after the example, of Him who came to seek and to save that which was lost,' and who went about doing good.'"-pp. 51, 52.

Among the various traits which marked the Christian character of Miss Palmer, she was pre-eminently distinguished as a teacher, and subsequently as the superintendent of a Sabbath-school. Her zeal for the children did not expire with the day of sacred rest; she watched over them during the week, visited them, and corresponded with them. One of her letters to a scholar we here insert, with the incident which the author has recorded concerning it :

"My dear Mary,-Though you are not in my class in the Sabbath-school, I feel disposed to write a few lines to you; and I do so with much affection, and with an earnest desire to promote your present, and your eternal welfare. You have, Mary, a precious, a never-dying soul; and it is to urge you to seek its salvation, now in the days of your youth, that I write to you, for now is the accepted time,—now is the day of salvation.' The future you may never live to see, or if your life is spared, it is likely that your heart will grow harder and harder, 'through the deceitfulness of sin.' The object at which your teachers aim, is, the salvation of your soul; and we can never feel satisfied until we have reason to believe that you have given your heart to God. I was much encouraged, when visiting you in your illness, to observe that your spirit was tender, and you seemed to feel something of the value of your soul. I hope you still continue to feel it. God has in much mercy restored your health. Let not the world steal away the love of your heart, which ought to be given to God. I have tried the pleasures of the world, and believe me, Mary, when I tell you they can never give you any solid peace. I trust I have also tried the pleasures of religion, and I have found in it a 'peace that passeth all understanding.' In yourself, you are a ruined sinner; and Christ is the only refuge from 'the wrath to come.' Oh cast your guilty soul on him, encouraged by his gracious promise, 'Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out!' He will forgive your sins and save your soul; and you will find his yoke easy, and his burden light; his ways are pleasantness, and his paths are peace. You will find him a faithful friend; he will be your guide through life, your support in death, and your portion for ever. It is my prayer that, like Mary of old, you may love to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear his words; and, like her, choose that good part which shall never be taken away' from you. But, remember, she chose the one thing needful.'

"A circumstance respecting the original note, of which the following is a copy, seems sufficiently interesting to be recorded here. A pious friend, passing through the street, kicked something with his foot which he was induced to pick up, and having read, to put into his pocket. This friend, having but lately come to reside in the town, showed it to the pastor one day, when he happened to call, who instantly recognised the hand-writing. It was this very note; and he undertook to convey it back to the young person to whom it belonged. She was at that time on the brink of a temptation, into which she afterwards fell. But the note was retained, valued, and read in the hour of anguish. She has long given the most affecting evidences of true contrition; and to this note she distinctly ascribes her conversion. We are admonished not to despise 'small things.' How little was it imagined by the friend who found it in the street, that on its recovery by him, was made to hinge the salvation of an immortal soul!"-pp. 84-86.

We have lingered so long over this little book, that we have neither time nor space to pay to the three other volumes the respectful attention we wish, and which we are sure they deserve. We must reluctantly content ourselves with a single extract from each of them. From the memoir of Mrs. Mundy we choose a sketch of her character, as drawn by the hand of a friend who knew her intimately :

"It is only those persons who have been privileged to enjoy her friendship, as I have been, that can know what she was as a missionary's wife, and as a labourer in the Lord's vineyard; though I believe, not one amongst us fully understood this. I do not think that there was another female in India who wrestled with the Lord as she did for its benighted children, and for those who are ministering the word of truth amongst them. Although she is dead, yet the many prayers which she has laid up in store for you will continue to be answered as long as you need them; and so it will be, I am persuaded, with her schools; she has left them a rich legacy in safe keeping, and He who was her great treasurer, will, in due time, answer her prayers; and as she said, when on the borders of eternity, 'He will provide.' I was truly glad to hear that you intend to publish a memoir of her, for if ever any one deserved to be had in everlasting remembrance, I am sure that your honoured wife did."-pp. 251, 252.

From the memoir of Mrs. Gibson we select a passage bearing on that view in which Mr. West, the writer of her life, wishes her to be chiefly regarded-the domestic character of her religion. After urging some forcible remarks on education-family education, he says:—

"The writer here refers to this all-important subject, because he would seize every opportunity to urge it upon the attention of Christians; and because he is able to enforce and illustrate these observations by the opinions and example of one, who had considerable experience and large observation. To his mind, none of the excellences of Mrs. Gibson's character are more important or useful than her regard to her family; and all are welcome to pluck every leaf from her laurels, if they will only imitate her in this, THAT IN HER FAMILY SHE ACTED AS BECAME AN EXEMPLARY, INTELLIGENT, CHRISTIAN WOMAN. His fear is lest mothers should wilfully place that example above their imitation, by attributing that to her talents which was effected by principle and system. He fully knew her mind and habits upon these points, and knows that she was deeply convinced of her own imperfections and defects; but that she had an earnest desire to do right, and a humble wish to learn and to amend."-p. 311.

