fessor Anthony and R. Craig; while the claims of the Wiclif Celebration were enforced by the Revs. Bryan Dale, and J. Knaggs. At the close of the sitting, the claims of the English Chapel Building Society were commended to the Churches.

The valedictory meeting at night, to some fifteen missionaries, will be found reported in the Missionary Chronicle accompanying this number, and it need only be said that it was a happy thought to hold such a meeting in connection with the assembly of the Union.

On Thursday morning the claims of the Colonial Missionary Society, especially in view of its new departure,' by attempting to establish English Congregational Services on the Continent, were eloquently advocated; and what seemed to the writer a practical scheme of Church-aid by Churches insuring the lives of their pastors, for at least a year's salary, was set forth. Later, the Rev. J. Ogmore Davies read a paper on Mission Halls and their Relation to the Churches; and the Rev. J. Chadburn read another on The Loss of Senior Scholars from our Sunday-Schools; its Cause, and Cure.' Both papers led to vigorous discussions, and some truths which needed to be said were frankly uttered.

The usual vote of thanks to the hosts was not omitted, special reference being made to the untiring efforts of the Rev. Andrew Mearns, Secretary of the London Congregational Union, to whom no small amount of praise is due for the excellent arrangements made for the convenience of the guests.

In the afternoon, under the presidency of Mr. Henry Wright, a crowded meeting was held in the library of the Memorial Hall, to render honour to whom it is due, by presenting Mr. James Spicer with an admirable likeness of himself, to be hung in the Council Chamber,' as Dr. Hannay aptly called it, 'of the denomination.' At night, a crowded conversazione was held in Cannon Street Hotel, when an enjoyable programme of music, speech, and song was provided. Thus closed the meetings of 1884, leaving, it is believed, only bright and happy recollections, yet stimulating to greater efforts in the days to

come.

These rough notes would, however, be incomplete, without a brief reference to the opening of the new school for the sons of Congregational ministers at Caterham. On October 23rd, 1883, the memorial stone of the new building was laid; on the 10th of October last it was formally opened. Dr. Parker presided at the dedicatory service, and Mr. S. Morley, M.P., at the luncheon which followed. The new building, which is intended to accommodate 150 students, stands on the slope of

a hill overlooking the Harestone Valley. It is built in the Old English style of red brick, with stone dressings, and is regarded as in harmony with much that is lovely and attractive in its precincts.

The Rev. Josiah Viney, the respected chairman of the school, is anxious that the usefulness of this important institution should not be impaired by debt. A noble challenge has been received, and its conditions will soon be fulfilled (and thus the freedom of the school secured) if a single collection were sent to Mr. Viney from every Congregational Church in the country. The writer will be glad if these lines are read by any who are able and willing to aid in this good work.

H.

PRACTICAL COUNSELS.

Arrows.

I THOUGHT when I was looking at some old arrows of Red Indians in a Missionary Museum that there are arrows which we cannot see, such as penetrate through the joints of the armour, pierce the heart, and cause men to say, 'Carry me out of the host, for I am wounded.' May these arrows fly from the hands of Christian archers all over the world, and may all, as Christian soldiers, think of the counsel, 'Make bright your arrows.'

Instinct.

Let my young friends remember that there is often a tremulous consciousness of danger which is not to be slighted. F. W. Robertson says, 'Just as the dove trembles at the approach of the hawk, and the young calf shudders at the lion never seen before, so innocence shrinks instinctively from what is wrong by the same divine instinct.'

Faith and Song.

Good music and good singing are very helpful to the intensification of joy in God.

"This pretty bird-oh, how she flies and sings!

But could she do so if she had not wings?

Her wings bespeak my faith, her songs my peace;
When I believe and sing, my doubtings cease.'-Bunyan.

Moral. Let all churches give more attention to the psalmody.

Conscience.

Conscience is the only clock that strikes aloud, and yet one person alone hears it; and if he be asleep, no other can warn him of the danger.

Unselfishness in Prayer.

We

We should be altruistic in prayer as well as in service. once read of a prayer which may serve as a warning: it was quaint and not at all poetical, but still it is suggestive.

'Lord, bless me and my wife,

My son John and his wife ;
We four

And no more. Amen.'

Folly in Old Age.

John Foster, when he saw an old stump of an oak with some shoots on its almost bare top, said it reminded him of youthful follies growing on old age.

Opinions.

Many people maintain opinions because they are theirs rather than because they are true. We should never fight for argument's sake, but for truth's sake.

The Eyes.

Let thine eyelids look straight before thee. How much evil comes in through the gate of the eye! Old Alleine says, 'Satan turned Eve's eye to the apple; Achan's eye to the wedge of gold; Ahab's eye to Naboth's vineyard: and then what work did he Imake with them.

A rolling eye-a roving heart.-Adams.

These are the windows that God hath placed in the top of the building that man from thence may contemplate God's works, and take a prospect of heaven, the place of our eternal residence. -Manton.

Christ's Church.

We hear much of churches,' but there is only one spiritual Church. As Dr. Guthrie quaintly said, 'Christ has but one Church-the Second Adam, like the First, is the husband only of one wife.'

Never at Anchor.

It is pleasant to look, as I have done lately, on the Firth of Forth, and other great waters, and to see the stately vessels riding at anchor. One is reminded, however, as holidays draw to a close, that Time is a ship which never anchors.'

The Sabbath.

Beecher says well that a week without a Sabbath would be like a man without a smile, like a summer without flowers, and like a homestead without a garden.

LITERARY NOTICES

THINGS OLD AND NEW. Essays and Discourses. By the REV. T. HALL. London Elliot Stock and Co., Paternoster Row.

