modern books of travels. The fourth volume does not appear to have undergone any change in arrangement, with the exception of the chapter on the sources of the first three Gospels, which is now thrown into the appendix, with some additional matter. Many improvements have also been interspersed throughout different parts of the volume. On the whole, we conceive that a very considerable part of the work must have been expressly re-written for this edition, and that the new matter which the Author has introduced cannot amount to less than between two and three hundred pages. NOTICES OF BOOKS. Journal of a Residence in the Sandwich Isles in the years 1823-4-5, by C. S. Stewart, late American Missionary, London, H. Fisher, and Co. 1828. The Sandwich Isles, placed as they are in the track of commerce between the new and rapidly encreasing Republics of the American continent and the eastern shores of China, Japan, and Australasia, have naturally attracted in no small degree, the attention of the commercial world. But they particularly call upon the regard of the Christian philanthropist, because here and in other beautiful groupes that stud this magnificent ocean have been exhibited, within a few short years, the demolition of Pagan temples, thè destruction of idols, and the renunciation of all that was base, and cruel, and obscene, and the substitution of a Christian ministry, the profession of Christian truths, and the practice of Christian morality. The work before us is written by one of the American Missionaries, who, in conjunction with their British brethren, have, under God, effected the grand and glorious work, and in its interesting pages we see abundant evidence afforded of how admirably Christianity is adapted to improve the condition of mankind, to elevate the intellectual and moral character, and while it inspires him with hopes of a blessed immortality, it elevates the human race and fits it to fill a higher and happier sphere of action in this life. The details in this volume concern the first mission to Hawaii, or Owhyhee, the conversion, baptism, and death of the first convert, the first admission of the natives to the Christian church, the remarkable attention paid to instruction, and the deteriorating and VOL. VII. ruinous consequences of the immora character and outrageous conduct of the several Europeans and Americans who visit these Islands. Concerning these, Mr. Stewart has furnished most interesting information, and besides, there is much instructive matter to the general reader to be found in those pages, concerning the natural history of these Islands, and the stupendous volcano, which was in desolating activity during Mr. Stewart's residence. Specimens of the Lyrical, Descriptive, and Narrative Poets of Great Britain. By John Johnston, Editor of Specimens of Sacred and Serious Poetry. Edinburgh, Oliver and Boyd. 1828. To those who have neither time nor taste to peruse the whole body of English Poetry, and yet who desire to cull for themselves some of the brightest gems that sparkle on the Parnassus of England, this little volume must be valuable, for here, in a moderate compass, and at a low price, the public are furnised with a selection of the fairest productions of the English muse, arranged in order, so as to form as it were an index to our Poetical Literature out of its own choisest specimens. The Editor asserts for himself, and we think with truth, that with very few exceptions no poem has been admitted into this compilation that has not either stood the test of time, or been allowed to possess these enduring qualities which will make the contents of this small volume as valuable centuries hence as at the present hour. The biographical notices, are short, but are well executed. U A Letter to an English Layman, on the Coronation Oath, &c. By the Rev. Henry Phillpotts, D. D. Rector of Stanhope. Murray, London. 1828. This, though an able and a useful work, is, perhaps, too political in its texture to permit us as Christian Examiners to review it at length. At the same time we think we do not travel beyond our province when we express our opinion as to the talent and research with which it is written. Dr. Phillpott's object is to shew, that no casuistry, or special pleading, or Jesuitical probabilities, can sanction the king of the British Isles in doing away with the obligation of his coronation oath. In this respect, with his usual force of reasoning, he contends against Mr. C. Butler, Dr. Milner, and the Editor of the Edinburgh Review, and shews that the oath undeniably restrains the king from concurring in any act that his Majesty believes in his conscience may endanger the Protestant church Establishment. Dr. Phillpotts then goes on to shew that the present demands of the Roman Catholics are inconsistent with the coronation oath, that the bad spirit which on every occasion the Roman Catholics evince, should warn the king and all his Protestant subjects to guard against their admission into privileges which would encrease their power without diminishing their hostility, that the Popish prelates of Ireland have shewn a consistency for three centuries in their desire to reassume their power and honours as an establishment in Ireland; and as the Roman hierarchy joined with the Romish lawyers in bringing about the rebellion of 1641, so now do we see the whole priesthood of the Church of Rome acting in concert with the Roman Catholic Association, controuling elections, collecting