end in malevolence." We are happy to see a production so masculine in its character, devoted to the cause of revealed truth and vital godliness. That it should so soon have reached a second edition is matter of sincere congratulation to the author and the public.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS; or, the History of the Acts of the Apostles, in Question and Answer. Designed for the use of Bible Classes. By MRS, HENDERSON. In two vols. 18mo.

Jackson and Walford.

THERE is more lucid statement of Bible doctrine in this, and the author's former work on the Four Gospels, than could be found in all the ponderous volumes of the Greek and Latin fathers. Mrs. Henderson's questions on the four evangelists are so well known, so highly appreciated, and so extensively used, that we need only to apprise the public of the appearance of her new work on the Acts of the Apostles, to secure a very extensive demand for it, among those who wish real and substantial aids in conducting Bible classes, in the family, the congregation, the boardingschool, the Sunday-school, or the day-school. They are not words of course when we say, that Mrs. Henderson has shewn an intimate acquaintance with the facts, the spirit, and the teaching of the Acts; and that she has adopted all her instructions to persons of tender age and immature acquaintance with the great doctrines of revealed truth.

A BASKET of FRAGMENTS; being the substance of Sermons by the late Řev. R. M. M CHEYNE, Minister of St. Peter's Church, Dundee. Second Edition, considerably enlarged. Small 8vo. pp. 376.

Ward and Co.

LIKE all the other productions of their eminent and devoted author, these sketches of some of his pulpit productions are exceedingly valuable. They are often ingenious, always fervent, and closely applied to the conscience. He was modelled upon the Puritans, without their prolixity of style and endless division and subversion of themes. We commend the volume with much sincerity to our readers.

The DRAWING-ROOM TABLE-BOOK, Edited by MRS. S. C. HALL.

George Virtue.

MRS. HALL appears like herself in this volume, a close student of human nature,

full of good and kindly feeling, sprightly in a high degree, and fully bent on making her fellow-creatures happy. Of the twenty articles which this exquisitely beautiful volume contains, Mrs. H. has produced nine of them, all more or less indicating the vigorous and ingenious qualities of her intellect, and the fine, generous feelings of a heart breathing charity and goodwill to all mankind. If religion is not directly introduced, it is always referred to with respect; and feelings and states of mind are inculcated which Christianity only can teach. In her " Italian in his Studio," we are not at one with Mrs. Hall on the sub

ject of pictures in churches. The thing is posed to play John Knox with all such equivocal aids to Christian devotion.

so liable to abuse, that we should be dis

The embellishments of this volume are unique and admirable specimens of the present improved state of our pictorial art.

THE JUVENILE SCRAP-BOOK; a Gage D'Amour for the Young. By the Author of "The Women of England." 1848. Fisher, Son, and Co.

MRS. ELLIS once more, and with the best pretensions, claims the grateful notice of her juvenile readers. Never did she deserve better at their hands; for this is decidedly, if we are at all judges, the best volume of her annual series that has yet appeared; best in every way, both as to intellectual tone, useful tendency, and artistical adornment. It is really a truly suitable present for the young people in our families.

BRIEF NOTICES OF BOOKS.

1. Memoir of Lady Warwick: also, her Diary, from A.D. 1666 to 1672. Now first published. To which is added, Extracts from her other Writings. Small 8vo. pp. 220. Religious Tract Society.This is a singularly precious volume, which will be greatly prized by all who love an habitual and close communion with God. The Diary of Lady Warwick, which has never appeared before, is an invaluable boon to the Christian Church; for it breathes a spirit of lofty and pure devotion.

2. A Voice in the Wilderness; or, The Broad and Narrow Way. Small 8vo. pp. 166. Charles Edmonds, London.-This is the work of a young clergyman of the Church of Scotland, the Rev. C. F. Buchan, F.S A., of Fettercairn. He need not have withheld his name; for it is indeed a very interesting and impressive work, full of mind, and piety, and Christian eloquence. The subjects treated are-Enoch; the Flood; Jacob's Ladder; Ruth; Nineveh; the Chariot of Fire; the Nativity; the last Journey to Jerusalem; the Rainbow round the Throne: the Spring time of the Soul and Body; the Swellings of Jordan; the Sharp Sickle; the last Resurrection; and the Lost Soul."