This is a kind of Moral and Religious Scrap-Book-the scraps being the author's own composition. Many of them are excellent. Commencing with Essay No. I., 'Who is the True God?' we are led on to Essay No. II., ‘The Christian Religion,' with one section on ‘Historical Evidences of the Bible,' and another on Evidences Adduced from Prophecy, Miracles, Inspiration, and Universal Experience.' Essay No. III. deals with Christian Doctrines.' In Essay No. V. there is a study of 'Old and New Systems Contemporary with Christianity. No one subject is treated exhaustively, but all of them are treated with considerable freshness, and the whole of them are useful as furthering the author's design, to produce an 'Evangelist's and Missionary's Handbook.' To such it will be very useful, very compact, and fairly complete.

THE PROPHETS OF CHRISTENDOM. By the REV. W. BOYD CARPENTER, M.A., Lord Bishop of Ripon. Second edition. London: Hodder

and Stoughton, 27, Paternoster Row. This is an admirable reprint from the Clergyman's Magazine. Beginning with 'The Preacher who spake as never man spake,' we are presented with some very able and eloquent sketches of St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, Dr. John Tauler, Luther, Herder, Bossuet, Bourdalone, Massillon, Jeremy Taylor, Chalmers, Dean Kirwan. The style is crisp and clear and unaffected. The tone is earnest and real, and the volume is full of a noble quickening influence. We congratulate the Episcopal Church on the selection of Mr. Carpenter to one of its bishoprics, and we thank him for a very helpful, earnest and spiritual volume.

THE YOUNG TRAWLER. By R. M. BALLANTYNE.

With Illustra

tions. London: James Nisbet and Co., 21, Berners Street. This is a capital story of life and death and rescue on the North Sea. Good print, good pages, and good illustrations. It is racily written, and is by a popular author. The religious tone of it is excellent, and it will make a capital gift-book for the young.

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN POUNDS. By HENRY HAWKES, B.A. London: Williams and Norgate, 14, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden.

We have read this volume with much interest. What one poor man could do as a gratuitous teacher of all sorts of waifs and strays when he was cobbling boots at Portsmouth some fifty years ago, and at a time when National Education was not dreamt of, constitutes a marvellous story of heroism in humble life.

THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. By DOUGAN CLARK, M.D. Fourth edition. London: S. Partridge and Co., 9, Paternoster Row.

We are not surprised to find that this little volume has reached a fourth edition, because it must commend itself to all who wish to enjoy a real religion. The work of the Holy Spirit is too little the subject of Christian preaching. In failing to honour the Holy Spirit, we often miss the great strength, and the great reward of Christian teaching.

GEMS AND ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE SERMONS AND WRITINGS OF THE REV. THOMAS GUTHRIE, D.D. London: Frank and Wagnalls, 44, Fleet Street. Agent, Bordon Hunt.

This is a rich mine of illustration and imagery. No man cultivated more successfully the art of picture-teaching than did Dr. Guthrie, and in this good-sized volume we have some of the richest and rarest exhibitions of his charming ease of power in this respect.

THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. By the REV. GEORGE DUFFIELD, M.A., and the REV. SAMUEL DUFFIELD. Same publishers.

This volume contains some complete services for these solemn occasions, and some texts, topics, and hints in relation thereto. Very suggestive, very tender, and very helpful to pastors in hours when they have to administer comfort and consolation to the afflicted.

THE DANCES OF MODERN SOCIETY. BY WILLIAM CLEAVER WILKINSON. Same publishers.

There is dancing and dancing. It is to the subject of this latter that this scathing little volume is addressed. In the giddy kaleidoscope of some dances there is more than giddiness of the head, viz., what we may call giddiness of the passions. It is the voice of a prophet that we hear in this book, warning us against much that is dangerous in the popular dances of modern society.

A RED WALL-FLOWER. By the Author of "The Wide, Wide World.' James Nisbet and Co., 21, Berners Street.

The author's fame will be the best recommendation of this story. It is a volume in the 'Golden Ladder Series,' which will be enjoyable and profitable to our young friends everywhere. The author's wand has not been broken, and it will still wield its magic influence over readers. THE GOSPEL IN GREAT BRITAIN. By the REV. SAMUEL MACNAUGHTON, M.A. Same publishers.

Admirable lectures! Terse and telling! Rich in history, and as rich in instruction and warning. The volume commences with 'The Early Ages of Christianity in Scotland,' and leads on to 'Queen Elizabeth and the English Reformation;' 'John Knox and the Church of Rome;' 'John Knox and the Scottish Reformation;' 'The Rise of the Puritans;' 'The Persecution of the Puritans and Covenanters,' etc. We can very highly commend these lectures, because we have often wanted just such a continuous story well told and cleverly condensed. They will meet a great want in our day, and will, we hope, in an age of reaction, tend to make Scotchmen more proud of, and more thankful for, their great reformer, John Knox; and likewise help to furnish all Protestants everywhere in Great Britain with wise weapons of defence against Rome and Sacerdotalism. We very heartily commend the book, and hope it will pass through many more editions.

A YEAR'S MINISTRY. First Series. By ALEXANDER MACLAREN, D.D. Christian Commonwealth, 73, Ludgate Hill; Hodder and Stoughton, 27, Paternoster Row.

Dr. MacLaren's sermons need no commendation. This volume will soon be in a second edition, for it is equal in power and beauty, in suggestiveness and spirituality to his previous works. There is much pure eloquence in these sermons, with nothing at all meretricious in style, and there is a solid basis of Christian doctrine, an underlying rock beneath the soil on which the flowers of his style bloom. The subjects are well chosen, and Dr. MacLaren has lost none of his old power of telling speech; for difficult as it is to do in a literary sense, these read like spoken sermons. Preachers and teachers have, as a rule, true instincts