perusal and review. We observe that two volumes of Neander's Church History have also appeared. They will be welcomed by a wide circle

of readers.

"It is Written," or, Every Word and Expression contained in the Scriptures proved to be from God. By Professor L. GAUSSEN. London: S. Bagster & Sons. 1847.

It would not be easy to over-estimate either the excellence or the importance of this volume. It is the work of a scholar, a logician, and a Christian. It takes up most firm and decided ground, and it maintains that ground most admirably throughout. Its method, too, is striking, and its style effective. It is a treatise much needed, and one for which the Church of Christ owes deep gratitude to the author. The externals of the book are, like all others of the same publishers, tasteful and attractive. God's Altar for the acceptance of England's Thanksgiving. A Sermon, preached on the occasion of the General Thanksgiving. By the Rev. J. KELLY. London: J. Nisbet & Co. 1847.

The voice of a most faithful watchman may be heard in this Sermon. Would that it were circulated over the whole breadth of the land. Like

Mr Kelly's other works, it is fresh, vigorous, and spiritual.

Ireland open to the Gospel. By the Rev. A. MOODY STUART. J. Johnstone. 1847.

We shall be truly glad to hear that these striking letters are circulating over the country in thousands. Let ministers recommend them to their people, and let them be freely handed about among the poor, that all may have their eyes and their prayers turned to that land of darkness, on which God is now so marvellously letting in the light.

Letters to a Romish Bishop on the Character, Tendency, and Influence of the Papacy. By KIRWAN. With an Introduction, &c. By OCTAVIOUS WINSLOW. Edinburgh: W. P. Kennedy. 1847.

These letters are admirable for simplicity, calmness, point, and power. We fear they are not sufficiently known.

The Finished Mystery; to which is added an Examination of Mr Brown on the Second Advent. By George Duke of MANCHESTER. London: Hatchard, 1847.

This is a large and rather closely printed volume, so that, having just newly received it, we have only been able to glance over it, and are not therefore in a fit condition to review it fully. Nevertheless we may say that it is a work worthy of the attention of the Christian and the student. We dissent from several of his Grace's positions, still we have been able to glean something profitable and new from his work; and we hope that a more thorough perusal will furnish us with much more. The tone of the volume is calm,-free from all dogmatism. The author takes up a very decided position, and that somewhat a peculiar one, yet he argues with great moderation. The high scholarship, no less than the high spirituality of feeling which pervade the book will recommend it to

many.

Note.

The first sheet of our article in last Number, on Mr Brown's book, having undergone some derangement in the press, it has been reprinted, and prefixed to the present Number.

In a note at p. 451 of that article, we find that we have misunderstood Mr Brown's meaning. He had been showing that our Lord's words in the 24th of Matthew regarding His coming (verse 30th) were figurative, and we understood him as going on to show that, in the 26th chapter of the same Gospel, (verse 64th) where the very same words occur, they were also figurative. From a communication received from Mr Brown, we learn that we were mistaken, and have thus unwittingly misrepresented him. He holds that the words in the 24th chapter, "they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven," are figurative; but that the words in the 26th, ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven," are literal. We thought that he had meant that the words in both passages were figurative. But now that we learn that he thinks there is a difference, we shall be glad to hear reasons for making this difference. The language used is precisely the same; and it is not easy to discover why it should have one meaning in the 24th chapter, and another in the 26th,--one meaning on the Mount of Olives, and another in the hall of the High Priest.

66

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Instead of miscellaneous intelligence from different parts of the world, we prefer giving the following most interesting account of the Portuguese Church at Trinidad, formed out of the persecuted saints of Madeira. The extract we give is from the Second Edition of "Madeira; or the Spirit of Antichrist in 1846," by W. Tait. "We will delay the reader no longer, but, at once, introduce him to the little colony at Trinidad. In doing this, we rejoice to have it in our power to lay before him the following interesting narrative of the Rev. William H. Hewitson, who, after ministering to the saints in Madeira, followed them across the wide Atlantic, willing to 'spend and be spent' in the service of our common Lord and Master, and for the good of those for whom Christ died.'