From Mr. Innes's memoir of his wife, we insert a letter to him from the amiable Mrs. Sigourney, whom we know to be a great favourite with most of our young friends. The cast of Mrs. Innes's mind may be inferred from the circumstance of her having been honoured with the friendship of such a correspondent.

"Hartford, April 23, 1844.

My dear Mr. Innes,-Your truly affecting letter of 25th January has but recently reached me, and I thank you for the kindness which, in the time of your great affliction, prompted you thus to remember and write to me. Is it possible that the lovely being so entwined with your affections, and who, forgetful of herself, so studied the happiness of all around, is no longer a habitant of this earth? Prepared,

indeed, she was, in heart and life, for that purer world, and better society, to which she has thus been early summoned. Yet I cannot realise that her race below has terminated, though she was fitted through a Redeemer's righteousness to reach the goal, and enter into the rest of eternity. How forcibly have you described the closing scenes of her pilgrimage,-her trust in Him to whom she had committed her soul,—the hope, full of glory, that sustained her, and the sweetness of her parting words to the dear ones that surrounded her. Almost, I could hear the tones of your venerable father, and of the excellent Dr. B———————, as in prayer they commended her spirit to its waiting Redeemer. What tender recollections cluster round her image, as I recall her Christian kindness, her sisterly sympathy, when, sick and a stranger, I was received under your roof! Sincerely do I share in your grief, my dear friend, and in that praise which we are bound to offer to Him who enabled her by his grace to glorify his name both in life and in death. How bitter must it be to mourn for the worldly-minded, the doer of evil works, the unreconciled to God! Of this sorrow without hope' you have no part. You deplore the loss of a sweet being gone to be numbered with the angels, who waits to welcome your arrival at the heavenly gates. And by the love which you bore each other, let me incite you to bear up with a strong and submissive heart, until you meet her, where there is no parting. May the God of all consolation be with you and bless you! I cannot tell you how much I sympathise with you, and with your excellent father. Remember me to him, with great respect and Christian affection. I hope his health and your own is good, at this fine vernal season,—when leaf and blossom, bursting forth from the bare brown barks of the long-naked trees, speak of the goodness of the Creator, and of our own typified resurrection. Believe me with the deepest sympathy and most sincere regard,

ever your friend,

"LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY."

While reading these publications, we have been forcibly reminded of the opposite views entertained by different persons on a point on which we offer no decision of our own,-we mean the propriety of keeping a diary. Three of the biographers before us drew largely from the diaries kept by those of whom they wrote. This is particularly the case as to the memoirs of Mrs. Innes, while, as to Miss Palmer, it is said by her sister, "Of her private experience little was known to any save God and her own soul. Her natural reserve ever clung to her, and not a line has been found in the form of diary that can supply the void. For such documents she ever expressed a strong distaste, and thought that they tend to encourage a desire of display, or degenerate into mere formality."

In closing this article, we beg to apologise to the esteemed authors of these biographies, that they have not received earlier attention; and to express our regret that, now we have noticed them, we are compelled to restrict ourselves to a space for the whole, which we should have been glad to have devoted to every one of them separately. A disproportionate place may seem to have been given to the first volume, which is the smallest. The truth, however, is, that we find it extremely difficult to overtake the number and to do justice to the contents of the many works of this class that are continually issuing from the press.

THE EDITOR'S TABLE.

REMAINS of the late Rev. John Morell Mackenzie, A.M.; with a Selection from his Correspondence, and a Memoir of his Life. Post 8vo. pp. clix. 292. for Private Circulation.

Printed

Memoirs of the late Rev. John Reid, M.A., of Bellary, East Indies: comprising incidents of the Bellary Mission for a period of eleven years, from 1830 to 1840. By Ralph Wardlaw, D.D. Post 8vo. pp. 468. Glasgow: James Maclehose. Thoughts on the Holy Spirit and his Work. By the Author of "Thoughts upon Thought." 8vo. pp. 348. London: Snow.

Lectures on Foreign Churches. Delivered in Edinburgh and Glasgow, May, 1845, in connexion with the objects of the Committee of the Free Church of Scotland on the State of Christian Churches on the Continent and in the East. First series. 12mo. pp. 462. Edinburgh: W. P. Kennedy. London: Hamilton and Co. Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature. By John Kitto, D.D., &c., assisted by various able scholars and divines. 8vo. Parts XXI. and XXII. Edinburgh: A. and C. Black. London: Longman and Co.

Exercises in Logic. Designed for the use of Students in Colleges. By J. T. Gray, Ph. D. 12mo. pp. 148. London: Taylor and Walton.

