them, moreover, in practical importance and general interest. It is the office and art of the Reporter, and the province of what our language has yet no name for more specific than "Letter-writing," together with the destination of the latter as a new and most important form of the literature of journalism. To this we may devote an article on some future occasion. O.

GRANTING, for the time, the principle of the classification given in the above able article, we have a word to say upon its application to the Eloquence of the Pulpit.

"That not only the maxims, but the grounds, of a pure morality-and the sublimest truths of the divine unity and attributes, which a Plato found it hard to learn, and deemed it still more difficult to reveal; that these should have become the almost hereditary property of childhood and poverty, the hovel and the workshop; that even to the unlettered they sound as commonplace is a phenomenon which must withhold all but minds of the most vulgar cast from undervaluing the services of the pulpit and the reading-desk.”Coleridge, Biog. Lit., p. 135.

The writer of the above article is not of this vulgar herd. It is not the value of the pulpit to society that he depreciates, but its actual position in the scale of eloquence. Its actual, we say, not its possible, position-for of this the writer does not speak. But we think him at fault in his estimate of the themes that fall within the scope of the preacher; for on this point he says, decidedly, that the pulpit "is confined to a single description of interests-though of the highest order, no doubt; his concerns are with a kingdom not of this world." Is the very loftiness and grandeur of the preacher's topics to fetter him in thought or speech? Who among ancient or modern men so eloquent as Plato? And yet what were his greatest themes but these very topics, or, indeed, mere adumbrations of them?

Yet we admit, and cannot help admitting, that the same thoughts cannot be presented in the same forms, for a succession of ages, and still preserve their charm and freshness. And that preaching which confines itself to an exposition of doctrines (properly so called-meaning thereby the views of men, or schools, or sects, upon the facts and thoughts of Revelation) can never be eloquent, in the proper sense of the word. A man may be a good lecturer on these subjects, but an orator in nowise. But take all these, and add to them all the topics which the revelation of a future life furnishes, and which, tremendous as they are, yet lose their "force to move" from incessant repetition-add all these together, and still you have but a small part of

the preacher's scope. A "single description of interests" indeed? Are there any interests among men worth spending the breath of oratory upon VOL. VIII.-34

which morality has nothing to do with? And if morality has to do with them, so has the preacher. Where there is Right or Wrong, for the individual or for society, there is work for the preacher. Whatever is duty, he should enforce; all that man can do, or should do, with or for his fellow, in virtue of the law of God, he should know, and should be prompt to speak of. He should go before the people to lead them in all earnest progress, in all right deeds, in all strifes against evil and labors for good. And if so, who should be the orator, if not he?

Yet we are aware-a most bitter conviction it is—that the leadership of the present age is not with the pulpit. In some sections of our country it is --but we speak of our country as a whole, and indeed of Christendom at large. Instead of being the leader, the preacher is too often the follower. Instead of forming public opinion, he stands to watch it, and makes his utterances accordingly, or not at all. Instead of striving, in the spirit of his Master, to "destroy the works of the devil" in this world, he seems to think it his mission to let the monstrous fabrics of the architect of evil stand in all their strength, if he can only lead a few people along their walls and over their battlements into a better world. The apostles, reformers, and evangelists of the church, in all ages, have acted differently-Pauls, Luthers, Wesleys, Whitefields; and so must the preachers of Christendom generally, if they would make their labors "mighty to the pulling down of strongholds."

But a second element enters into the calculation, according to the definition in the above article, namely, the number of persons concerned as the auditory. Swift calls the pulpit a "wooden machine for the use of those orators who desire to talk much without interruption." The writer of our article would probably justify the sarcasm as applicable to the real condition of the pulpit generally of the present day. And with sadness, again, we admit that it has too much point to be pleasant. But it is not so always nor everywhere. Imagine a man of pure life and warm heart, with a single, earnest aim, to promote the kingdom of Christ on earth (which means nothing else than to hasten the overthrow of evil or the progress of good)-imagine such a man, not shut up in Swift's box with a few hundred sleepy citizens in well-cushioned pews before him, but out in the free air, on a wide common, by the wayside, or in a grove, with hundreds, or thousands, or tens of thousands, before him and around him, with free range of all the topics that concern man's moral well-doing in this life and his well-being in the next,-and who, if not he, is the “Popular Orator," even according to our correspondent's own criterion?

The "Eloquence of the Pulpit" is an inadequate title for this wider range, which should be called the "Eloquence of Preaching”—if a phrase be needed to distinguish it from other forms of popular oratory. And with our conviction that the preacher is (or ought to be) concerned, as a speaker, with greater,

more pressing, and more varied, interests than any other speaker-and that his utterances need not to be confined to a pulpit or to a "select few," but may be, and should be, utterances for the masses, we cannot but think that in a classification embracing as its criteria not only what is, but what has been and may be, the Eloquence of Preaching ought to hold as high a place in dignity as any other. If the question were to be decided by a collection of facts made to-day, and in our country, we hazard little in saying that the elements of popular oratory will be found to as great a degree among the four thousand Methodist preachers of America, as among any other four thousand speaking men.-ED.

ART. IV.-The Revolutions of 1848.