"Towards the end of January 1847, I arrived amongst the Portuguese converts at Trinidad, intending to pass three months in their company, administering word and ordinance. The meeting was, on both sides, a very joyful one, as may well be supposed from the endearing relationship previously subsisting between us in Madeira, and formed in circumstances of peril and difficulty, which were well fitted to make it more than ordinarily endearing.

"These dear exiles of the Lord Jesus were in Trinidad two or three months before my arrival. On reaching the island, they had necessarily no small hardships and privations to undergo. The Lord, however, did not leave them nor forsake them. He had mercifully delivered them out of the hand of their enemies at home, and in the land of strangers, He who is the strangers' God, took upon himself the burden of their cares. He raised up some to take them by the hand, and to show them kindness for His name's sake. Some were found willing to spend and be spent, in order to alleviate their fresh difficulties and distresses. They and their benefactors were unacquainted with one another's language,—but the instinctive recognition of the mutual brotherhood in the Lord facilitated intercourse, and made sympathy in

telligible, though not expressed in words. May the blessing of our God, who 'thinketh upon the poor and needy,' come richly down on all who gave to these poor and needy disciples of Jesus' a cup of cold water,' for Jesus' sake.

"Before adverting to the spiritual condition of the refugees, I shall let you know in what way the Lord has been pleased to provide for their temporal necessities. On their arrival, a considerable number of them were engaged by planters to labour on sugar estates. Some of these were placed on an estate situated in the neighbourhood of marshy ground, and as might have been expected, were soon prostrated by an attack of fever, which in several instances terminated in death. A speedy removal of all who survived from the pestilential neighbourhood, in which they had been so unhappily located, to the more salubrious air of the capital, was found to be necessary. The removal took place, I believe, in consequence of an order from the Governor of the island,—and I have great pleasure in taking this opportunity of bearing testimony to the kind exertions, which his Excellency, Lord Harris, was always ready to make on behalf of the refugees. Those who were employed on sugar plantations in more salubrious localities than the one above referred to, were enabled to continue their labours without experiencing so much injury of bodily health, but they, too, were occasionally disabled by an attack either of dysentery, or of intermittent fever;-ophthalmia likewise prevailed amongst them. I have no hesitation in saying, that the result of the experiment, which necessity constrained them to make, has been unfavourable to the hope that they will be equal to the hardships connected with cane cultivation in Trinidad, until a lengthened residence in the island has inured them to the scorching heats and drenching rains of its tropical climate. When I arrived, I found only about fifty individuals (including children) who were supported by the labours of cane cultivation, and of these only about sixteen were actually, or in a condition to be, employed in these labours. Others obtained employment on cocoa plantations, and, as their labour is chiefly under the shade of trees thickly planted, they are saved from the dangerous effects of protracted exposure to the rays of a vertical sun. One disadvantage of their situation arises from the great humidity of the atmosphere, which, in not a few instances, has occasioned intermittent fever or ague.

"The greater proportion of the exiled brethren have found occupation in the capital of the island, Port of Spain, or its vicinity. Not a few of them are distributed in domestic service among the families resident there. Some are occupied in gardening and similar rustic labour. A few have commenced shopkeeping on a small scale, being unable to gain a livelihood by any other means. While those of them who are masons, carpenters, and shoemakers, are endeavouring, in their respective departments of labour, to earn a livelihood. The female converts who, in in Madeira, were able to support themselves by needlework, are still dependent on the same means of support, but their earnings are comparatively small and precarious. While some of the brethren are, by the goodness of God, in comfortable enough circumstances, not a few have such difficulties to struggle with, as tend at once to keep them hanging in daily dependence on the Lord, and to give permanency to the impression-the persuasion in their minds, that this is not their rest.' May God, of His infinite mercy, grant that this tendency of their dependent circumstances, and precarious means of support, may be manifested in permanent and blessed effect. The troubles of Madeira formerly said to them, Arise ye, and depart, for this is not your rest,'-and the difficulties of Trinidad say to them now, 'Arise ye, and depart, for THIS is not your rest.'

