Buch lesen: «The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 69, July, 1863», Seite 18

Spurgeon, again, is continually indulging in the most startling suppositions, and just those which are most commonly entertained by vulgar minds,—as, for instance, the supposition of some one, himself or some unfortunate hearer, dropping down dead in his chamber. And, in general, he makes abundant use of that apprehension of death, which is far stronger in the uneducated than in the more refined, as a source from which he may gather thunderbolt after thunderbolt with which to startle the indifferent and hardened heart. What matter though the sentiment to which he appeals be a perverted sentiment? what matter how severely wrenched out of its normal channel? if through this tortuous channel something of the divine truth reaches the awakened conscience, then is there hope, that, through divine grace entering with the truth, all these perversions and anomalies of sinful nature may be set right, and the soul again arrive at celestial harmony with the universe.

The method of such preaching is as organic, considering the circumstances, as that of Beecher's preaching. The only difference is, that the latter finds an audience that through intellectual facility is able to follow him in any path; while Spurgeon, on the other hand, finds his audience destitute of any such facilities, yet finds them facile in every direction where he can bring into alliance with his power their emotions or their peculiar modes of mental action.

Nor do the grosser realities of the world, as present ever with the hearer, and as present ever with the preacher, at all disturb the efficiency of human faith: indeed, they form the most beautiful relief upon which faith is ever to be discovered, for thus is that which in its supernatural alliance is entirely heavenly seen shining through the lowest bases of our nature, which in their alliance are everlastingly associated with earth.

A Treatise on the American Law of Easements and Servitudes. By EMORY WASHBURN, LL.D. Philadelphia: George W. Childs. pp. 640.

"Easements" is no easy subject for a law-writer. In its development he will be thrown, to a great extent, upon his own resources in collating and unfolding the topics, for the literature upon the subject existing in our own language is so meagre that the form of its presentation has not been cast in any conventional mould. We have heretofore had no American treatise whatever upon the general subject, and the English bar has furnished us only with that of Gale and Whately, which almost wholly ignores the American cases. It is evident, therefore, that it required an original and fresh intellectual effort to gather together the hundreds of adjudications scattered through our various State reports, classify them, compare them, study them, and construct a homogeneous and extensive analysis of their doctrine. This sort of distillation, if we may so speak, from the crude mass, has been most thoroughly performed by the author of the work before us; and the result is, that, instead of merely making a book, he has indeed written one. In reading it, we recall the great authoritative treatises of the profession, such as Abbott on Shipping, or Sugden on Vendors, and we are also the more disgusted with the hotchpots of the "United States Digest," called law-books.

Professor Washburn is fairly before the public as the author of the "Treatise on the American Law of Real Property," and his merits as a writer have thus become so well known as to render any new commendation superfluous. His style is plain, clear, and compact. He addresses himself directly to the subject of which he is treating, spinning no curious refinements, and admitting no irrelevant digressions. Nor does he keep the reader oscillating between text and notes, in a state of dizzying, unstable equilibrium which would task an acrobate. There be books we have seen printed, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely, in which the text was so shingled over with layers of notes, or the notes were so underpinned by a slight propping of text, that it was difficult to say, in the language of Easements, which was the servient and which the dominant tenement. Our author's volume, we are happy to say, is not thus bifurcated. His law is in his text, and his sources are in his notes.

There is another feature which we dare not overlook, and that is, the hearty conscientiousness with which the writer does his work. He takes nothing at secondhand, but goes straightway to the authorities. It begets confidence in a writer, when he is enabled to say for himself, as the Professor apologetically does in his Preface, "It has been my aim to examine for myself every reported case which bore sufficiently upon the topic under consideration to warrant a reference to it as an authority"; and when we are further told that "the cases thus examined considerably exceed a thousand in number," we may form some conception of the great industry as well as the rare literary honesty of the writer.