4. The Teacher's Offering for 1847. 18mo. pp. 250. Ward and Co.-This old favourite is, in every respect, a greatly improved work ;-in letter-press, embellishments, and literary merit. We give it our most cordial recommendation.

5. Man's Right to God's Word. Translated from the French Prize Essay of M. BOUCHER. With a Recommendatory Preface, by the Hon. and Rev. H. MONTAGU VILLIERS, M.A., Rector of St. George's, Bloomsbury. Small 8vo. pp. 128. F. Shaw, Southampton-row. This is a very powerful Essay, the truths of which cannot be too deeply impressed upon the mind in these Romanizing times.

6. A Missionary Poem. By the Rev. G. SANDFORD, M.A., Incumbent of Elden District. Sheffield. Small 8vo. pp. 166. Whittaker and Co.-lt is saying not a little when we affirm, that this volume is real poetry, written in a Christian and glowing spirit, upon a subject of imperishable in

terest.

7. The Book of Psalms: arranged in Daily Portions for Devotional Reading, twice through, in the course of the Year. With suggestions to promote personal application. By the Rev. A. R. C. DALLAS, M.A, rector of Wonston, Hants, author of "The Cottager's Guide to the New Testament," "Look to Jerusalem," &c. J. Nisbet and Co.This is a most beautiful edition of the Psalms, and the notes and reflections in general are excellent.

8. Light from the Sanctuary for "the Cloudy and Dark Day" inscribed to Mourners.

Pp. 104.

Whittaker and Co.-A most comforting and instructive companion for the children of sorrow and suffering.

9. Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister-not forbidden by the Law of Nature; not dissuaded by Expediency; not prohibited by the Scriptures: including an Examination of Professor Bush's Notes on Leviticus. By the Rev. J. F. DENHAM, M.A., F.R.S., rector of St. Mary-le-Strand, and Lecturer of St. Bride's, Fleet-street. 8vo. pp. 70. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.-The subject of this pamphlet has awakened great public interest of late; and we cheerfully admit that the respected author has made out logically all his three propositions.

10. A Mission to the Mysore; with Scenes and Facts illustrative of India; its People and its Religion. By the Rev. WILLIAM ARTHUR, Wesleyan Minister. Small 8vo.

pp. 572. Partridge and Oakey. This is no ephemeral production; but a work of solid worth that will stand the test of years; and hand down the author's name to posterity as one of the most acute and comprehensive writers on missionary topics. We shall take an early opportunity of referring to Mr. Arthur's beautiful volume; the perusal of which has refreshed our spirits.

11. The Pictorial Bible. Standard Edition. 10 Parts. Royal 8vo. C. Knight and Co. - This beautiful edition proceeds rapidly to its completion, as the present Part includes a portion of the first chapter of Daniel. The more we examine this particular kind of Commentary, the more we see its value, and admire both its principle and its execution.

12. The National Cyclopædia of Useful Knowledge. Part XI. Bokhara Brabant. 8vo. C. Knight. Price Is.-This is the cheapest repository of general and valuable knowledge with which we are acquainted. One hundred and eighty-nine closely-printed octavo pages for one shilling must surely be regarded as a wonder of the modern press.

13. Murray's Home and Colonial Library. Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains. Parts I. and II. John Murray.-This is a most instructive and interesting work.

SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE LATE MRS. LEGG, OF READING.

MRS. LEGG, born August 26th, 1805, was the daughter of Mr. Alexander Kennedy, of Aberdeen. From earliest childhood, the affectionateness of her disposition was like perpetual sunshine in her father's house; and her docility and quickness of perception equally distinguished her in the school. Her mind was early stored with Divine truth; and the death of a little sister, when she was but five years of age, gave a certain amount of reality to her views of the eternal world. At the age of ten years, her mind was so mature, and her manner so grave, that she became her mother's friend, to whom she confided all her joys and cares. The means of grace became very delightful to her, and she de

voted herself to Sunday-school teaching, While yet in her teens, she was chosen superintendent of a very large Sabbath evening school, in Aberdeen, which was under the joint care of the clergyman of the parish and the Dissenting ministers. About the same period she was elected Vice-president of the Aberdeen Female Missionary Society. So great, however, was her self-diffidence, that she was twenty years of age before she joined the church under the pastoral care of the Rev. R. Penman, who, up to the time of his death, loved her as his own daughter. The writer of these lines was one of two appointed by the church to converse with her on her application for admission, and he can well remember the mental agony she endured, lest she should be imposing upon herself in