"The state of religion among our fellow countrymen in the latter island is, with a very few exceptions, extremely depressed; and it is unnecessary to speak of the state of religion among the French and Spanish Roman Catholic colonists, who have no religion at all. This common prevalence of a carnal, or irreligious spirit, operates injuriously in regard to the temporal interests of not a few of the Portuguese converts, for their religious profession and character expose them to the derision, the neglect, or even the hostility of the godless and profane. This remark chiefly, though not exclusively, applies to the case of such of the brethren as are in the situation of domestic servants.

"During my stay in the island, about eighty-five additional refugees from Madeira arrived, and almost all of them in destitute circumstances. I urged them all to procure dwelling houses without delay, trusting in the Lord for the means not only of paying the rent when due, but likewise of gaining a subsistence. They acted accordingly. On the evening of the day when they landed, we had a prayer-meeting, numerously attended, at which they were present. We had sweet meditation together on the faithfulness, love, and power of the Lord our God, and all the newly arrived brethren went away full of confidence and good hope. I need scarcely add, that in a very short time the Lord provided them all with employment, and enabled them to pay the rent of the houses which they occupied. Meanwhile, their enemies in Madeira were in a state of starvation. The persecuted exiles themselves were, by consequence of their very exile, freed from the suffering which want of food occasioned in Madeira. 'Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in his mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.' 'They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.'

"For some time after I arrived in Trinidad, I contemplated, as a feasible object, the settlement of a number of Portuguese families in the form of an agricultural colony, to be gradually augmented, as circumstances might admit, by the addition of new settlers. Their employment would have been to cultivate such vegetable productions as would find a ready and remunerative sale in the market of the capital. Lord Harris was exceedingly favourable to the scheme, and showed all readiness to make a grant of Government land for the purpose of furthering its execution; but the unexpected discovery that no Government land could be had in a healthy situation, except at a distance of twenty or twenty-five miles from Port of Spain, obliged me to relinquish the scheme altogether. Proximity to the capital was an essential element of success in the scheme, and extremely desirable, in reference to other considerations of an important kind.

Passing now to the spiritual state of the refugees, I shall take the liberty of transcribing part of a letter, which I addressed to the Editor of the English Presbyterian Messenger,' and which appeared in that periodical four months ago. The letter referred to has the advantage of embodying the impressions which I had when still in the midst of the little church of exiles. The date of the letter is 'Port of Spain, Trinidad, March 30, 1847.' 'Dear Brother, it is now two months since I reached Trinidad, and commenced my temporary labours among the Portuguese emigrants. They had previously been meeting regularly on Sabbath days, for the purpose of social worship, the service being conducted by elders and deacons. Those of them who were communicants before leaving Madeira, had likewise enjoyed the privilege of communion at the Lord's table in the Presbyterian Church of this city, or in that of Arouca. * * * A small number had likewise been admitted to communion with the Baptist congregation in this place, having, as a necessary preliminary, been baptised by immersion. I found that erroneous views on the subject of baptism were, unless preventive steps were adopted, likely to spread still farther among the Portuguese, and that a schism, pregnant with evil consequences to the cause of vital godliness, was threatening to divide the little Church, formerly as united in faith and love, as they were in 'tribulation and the patience of Jesus Christ.' My acquaintance with the mental habits and tendencies of the converts, many of whom were still 'weak in the faith,' afforded likewise ground for fearing that material observance might again lead to neglect of the things which are essential to spiritual life; and that the fancied necessity of immersion might, by an imperceptible but natural and easy transition, carry away the minds of some from Christ's righteousness, as the sole ground of acceptance before God. Such considerations as these led me to take an early opportunity of expounding the passages of Scripture, which bear on the subject of Christian baptism. It is a matter of thankfulness to God, that since then, all questionings and doubts on the subject have, to every appearance, been conclusively settled, and the minds of the converts been diverted more entirely to the great essentials of faith and holiness.