The arrangement of the book is admirable. At the commencement of each chapter we have the titles of the various sections, and each successive section is introduced by a statement of the contents of each clause. This facilitates search, though it necessitates the cumbrous mode of reference adopted in the foot-notes to chapter, section, and placitum.

It would be easy for us to prolong this notice, but we must content ourselves with an earnest commendation of the work to the profession. It is literally indispensable to the general practitioner, not merely because it is the only book which contains the collected law on the subject as administered in this country, but also because, if it had a dozen competitors, its intrinsic value would be all the more fully developed by the comparison.

The Astronomy of the Bible. By O.M. MITCHELL, LL.D. 12mo. New York Blakeman & Mason.

This work contains seven Lectures, in which the distinguished and lamented author has undertaken to prove not only that the science of Astronomy does not discredit the inspiration of the Sacred Scriptures, but that it affords many clear evidences that they are a Divine Revelation. The first demonstrates, against the Atheist, the being of God. The second adduces evidence that the God of the universe is the Jehovah of the Bible. The third considers the cosmogony revealed by the present state of astronomy; and the fourth compares the Mosaic account of creation with the theory advanced in the preceding lecture. The fifth is devoted to the ancient and venerable Book of Job with reference to the astronomical allusions it contains. The sixth is on the astronomical miracles of the Bible; and the seventh is on the language of the Bible with reference to astronomy.

This brief statement of the subjects discussed is sufficient to show that the work is one of no ordinary character. The interest the publication of these lectures will awaken will be intensified by the considerations, that they contain the matured views of one of the first astronomers of the age, on a subject of transcendent importance,—and that they are the last contributions to the cause of science and religion from his gifted pen. They were delivered within the last few years, in our principal cities, to very large and deeply interested audiences; and their appearance in print just now is most timely. The question respecting the relations of Christianity and Science to each other is now exciting a very general and intense interest. The Bible was written during a period in the history of the world when true science was almost unknown. The writers of the several books which compose the sacred volume, with scarcely an exception, made no pretensions to scientific investigation; and they did not so much reason out as announce great truths and principles intimately related to almost every department of human knowledge. These venerable writings have been and now are subjected to a test which no other professed revelation has been able to bear. If, then, it shall be found that their direct teachings and their numerous references to the works of Nature harmonize with the averments of science in this age of its greatest achievements—still more, if it shall appear that the different sciences, unknown when they were written, strongly corroborate their teachings, direct and indirect,—it will be difficult for candid minds to resist the conviction that their origin is Divine.

No one of the sciences was less understood, in those remote ages, than Astronomy; and yet to no part of the works of Nature does the Bible make more frequent references than to the heavenly bodies. In this department, therefore, if anywhere, we might expect to find discrepancy between the teachings of science and revelation. But the impartial reader will rise from the perusal of this volume, not only with his faith in the inspiration of the Scriptures confirmed, but with the conviction that the sublime science of Astronomy affords a far more just conception of the pregnant meaning of the eloquent language of Job, David, and Isaiah, than without it we could attain.

These lectures will be regarded as the more valuable, because they are the voluntary contribution of a Christian layman, as well as of a man of eminent scientific attainments, to the great argument on which depends the religious faith of mankind. Possessing a mind of extraordinary powers, trained under the promptings of an intense thirst for knowledge to patient and thorough investigation, he made for himself a reputation which secures the strongest confidence in his ability to treat the momentous and difficult questions he undertook to discuss in these lectures; whilst the remarkable clearness of his views, his brilliant imagination, and an extraordinary affluence of language and felicity of expression, both enlighten the understanding and gratify the most cultivated taste. Professor Mitchell did more than any other man to popularize the science of Astronomy; and the use he has made of it in defence of Christianity seems a fitting termination of his noble labors.

RECENT AMERICAN PUBLICATIONS

RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS OF THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY

Country Seats: containing Lithographic Designs for Cottages, Villas, Mansions, etc., with their Accompanying Outbuildings; also, Country Churches, City Buildings, Railway-Stations, etc., etc. By Henry Hudson Holly, Architect. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 4to. pp. xiv., 171. $3.50.

