her American readers than that of Alison, whose aristocratic and tory sympathies are made so offensively prominent on every page. Only two volumes have appeared as yet, which bring the narra. tive down to 1826. The other two volumes may be soon expected. If there are any of our countrymen who are sensitive, or have ever been sensitive, to English criticism on our affairs, let them read these volumes! In fact, we recommend them to the fainthearted, if there are still any such, as a sovereign specific, which will soon bring them out from their most desponding moods.

D'AUBIGNE'S TIMES OF CALVIN.*-We have, on a former occasion, spoken of the two first volumes of this very valuable work of Merle D'Aubigné. In the first part of the third volume, now before us, we have the sad story of the times of hostility to the Reformation in France. The work of reform seemed to be going on apace, and all was looking hopeful. But the anger of the king was aroused by the unfortunate "posting of the Placards," and Calvin and the Reformers were obliged to take refuge from the coming storm by flight. In the second part, the reader is carried back to Geneva, and the thread of the story of the introduction of the new doctrines into that city is taken up where it was left in the second volume. We await with impatience for the fourth volume, which, it is promised, will appear speedily.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

DR. SPRAGUE'S ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN PULPIT. Vol. VIII. UNITARIANS.-The eighth volume of Dr. Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit, though the last of the series in the order of time and enumeration, is by no means the least in its interest and importance. The character, the gifts, as well as the ecclesiastical and literary position of the clergymen, whose lives are sketched, were such as to render it well nigh impossible that any notice of them should be devoid of interest. The advantages were pre

* History of the Reformation in Europe in the time of Calvin. By J. H. MERLE D'AUBIGNE, D. D. Vol. III. France, Switzerland, Geneva. New York: Carter & Brothers. 1864. 12mo., pp. 463.

Annals of the American Pulpit: or commemorative notices of distinguished American Clergymen of the various denominations, from the early settlement of the country to the close of the year eighteen hundred and fifty-five. With Historical Introductions. By WILLIAM B. SPRAGUE, D. D. Vol. VIII. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. 1865. 8vo. pp. 578.

eminent which Dr. Sprague had at his command to execute these sketches in the most satisfactory manner. In early life he was brought in direct personal contact with men who were at that time, or who afterwards became, conspicuous as Unitarian divines. During the early part of his ministry he was, from his local situation as well as by his personal friendships, in the most intimate relations with the persons who conducted both sides of the controversy. His historical and literary researches, as well as the ties and inclinations of friendship, have brought him into constant and close fellowship with the clergymen and scholars of Boston and of Harvard. Without compromitting his own opinions or standing, he has largely secured the confidence and shared in the society of those of whom he has written, certainly of those who could give him the most trustworthy information.

As the result of his own researches, and of his many cordial and confiding co-laborers, he presents to the public this valuable volume, which for the variety and interest of its personal por traitures, and the incidental recitations which it makes of the phases of religious doctrine held by so many able men for nearly a century and a half, may be safely pronounced to be one of the most valuable contributions ever made to the ecclesiastical history of this country.

To the thoughtful student the perusal of this volume is fitted to awaken the strongest feelings. That men of such acknowledged intellectual power, of such superior culture, distinguished by such varied moral excellencies, and apparently moved by so honest a desire to know the truth, should have failed to accept the fullness of the excellency as well as "of the blessing of the Gospel," is a marvel for which the dead theologies of previous generations can furnish a more satisfactory explanation than any other consideration save one, and that is the superficial religious life, and the low religious earnestness of the generations that were there current and present when Unitarianism was rising with form and power.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY of LYMAN BEECHER.*-The second volume of the Autobiography of the late Dr. Beecher extends from 1824 till his death in 1863. This part of his life includes his transference to Boston in 1826, and his residence and influence in that city;

Autobiography, Correspondence, &c., of Lyman Beecher, D. D. Edited by CHARLES BEECHER. With illustrations. In two volumes. Vol. IL New York: Harper & Brothers. 1865. 12mo. pp. 587. Price $2.00.

his removal to Cincinnati in 1832, and his labors and conflicts in connection with the Lane Seminary; his return to the East in 1851, his touching decline to blank forgetfulness of every object but his friends and his Saviour, till his final awaking to the beatific vision.

The interest of this volume is not inferior to that of the first. There is less in it of personal incident, and there are fewer personal reminiscences; but the excitement with which the reader is held to the matter which it contains is if possible more intense than that aroused by the record of the Doctor's earlier life. The work which he attempted in Boston was so bold in its conception, and so laborious in its execution; it was at once so daring and yet so triumphant, that the story fascinates us like a tale of knightly prowess, or of military courage and sagacity. This was indeed the herojc period of Dr. Beecher's life when in the full force of his manly energy he brought to a great and needed work the enthusiasm of his ardent soul and the sagacity of his trained experience, and rejoiced in all his labors and conflicts as a strong man

to run a race."

