we like its scriptural views on the great subject of which it treats; and, not least, we like its spiritual practical character. God manifest in the flesh,' is presented here not as a mere doctrinal abstraction or scholastic theory, fitted only to amuse the curious and bewilder the thoughtful; but as a Divine mystery and yet glorious reality-a momentous practical truth-to be received by faith, to be loved and cherished in the heart as the foundation of hope, and made the vital element of a religious life. Would that all of our theological literature and discussion partook more of the practical element, and the evangelical spirit of Christian Truth! There would then be exhibited far less of rash and unprofitable speculation, and noisy and angry controversy, and infinitely more of the sanctified intellect and holy living which are the legitimate fruit of the glorious gospel of the blessed God."

2. The Complete Works of John M. Mason, D. D. In four vols. Edited by his Son, EBENEZER MASON. New York: Baker and Scribner, 1849.

DR. JOHN M. MASON possessed a mind of the highest order. Few men served their generation more effectively than he, or left a brighter and more enduring name to posterity. As a thinker, bold and original; in argument, logical and able; in manner, energetic and often highly eloquent; a varied and profound scholar; and honest and earnest in the utterance and vindication of the truth, -he made a deep impression while he lived, and has left, in his writings, a rich legacy of treasured influence to those that come after him. He seems to have been raised up for a special service, and nobly did he perform it. He was a man that discerned well his own times and wisely adapted himself to them. Many of these essays, addresses, and sermons were occasional in their charac ter, i. e., they were called forth by special occurrences, or by something special in the public mind, and they were adapted primarily to meet these cases. And it is no mean proof of the power and greatness of the Author, that, while the exciting occasions have passed away, the interest and value of the writings remain.

As a controversialist, Dr. Mason was preeminent and always successful; while as a divine and preacher he had few equals. After reading such sermons as "The Gospel for the Poor," "Messiah's Throne," and many others which might be named, we can appreciate the remark of Robert Hall, himself the prince of preachers, after hearing, we believe, one of the sermons named above, that he could never preach again. There is a breadth and depth, a grandeur and energy of thought, in many of these sermons, that is truly refreshing and stiring, even when read. We rank him with Hall and Chalmers, for massiveness and strength of thought, and energy and power of diction; and regard his writings as among the most valuable of the theological literature of the American Church. We regret that we have only the earliest and the latest efforts of his pen. Twenty-five years, during the prime of his days, he lectured and preached without writing, and consequently the memorials of these years are to be found only in living hearts.

The present is a complete edition of Dr. M.'s works. It embraces, besides an Introduction by his Son, Rev. Ebenezer Mason, his celebrated Plea for Holy Communion on Catholic principles: Letters on Frequent Communion: Considerations on Lots; his celebrated Essays on Episcopacy, unrivaled to this day in power and excellence, and also those on the Church of God; together with many of his best sermons, and various addresses and orations delivered on special occasions.

The edition is brought out in a very neat and substantial style. The four volumes embrace nearly 2400 octavo pages, and are sold for the low price of 1 This was the sermon with which the " American National Preacher" started on its useful career, in June, 1826.

$6.50. We commend these volumes to clergymen and students as among the most valuable of the recent issues of the press.

3.-Gospel Studies. By ALEXANDER VINET, D. D. With an Introduction by ROBERT BAIRD, D. D. New York: M. W. Dodd, 1849. THIS book is a feast for thinking minds. It is full of philosophical, evangelical, and original thought. It is written in a style of remarkable simplicity and beauty. While the topics introduced are not new, the manner of treating them is fresh, striking, and often exceedingly happy. The book contains no new or novel views of Christian truth: as a merely theological work it possesses no extraordinary merit; there is no parade of learning, none of the dryness or stiffness of the schools, although these discourses were doubtless originally delivered as lectures to theological students while the lamented Author occupied the chair of Theology in the Academy of Lausanne. The peculiar excellence of these "Gospel Studies" consists in the philosophical manner in which the received truths of Christianity are presented. Dr. Vinet was an eminent metaphysician, not a great theologian, according to the English or American standard of judgment, and hence his thoughts always take the philosophical form still are they scriptural, decidedly evangelical, and uniformly expressed with great simplicity. His writings will make one think, and impart new and striking views of many truths to those who read him attentively. His discourses on various religious subjects, which Mr. Turnbull translated and introduced to the public some years since under the title of "Vital Christianity, by Vinet," made the author favorably known in this country. But the present work will serve to increase our estimate of his ability and excellence, and to embalm his memory in the hearts of all who love the gospel in its simplicity and purity.