A Tangled Skein. By Albany Fonblanque, Jr. Boston. T.O.H.P. Bunmam. 8vo. paper, pp. 217. 50 cts.

Political Fallacies: An Examination of the False Assumptions, and Refutation of the Sophistical Reasonings, which have brought on this Civil War. By George Junkin, D.D., LL.D. New York. C. Scribner. 12mo. pp. 332. $1.25.

The Resources of California, comprising Agriculture, Mining, Geography, Climate, Commerce, etc., etc., and the Past and Future Development of the State. By John S. Hittel. San Francisco. A. Roman & Co. 12mo; pp. xvi., 464. $1.50.

Wild Scenes in South America; or, Life in the Llanos of Venezuela. By Don Ramon Paez. New York. C. Scribner. 12mo. pp. x., 502. $1.50.

The Song of Iron and the Song of Slaves; with other Poems. By Kane O'Donnell. Philadelphia. King & Baird. 18mo. pp. 72. 50 cts.

Recollections of Venice. By Charles Henry Jones. Reading, Pa. B.F. Owen. 18mo. pp. 81. 25 cts.

Miscellanies. By James B. Everhart. West Chester. Edward F. James, pp. viii., 300. $1.00.

The Foggy Night at Offord. By Mrs. Henry Wood. Philadelphia. T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 8vo. paper, pp. 57. 25 cts.

The Sleeping Sentinel. By Francis de Haes Janvier. Philadelphia. T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 16mo. paper, pp. 19. 10 cts.

Inside Out. A Curious Book. By a Singular Man. New York. Miller, Mathews, & Clasback. 16mo. pp. viii., 364. $1.25.

Arbitrary Arrests in the South; or, Scenes from the Experience of an Alabama Unionist. By R.S. Tharin, A.M. New York. John Bradburn. 16mo. pp. 245. $1.00.

Three Years in Chili. New York. Follett, Foster, & Co. 16mo. pp. viii, 153. 75 cts.

A History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine, from its Colonization to the Early Part of the Present Century. By William Willis. Portland. Bailey & Noyes. 8vo. pp. 712. $3.00.

Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church. Part I. Abraham to Samuel. By Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, D.D., Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of Oxford, and Canon of Christ Church. With Maps and Plans. New York. C. Scribner. 8vo. pp. xi., 572. $3.00.

Tenth Annual Report of the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, together with Reports of Committees appointed to visit the County Societies. With an Appendix, containing an Abstract of the Finances of the County Societies for 1862. Boston. Wright & Potter, State Printers. 8vo. pp. 424.

Abstract of Returns of the Agricultural Societies of Massachusetts, 1862. Edited by Charles L. Flint, Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture. Boston. Wright & Potter, State Printers. 8vo. pp. 260.

Man's Cry, and God's Gracious Answer. A Contribution toward the Defence of the Faith. By the Rev. B. Franklin. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 18mo. pp. 94. 25 cts.

The Trapper's Daughter. A Story of the Rocky Mountains. By Gustavo Aimard. Philadelphia. T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 50 cts.

The New American Cyclopædia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge. Edited by George Ripley and Charles Dana. Volume XVI. V-Zwirner. With a Supplement. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 8vo. pp. 850, x., 8. $3.00.

Wanderings of a Beauty. A Tale of the Real and the Ideal. By Mrs. Edwin James. New York. G.W. Carleton. 12mo. paper. pp. 243. 75 cts.

Observations on China and the Chinese. By W.L.G. Smith, late U.S. Consul at Shanghai. New York. G.W. Carleton. 12mo. pp. 216. $1.00.