There was a magnificence also in that courage which led him in 1832 to leave this field of his conflicts and his victories to go forth to the then opening West, full of hope and zeal and solemn earnestness-that he might there assist in laying "the foundations of many generations." The patience with which he endured great trials and petty annoyances, the zeal with which he sustained his own spirit and fired the courage of thousands at the East and the West, the cheerfulness which he manifested under grievous disap pointments, the elastic energy with which he leaped forward to greet fresh labors and to grapple with new antagonists, and, above all, the singleness of eye which he ever maintained for the honor of his Divine Master and the progress of his kingdom,all these make us question whether we ought to admire or love him most.

In all these public labors and trials there is ever the same buoyant, cheerful, and affectionate soul-rarely depressed, not often sad, never unlovely, which diffused its sunny radiance through his large and sometimes boisterous household, and disarmed the fierc est and most savage of the foes who combined to destroy him.

This volume includes frequent references to the stormy period of those theological controversies which some thirty-five years ago agitated New England, then convulsed, and at last divided the

Presbyterian church. These references could not be avoided in the life of one who was so conspicuous in these movements from their beginning to their consummation. The character and influence of Dr. Beecher could not possibly be understood, without writing some portion of the history of these controversies, nor without introducing the names of the most prominent personages who were enlisted in them, giving, to a certain extent, Dr. Beecher's impressions of their position and influence. What the plans and aims of these men were is usually made sufficiently apparent by their own letters which are incorporated in this volume. The most of these speak for themselves, and need little or nothing in the way of comment or explanation. We regret that the editor has added here and there a random statement which is unsupported by any documentary evidence, and seems scarcely to be called for. If any persons, however, either within or without New England, should be disposed to take offense at the freedom of Dr. Beecher's own observations upon his antagonists, as they are given in published letters or were uttered in private conversation, we would respectfully suggest that they might profitably refresh their minds by reading the published letters of Dr. J. W. Alexander, of New York, to Dr. John Hall, of Trenton, New Jersey, for a most orthodox precedent in the matter of writing and publishing personal remarks.

The thoughtful reader of this volume cannot fail to contrast the New England of thirty years ago with New England as it is today. The old controversies with many of their recollections, and much of the acrimony which they engendered, have passed away never again to be renewed in the form in which they were originally conducted. New discussions and controversies have taken their place, upon themes which could scarcely have been anticipated then. The religious life presents itself in changed and novel forms of manifestation and development. Great changes have silently come over the practical beliefs of the Church in respect to the beginning, the nature, the evidences, and the sphere of the Christian life. Theological reading and theological culture have taken new directions. The topics and the style of preaching have both been changed not a little. It would be instructive to ask whether all these changes have been for the better. Whatever answer might be given to this question, surely no one can hesitate to believe that the example of apostolic fervor, of daring enterprise for Christ and the Church, and of self-denying labors which the life of Dr. Beech

er records, can never cease to be inspiring to all those who believe in a simple, aggressive, and rational Christianity.

LIFE OF JOHN M. PECK.*-We are somewhat tardy in our notice of a book which, though it belongs especially and professedly to the "denominational literature" of the Baptist churches, is worthy of a more catholic circulation than the “ American Baptist Publication Society" can give it.

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John Mason Peck, born in 1789 in that parish of Litchfield which now, as a distinct town, bears the name of Morris, performed, in his lifetime of sixty-six years, a work for which his name should be remembered and honored, not by the Baptist Churches only, but by all the Churches of Christ in our country. With no other early advantages than those which the common schools of Connecticut afforded at the close of the last century, his intellectual development was almost wholly the effect of his religious experience. Though born of Congregational parents he was a predestinated Baptist, and when he had united with a little church of immersed believers who verily thought there could be no baptism without a very considerable depth of water, his gift of prayer and exhortation made him a preacher. As a preacher he soon began to study and to learn, and in the course of years he became a man so intelligent, and so widely known and honored for his vari ous usefulness in the interest of education as well as of religion, that Harvard College was not ashamed to confer upon him the highest academic title in theology. At the age of twenty-six, when he had been several years a preacher and a pastor, he caught the inspiration of missionary zeal. But from going to the heathen in foreign countries he was turned, in the providence of God, into a home missionary, the pioneer of all the Baptist movement for organized home missions, and (more than any other one man) the reformer of the Baptist Churches from their hereditary tendency to Antinomianism in theology and in respect to religious activity.

Dr. Babcock, his biographer, gives us the man as he was. The book is worth reading in connection with the life of Dr. Beecher. Indeed, Peck himself may be regarded as in a sense one of Beech

* Forty Years of Pioneer Life—Memoir of John Mason Peck, D.D. Edited from his journals and correspondence. By RUFUS BABCOCK. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society. 12mo. pp. 360.