from on high," proclaimed what we now call Evangelical truth, and, ultimately, firm, unflinching Protestantism. In our opinion, “The Story of Zwingle" is a better executed performance than that of Luther. It is singularly attractive in all its incidents, and the history is admirably sustained. On the subject of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, Luther, it is well known, held, after a sort, "the real presence." Zwingle, on the other hand, regarded it as a memorial. The chapter in the Story of Zwingle (Unity in Diversity) is painful, but replete with useful instruction. The Swiss Reformers certainly manifested more of the mind that is in Christ, than did the Saxons. But even here, common candour will agree with our author, that fierce as was Luther in maintaining the doctrine of the real presence, "the spirit of genuine Christian love resumed her place in his heart." First comes that which is natural, afterwards that which is spiritual. The last work noted at the head of this article is a handsome folio, consisting of twelve prints of great interest and skilful execution; and we can safely recommend it as meriting a place on the table of every well-furnished drawing-room. The descriptive letter-press is by Merle D'Aubigné, who commends this really beautiful work. Whatever tends to raise Martin Luther is a decided gain on the side of Christian truth; and Dr. Merle D'Aubigné aptly says,-"It is fit this great epoch should be not only described in books, but represented by the productions of art. The work begun by Luther still lives, advancing and spreading unto the ends of the earth." A word or two on this point, and we must close. In our own land, there is a propensity to weary of the chivalry of the Reformation. Tractarianism, with its admiration of what is popish, and its almost shivering horror at ultra-Protestantism, makes friends with our fastidious literary devotees, in condemning all the coarse, vituperative, harsh modes of speech employed by the Reformers; and the English dictionaries have been ransacked in order to give piquancy to the sentence of condemnation, which is always at hand, whenever that great deliverance from error's chain falls under their notice. So that semipopery, and sneering scepticism, have combined, in this our day, to deprive of its claim upon reasonable men that mighty operation of God's Spirit. The half-sceptical Hallam, and the now popish Father Newman, have employed their minds to effect this. Would that the celebrated vindication of Luther and his prime doctrine, "Justification by Faith only," published as a note (W) at the end of Archdeacon Hare's Mission of the Comforter, could be read and appreciated by the alarmists about ultra-Protestantism. Any of our readers who may think us needlessly strong upon this ignorant apathy in some, and objectionable sympathy with Romanism in others, if not conversant with Julius Hare's manly defence, will thank us for directing their attention to this able refutation of conceit, ignorance, and error. Hear Mr. Hare's estimate:-"No man ever lived whose whole heart and soul and life have been laid bare as his have been to the eyes of mankind. Open as the sky, bold and fearless as the storm, he gave utterance to all his feelings, all his thoughts; he knew nothing of reserve; and the impression he produced on his hearers was such that they were anxious to treasure up every word that dropped from his pen or from his lips. No man was ever placed in such difficult circumstances, or assailed by such manifold temptations. And how has he come out of the trial? Through the power of faith, under the guardian care of his Heavenly Master, he was enabled to stand through life, and still he stands, and will continue to stand, firmly rooted in the love of all who really know him." To the ascertainment of that knowledge, the work of Miss Whately is no unimportant aid. We have sometimes felt disposed of late to amuse ourselves with the problem, suggested probably by Dr. Colenso's arithmetical tendencies, how big a volume ought to be, in order to be rated as a satisfactory answer, say to an octavo volume full of absurdities, quibbles, and all sorts of impertinences, historical, critical, geogra phical, theological, arithmetical, and what not. Must an octavo be allowed to stand upon its dignity, and never surrender except to a quarto volume? Or may it engage, on equal terms, with another octavo, provided always that the enemy is of equal tonnage, and carries the same number of guns, i. e., page for page, and chapter for chapter? In this warfare, is it allowed to the blockading vessel to refuse to go down, however rifled and battered, if the shot and shell are not of a given weight and size? We