The New and Complete Tax-Payer's Manual: containing the Direct and Excise Taxes; with the Recent Amendments by Congress, and the Decisions of the Commissioner; also Complete Marginal References, and an Analytical Index, showing all the Items of Taxation, the Mode of Proceeding, and the Duties of the Officers. With an Explanatory Preface. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 8vo. paper, pp. 148, 36. 75 cts.

The National Tax-Law, as amended; embodying all the Official Decisions, Official List of Assessors and Collectors, Alphabetical Schedule of Taxable Articles, Copious Indexes, etc., with a Complete Compendium of Stamp-Duties, and an Explanatory Preface. Compiled and Arranged by Edward H. Hall, Washington, D.C. New York. G.W. Carleton. 12mo. paper. pp. 136. 50 cts.

Pre-Adamite Man: The Story of the Human Race, from Thirty-Five Thousand to One Hundred Thousand Years ago. By Griffin Lee, of Texas. New York. Sinclair Tousey. 12mo. pp. 408. $1.25.

On the Origin of Species: or, The Causes of the Phenomena of Organic Nature. A Course of Six Lectures to Working-Men. By Thomas H. Huxley, F.R.S., F.L.S., Professor of Natural History in the Jermyn-Street School of Mines. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 12mo. pp. 150. 75 cts.

The Results of Slavery. By Augustus Cochin, Ex-Maire and Municipal Councillor of Paris. Translated by Mary L. Booth. Boston. Walker, Wise, & Co. 12mo. pp. x., 413. $1.50.

A Text-Book on Penmanship; containing all the Established Rules and Principles of the Art, with Rules for Punctuation, Directions and Forms for Letter-Writing, to which are added a Brief History of Writing, and Hints on Writing-Materials, etc., etc. For Teachers and Pupils. Adapted for Use in Schools, Academies, and Commercial Colleges, in Connection with any Well-Arranged Series of Copy-Books. By H.W. Ellsworth, Teacher of Penmanship in the Public Schools of New York City, etc. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 12mo. pp. xviii., 232. $1.50.

The Gentle Skeptic; or, Essays and Conversations of a Country Justice on the Authenticity and Truth of the Old Testament Records. Edited by the Rev. C. Walworth. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 12mo. pp. 368. $1.50.

The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua critically Examined. By the Right Rev. John William Colenso, D.D., Bishop of Natal. Part II. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 12mo. pp. 303. $1.25.

Annette; or, The Lady of the Pearls. By Alexander Dumas the Younger. Translated by Mrs. W.R.A. Johnson. Philadelphia. T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 8vo. paper, pp. 173. 50 cts.

My Southern Friends. By Edmund Kirke, Author of "Among the Pines." New York. G.W. Carleton. 16mo. paper, pp. 308. 50 cts.

Letters on the Ministry of the Gospel. By Francis Wayland. Boston. Gould & Lincoln. 16mo. pp. 210. 60 cts.

Cavalry; its History, Management, and Uses in War. By J. Roemer, LL.D., late an Officer in the Service of the Netherlands. With Illustrations. New York. D. Van Nostrand. 8vo. pp. 515, $5.00.

Mysteries of Life, Death, and Futurity. Illustrated from the Best and Latest Authorities. By Horace Welby, Author of "Signs before Death," etc. New York. J.G. Gregory. 12mo. pp. 356. $1.50.

Annual of Scientific Discovery: or, Year-Book of Facts in Science and Art for 1863. Exhibiting the most Important Discoveries and Improvements in Mechanics, Useful Arts, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Astronomy, Geology, Zoölogy, Botany, Mineralogy, Meteorology, Geography, Antiquities, etc. Together with Notes on the Progress of Science during the Year 1862; a List of Recent Scientific Publications; Obituaries of Eminent Scientific Men, etc. Edited by David A. Wells, A.M., M.D. Boston. Gould & Lincoln. 12mo. pp. 343. $1.50.

The United States Bank Law. An Act to provide a National Currency, secured by a Pledge of United States Stocks, and to provide for the Circulation and Redemption thereof. Approved February 25, 1863. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 8vo. paper, pp. xii., 28. 25 cts.

