There is a simple and earnest tone of religious feeling in some of his poems, particularly in one on the Sabbath: speaking of the value and delight of a day set apart for the free enjoyment of the "common air, the sea, and sky," to those confined through the working week in the baleful atmosphere of the dense and crowded city. Sabbath! thou art my Ararat of life, Smiling above the deluge of my cares; My only refuge from the storms of strife; Where constant hope her noblest aspect wears, Calm season! when my thirsting spirit shares Where Manufacture's mighty structures rise; "God of the boundless universe! I come To hold communion with myself and Thee! Whilst, circling round my heart, a poet's raptures glow. 66 Full rich and joyous, on th' enamoured ear; While, through the wondrous halls where Memory dwells, A thousand visions of the past career, A thousand joys and griefs in dreamy forms appear. My heart's religion is an earnest love Of all that's good and beautiful and true! This vast pavilion of unclouded blue ; My hymn is ever many-voiced and new, From bird and bee, from wind and wave, it pours; My incense is the breath of herbs, leaves, fruits, and flowers. Blest Sabbath-time! on life's tempestuous ocean The poor man's only haven of repose; Oh! thou hast wakened many a sweet emotion Good night! departing sabbath of my soul, good night!" p. 1—20. There is something of the same style of thought in a Sketch amongst the Hills: : 'Oh, is it not religion to admire, O God, what thou has made, in field and bower, To feel within the soul the wakening fire "This is the fitting temple of high thought For all that the Eternal Hand had wrought, Having the form of grandeur and of grace, Fills us with wonder, strengthens hope and love, While the wrapt soul aspires to brighter things above." p. 84. These poems seem to us remarkably free from faults of style, though the ideas are sometimes repeated in different forms, which will necessarily be the case when one set of thoughts and anxieties is forced upon the mind; and the theme Prince dwells upon is the misery of his fellow-beings, arising from their defective education and evil habits. He repeats to them again and again, that happiness is not to be found in the gratification of evil passions, nor freedom won, still less secured, by acts of violence, which in their state of suffering offer too strong a temptation and too ready a means of proving to their rulers that they will not submit tamely to chains and starvation. But with all this deep feeling for his class, there is no mixture of envy towards those above him-no desire that all should be reduced to one level-no Utopian dreams of universal wealth and freedom from hardships. Even with regard to his own children, in an address to a little girl of eight years old, he ends thus:: But though he may sometimes give way to despondency, in his life as well as his poetry, he is supported and inspired by strong confidence that the time is fast approaching when education will enlighten those sunk in ignorance, emancipating them from the worst evils of their condition, improvidence and vice; and obliging their rulers to set commerce free, and give to all who will work food and occupation. We will close with a poem, the only one we have given entire. "Who are the Free? They who have scorned the tyrant and his rod, These are the proudly Free! Who are the Great? : They who have boldly ventured to explore Unsounded seas, and lands unknown before; VoL. IV. No. 16.-New Series. P Soared on the wings of science wide and far, "Who are the Wise? They who have governed with a self-control "Who are the Blest? They who have kept their sympathies awake, Gentle in thought, benevolent in deed; Whose looks have power to make dissension cease, Whose smiles are pleasant and whose words are peace. They who have lived as harmless as the dove, Teachers of Truth and ministers of love; Love for all moral power, all mental grace, Love for the humblest of the human race, Love for the tranquil joy which virtue brings, Love for the Giver of all goodly things; True followers of that soul-exalting plan Which Christ laid down to bless and govern man ; E. ART. VIII.-HISTORY OF THE PLANTING AND TRAINING OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH BY THE APOSTLES. By Dr. AUGUSTUS NEANDER, Ordinary Professor of Theology in the University of Berlin, Consistorial Counsellor, &c. Translated from the Third Edition of the original German, by J. E. RYLAND. 2 vols. Edinburgh: Thomas Clark, 38, George-street. 1842. THE appearance of these volumes in the English language will be hailed with welcome by every real lover of truth, and by every friend to theological inquiry who is in any degree acquainted with the character of their author. It must be a no less pleasing subject of reflection to all liberal minds that they are issued under the superintendence of orthodox parties; containing as they do much with which no existing denomination in England will completely agree, and very much that will prove highly offensive to minds totally unaccustomed to a free examination of the contents of Scripture. They form the 35th and 36th No. of Clark's Edinburgh Biblical Cabinet: a series which has already shown marks of a liberal spirit, by including some of the writings of Ware and Channing; but which has never previously published any work so bold and dispassionate in its investigations into the acts, customs, and sentiments of the sacred writers as the one before us. The value of a work like this depends first upon the character and talents of its author, and next upon the accuracy of the translator. On subjects which require a vast extent of reading, a free unbiassed judgment, and a powerful and comprehensive mind, it is very little becoming a critic to judge the value of literary productions by any consideration of the results which have been arrived at. Nor is it possible to enter into details respecting the various items which have been examined, to form the premises upon which the author has based his conclusions. One grand requisite in such cases appears to be a full confidence in the learning, judgment, and impartial candour of the writer in question. In any other way to judge the work before us would imply that the critic was more competent to decide upon the real opinions that were held in the days of the Apostles, and therefore upon the interpretation of Scripture, than one who has devoted his whole lifetime, with indefatigable perseverance and extensive resources before him, to this one subject. If we adopt anything like the candid spirit of Dr. Neander, we shall at least wait, before we condemn any one conclusion of our |