have asked ourselves these questions, because we constantly hear a demand for a full answer to the Bishop of Natal, before any further proceedings are taken against him. Even the Lower House of Convocation was disturbed for the moment by this demand from a learned divine, who professed to be no friend to the bishop or his theology. Now, it strikes us, that except on the principle that only an octavo can give battle to an octavo, the infidel bishop is rather over answered than otherwise. We noticed several replies in our last number; we should fill a whole page with mere title pages, if we were to recount the pamphlets which have appeared since; and there is probably not one of them which does not give a sufficient-some of them give an overwhelming, crushing-answer to the whole volume. Let us take up a few: - 1. An Examination of Bishop Colenso's Difficulties, &c. By the Rev. Alex. M'Caul, D.D., Professor of Hebrew in King's College, London. Rivingtons. 2. Letter to Bishop Colenso. By Wm. H. Hoare, M.A., late Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. 2nd Edition. Rivingtons. 3. The Bible in the Workshop, &c. By Two Working Men: a Jew and a Gentile. Kent & Co., Paternoster Row. 4. Bishop Colenso's Examination of the Pentateuch Examined. By G. S. Drew, M.A., Author of "Scripture Lands," &c. London: Bell & Daldy. 5. Bishop Colenso and the Pentateuch; or, a Vindication of the Historical Character of the Old Testament. By Alpha. Wertheim & Co. Dr. M'Caul, from his oriental learning, readily disposes of the bishop's criticisms. Mr. Hoare, a Fellow of his own College, makes sad work with his arithmetic:-"Two journeymen mechanics, working for London firms, at their respective trades of printing and bookbinding, borrowed a copy of Dr. Colenso's work on the Pentateuch from a City missionary, and sat down together for a few evenings, after their day's work was done, in order to study carefully what the bishop had advanced. They have made the following notes of their investigation." They have compressed, in a pamphlet, sold for 18. 6d., an amount of good sense and good writing, with a very fair amount of Hebrew criticism from our friend the Jew, highly creditable to themselves, and in the same proportion discreditable to the bishop of Natal. Mr. Drew, from his acquaintance with oriental geography and habits, has exposed the folly of much of his reasoning, and proved almost to a demonstration, from the very features of the scenes he visited, the veracity of Moses on many of the minuter points of his wonderful story. Alpha need not have been ashamed of his name; for he has written enough to show that "the charge of being unhistorical, recently made by bishop Colenso, instead of being true, does, by placing his assertions in direct antagonism with the statements of our Lord Jesus Christ, recoil with fearful force upon himself." All the letters of the alphabet could have said nothing more damaging to bishop Colenso's character, he is a man who comes forward with an air of assumed candour, vitally to stab and wound the church of Christ. What is the difficulty in his volume to which these pamphlets, to go no further, have not supplied a sufficient answer? And how many of his arguments have they left, to carry on our naval trope, unriddled with the small grapeshot of well deserved contempt and ridicule ? Try not our patience, by telling us that the bishop of Natal is not yet answered. The man who does so deserves to be condemned to read only folios for the remainder of his life! PUBLIC AFFAIRS. PARLIAMENT was opened on the 5th inst. The Queen was not present; but the Prince of Wales took his seat as the first peer of the realm, and thus entered on his public life. When we consider how much depends upon his future conduct, not only in public, but even more perhaps in his private capacity, it is impossible not to feel the greatness of the occasion. We shall not imitate the example of many public writers, who have felt it not unbecoming to obtrude their instructions on their future sovereign till it is remarked in general conversation, that should the Prince go wrong, it will not be for want of counsellors. But our readers will permit us to remind them that amongst the few "I wills" of St. Paul, one of the first is this, "that men pray for kings and for all that are in authority." The marriage of his Royal Highness approaches, and never was a royal marriage more acceptable to an independent, affectionate, and loyal nation. Preparations are everywhere being made for celebrating the 10th of March with national festivities. They will be spontaneous and heartfelt; and the procession of the royal bride through London will probably surpass in magnificence even the gorgeous dis |