THE year 1848 will stand an annus mirabilis in the eventful history of this eventful century. In looking at the astounding series of changes that has marked the first half of the year-the convulsions, overturnings, and shiftings of scene, that have taken place in as many days as it once required years to bring about-we feel the ordinary language of historical narration to be tame and inadequate, and find a fit expression of these amazing scenes only in the mystic symbols and magnificent imagery of the prophecies. We seem to stand with the rapt exile of Patmos, and see the angel pour out his vial on the air: "And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." We stand, with Daniel, on the shore of that dark and stormy sea, which heaved and surged before him, the grand and terrific symbol of human history; and see ascend from the abyss the four mighty monarchies of the earth; the eagle pinions and lion port of Babylon; the rugged and cruel energy of the Persian bear; the leopard spring and winged swiftness of Greece; and the stern, iron-teethed, terrible majesty of Rome-the nameless and gigantic monster, before whose appalling aspect the seer trembles with apprehension and awe. We then, with him, look far along the waste that stretches onward, the troubled current of history, and see a new and wonderful scene unfolding to view: "And I beheld, until the thrones were cast down, and the ancient of days did sit; the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Whether the events now passing in Europe were in the eye of prophecy when these passages were written, we do not deem it necessary to inquire at length; but this much is clear,

that never since these prophecies were uttered have there been scenes better delineated by this language than those to which we refer. Never have there been more wonderful voices, thunderings, lightnings, and earthquakes, by whose upheaving and shaking force thrones were cast down, the ancient and massive embankments of authority swept away, and the holders of power brought in judgment before God to receive the reward due to their works.

In a few months France has cast down her throne; and, amid the fierce elements of anarchy, is endeavoring to establish a republic. Prussia, while retaining, for the present, the shadow of a throne, has admitted the most radical changes into her political constitution; changes which, if not arrested in their tendency, must alter the entire form of her institutions within a very short time. The minor states of Germany are rapidly undergoing similar transformations. Even Italy, the grave of the mighty dead, has shown signs of a new life; a Rienzi has appeared in the Vatican; the high priest of a triple despotism has become the apostle of democracy; and amid the infinite babble of the manyheaded and many-tongued people, a Saul is seen among the prophets. And Austria, the very home of despotic power, has been shaken to its centre; Metternich and the Jesuits obliged to flee from the wrath of an incensed people; while its Italian dependencies are hurling defiance in its teeth, and arming for mortal combat. While Poland, unhappy, ill-fated Poland, the victim of every struggle, the victor in none, is making another frenzied effort to break the yoke so unjustly fastened upon her by the unholy alliance.

The ecclesiastical changes, however, are still more marvelous. A few months ago, and perfect liberty of conscience found scarce a resting place on the continent. Now, France, Prussia, Bohemia, Bavaria, Lombardy, Sardinia, and even Austria and Rome, enjoy a liberty such as the most sanguine feared was centuries in the distance. The most perfect religious equality has been granted in Wirtemberg, Saxony, Baden, and a number of the smaller states of Germany; while the most radical changes in ecclesiastical polity have been demanded, and will most likely be conceded, in Hanover, Brunswick, and other parts of the great German confederation. The bond that held Austria to the see of Rome is weakening every day; and the union of church and state all over Europe seems threatened with a violent and speedy dissolution. And in some respects, more remarkable than all, by one unanimous outburst of popular feeling, the Jesuits have been driven

from France, Austria, Bavaria, Switzerland, Naples, Belgium, and even Rome.

As the natural result of these convulsions, we hear of wars and rumors of wars. Prussia, Hanover, and Brunswick, are in arms against Denmark; Piedmont, Tuscany, and Lombardy, against Austria; Naples against Sicily; Russia gathering an avalanche to pour down in crushing ruin on unfortunate Poland; while France, with her ancient thirst for war and glory, is arming her eager battalions either against themselves or the world. A few months, and Europe may be wrapped in the whirlwind and flame of universal war.

A state of things like this may well cause the thoughtful Christian to open his Bible, and ask, What does all this mean? Whither does it tend? What is likely to be its effect on the cause of Christ? And what is the duty of the American nation, and the American church, in this crisis of the world? Some of these inquiries we shall endeavor in part to answer, by presenting some considerations suggested by these great revolutions.

I. What are the causes of so wide and general an agitation among the nations of Europe?

It would be impossible within our prescribed limits to attempt a detail of all the causes that have produced these convulsions, for they vary according to the civil, ecclesiastical, commercial, and industrial arrangements, of each convulsed nation. But the primary cause, the causa causans, is essentially the same in all, and it is mainly this cause that it is important for us to know or discuss at present. This original cause is, that these governments have violated the law imposed by God on their existence, failed to discharge the great trust committed to their charge, and are now coming up in judgment before him, to suffer the penalty they have. incurred.

God made man to be free, and to use that freedom in serving him, and seeking his own happiness. To direct him in this work, he gave him a revealed religion; and to protect him in attaining these great ends of his being, he instituted human governments. The great truth that lies at the foundation of all government is, that it is intended for the welfare of the governed, and not for the selfish and ambitious aims of the governors.

Before the coming of Christ these truths were embodied in the Hebrew commonwealth, but were imperfectly comprehended by the world at large. They were, however, taught in their fullest form by the great Teacher, who proclaimed liberty, in unfettering