"In this island there are a considerable number of Portuguese from Madeira,

who came here stanch Roman Catholics; and of these several have been led, by means of intercourse with their converted countrymen, to embrace the Protestant faith. Three of these have expressed a desire to be admitted to the Lord's table, and another of them travelled eighteen miles last Saturday evening, in order to attend public worship along with us on the following day. One of the most recent of the converts from Popery, and one whose heart seemed to have been truly opened by the Lord to receive the word of grace, is labouring under a white swelling at the knee, which makes amputation necessary as the only means of saving his life. Two or three Sabbaths ago, this man, yielding to an irresistible desire to hear the Gospel in public, made the dangerous effort of travelling to church on crutches, and back again, a painful journey of nearly two miles. Surely such as he will rise up in the judgment against those who, possessing greater advantages, yet neglect the great salvation,' and 'forsake the assembling of themselves together,' in the house of God.

"The Protestants from Madeira who have taken refuge here under the banner of Great Britain, already amount nearly to the number of 450, and there is the prospect of this number being soon increased by the arrival of at least 100 additional refugees. Since the month of August last, there has been a succession of flights from Madeira, and that of the now expected band of refugees will form the last. Yet there is a seed left behind in Madeira, and the Word of God is open in the hands of many. A letter received by last packet brings us the joyful intelligence that the Word is running still, and being glorified.' The Lord's hand will most surely find out all his elect, and the enmity of man will, instead of frustrating, be made subservient to the purposes of everlasting love.

66 6 Including children, there are more than 300 of the converts in Port of Spain and the surrounding neighbourhood. This is, therefore, the principal scene of my labours. Here we have two meetings for worship on Sabbath, and one every Tuesday evening.

"We had the Communion here on Sabbath last, when eighty-five compassed the Lord's table, all but myself being Portuguese. Many of these, I have grounds for believing, are strong in faith, fervent in spirit, rejoicing in hope of the Lord's glorious appearing, and truly desirous of walking with God in the paths of truth and holiness. There are others among them who complain of the want of persecution, saying, 'Oh the persecution in Madeira was good for our souls!' These were, for a time after their arrival in Trinidad, betrayed into unwatchfulness; and the consequence was, that a worldly spirit was beginning to make dangerous encroachments upon them, to the disturbance of their peace, and the wounding of their consciences, and in reference to some cases, I may say, to the hardening of their hearts. At the present time, however, these seem to be again walking in the former paths; and just a few minutes ago, one of the deacons, who called on me, speaking in reference to the spiritual state of the flock, said gladly, 'Just now, all is going on well;'-a testimony which accords with the impression which personal intercourse with the converts has of late produced very decidedly on my own mind. I am greatly deceived by appearances, if the vine be not flourishing, and the pomegranates budding forth.' There is cause to be thankful to the Lord, and to bless his holy name.

"During the last two months, sixteen or eighteen catechumens have been examined and admitted to the Lord's table. Some of these, in the course of their examination, have given very satisfactory, and in several instances also, very touching evidences of a work of grace. The first awakening the shining of a new light -the discovery of the heart's corruption, and of sin's infinite demerit-the discernment of Christ's excellence and suitableness as the Saviour of the world—the resting upon his finished work and constant intercession-the peace of conscience-the love to God-the desire of holiness in heart and life-the diligent use of means for the end of sanctification-the inward conflict between the flesh and the spirit-the dependance upon Divine grace and love—such elements or symptoms of spiritual life have not, so far as could be ascertained, been wanting in the experience of any of the new communicants above referred to. But the evidence afforded of their having been matter of experience, was, in a few striking cases, peculiarly clear, full, and