Passages from the Life of a Daughter at Home. Post 8vo. pp. 158. London: Seeley and Co.

Stories of the Primitive and Early Church. By Sophia Woodrooffe. Edited, with an Introduction to the subject, by G. S. Faber, B.D. 12mo. pp. xxxvii. 208. London: Seeley and Co.

The Lads of the Factory: with Friendly Hints on their Duties and Dangers. 18mo. pp. 172. Religious Tract Society.

The British Quarterly Review. No. III. August, 1845. London: Jackson and Walford.

The North British Review.

London: Hamilton and Co.

No. VI. August, 1845. Edinburgh: Kennedy.

The New Englander. July, 1845. London: Wiley and Putnam.

The Egyptian. By the Author of "The Jew." Religious Tract Society.

A Catechism on the Evidences of Religion, Natural and Revealed. With an Introductory Preface by the Rev. H. Shephard, M.A. 18mo. London: Seeley and Co. The Anti-State-Church Catechism. Adapted for Popular use. By the Rev. A. J. Morris. 12mo. pp. 28. London, 5, Aldine Chambers.

The Domestic Bible. By the Rev. Ingram Cobbin, A.M. First Division: The Pentateuch. London: Thomas Arnold.

LITERARY NOTICES.

In the press, The Three Conferences, held by the opponents of the Maynooth College Endowment Bill, in London and Dublin, during the months of May and June, 1845. By John Blackburn.

A Memoir of the Life and Character of the late Thomas Wilson, Esq., of Highbury. By his Son. In one handsome volume, 8vo., with Portrait, &c.

The Scriptural Argument against Apostolic Succession; including its Affiliated Errors, the Supremacy of Peter, the Graduated Scale of Ministerial Orders, and the Conveyance of Grace by the laying on of Hands. By the Rev. Thomas Stratten. In one volume, foolscap 8vo.

Emmaus: or, Communion with the Saviour at Eventide. By the Rev. John Waddington.

CHRONICLE OF BRITISH MISSIONS.

HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

THE Directors are looking with anxiety at the present position of the Society's pecuniary affairs-nearly one-third of the business year has passed by, so that they have felt it a duty to make their friends acquainted with the amount of the receipts and expenditure of the Society, during at least the first quarter.

From the 1st of May to the 1st of August, the receipts have been £864. 98. 10d. During the same time the expenditure has been £1887. 18s. 4d. At Michaelmas, a sum quite as large as the last named will be required for the salaries of the Agents, while there is little prospect at present of receiving one-third of the amount, unless special donations are obtained, as they were last year. Last year the donations received during the first quarter amounted to £512. 5s.; as yet they have only reached the sum of £35. 78. 10d. Here, then, there is a deficiency of £500. This the Directors cannot contemplate without great fear; for, though they know that the income of nearly all religious institutions is much less than the outlay during the first half of the year, still, in the present case, the anticipated deficiency is greater than it was last year by £800, thus rendering the relative position of the Society worse than it then was.

The Directors may, therefore, be pardoned if they express their anxiety; and do so for the very purpose of calling forth the increasing zeal and liberal assistance of the friends of the Society. They would press upon them the duty of promptly aiding them, so as to prevent the least reference to the painful alternative of lessening the number of stations. Among other plans for giving efficient assistance, the Directors would urge on their friends the importance of quickly filling up the list of thirty donations of £10 a-year for five years. Already nine or ten have enrolled their names. The other generous friend, who promised £50 if nineteen other persons would give the same, is anxiously waiting for a response to his liberal offer. The Directors are quite convinced, that without such extra efforts the income this year will be fearfully deficient, and will entirely prevent all new attempts. What can be said in this emergency? "It is expected of a steward that he be found faithful. The steward's Master knows not only what he gives, but also what he

withholds."

The Report just published is intended to promote the interests of the Society. But it can only do so by being read, and lent, considered and acted upon. The Directors most respectfully bespeak the serious attention of Christians to the numerous facts which the appendix contains. The document has been prepared at great expense of time and money. Not to read it, is unkind; to read it, and then to throw it aside as waste paper, is extravagance, when so many who have no way of obtaining a sight of it would gladly read it were it put into their hands.

If any subscriber should be omitted in the distribution of the Reports, the Secretaries will most gladly supply the omission if apprised of it. They will also be most happy to send by post to any one applying, a copy of the abstract of the Report, which contains a list of all the stations and other statistics.

The Directors proceed to give some extracts from the latest journals of the Missionaries.

Why Missionaries' Statements are true.

"The advice tendered to your Agents in the correspondence of the July Magazine, respecting the correctness of the statements made by them in their journals, cannot be regarded otherwise than seasonable, considering the times, and as such