Harper's Pictorial History of the Great Rebellion in the United States. New York. Harper & Brothers. 4to. paper. Nos. 1-4. pp. 24, each. 25 cts.

Around the Pyramids: being a Tour In the Holy Land, and, incidentally, through Several European Countries, and Portions of Africa, during the Years 1859-60. By Aaron Ward. New York. G.W. Carleton. 12mo. pp. 309. $1.00.

Marked for Life. Edited by Marlay. New York. G.W. Carleton. 12mo. pp. 216. $1.00.

A Book of Nonsense. By Edward Lear. From the Tenth London Edition. With Many New Pictures and Verses. Philadelphia. Willis P. Hazard, long 8vo. pp. 112. $1.00.

German Lyric Poetry. A Collection of Songs and Ballads. Translated from the Best German Lyric Poets. With Notes. By Charles T. Brooks. Philadelphia. Willis P. Hazard. 16mo. pp. xx., 400. $1.25.

The Roman Catholic Principle: A "Price Lecture," delivered in Trinity Church, Boston. By F.D. Huntington, D.D., Rector of Emmanuel Church, Boston. E.P. Dutton & Co 16mo. paper, pp. 40. 10 cts.

Incidents in My Life. By D.D. Howe. With an Introduction by Judge Edmonds. New York. G.W. Carleton. 16mo. pp. 315. $1.25.

Chaplain Fuller: being a Life-Sketch of a New-England Clergyman and Army Chaplain. By Richard F. Fuller. Boston. Walker, Wise, &Co. 12mo. pp. vi., 342. $1.50.

The Conscript. A Tale of War. By Alexander Dumas. Philadelphia. T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 12mo. pp. 400. $1.50.

Moses Right, and Bishop Colenso Wrong; being Popular Lectures on the Pentateuch. By the Rev. John Cumming, D.D., F.R.S.E. New York. John Bradburn. 12mo. pp. 271. $1.00.

Instruction for Heavy Artillery; prepared by a Board of Officers, for the Use of the Army of the United States. With Service of a Gun mounted on an Iron Carriage. Illustrated by Thirty-Nine Plates. New York. D. Van Nostrand. 12mo. pp. xvi., 254. $2.00.

The Works of Charles Dickens. Household Edition. Illustrated from Drawings by F.O.C. Darley and John Gilbert, A Tale of Two Cities. In Two Volumes. New York. Sheldon & Co. 16mo. pp. 259, 256. $2.00.

Two Pictures; or, What We Think of Ourselves, and What the World Thinks of Us. By M.J. McIntosh. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 12mo. pp. 476. $1.50.

Union Fourth Reader: embracing a Full Exposition of the Principles of Rhetorical Reading; with Numerous Exercises for Practice, both in Prose and Poetry, Various in Style, and carefully adapted to the Purposes of Teaching in Schools of Every Grade. By Charles W. Sanders, A.M. New York. Ivison, Phinney, & Co. 12mo. pp. 408. $1.00.

"Drifting About"; or, What "Jeems Pipes Of Pipesville" Saw and Did. An Autobiography. By Stephen C. Massett. With Many Comic Illustrations by Mullen. New York. G.W. Carleton. 12mo. pp. 371. $1.25.

Marian Grey; or, The Heiress of Redstone Hall. By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes, Author of "Lena Rivers," etc. New York. G.W. Carleton. 12mo. pp. 400. $1.25.

The Races of the Old World: A Manual of Ethnology. By Charles L. Brace, Author of "Hungary in '51," "Norse-Folk," etc. New York. C. Scribner. small 8vo. pp. xvi., 540. $2.00.

Paris in America. By Dr. René Lefebvre (Édouard Laboulaye). Translated by Mary L. Booth. New York. C. Scribner. 12mo. pp. 373. $1.25.