transient devotions.-On decision of character in matters of religion.-On the pleasures of a religious life.-On the advantages of early piety. On the influence of religion upon the temporal interests of its possessor.-On the choice of companions.—On books.-On amuse ments and recreations.-On theatrical amusements. On the period which elapses between the time of leaving school, and the age of manhood. On public spirit.-On female accomplishments, virtues, and pursuits.—On prudence, modesty, and courtesy.-On redeeming time. On the obligation to enter into fellowship with a Christian church. On the choice of a companion for life. On keeping in view the great end of life.-On the meeting of a pious family in heaven.

Our readers will easily conceive that these subjects, present to a man like Mr. James a fine opportunity of saying many things of first rate importance; and we assure them the opportunity has not been misimproved. Speaking of the consolations imparted by religion, he

says

"In the hour of misfortune, when a man, once in happy circumstances, sits down amidst the wreck of all his comforts, and sees nothing but the fragments of his fortune for his wife and family, what, in this storm of affliction, is to cheer him but religion; and this can do it, and enable him to say, although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flocks shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation,' What but religion can comfort the poor labourer in that gloomy season, when times are bad, and work is scarce, and he hardly knows where to procure his next meal? What can comfort the suffering female in that long and dreadful season, when, wasting away in a deep decline, she lies, night after night, consumed by fever, and day after day convulsed with coughing? Tell me, what can send a ray of comfort to her dark scene of woe, or a drop of consolation to her parched and thirsty lips, but religion? And when the agonized parent, with a heart half broken by the conduct of a prodigal son, exclaims, 'Oh! who can tell how sharper than a serpent's tooth it is, to have a thankless child!' What, in that season of torture, can pour a drop of balm into the wounded spirit but religion? And when we occupy the bedside of a

while our own furnishes illustrations so "But why do I go to distant countries, numerous and so striking? How many persons are there, who were educated in our Sunday Schools, and who are now filling stations of importance, credit, and usefulness, who, but for religion, would never have risen in the scale of society, or ascended above the lowest level of poverty. Education, it is true, gave the first impulse to their minds; but it was an impulse which would have soon spent its force, had it not been continued and increased by religion. It was this that gave the sober, serious, and reflective turn of mind which has led to such mental improvement; and they who, but for the power of godliness, would have been still earning their bread at the plough or the anvil, are filling the place of tradesmen or clerks; raised to the distinction of preaching with ability and success the truths of salvation."

or are

So true it is, that "godliness hath the promise of this life, as well as that which is to come." But we cannot afford room to quote all the passages we had marked for that purpose, and must therefore only introduce two or three short ones, on subjects of the utmost moment. On the subject of the effect produced by associating with improper persons, our author has this just and pointed language, which we earnestly entreat our young readers to consider with attention.

"In the large and populous town where Providence has fixed my lot, I have had an extensive sphere of observation; and I give it as my decided conviction and deliberate opinion, that improper associates are the most successful means which are employed by Satan for the ruin of men's souls."

On the character of Novels, and the effect they are calculated to produce, he has the following strong, but appropriate

remarks

"As to that class of books denominated Novels, I join with every moral and religious writer in condemning, as the vilest trash, the greater part of the productions, which, under this name, have carried a turbid stream of vice over the morals of mankind. They corrupt the taste, pollute the heart, debase the mind, immoralize the conduct. They throw prostrate the understanding, sensualize the affections, enervate the will, and bring all the high faculties of the soul into subjection to an imagination, which they have first made wild, insane, and uncontrolable. They furnish no ideas, and generate a morbid, sickly sentimentalism, instead of a just and lovely sensibility. A wise man should despise them, and a good man should abhor them. Of late years they have, it is true, undergone a considerable reformation. The present EXTRAORDINARY FAVOURITE of the literary world, has indeed displaced, and sent into oblivion, a thousand miserable scribblers of love stories, who still however fling back at him, as they retire, the ancient taunt, Art thou too become as one of us?' His works discover prodigious talent, astonishing information, and a power of delineating character truly wonderful. But what is their merit beyond a power to amuse? Whoever wrote so much for so little real usefulness? They are still, in part, works of fiction; and in measure, exert the same unfriendly influence on the public mind and taste, as other works of fiction do." The Theatre is severely reprobated, and shewn, by the most unanswerable arguments, to be opposed to the religion of the Bible, and extremely dangerous to the merals of youth. We had marked one or two passages in the chapter on this subject for extract, but we must forbear. The chapter on female accomplishments in the second volume, we consider as one of the very best in the work, but we must not trust ourselves to quote from it, but earnestly recommend it to our female friends, to whom we will just say, what Mr. James advises them