a matter so solemn and important. Love to the souls of the young was an essential element of her being; and on coming to Reading, at the period of her marriage to the Rev. W. Legg, B.A., of Broad-street Chapel, she resumed, with great delight, the functions of a Sunday-school teacher; which she continued regularly and punctually, both as teacher and superintendent, till prevented by her increasing family cares and enfeebied health. She enjoyed the perfect goodwill of the teachers, and no delight was greater to her than when, from time to time, the scholars joined the church. Not a few of her scholars have wept tears of unfeigned sorrow for her loss. The quiet tenor of her wedded life affords nothing in the form of striking incident. Everything that gives a charm to the word "home" was embodied in her person, and in all her domestic ways. The writer can truly say, after twenty-three years of most intimate acquaintance, he never heard her utter an unguarded word, or an unadvised sentence. How she was regarded as a sister will be best seen from the following extract from her brother's letter on receiving the intelligence of her death:

"And shall I never see the sweet, benignant face of my dearest sister again! and shall I never hear my name pronounced in this world by those lips which seemed to hallow whatever passed them! And yet how selfish it seems even to wish her recall from infinite felicity to the pains and anguish of this world; but I believe she would herself, if it were consistent with the Divine will, readily, willingly sacrifice her own present enjoyment, and again undertake, for a time, her former cares and anxieties, if she could thereby banish the grief with which her loss has overwhelmed those whom she has left behind her."

She intensely loved the people of her partner's pastoral care, and, in all her intercourse with that beloved flock, her prudence left him no cause for a moment's anxiety.

That beautiful passage of Scripture was fully exemplified in the death-bed experience of this admirable saint, who said, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee." During a very long and peculiarly painful affliction she lay passive as a little child in the hands of her heavenly Father. She had a natural and strong antipathy to the kind of suffering of which she was made the subject and yet she said, one day, to a kind ministerial friend, who visited and consoled her, "I do not think that I have ever repined at the form of the affliction that has come upon me." It was indeed plain to those who knew the workings of her mind, that she solemnly regarded it as the "death by which she was to glorify God." She had an extremely low and humble opinion of

She

herself, which, combined with the most perfect sincerity, and a constitutional diffidence, made her rather reserved in speaking of her own personal experience; for she often said that we ought to be cautious in speaking of our own religious impressions, lest we should express what we do not in reality feel in our hearts. It was sometimes painful to witness her struggles to attain to the assurance of hope: for while, at one time, she would hear its voice clear and melodious in the sabbath stillness of sweet prayer, praise, and devout meditation; at another time it was entirely drowned amid the turbulence of doubts and fears. said to the minister already referred to, "If Christianity consists in soaring on the wings of faith and hope, I am not a Christian; but if it be lying at the foot of the cross, and leaning on the Saviour's merits, I trust I am one." She was greatly encouraged on his assuring her that to repose is as safe, if not so delightful, as to soar. And, blessed be God, there is reason to hope that many Christians, the subjects of this timidity, will ultimately be among those from whose eyes the Lamb will wipe away all tears, and will gently lead to the fountains of quiet waters.

When her strength finally gave way, she seemed to regret it not so much for the suffering with which it was connected, as because it quite broke off the habit of spending an hour once every week with her servants, and the same every evening with her children, in reading the Scriptures and prayer. But even this she was able to commit to God. Three weeks before her death, when in a paroxysm of great suffering she was not expected to see the morning, her husband asked her whether she had been able to give up the children; she replied with great calmness, "Oh, yes, yes, I gave you all up long ago, as soon as I knew what my complaint was.'

At this stage of her illness, she repeated part of a hymn that she had felt very appropriate :

"Lord, I am very weak; distrest,
I languish, and can take no rest;
The remedies uncertain prove,
And heavily the moments move;
I cannot now look up to thee;

But, Oh, look down, look down on me."