the Catholic Rent, using arbitrary excommunication as an engine to work political purposes, and turning their mass-houses, the very altars on which they say the God of Peace is visibly present, body, soul and divinity, into arenas of political discussion, platforms where every bitter thought and word, and resolution is brought into play. We would desire to give as a specimen of the work the admirable manner in which the author contrasts the hollow and monkish libera lity of Reverend Bishops, when they talk at public meetings of the wickedness of coercing the freedom of conscience, and the propriety of permitting all Christians to go their own way to heaven, with the exclusive doctrines which the Catechism of the Council of Trent enforces, with the oath which these Bishops must have taken on their appointment to their successive preferments, and with the Bull, "Unam Sanctam," taught in the text-book of Maynooth, and which declares that it is necessary to salvation to be subject to the Pope; all these our author shews must have been believed by Dr. Egan, the Bishop of Ardfert, who declared at Killarney, that "it is good sense and fine feeling to leave every man to his own conscience and to permit all Christians to go to heaven their own way." There is particular notice taken in this work of that greatest incentive to perjury, of that incomparable unimaginable evil-the system of 40s. freeholders in Ireland; and there is an indignant exposure of how the Romish clergy, acknowledging as they have done that it is a damnable, and disgraceful, and soul destroying system, yet, to subserve their own purposes, and to attain their own ends, have borrowed the diabolical engine, and made it their happy machinery, and boasted in the success of their engine. In the appendix there is a very interesting review of Dr. M'Hale, the Bishop of Maronia's evidence before the Commissioners of Education. The convenient morality of this Bishop, in partibus infidelium, is largely exhibited, and the way in which that Right Reverend Gentleman gets over the restraint of duty, and the kind facility with which the heads of the College of Maynooth permitted him to do the same, are fully explained. The works of the English and Scotch Reformers; edited by Thomas Russell, A.M. Vol. II. London, Palmer. 1828. At the present day, when so much external interest upon the subject of religion has been excited, and so much doctrinal and practical error is afloat, we cannot think of any thing within the reach of hunian means, better calculated to correct the evil, and promote the good, than the publication and circulation of the writings of those men whose voice first shook the Vatican to its foundation, whose sound and judicious views of Scripture truth, in the midst of an age of idolatry and false religion, have kindled a light throughout the world which shall pensable. We confess, therefore, that we were sorry when we read the " concluding note," in which we are informed that "the notes hereafter will be very few and very brief-at the same time we are certainly of opinion that brevity would be on the whole a better fault than superfluity. So far as we can judge from the specimen afforded by the volume before us, we hesitate not to recommend this work, as eminently calculated to promote the interests of sound divinity, and we sincerely wish the editor every success in his undertaking. never be put out-"men who have bazarded their lives, for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." We look upon Mr. Russell's undertaking as a labour of national importance, which the patriot, abstractedly from his Christianity, should regard with the deepest interest. Many of the tracts which will be re-published in the intended series had become extremely scarce; or were to be met with only in the cumbersome and repulsive forms of black letter and antiquated spelling: hence, these invaluable works have lain for centuries unconsulted and almost unknown, except perhaps to the perverted taste of the Bibliomaniac, who valued them only for the curiosity of their binding, or the name of their printer, or perchance for the delightful thought that no other copy was to be had in England. The present republication is beautifully printed, and the price so moderate, as to insure, we trust, an extensive circulation. The work is intended to contain a complete and faithful reprint of all the extant works of the English and Scotch Reformers, without any alteration except the modernizing of the spelling, a change which was certainly well judged. The present volume, the first that has been published, is the second of the series, and contains the following tracts by TYNDALE:-. Prologues to the first five books of work, which has long been deservedly Moses. Prologue to the Prophet Jonas. The Parable of the wicked Mammon. A notice inserted in the beginning informs us that the first volume, which is to contain a reprint of Tyndale's New Testament, will not be published till the whole of the series is completed. Mr. Russell has added very much to the interest of the work, by the notes which appear at the end of this volume: they are chiefly explanatory and illustrative, containing some original documents, many of which might have been difficult of access: We cannot but look upon this as one of the most important parts of the whole undertaking, and from the specimen he has given, we think Mr. Russell well quali. fied to execute them judiciously and with effect: nor