"Make up your mind deliberately to this opinion, and abide by it, that what is

But other works claim our regard, and we must, for the present, take our farewell of Mr. James; which we do with expressions of sincere esteem, for the addition he has made to our stock of juvenile publications. But before we part, we must beg of Mr. James, when his work goes to a second edition, to correct the name of the respectable Theological Tutor of the Wymondley Academy, and author of "Studies in History." His name is Thomas Morell, not S. Morrell. We had rather also, that when speaking of the third person in the Trinity, Mr. J. would call him the Holy Spirit, instead of Holy Ghost. This last is an old Saxon word, and nearly obsolete, except in the silly tales of apparitions. And finally, it would be well if a second edition of the work could be sold at a somewhat less price, as it would make it more extensively known. Surely nine shillings is too much for about four hundred and fifty duodecimo writer we would say nothing about it; If Mr. James was a needy pages! but the God of providence has liberally blest him with the good things of this life, and he requires not the profits arising from his work to obtain an addition to his comforts. We have no reason to charge him with avaricious motives; but believe the fixing so high a price on his work must have been an oversight, which we have no doubt will be soon corrected.

wrought panegyric, somewhat in the quality of a puff-direct, of the author of this Sermon. He was held up to view as one of the most eloquent preachers in the metropolis-surpassing, as we recollect, even Mr. Irving himself! Having never been privileged with an opportunity of knowing this prodigy ex cathedrá, our curiosity was not a little excited; and hearing that a fine new chapel had lately been erected for the display of his oratorical talents, near Finsbury Square, we had almost determined on visiting it, when the sermon now before us attracted our notice in a bookseller's window. We, therefore, availed our selves of the treasure, and hastened home, expecting a high gratification from its perusal.

On opening its pages our attention was first arrested by "An Address," delivered by the preacher on laying the foundation stone of this Unitarian Chapel. At the head of this Address stands, as a motto, the following text of Scripture:-"There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."

Commenting on these words, Mr. W. J. Fox informs us, that "this is the genuine apostles' creed," in the faith of which they were about to erect "a Christian temple for the worship of the 'Universal Parent." He then adverts to a few texts of Scripture which assert the unity of the Godhead, and passes on to explain to us the mediation of Christ, of which his text speaks. "He ransomed us," says he, "by his exertions, sufferings, and resurrection, from the bondage of doubt, idolatry, and vice. And thus he ransomed all for his religion, the truth of nature, confirmed, illustrated, and extended by Revelation, is pursuing its predicted course to universal empire here, and Scripture testifies, that ultimately the whole creation shall be made free with the glorious liberty of the sons of God."

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cause of idolatry was demonstrably upon the increase! But not to interrupt the eloquent preacher, let us notice how he proceeds:

Now, were we of Mr. Fox's creedwere we of the number of those, who account it downright idolatry to worship Jesus Christ as God, we should really be very much perplexed to make out the grounds of this boasting of the triumphs of what they call the cause of truth; we should be obliged by all that we read, and see, and hear, to come to a very different conclusion, and to say that the

"May the building which we raise, be as a fortress for the defence of these simple, holy, and animating truths! Here, in their behalf, may we buckle on the whole armour of God, and go forth to the righteous conflict which we have to sustain! For ours is a state of warfare-of warfare with the corruption that makes religion the drudge of worldly policy; with the spiritual tyranny that demands the prostration of bind the freemen of Christ in the fetters of the understanding at his feet, and would human creeds; with the scepticism that would quench the torch that alone can light us through the shades of death; with the prejudice that doubts whether any good thing can come out of the Nazareth of Unitarianism; with the credulity that, for the simple faith and worship of the Gospel, receives a system at which reason stands aghast, and faith herself is

6

half confounded; with the bigotry that, reversing the miracle proposed to Christ, transforms the bread of life itself into brother who offends by diversity of opinion; stones, wherewith to wound or slay the and with the superstition which makes faith or ceremony, instead of holiness, the passport to future blessedness. With these we wage an everlasting conflict, and the prize of our victory is the emancipation of the human race."