and not put her out of breath; who is not afraid of freckles, or to breathe the pure air of heaven, unrestrained by drawn curtains or a close carriage; and, above all, who can speak her mind and give her opinion on important topics that interest intelligent people, is the true girl who will make a good woman. This is the girl who wins in these days. Even fops and dandies who strongly oppose woman's rights, like a woman who can talk well, even if she is not handsome. They weary of the most beautiful creature if she is not smart. They say, "Aw, yes, she is a beauty, and no mistake, but she won't do for me-lacks brains"—of which commodity it would seem she can have but little use in her association with them; however, to please even an empty-headed fop, a woman must know something.

AN OLD-FASHioned MotheR.-Thank God, some of us have an old-fashioned mother-not a woman of the period, enameled and painted, with her great chignon, her curls and bottines, whose white, jeweled hands have never felt the clasp of baby fingers, but a dear, old-fashioned, sweet-voiced mother, with eyes in whose depths the love-light shone, and brown hair threaded with silver, lying smoothly upon her faded cheek. Those dear hands, worn with toil, which guided our tottering steps in childhood, and smoothed our pillow in sickness. Blessed is the memory of an old-fashioned mother. It floats to us now like the beautiful perfume of some woodland blossoms. The music of other voices may be lost, but the entrancing memory of hers will echo in our souls forever. Other faces will fade away and be forgotten, but hers will shine on until the light from heaven's portals shall glorify our own. When in the fitful pauses of busy life our feet wander back to the old homestead, and, crossing the well-worn threshold, stand once more in the low, quiet room, so hallowed by her presence, how the feeling of childish innocence and dependence comes over us! and we kneel down in the sunshine, streaming through the western window, just where, long years ago, we kneeled by our mother's knee, lisping "Our Father." How many times, when the tempter lures us on, has the memory of those sacred hours, that mother's words, her faith and prayers, saved us from plunging into the deep abyss of sin! Years have filled great drifts between her and us, but they have not hidden from our sight the glory of her pure, unselfish love.

THE POWER OF GOODNESS.-Did you never see a person whose coming into a room was like the bringing of a lamp there? Did you never see a person whose mere presence made the whole room shine, as it were? You can not analyze nor understand the power which such a person exerts on you. It is not intellectual. It is a mysterious influence which emanates from him, so to speak. There are persons the mention of whose names awakens in you feelings which nothing else does. Their lives are so radiant, so genial, so pleasure-bearing, that you instinctively feel, in their presence, that they do you good. It seems to you wholesome to breathe the atmosphere where they are. Their influence

seems to you like the perfume of flowers in a garden. There are persons who are so genial, so gentle, so forth-putting in the direction of purity and gentleness and love, that you have not the slightest doubt of their being Christians. Have you never known persons of whom you have said, "I do not want any other definition of a Christian than that which I see in him?" He is an orphan who, having lived forty years, can not lay his finger on any one and say, "He gives me one idea of good." Blessed be God, I know a great many.

LIVING TO CHRIST.-Brethren, let us aim, as St. Paul did, to live to Christ. How bright the halo which surrounds the memory of those who have done so! Trace them in thought throughout past ages: the early Christians, amid constant persecution from Jew and Gentile; the saints of the Middle Ages those lights shining in darkness, of whom the world was not worthy; the great Reformers, who were not afraid to lift up their testimony against prevailing errors and corruptions, and boldly to come forth from the great apostasy; the Christian philanthropists of later times-men whose love to Christ has constrained them to devote themselves to his service in various ways; who have been the means of reviving the work of true religion at home, and who have gone forth to proclaim the Gospel abroad, and sought to undo the heavy burdens which still existed in lands enjoying Christian light and liberty. How dear to us is the memory of men like these! how sacred are their names! how bright the example which they have left us! And why? They lived to Christ; they loved and honored and served him, and counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of his name.—Nevins's Plain Sermons for Perilous Times.

THE UNIVERSAL HERITAGE.-Sorrow is the heirloom of all; the great heritage of human kind. Not a sun sets in the west that does not see rising from the earth a mist of tears. Not a bright smile gleams on the human face that is not intermingled with the shadow of fear, of trouble, or sorrow. This sorrow, this common heritage, we may depend upon it, is felt in royal palaces, in noble halls, as well as looking from the damp cellar below the street, or looking down from the wretched garret that is above. The royal mother feels when she loses her first-born as keenly as the poorest beggar woman, There is a dead level on which humanity lies; and if you can disrobe the greatest noble, and take his rags off the most wretched beggar, you will find the same human heart in both, lost by sin, and needing equally to be saved by grace.-John Cummings.