Mrs Legg thought it right to honour the laws of Christ in her sickness by sending for the "elders of the church;" and much she enjoyed the kindess of their visits and the earnestness of their prayers. One of them says,

"On visiting Mrs. Legg the Friday preceding her death, the conversation led to the subject of passing through the valley of the shadow of death,' and the support believers might expect from the presence of Jesus with them there. She clasped her

hands and said, 'O that I could be assured of it! I would cast myself entirely on him; I would throw my arms around him; 1 would not let him go. But I am so weak.' 1 said, Mrs. Legg, now your body, and necessarily in connection with it, your mind is so weak, the Saviour will clasp his arms around you; he will keep his hold of you, he will not let you go; fear not.' She gave a most expressive look, and said, 'Ah, that is it!' The idea evidently satisfied her mind, and imparted, through divine application, consolation to her spirit."

On the other officers of the church assuring her of the sympathy and prayers of her Christian friends, she replied, she was thankful for the sympathy of God's people, and added, "The last sermon I heard was on the sympathy of Christ." When the same friend expressed his deep concern for her bodily sufferings, she recalled a saying of which Dr. Kidd, of Aberdeen, was fond, namely, "that the bodies of believers are as much redeemed as their souls;" and she added, "Oh that God's people would think of this, and not employ the bodies which Jesus has redeemed for any sinful purposes." In her, patience seemed to have its perfect work. Under the most acute sufferings she was calm and placid, only regretting that so much precious time of others should be taken up in attending to the ailments and wants of her poor body. Even when thus completely laid aside, her estimate of the value of time was very high. Although often necessarily under the influence of opiates, she would say to her sisters, "I do not wish to doze; I think it is a waste of my precious time. I wish you to keep me from dozing; talk to me of Jesus, or read a chapter to me. In early life she had suffered much from nervous depression and low-spirited affections, but during all her long illness, no doubt or fear of that harassing description seemed to have been permitted to disturb the sweet serenity of her soul. Her own views of her doubts were greatly changed by the matured reflections of a dying bed. "I have suffered much in my time, from many doubts; but I now see it was for want of simple reliance on Christ. I wanted to be something as well as to receive all. At another time, speaking of the Saviour, she said, "He knows that I look to him. I have no other refuge. I trust alone in his promises." When asked whether she felt Christ to be with her in the valley, she said, "I cannot feel that he is with me; but I can believe it."

When in great pain and weariness, she once exclaimed, "Oh, that I had the wings of faith and love, that I might fly away and be at rest ;" and when anxious every moment to have her posture changed, she suddenly checked herself, conscious of a degree of

impatience, and looking up, as if speaking to her heavenly Father, said, with the most chastened meekness, “I will be patient; I have promised to be patient, and I will be patient." Soon after, she said, "I am happy. I have been thinking of the children of Israel, and of God saying to them, ‘Return unto me.' I said to Him, Lord, I return unto Thee.' Then his promises began to come into my mind, and I felt happy.”

In this state she continued till Lord's day, Dec. 5th. During the whole day, she seemed to give signs of consciousness, only by lifting up her hand. In the evening she fell asleep in Jesus.

On the Friday following she was interred at Broad-street chapel. Her friend, and her father's friend, the Rev. J. Morison, D.D., LL.D., delivered the funeral address, which a large and deeply-affected audience felt to be not more beautiful than true, and which, by the Doctor's kind permission, is here subjoined :

"How gloomy and overwhelming were such a scene as this, were it not for the softening and cheering light which falls on it, from the bright and shining countenance of Him, who declares, in the midst of us :

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, amen; and have the keys of the invisible world and death.' In vain are all the assiduities of friendship, all the suggestions of philosophy, all the vague consolations of the world,-when brought to the aid of prostrate humanity, on an occasion so full of grief and sadness as this. The wounded and bleeding heart, bereft of a companionship which imparted to life more than half its solace, is ready to exclaim, Miserable comforters are ye all! Great calamities can only be mitigated and relieved by corresponding consolations. And as I look at that coffin, and think that it contains the lifeless corpse of a wife so gentle, so confiding, so prudent; and of a mother so devoted, so watchful, and so tender,-I cannot but feel, that the surviving husband and father has been overtaken with one of those crushing events, beneath which nothing can sustain him but the omnipotent arm of Him who knew the depths of human sorrow, and who has strong consolations' in reserve for those who have fled to him for refuge, as the hope set before them.

