the thoughts themselves are, for the most part, weighty and valuable, and exhibit a mind earnestly intent on drawing near to God, and examining all the impediments which hinder it in its work, for the sake of obtaining that assistance from on high which is necessary to remove them. In short, the substance of the volume is an apt sequel to its motto: "La méditation n'est pas l'oraison, mais elle en est le fondement essentiel." This being the character of the work, an air of originality pervades it, such as belongs to independent reasoning or reflection, even when its materials are not new, or the train of its ideas unusual. The following passage, however, presents an important truth on the subject of prayer, in a manner equally novel and striking; and we extract it for the sake of bringing the sentiment it contains in its full force before our readers.

"We know, on reflection, that the grandeur, even of the Himalaia mountains, is merely relative; and that all the different inequalities of our earth's surface are, proportionally to its magnitude, but as the greater and smaller grains of sand or dust, differing a little in size and aggregation, which might be strewn and cemented on the surface of our artificial globes.

"So there is, to us, a grandeur in human eloquence. To hear or read the expression of thoughts, which (in our figurative way of describing them) are eminently clear, solid, lofty, and comprehensive, which are well combined, and conveyed to us by the most distinct and appropriate signs that language yields, is highly gratifying and elevating to the enlightened mind. And to minds which are at all spiritually, as well as intellectually, enlightened, there is no way in which true eloquence can appear more nobly exercised, than in prayer to God. False or affected eloquence, indeed, is in no other use of it so deeply disgusting, because in this it is not only puerile but profane: the true eloquence of prayer is that simple greatness of thought and reverential fervour of desire in which lowliness and sublimity meet. With this a devout and wellordered mind is elevated and charmed; charmed perhaps too much; that is, as far as the charm results from an admira tion of superior thought and expression. For we know, or should know, on reflection, that the loftiness and compass of human eloquence are as merely relative as the mass and height of mountains; and that in the view of the infinite mind of Him who 'taketh up the isles as an atom,'

"The full and finished strain of the

parent nightingale enchants us; the chirp Both however are but the feeble and of her brood has no power to please. limited notes of birds.-The eloquence of Cicero and Chatham transported their hearers; while a child or an uninstructed person can scarcely give distinct utterYet both classes speak only with the ance to one interesting thought or emotion. tongues of men;' and thought conceived and expressed by means of so earthly and frail an organization as ours, is probably, even in its strongest conception and best enunciation, exceedingly weak and circumscribed, not only in the view of the Deity, but of some created minds. Even to Newton, the difference between the acquirements of a child who knew the first rudiments of numbers, and of a student who could demonstrate the theorems of Euclid, must have appeared, comparatively, trifling; because he himself is said to have comprehended the latter intuitively. We cannot, therefore, doubt that intelligences of a higher order must look on the highest reach of human science as infantine, and the ablest use of language as a very indirect and defective method of signifying thought. Even we feel its inadequacy. How much more must they? And if, therefore, the differences of human thought and speech appear little, when absolutely considered, to superior finite minds, how little to Him that fashioneth our hearts alike!'" pp. 35-39.

The sentiment here developed, with much of that eloquence which it depreciates, is of singular use towards abating that vanity of talent and ostentation of peculiar gifts, which, from the time of the primitive Corinthians, have poisoned the purity of the Christian church, and which require the more to be guarded against, because the highest spiritual attainments are most in danger of being perverted by them;

for human nature is never more liable "to be exalted above measure," than when it has been most highly favoured by "the abundance of the revelations," or of the gifts bestowed. Freedom of utterance in prayer is comparatively of little value, for the purposes at least of private devotion; but a deep acquaintance with our own infirmities and necessities, a recollection of our besetting sins and temptations, and a distinct apprehension of those virtues and qualities the attainment of which is essential to a perfect Christian, are of essential importance. These are the very sources of devotion, and are more conducive to it than flowing periods or ready elocution; which, as far as they may be required for the correct expression of the thoughts conceived, will seldom be wanting, where the mind has been rightly occupied on the proper subject of prayer;

Verbaque provisam rem non invita sequentur.

The praises which are sometimes lavished on what may properly be called eloquence in prayer, are as much out of place as if they were bestowed on the showy importunity of a beggar, who should stand at our door, soliciting alms with studied phrases and rhetorical declamation. This too natural natural propensity to think more of human auditors who partake in our prayers, than of the Being whom we address in them, is one of the strongest recommendations of liturgical forms, which draw off attention from the officiating minister, and allow both him and his congregation to be exclusively occupied with the solemn service in which they profess to be engaged. In regard to private prayer, the

case is different. We are then under fewer temptations to vanity, and have chiefly to contend with what our author justly describes as a strong preoccupation of the mind on other subjects. The effort therefore of giving free expression to our thoughts, is here useful; and among the human means which we

are bound to employ, in dependence on the Divine blessing, for the sake of overcoming this morbid tendency of our nature, the author suggests the following:

"Where the understanding or the imagination is strongly occupied by an object, it seems more practicable to use this force than to expel or oppose it. Since the power of steam has been applied to navigation, it is become possible to propel a vessel directly against the wind and the tide; but there is no inherent force analogous to this, (at least none is found in some minds,) by which the earnest course of thought strongly' setting in' towards a certain point, can be directly stemmed. What, then, is our resource, but to endeavour that the contrary current shall indirectly serve us; as, in the ordinary way of navigation, the vessel yields to the prevailing breeze, and has her sails filled obliquely by that very gale, which, if her prow were pointed against it, would quite baffle and stop her course. pp. 165, 166.