COMMON PATHS.-It sometimes seems to us a poor thing to walk in these common paths wherein all are walking. Yet these common paths are the paths in which blessings travel; they are the ways in which God is met. Welcoming and fulfilling the lowest duties which meet us there, we shall often be surprised to find that we have unawares been welcoming and entertaining angels.

CHRIST IN MODERN LIFE. By Rev. Stopford A. Brooke, M. A. 12mo. Pp. 408. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co.

This is a series of twenty-seven sermons preached in St. James Chapel, London. Charming sermons they are too. The author of them is a clear thinker and fluent writer. He is intimately conversant with the questions of the times, and the sermons are all adapted to these questions. They are full of thoughts clearly stated. Though various in their themes, one main thought underlies all the discourses-that the ideas which Christ made manifest on the earth are capable of endless expansion to suit the wants of men in every age; that they do so expand, develop ing into new forms of larger import and wider application in a direct proportion to that progress of mankind of which they are both root and sap. In other words, the whole volume is a demonstration of the imperishability of the words of Christ, of the impossibility of the race of men outgrowing these sublime truths, which are ever expanding as the knowledge and experience of men are increasing. These spiritual ideas of Christianity can never come into real conflict with even scientific truth, but are in essential analogy with both the methods and results of scientific research. The author studies these relations in

the substance and manner of the Christian revelation, in the person and character of Christ, in the questions of prayer and immortality, in their contact with political and artistic questions, and in various points where they touch modern human life, from childhood to old age.

We select for our readers the following beautiful passage, exhibiting the inexhaustible fullness of the person and life of Christ, as a good specimen of the author's style and manner of thought:

"What is Christianity? Christianity is Christthe whole of human nature made at one with God. Is it possible to leave that behind as the race advances? On the contrary, the very idea supposes that the religion which has it at its root has always an ideal to present to men, and, therefore, always an interest for men. As long as men are men, can they ever have a higher moral conception of God than that given to them through the character of a perfect man? and can we conceive in centuries to come men ever getting beyond that idea as long as they are in the human state? The conception of what the ideal man is, will change as men grow more or less perfect, or as mankind is seen more or less as a vast organism; but as long as there is a trace of imperfection in us, this idea—that perfect humanity, that is, perfect fatherhood, perfect love, perfect justice, realized in perfection, and impersonated in one being, is God to us-can never fail to create religion and kindle worship. It is the last absurdity, looking at the root

ideas of Christianity, to say that it is ceasing to be a religion for the race.'

The sermons on Prayer and Immortality are of a high order. Those on "Melancolia" are rich in thought and in the analysis of human experience. LIFE AND TIMES OF REV. JOHN WESLEY, M. A. By Rev. L. Tyerman. Vol. II. 8vo. Pp. 618. $2.50. New York: Harper & Brothers. Cincin nati: Robert Clarke & Co., and Hitchcock & Walden.

Our readers are already familiar with the character and claims of this new life of Wesley. We see no reason to modify our judgment that it far excels any other biography of the founder of Methodism; by which, however, we do not mean that it is perfect, or that we are ready to accept and indorse all the author's views or statements of facts. But it is fresh, full, and charming in its style. It has evidently been a labor of love for the author, and he is in full sympathy with the life and work of the subject of his memoir. The present volume extends from the year 1748 to 1767, covering nearly twenty of the most intensely interesting and active years of Mr. Wesley's life, from the age of forty-five to sixty-four. This was the formative period of his doctrine, and the development of his peculiar "societies." It is the period in which most of his works were written, in which the terrible battles of Methodism were fought, and in which, at the close of it, his followers could write on their banners, "Methodism Triumphant." Of course every Methodist family will want this life of their founder; but it is not a work for Methodists alone, nor even for Christians only; it is one of the most intensely interesting of human biographies. The volume just touches the era of Ameri

can Methodism.

MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN VIRGINIA. By Rev. William W. Bennett, D. D. 12mo. Pp. 741. Richmond, Virginia: Published by the Author. Dr. Bennett is the editor of the Richmond Christian Advocate, an accomplished scholar and writer. The realization of the present volume has been the purpose of his life for the past twenty-five years, and he has spent much time in gathering and sifting his materials, and in doing so has exhibited critical and correct taste. The history extends from the introduction of Methodism into Virginia, in the year 1772, to the year 1829. He has given a faithful record of Virginia Methodism, and every student of American Methodism knows that some of its most interesting phases and incidents are connected with its history in Virginia. The style is clear and strong, and the arranging and shaping of the facts are skillfully done. It will prove a valuable addition to the materials of American Methodist history.

that memorials of both classes should be treasured up for the Church. Third, Mr. North well says: "It is opportune to bring out this volume in this epoch of our Church history, since, by the recent concurrent action of the great body, in form and substance the ministry and laity in legislation and labor are to be one." The author of the present volume has seen and felt all this. Having given to the public "Sacred Memories," wherein he selects from the ministry the names he would render illustrious, be now turns to the larger hosts of the laity, and gathers for the Church the rich treasures with which this volume abounds. It is a worthy tribute to the memory of worthy men.