"The loss which has been sustained by my afflicted brother, and by his nine motherless children, can only be fully appreciated by those who felt the daily sunshine and peace which the Departed diffused in her own home circle ;--but I saw enough, and knew enough, to convince me that she was one of a thousand; that selfishness was no part of her being; that she lived for the happiness of others; and that whenever it should please God to remove her

from the sphere in which she moved with so much gracefulness and dignity, a blank would be made, which no created resource could ever fill up. The image of her 'meek and quiet spirit,'-of her gentle and winning mien, will continue to flit across the mind while memory holds her seat. And while home virtues, such as wife, and mother, and sister, and friend can display, continue to be prized, the name of our departed friend will be embalmed in the hearts of all who felt the attractive influence of her sweet and endearing intercourse.

"We need not, at this moment of undissembled grief, to ask under what auspices a character of so much beauty and loveliness was formed? To nature she was indebted for susceptibilities of mind and heart, which must have attracted towards her the warm affections of those who best knew her. But it was in the school of Christ, which she entered in life's smiling morn, that her truly feminine nature received that exquisite grace and polish which caused it to shine, in every relation of life, and amidst all the vicissitudes of her earthly sojourn, with such a mellowed lustre. She sat down, when but yet a child, at the feet of Jesus; and rarely has any disciple, through the grace of his blessed Spirit, imbibed more of his meekness, his humility, his kindness, and his spirit of unostentatious and retiring communion with his Father in heaven. Hers was not the piety which fears lest it should pass unobserved, and therefore seeks to proclaim its own virtues;-but it was that hidden thing of the heart, which finds pleasure in its own spontaneous feelings and acts; and can live on joyously and peacefully, though unnoticed and unpraised. A more simple-hearted, unpretending Christian I never expect to meet than our lamented friend on this side eternity.

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By these rare attributes of character, her heavenly Father was preparing her for scenes of protracted discipline, in one of those peculiarly afflictive visitations, from which even the stoutest heart would shrink. Long and sharp was the conflict which awaited her; but with what calmness, fortitude, and uncomplaining submission, she bore her exquisite sufferings, those can best attest who, through a succession of months, saw that in her patience had her perfect work. The hopelessness of the malady beneath which she was destined to sink, would have quenched the ardour of a mind less humble and contented, and less animated and sustained by the power of Christian hope, than hers. The spirit of thankfulness and praise so greatly prevailed, that other and less holy states of mind had next to no place left for them. Her nature was too sensitive, and her religious feelings were too correctly balanced, to permit her to look with stoical apathy and indifference upon

the expected disruption of earth's strongest and tenderest ties. She did feel acutely the prospect of separation from her beloved husband; from her numerous band of little ones, so dependent upon her maternal care; from the domestic circle she so fondly cherished; and from many dear Christian friends, who had wound themselves around her loving heart;-but when she saw what was the will of her heavenly Father concerning her, she bowed submissively to his unerring appointment; and was never heard to utter a single syllable of complaint, or in the slightest degree to murmur at the dealings of God towards her.

"How mysterious, though infinitely righteous, are the ways of God! To human appearance, how many, in all our circles, could better have been spared, than the anxious, watchful, tender, pious mother of nine lovely children. How many survive, of whose usefulness in the family, the church, and the world, it would be difficult to speak. But shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?' Let us be still and know that he is God.' No wonder that the providence of an infinite Being should be full of perplexity to feeble mortals. But though clouds and darkness are round about him,' we know that 'justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne,' and that mercy and truth go before his face.' The period is fast approaching, when the conduct of the Eternal will be seen in that ineffable light, which will expound all its mysteries;- when every event will appear to have happened at the appropriate time;-and when the mighty bereavement which we this day deplore will be seen invested with equal mercy to the deceased, and to those who survive.

"To our departed friend, how glorious is the transition which she has now made ! She has exchanged pain and toil, for exquisite delight and endless repose;—she has cast off the burden and disease of the flesh, and is now breathing the free and healthful air of immortality;-she has left all her doubts, and fears, and imperfections behind her, and is now perfect in the image of her Lord;-she is removed even from the apprehension of evil, and has placed before her the boundless prospect of interminable and ever augmenting bliss. We weep not for her; for she has gone to be with Christ, which is far better;' but we weep for the smitten husband, and for the motherless babes. Yet we would not sorrow as those who have no hope: Life and immortality are brought to light by the gospel.' From that world of spirits into which the departed has entered, we are not eternally separated. We shall behold her again, so as we never saw her in her brightest and happiest moments on earth.

6