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very passage which Mr. Macaulay quotes to authenticate the above assertion, and from that passage it appears that Croese had been in England, for he says, "I have seen at times not less than two hundred suitors," etc. "Vidi quandoque de hoc genere hominum non minus bis centum." Nor is Croese the only authority quoted to this point by Macaulay; for in another note (Harper's edition, Vol. II. p. 272) he also quotes Bonrepaux, an intelligent and shrewd Frenchman about the English court, thus (we translate the passage):

"Penn, the leader of the Quakers, who is known to be in the interest of the king of England, is so severely decried among those of his own party, that they have no longer any confidence in him."

So much for the first specification.

2. The second charge is, that Penn acted as agent for the maids of honor in "extorting money " from some girls at Taunton who had wrought a standard and joined in a procession for the rebel Monmouth. Mr. Macaulay had reiterated this charge against William Penn, after Sir James Mackintosh.

It now appears probable, as Mr. Dixon shows, that the agent in this discreditable business was a certain George Penne, a hireling hanger-on about the court, ready for such work. But, as we shall soon make appear, Mr. Dixon is not entitled to the honor of discovering the true culprit in this case.

3. The third" Macaulay Charge " is,

"That Penn allowed himself to be employed in the work of seducing Kiffin into a compliance with court designs."

In dealing with this charge, Mr. Dixon misrepresents both Mr. Macaulay's statement and the facts of the case, and in his quotations from Kiffin's Memoirs suppresses the passages which confirm all that Mr. Macaulay asserts.

4. The fourth charge is,

"That Penn endeavored to gain William's assent to the promulgated edict suspending the penal laws."

Supposing that he did this, for the sake of relieving all Dissenters, is there any great harm in it?

5. The final charge is,

"That Penn' did his best to seduce the Magdalen collegians 'from the path of right,' and was a broker in simony of a peculiarly discreditable kind.'”,

The amount of Macaulay's imputation on Penn in this matter is, that he tried to persuade Dr. Hough to comply with the wishes of King James by hinting at the prospect of a bishopric. Now this fact is stated by Hough himself in a letter (Wilmot's Life of Hough). This letter Mr. Dixon garbles, and in order to dispose of the assertion by the Doctor, that Penn smilingly hinted to

him, "If the Bishop of Oxford die, Dr. Hough may be made. bishop," Mr. Dixon supposes Penn to have been joking.

So stands the issue betwen Mr. Dixon and Mr. Macaulay. The character of Penn is left with us as it was before we read either writer. He had a weak point, and he loved to exercise patronage. Mr. Macaulay judged him uncharitably, and the rhetoric of this splendid author here, as in other cases, impairs his justice. Mr. Dixon is vain, boastful, pretentious, and disingenuous. We have hinted that he only at second hand rectifies the one important matter regarding the agent with the Taunton girls. The simple truth is, that, though Mr. Dixon pretends to have made great researches in reference to the "Macaulay Charges," he is indebted for every line and every fact and authority with which he meets them, to a pamphlet published two years ago, by Mr. W. E. Forster, a member of the Society of Friends. With not the slightest hint of his obligation to this pamphlet, Mr. Dixon only refers to it in a note, and then, with a great parade of exactness, merely to correct an error, not of Mr. Forster, but of his printer.

The Religion of Geology and its connected Sciences. By EDWARD HITCHCOCK, D. D., LL. D., President of Amherst College, and Professor of Natural Theology and Geology. Boston: Phillips, Sampson, & Co. 1851. 12mo. pp. 511.

THIS book is to be regarded as a medium for acquainting, and to some extent for reconciling, the so-called Evangelical communion of Christians with the state of the issue between geology, as interpreted by science, and the letter of Scripture, according to the old theory of inspiration. It exhibits a painful collision between the author's knowledge and his wish to adhere to some tenets which are apparently inconsistent with it. We by no means consider the issue which is dealt with in this book as settled against the Old Testament in favor of any geological theory. What with the range of interpretation justly to be demanded for ancient Oriental records, and the very fickle character of our scientific theories, we find no very great trial of our faith in the actual state of things as regards this matter. There are some admirable passages in Dr. Hitchcock's volume, showing a breadth of view and a power of delineation suited to his high theme. If we were examining his work at length, as we may do at some future period, we should have to make some suggestions which are not called for here.

.

First Impressions of England and its People. By HUGH MILLER. Author of "The Footprints of the Creator," "The Old Red Sandstone," &c. Boston: Gould & Lincoln. 1851. 12mo. pp. 430.

MR. MILLER by no means turns his back in this volume upon the themes and subjects which first made him known to the literary public. On the contrary, there are many delightful pas sages in these pages which bring before us the true lover and the keen observer of nature. "The Silurian, Carboniferous, and Oolitic periods," are not slighted by him whenever he has occasion to mention them. But an occasional way-side remark, an historical reminiscence, a keen-pointed suggestion, and, above all, a genial spirit suffused over the whole book, will make it to general readers the most attractive book relating to England which they can find.

The Philosophy of Mathematics. Translated from the Cours de Philosophie Positive of AUGUSTE COMTE, by W. M. GILLESPIE, Professor in Union College. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1851. 8vo. pp. 260.