4.—Is Christianity from God? or a Manual of Bible Evidence for the People. By Rev. JOHN CUMMING, D. D. Minister of the Scottish National Church. With an Introduction by HoN. THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN. New York: M. W. Dodd, 1849.

THIS work is not designed for the learned but for the common reader of the Bible. It brings to light no new sources of argument in favor of the Bible; produces no original investigations of matters of evidence, and has nothing novel in its mode of treating this important and much-written-upon subject. Still it possesses decided merit, and is well adapted to secure the end it proposes. It is a condensed and happily-arranged summary of the well known argument for the truth of Christianity. The argument is presented in a clear, simple, and methodical manner, and is made perfectly intelligible to common minds, and even to children. It embraces all that is really needful to the mass of minds in the more extensive and learned works which are already before the world. It is just such a Manual of Bible evidence as is needed; and we hope it will quickly find its way into every family, Sabbath-school, and Bibleclass in the land. Its brief and striking statement and elucidation of the common argument can scarcely fail to deepen the conviction of believing minds, and furnish them not only with the armor of defense, but also, with the weapons of successful assault upon infidelity.

5.-The Genius of Italy; being Sketches of Italian Life, Literature, and Religion. By REV. ROBERT TURNBULL, Author of "Genius of Scotland," &c. New York: George P. Putnam, 1849.

WE anticipated something fine from Mr. Turnbull, on Italy, and we are not at all disappointed. The present work, we think, will compare favorably with

his "Genius of Scotland," and "Orators of France and Switzerland." It is a beautiful and highly interesting sketch of Italian life, literature, and scenery. The Author is evidently quite at home in the History and Literature of that land of Art and Beauty; he has a heart to appreciate what is noble in her gifted sons and what is fine and grand in her thousand monuments of art and genius He writes under the spell of her own inspiration-in full sympathy with her genial skies and lovely landscapes and artistic spirit and poetic fireand with her past and present struggles for freedom. It is not strictly a history, nor is it a mere sketch of travel, although it embodies the information of the one and the life and interest of the other. The Author rapidly surveys Italy, past and present, in her social, political, and religious aspects: sketches the life and labors of many of her most distinguished statesmen, patriots, and poets, quoting many striking passages from the immortal works of the latter, and showing a just and almost enthusiastic regard for their genius and power; and in conclusion, glances at the recent changes and revolutions which at this moment make Italy the centre of interest to the civilized and Christian world.

The book is written in a style of great beauty and vivacity, and cannot fail to prove highly popular. Our readers may form a pretty good judgment of its merits, from an article which Mr. Turnbull recently contributed to this Review, on Dante and his immortal Epic, the substance of which is given in this volume. We commend it to our readers as at once an entertaining and valuable work on that remarkable country.

6.-History of King Charles the Second, of England. By JACOB ABBOTT. With Engravings. New York: Harper & Brothers. THIS series of short and popular histories, by the Messrs. Abbott, increases in interest, we think, as it progresses. We have, in this volume, a well-drawn sketch of the life of the last of the Charleses.