do we by any means think the notes of the present volume more numerous than the occasion required; and many of them, especially the illustrations of obsolete words, would to some readers be quite indis ex Biblical Encyclopædia; or, Compendium of Scriptural Information. A new Edition, revised, corrected, and greatly enlarged. Calmet's Dictionary of the Holy Bible, edited by the late Charles Taylor: plaining the Names, Histories, &c. of Persons, Places, and Natural Productions, mentioned in Scripture; the Antiquities, Buildings, Coins, Habits, Laws, Customs, and Peculiarities, of the Jews, &c. &c. With the Fragments; containing entirely New Illustrations of Scripture Incidents and Expressions, selected from the most authentic Histories, Travellers, &c., containing many Occurrences and Observations extremely interesting, and highly entertaining, brought down to the latest period: illustrated by several Hundred Plates of Views, Maps, Plans, Dresses, &c. from the best Authorities. B. J. Holdsworth. We are glad of an opportunity of recommending to our readers the above republication of Calmet's celebrated considered as decidedly the first Biblical Encyclopædia in the world. The present edition is publishing in single parts at 6s, each, or in fasciculi of four parts, in boards, at 24s. The publisher has spared no efforts to insure accuracy in the references and printing. Three individuals of known learning are employed in the revision of the sheets, while the whole, before going to press, passes under the eye of a final editor. Several very considerable improvements, which our limits forbid us to specify, and some entirely new articles, distinguish the present edition: the plates have been re-touched, and the work is to be furnished with a copious index, including references to all the new matter that is peculiar to this edition. The Comprehensive Bible; dedicated by permission, to his Most Gracious Majesty King George the Fourth, containing the Old and New Testaments; according to the authorized Version, with the various readings and marginal notes usually printed therewith: A general Introduction, containing disquisitions on the genuine ness, authenticity, and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures; various divisions and marks of distinction in the Sacred Writ ings; ancient versions; coins, weights, and measures; various Sects among the Jews: Introductions and concluding Remarks on each Book: the parallel passages contained in the Rev. T. Scott's Commentary, 6 vols.; Canne's Bible; Rev. J. Brown's Self-interpreting Bible, 2 vols. ; Dr. Adam Clarke's Commentary, 7 vols.; and the English Version of Bagster's Poly glott Bible, systematically arranged: Philological and Explanatory Notes: a Table of Contents, arranged in historical order: an Analysis and Compendium of the Holy Scriptures: a Chronological Index, interspersed with Synchronisms of the most important epochs and events in profane history an Index of the Subjects contained in the Old and New Testaments: and an Index of the Notes, Introductions, and concluding Remarks. London, Samuel Bagster, Paternoster-row. We have transcribed the long title page of this valuable and laborious work, because we know not how we can recommend it to our readers better than by assuring them that the promises of the title will be found amply fulfilled in the book itself. As a specimen of typography, we have scarcely seen it surpassed for judicious selection of useful matter, for convenience of reading and of reference, and for the admirable arrangement of parallel passages, and the very useful apparatus of indexes, contents, and tables, that accompanies the volume, we think it entitled to every encouragement, and we confidently recommend it to cfergymen, students, and private Christians, as a work of no common merit. The Abbey of Innismoyle, a Tale of another Century. By the Author of Early Recollections, &c. Dublin 1828, Wm. Curry Jun. and Co. We have read this little work with a considerable degree of interest, it is of a far superior cast to the generality of the popular religious tales, with which the press, in the present day abounds. If not altogether original in its first outline, the parts themselves are well supported, and the incidents judiciously contrived, by which the final denouement of the story is effected. The description of scenery, continually recurring in it, is good, and much Scriptural truth is brought to bear in a very useful manner. It is, to say the least, no way inferior to the Author's former productions, one of which, ("A Visit to my Birth-place,") we are happy to observe advertised in a Second Edition. FOREIGN RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. SOUTH AMERICA. San Blas.