WE have already given in our pages an extended view of the whole work of Comte, of which we have here one portion translated from the French. This does not present exactly what is called the poetry of mathematics, though from turning over its pages we find the elements of beauty and grandeur set forth in a way to need only an exercise, not of the imagination, but of sober and extended thought, to fill the mind with the essentials of poetry. The author aims to present a comprehensive view of the whole wide region of mathematical science, and to define its laws.

A History of Greece, from the Earliest Times to the Destruction of Corinth, B. C. 146; mainly based upon that of CONNOP THIRLWALL, D. D. BY DR. LEONARD SCHMITZ, F. R. S. E. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1851. 12mo.

pp. 541.

BOTH Thirlwall's and Grote's Histories are too voluminous for the most extended use, even in these reading times. Yet the elucidations which the last fifty years have made, and which they have incorporated in their large works, have essentially changed the aspect of Grecian themes and annals. This compilation will, therefore, have its value, and will undoubtedly move some of its readers to grapple with the original works.

VOL. LI. 4TH S. VOL. XVI. NO. I.

13

Prometheus Bound, and other Poems: including Sonnets from the Portuguese, Casa Guidi Windows, &c. By ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING. New York: C. S. Francis & Co. 1851. 16mo. pp. 234.

THIS volume is uniform with the two which we recently noticed from the same publishers, as containing the other poetical writings of Mrs. Browning. Some beautiful gems, rich in sentiment felicitously expressed, are found in these pages. The author has her admirers, and while general criticism pronounces her various pieces, and even parts of the same, as of very unequal merit, she holds an honored place among our living versifiers.

Treatise on the Christian Religion. By ATHANASE COQUERel, Pastor of the Reformed Church in Paris. From the French. Edited by Rev. J. I. T. COOLIDGE. Boston: Crosby & Nichols. 1851. 16mo. pp. 146.

IT is curious to note the contrast between the huge old folios which bore titles similar to the above, and had the same general aim in view, and the little volumes into which divines now seek to compress the substance of the Gospel. The contrast is very sig. nificant of a wisdom which deals in as different a way with the subject-matter of the volumes.

This is the manual which M. Coquerel himself has used for many years in preparing young persons for their first participation in the Lord's Supper. It is very simple and comprehensive in its form. Its division of topics is natural, and in their summary they embrace the main topics of Christian instruction. There is more use made of the Old Testament than one would infer from the title of the volume, and this to us increases its value.

Closet Prayers, Original and Compiled from the Writings of Eminent and Holy Men of Various Churches. By THOMAS SADLER, Ph. D. London: Whitfield. 1851. 32mo. pp. 189.

THE names of those honored and saintly men whose devotional expressions are gathered together in this very small volume, are a beautiful illustration of the unity of spirit in all true believers. St. Augustine and St. Chrysostom, Fénelon, Pascal, and À Kempis, Bishops Andrews, Taylor, Hoadley, and Leighton, Drs. Arnold, Watts, and Channing, are here made to minister to the religious sentiment in its most sincere utterance of itself. The

miniature size of this volume and its rich contents adapt it to all the private uses at home and abroad which such a work

can serve.

New Publications of James Munroe & Co.

Hudson's Shakspeare. Two volumes of this new Boston edition of the works of the great dramatist have already appeared. The whole publication will be comprised in eleven volumes, the last of which will contain a Life of the poet, with his Poems, and a General Review. The mechanical execution is as near perfection as need be, the paper being substantial and fair, the type new, with a beautiful, clear face, and the volumes of a size best adapted to use. If long and devoted study can qualify any one to edit these materials, Mr. Hudson can scarce fail in his undertaking. He has made the Chiswick edition his model, but has corrected its variations from the original text, as far as that can be accurately ascertained, and has availed himself of the most valuable efforts of his more recent predecessors in the work, as well as of those of the older critics, to enable him to present us with a copy combining advantages and excluding defects. We see no token in the introductions or notes prepared by Mr. Hudson of any peculiar theory or fancy of his own, such as often impair the value of similar undertakings. We wish him eminent success, and believe that the public will profit by his labors. must, however, except from commendation one note on the words of the Clown in Twelfth Night,—“ Nay, I am for all waters," in which Mr. Hudson suggests a possible humorous application of Isaiah xxxiii. 20, "Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters."

We

"The Life and Writings of the Rev. George Herbert: with the Synagogue in Imitation of Herbert." (12mo. pp. 452.) An abridgment of the admirable biography by old Izaak Walton precedes, as it always should, these quaint poems and prose writings of one of the richest of the old English authors. The true unction of a childlike piety, mingled with a spirit of profound wisdom, consecrates the pages of Herbert. His conceits are not as hard or far-fetched as are those of some writers who succeeded him. This volume will always be one of the gems of a library which has an honored place for good books.

"History of the Cross of Christ. By Rev. William R. Alger." (16mo. pp. 95.) The idea of this little book was suggested to its author by an English work entitled "Cruciana," though he has improved upon its subject-matter and upon the whole treatment of the theme. Mr. Alger has aimed to present the appeals and influences which come from the cross of Christ,

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