It is a book of melancholy interest. The terrible fate of his father, and his own long and severe schooling in adversity, one might have supposed would have made the second Charles, when restored to the crown of his ancestorsa crown which had been forfeited and lost by extravagance and oppression-a most wise and virtuous prince. But what a character is here given him, for all that is vile and corrupt and trifling and contemptible and odious! (Macaulay has depicted it in still darker colors in his immortal history.) What a life for royalty to live when recalled from exile, poverty, and disgrace, by a generous people, to exercise sovereignty over them, and a sovereignty, for the abuse of which, his father had been sent to the scaffold, and monarchy for a season abolished. And above all, what a death was his to die! Suddenly stricken of God in the midst of a Sabbath-night's revel-stung with remorse at the recol lection of his life of reckless pleasure and sin--receiving by stealth at the dead of night extreme unction at the hands of an obscure Catholic priest--and dying as "the fool dieth." The death-scene as Abbott here describes it, although it falls far short of Macaulay's vivid and minute description of it, is still intensely interesting, and reads a lesson to every man, be he king or peasant, which affectingly illustrates and confirms the teachings of the wise man of old.

7.-History of Maria Antoinette. By JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. With Engravings. New York: Harper & Brothers.

THIS, in some respects, is the most interesting History in this highly popular series. Who has not admired the heroic virtues, and mourned the sad and terrible fate of the beautiful and high-born, but unfortunate and cruelly-treated Maria Antoinette! The daughter of the illustrious Maria Theresa, married to Louis XVI., of France, and raised to the throne of the most splendid and pow erful monarchy on earth, a career of surpassing happiness and glory seemed to

flatter her ambition and dance before her ardent and naturally pleasure-loving mind. But the strange neglect of Louis, and the nation's jealousies and suspicions of the Austrian Queen, poisoned her first years: and the tempest of the fiercest and most fiendish revolution that ever up-turned a throne or deluged a nation in blood, beat upon her after-life and singled her out as a marked victim of its hatred and unearthly fury.

The annals of this world of crime and misery cannot show a darker, drearier, or more soul-harrowing picture of fallen fortune, extreme adversity, utter grief and destitution, and exquisite torture of human sensibilities and endurance of suffering. Some parts of this history possess a degree of melancholy interest which no romance ever equaled, and which imposes a painful contribution on one's sensibilities in the reading of them. We specify as particularly exciting and painful—the flight of the royal family from Paris, and their capture at Varennes, just us they were about to cross the frontiers of France: their slow march back to the Capitol amidst the jeers and insults of an infuriated populace; the parting scene between Louis and his family in the prison of the Temple-the imprisonment of Antoinette in the horrible Conciergerie and her final execution--and last and the most diabolical of all, the murder by inches of the young and interesting Louis, after reducing him to idiocy and absolute brutality, as a matter of State policy. Did the sun ever look upon a darker scene of crime and woe? As there is an avenging God on high we might expect that such deeds would call down a terrible baptism of blood! 8.-Life in the Far West. By GEORGE FREDERICK RUXTON, Author of Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains.' New York: Harper & Brothers, 1849.

THIS book belongs to the class of the marvelous, and really lays no slight tax upon the reader's credulity. Its stories may be true, they are said to be, but few will believe them. Our opinion is, that to say the least, "Life in the Far West"-life among the "Trappers and the Indians," who inhabit the wild and immense regions known as the Rocky Mountains, and which this book attempts to describe is greatly exaggerated, in its worst features, if not really caricatured. It is not without its interest however, as giving one view of life and character in that remote and little-known region, though we confess it is not much to our taste, either as a tale of real adventures or as a book of sheer fiction. This narrative of mountaineer life was originally published in Blackwood's Magazine. The Author was an English Lieutenant who had seen much of the world, and who died at St. Louis, last October, greatly lamented. 9.—Stories about Animals, with Pictures to match. By FRANCIS C WOODWORTH. New York: D. A. Woodworth, 1849.