-Extract of a letter from å correspondent : "During my professional avocations I have been favoured in observing many instances of the benefits resulting from missionary labours. Western Africa, where I was some time stationed, bears ample testimony to the Society's exertions, and affords still a very wide field for increased efforts on the parts of its friends. On the western shores of South America, from Cape Horn, to San Blas de California, comprising an extent of coast of more than 4800 miles, I have reason to know that there is not a single minister of the Gospel. In the course of the last few years above 2000 tracts were circulated, chiefly by à Lieutenant of the ship I belonged to, amongst the natives in the States of Chili, Peru, and Mexico. At San Blas de Calefornia, I had an opportunity of witnessing the eagerness with which a few Bibles were received, and I am sure I could there have disposed of hundreds of the sacred volume as easily as I found circulation for the thirteen I possessed. As soon a's it was known in the town that I had Bibles in the Spanish language, applications were made for them; my slender stock was therefore soon exhausted, and one person followed me for days intreating for a Bible, and offering as much as four dollars for it, and so earnest was his importunity, that at length one of the Lieutenants gave him his Spanish Testament, with which the poor fellow went away quite delighted. I did not remain sufficiently long at San Blas, to witness any pleasing results from this sprinkling of the word of Life, but we know that the promise is sure, and if we cast our bread upon the waters it shall be found after many days.” DENMARK. in it-among these Erasmus fills a distinguished place. It is, therefore, to be lamented, that he has hitherto been judged of with so much partiality or prejudice, and painted either in the full dignity of a reformer, as the proper author of the reformation; or as a cowardly and courtly hypocrite. The object of this work is, therefore, to represent on the one hand, the extensive activity of Erasmus as an author, and his extraordinary influence on the restoration of learning; on the other, his real position with respect to the Roman Catholic Church and to the Reformers. The author endeavours to throw light on the latter, by con sidering Erasmus as rooted (if it may be so expressed) in a preceding period, and properly belonging to that more than to the subsequent age of the Reformation." Hanover. Proposals have been issued for publishing by subscription The History of the Church and the Reformation in the North of Germany, and the Hanoverian dominions, by J. K. F. Schlegel. The North of Germany, says the prospectus performed an impor tant part in the work of the Reforma Periodical Publications. Periodical literature had long been in a languishing state in Denmark, but within the last forty years it has assumed an extraordinary degree of activity, and in our own days has made very considerable progress. There are at present eighty periodical works and jour nals in the kingdom, published at various intervals seventy of these are in the Danish language, and are published either at Copenhagen, or in the principal country towns. Of the remaining fen, six are in German, two in the Icelandic, and two in Danish, published in the East Indian possessions-the most popular literary journal appears to be Kjobenhavns Flyvende Post, edited by Mr. Heiberg, jun. a young man of talent, and who excels equally in grave and lively compositions. The Borgerreren, or Friend of the Citizen, is edited by a society belonging to that class. This society is intended to assist members of the labouring classes with loans, paying no interest, and is chiefly supported by the produce of the journal. Theology, Medicine, Juris prudence, Political Economy, History, Geography and Antiquities, Education, of which Brunswick and Hanover, tion, Agriculture, Mathematics and the Arts, even Phrenology, all have their appropriate journals, and many of them are conducted by men of the first taste, talent, and learning. The li berty of the press is said to be greater in the Danish provinces than in Holstein, which although belonging to Denmark, forms part of the German confederation. The two Icelandic journals are on miscellaneous subjects of history, and literature, foreign and domestic. The journals published in the East Indies are a true picture of the population, exhibiting in the same number a decree in Danish-an advertisement of the sale of sugar in English-a notice of a feast in French, or a proclamation representing a runaway slave in Spanish; in short, they are a true tower of Babel. GERMANY. Berlin-The Life of Erasmus of Rotterdam, by Adolph. Muller, 1 vol. 8vo. which obtained the prize of the Philosophical faculty of the University of Berlin, is now published-we find the following remarks upon it in a foreign journal-"The interest with which the period of the Reformation is at present regarded, naturally extends to the persons who were engaged Luremburg and Celle may be justly considered as a central point. The archives of the civil and ecclesiastical departments relative to the religious institutions, convents, &c. in Brunswick, Luneburg, Wolfenbuttel, SaxeLunenburg, and the adjacent countries really united with Hanover, contain many acts and documents hitherto unpublished, to which the author in his official capacity as Councellor to the Consistory has had free access;-he has considerably availed himself of these, so that his work will contain many hitherto unknown facts and important original documents, and present a history of the Reformation which cannot fail to satisfy readers of every party, as it is written with all the impartiality so desirable in works of this description. The work will form two thick volumes in large Octavo. Camburgh-Scotch Church.-A Work has just appeared at Camburgh by M. Gemberg on the present state of the National Church of Scot land in its interior and exterior Constitution, with a preface by Doctor Neander of Berlin--the work is divided into Three Parts, treating first, of the doctrine of the Scottish Church which is represented as a practical, biblical, and rational supernaturalism. |