MUSIC AND MORALS. By the Rev. H. R. Haweis, M. A. 12mo. Pp. 478. New York: Harper &

Brothers. Cincinnati: R. Clarke & Co. This is a moral and interesting contribution to our knowledge of the department of which it treats. The volume is divided into four books: First, Philosophical, in which the author treats of music in its emotional and moral relations; second, Biographical, in which we have discriminating sketches of the most eminent musical composers; third, Instrumental, treating of a large number of musical instruments; and, fourth, Critical, full of wholesome criticisms on varieties of music and different performers. The whole book, with the many subjects on which it treats, and the large number on which it affords light, is a real addition to our scanty stock of musical literature, and as such will doubtless find numerous readers who, like ourselves, will alternately be stirred, instructed, irritated, and entertained by its lively and suggestive pages.

UNA AND THE PAUPERS. Memorials of Agnes Elizabeth Jones. By her Sister. With an Introduction by Florence Nightingale. 12mo. Pp. 360. New York: A. D. F. Randolph & Co. Cincinnati : Robert Clarke & Co.

Miss Jones was the daughter of an English army officer, a lady of education, refinement, and good social position. She was born in 1832, and died in 1868, a victim to her over-exertions for the welfare of the neglected and criminal classes. To this work she entirely consecrated her life. When quite young, while living in Ireland, she worked most energetically as a visitor and Bible-reader among the poor; later she pursued the same calling on a larger scale in London. Her heart then turned toward the office and work of a nurse, and she thoroughly prepared herself for the mission by serving in the Deaconess House of Fliedner in Kaiserworth, and as a nurse in the hospital of which Florence Nightingale was a manager. She was then appointed Superintendent of the Work-house Hospital, at Liverpool, an institution containing about fifteen hundred sick paupers and criminals. Her skill was remarkable, and her energy seemed to be exhaustless. But nature failed under such excessive burdens. She died at thirty-five, three years after taking her onerous post. She lived long enough, however, to show how much a well-trained and devoted Christian woman can

accomplish among the most forlorn and abandoned of her fellow-creatures. She deserves a place among the heroines and martyrs of modern times. In addition to the lessons which it teaches, it is a volume that will greatly interest the reader. Florence Nightingale, in her introduction, is enthusiastic in her praise of the young and gifted heroine. In our next number we will furnish our readers an excellent sketch of this noble girl from an appreciative pen. THE THIEF IN THE NIGHT. By Harriet Prescott Spofford. 16mo. Pp. 217. Boston: Roberts Brothers. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co.

Mrs. Spofford is a very genial writer. Her style is always rich and full, and her stories are told with life and earnestness. This one is after her usual im

passioned method, and will be welcomed by her many admirers, though we would not select it as one of her best. It has the well-worn incidents in its plot of a marriage of convenience, not of the heart; of the fascinating, but unscrupulous lover endeavoring to beguile the wife of another; of an all but fatal tragedy; of wrong suspicions as to its perpetrator; of the escape of the intended victim, just on the verge of the precipice, and a denouement happier than could be expected, or was deserved. We see no particular reason why the book should be read. AN AMERICAN GIRL ABROAD. By Adeline Trafton. Illustrated by Miss L. B. Humphrey. 16mo. Pp. 245. Boston: Lee & Shepard.

The author is the daughter of Rev. Mark Trafton, well known in Methodist circles. Her book is the lively, gossipy record of a European tour in England, France, Holland, Switzerland. She is a live American girl, and sees things with her own eyes, and tells them in her own way. We know of no book of travel that will be more interesting to her own classAmerican girls-than this one. To our girl-readers we heartily recommend this volume.

AIMEE: A TALE OF THE DAYS OF JAMES THE SECOND. By Agnes Giberne. 12mo. Pp. 490. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co. This is an interesting story in its plot and details, and has the merit, at least, of giving a lively portraiture of homes, habits, and ideas of the seventeenth century, as contrasted with those of the nineteenth. It is a story of two countries-of France and England; of France during the latter days of Louis the Fourteenth's reign, struggling toward the light, and crushed back into darkness with an iron hand; of England in the days preceding the accession of James the Second, threatened with the same fate, but steadily, manfully, and resolutely withstanding it. The book portrays well the hopes and fears and calm determination of those brave old English people; how they met the growing and threatening danger; how, at first, they loved and trusted their king with true hearty English loyalty; how, step by step, James flung from him all their faithful affection; and how they slowly, month by month, were brought to such a state of mind, that they would welcome with out.