FEW living writers are in our judgment so well adapted to interest, and at the same time instruct, the young in useful knowledge as the Author of this pleasing volume. He combines the entertaining with the instructive, the wholesome moral with the anecdote, in a rare degree. We never see anything in his writings to offend good taste virtue, or piety, and always much that is refining, elevating, and beneficial to the social and religious feelings and sentiments of the young.

This volume urges no claim to originality, or scientific value. It is a group of anecdotes, many of them very interesting and striking, gathered from a great variety of sources, to illustrate the peculiarities of different animals. It is got up in a very neat and attractive style, and is bountifully embellished with wellexecuted engravings. We do not hesitate to commend it as of real interest and value to the young.

10.-Home Evangelization; a view of the Wants and Prospects of our Country, based on the facts and relations of Colportage. By one of the Secretaries of the American Tract Society.

11.-The Night of Toil; or a familiar acccount of the labors of the first Missionaries in the South Sea Islands. By the Author of "Peep of Day."

By JANE TAYLor.

By a LADY.

12.-The Young Disciple; or a Memoir of Anzonetta R. Peters. By. REV. JOHN A. CLARK. 13.-Hymns for Infant Minds. 14.—Children Invited to Christ. 15.-Narratives of Pious Children. By REV. GEORGE HENDLEY. 16.-Memoir of Mrs. Eliza Astor Rumpff, and of the Duchess de Broglie, Daughter of Madame de Stael. By REV. ROBERT BAIRD,

D. D.

THE seven books whose titles are here given, are among the recent issues of the American Tract Society. They are all of them excellent in their way, and deserve the patronage of the religious community. The first is a Plea for our Country, in reference to Colportage that every patriot and Christian ought to read and ponder. The second is a most interesting and instructive narrative of the toils of the first missionaries to the South Sea Islands during a twenty years' trial of their faith and patience. The third is a memoir of a lovely youth who died at the age of eighteen; a most striking example of intelligent, elevated, consistent piety--one of the sweetest memoirs we remember to have read: abridged from the fifth edition. The fourth is a collection of pleasing and beautiful hymns, designed for infant minds, by Jane Taylor. Many of these hymns are superior in their poetry and sentiment, and are adapted wisely to impress the lessons of piety on and instil its spirit into the minds of children. The fifth contains many sweet and precious invitations to children to come to Christ; and the sixth is a remarkable record of pious children, which may well serve to stimulate parents to pray more earnestly and with greater faith for the blessings of the covenant in the early conversion of their children. The last, contains brief memoirs of two distinguished and eminetly devoted Christian women, who, amid the gay scenes and corruptions of Paris and though surrounded by all the earth-alluring attractions of wealth, station and royal display and dissipation, walked steadily with God in the lowly path of holy living and active benevolence. Lady Huntingdon is said to have thanked God for the letter m in the word many in Paul's assertion "not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called." It is refreshing and delightful to see piety so consistently and beautifully exemplified in high life, as it was in the case of these really noble women.

18. An Elementary Treatise on Mechanics, embracing the theory of Statics and Dynamics, and its application to Solids and Fluids. Prepared for the Under-Graduate Course in the Wesleyan University. By AUGUSTUS W. S. SMITH, LL.D. New York: Harper and Brothers. 1849.

An elementary work on analyctical Mechanics, adapted to a college course of study, was really needed. The above work is designed to meet that want, and is the result of no little patient labor as well as experience in teaching.

The author advances no claim to originality. The materials have been sought, and freely taken from all available sources; particularly from the works of Poisson, Francœur, Gregory, Whewell, Walker, Moseley, and Jamieson. These materials have been modified and arranged to suit "the specifie object kept constantly in view-the preparation of a manual which should be simple in its character," and easily and thoroughly induct the student into the elementary principles of the science. Its peculiar merits, if we judge aright, are its simplicity, its thoroughness as to the elementary truths, and the peculiar facility it affords for the prosecution of this branch of study. It deserves to be extensively adopted as a text-book in our college course of studies.