Mr. Sheppard then gives some examples of the manner in which this hint may be applied, shewing how the botanist or the chemist, the sculptor or the mechanic, may derive devotions from the subject of his a suitable preparative to his peculiar calling, acknowledging the agency of God in them, and thence passing on to those greater works of God which are the more peculiar subjects of Christian faith and hope.

Our author further urges, that in our private devotions we should not be satisfied with the generalities of religion, but should make them specific and personal, directed eswhich we find disqualify our minds pecially to those discouragements for the exercises of devotion, those sins for which we need remission, and those graces of which we feel the want. On this subject his statements are truly practical and useful. We subjoin a specimen.

"Prayer is then most likely to degenerate into a mere form, when I allow myself to rest in general praises, confessions, and supplications. The memory is so furnished with these, that the employscarcely any exercise of the understandment, when thus conducted, may include ing; and still less of the affections.'

p. 111.

"Still more should this particularity be the distinctive character of secret worship in regard to confession; that being the branch of devotion, which, when engaged in socially, requires to be most general. We cannot, in society, confess our own particular sins, as if they were the sins of others also; and even if we could ascertain that some present had cause to make precisely the same confessions with ourselves, they might often be of a nature quite unsuited to publicity. But when I enter into my closet, and shut the door,' it is of great importance that my confessions should be specific; that I should recal and acknowledge my most prevailing and most recent offences, so distinctly and circumstantially as to bring them strongly before the eye of the mind. I should notice their particular causes and aggravations, not yielding to the erroneous notion that such details are inconsistent with the majesty of Him whom I address. He knoweth all things; and no detail can be superfluous or unfit in his estimation, which tends to fix my spirit more deeply and repentingly on its own moral defects and diseases, and to

evince more strongly its desire of being 'made whole.' If, for example, I am conscious of having lately given way to an anxious and impatient temper, let me not be content with acknowledging generally, that I have not ruled my own spirit,' but let me confess that I have not set a due guard in that particular instance, where provocation or trial was to be expected; or that I have betrayed heat or peevishness where the youth, or old age, or ignorance, or known infirmity, or other circumstances of the party with whom I had intercourse, should have operated as a strong prevention. If I have indulged sinful musings and desires, I should call to mind, and express, the immediate source of temptation; such as injurious society, or pernicious books; (whether casually presented, or more deliberately approached;) or the want of a right occupation, or a distaste of what is good, prompting the unsatisfied or slothful spirit to resort for enjoyment to what is evil. It will be both an exercise and an incentive of penitence, to trace and to declare these motives before God." pp. 112-114.

Another topic on which Mr. Sheppard has some valuable remarks, is the necessity of praying with a settled, though humble, expectation that our prayers shall not be in vain.

"My doubting, or slothful, or desponding temper of mind may suggest,-How can I hope to move or influence an unchangeable Being? The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations' As reason

6

ably might it be asked,-How can I hope, by taking food, to renew my strength, or prolong my life; or, by applying to the physician, to obtain the removal of disease? God hath foreseen and appointed_the' term of my life, and the measure of my health and strength.

"In these cases the absurdity of the objection is at once apparent. The means by which health is to be restored, strength sustained, and life preserved, are as much objects of the Divine fore-knowledge and counsel as the ends connected with them. It hath pleased the Divine Providence to connect them; and the one will not be without the other." p. 21.

On the necessity and means of resisting that torpor, in respect to spiritual objects and interests, which unfits us for the practice of devotion; on the duty of using every state of our affections, whether depressed or lively, as a motive for prayer; on the encouragements to intercession; and on many other points of practical utility to every one who would watch unto prayer as we are directed to do, Mr. Sheppard writes with the same attention to the importance of the subject, and the same evidence of an experimental acquaintance with it in all its details, which have appeared in the extracts already given. But these are sufficient, we trust, to convince our readers of the benefit which may be expected from a diligent perusal of the little volume from which they are selected; and, if they should induce other advanced and judicious Christians, who have lived long in the conscientious practice of secret prayer, and who have thus made acquaintance both with its difficulties and with its power, to record in a similar way the results of their own experience, and thus to present to the world, not merely formularies of devotion or dissertations on the duty and efficacy of prayer, but aids in resisting our natural disinclination to the duty, and encouragements and advice in the use of those means which ought to be diligently employed by all who would practise it with advantage; we shall hope to have rendered some service to many who mourn in secret over difficulties

which, by the blessing of God, may be, to a considerable extent, surmounted. We should be grieved, however, if our suggestion should be so misapplied, as to provoke the publication of new masses of common-place diaries and meditations "of no use but to the owner;" an article which already abounds to satiety.

In the notes appended to this volume, there are speculations of a deeper nature, which prove the extent to which Mr. Sheppard is accustomed to urge his inquiries on matters connected with eternity, and the ability with which he pursues them. They would however give occasion to some discussion, and lead us into observations scarcely in unison with the main subject of this review. We therefore prefer to stop here, and to recommend the volume itself to the attention which it appears to us to deserve.

Father Clement, a Roman-Catholic Story. By the Author of Decision, &c. Edinburgh: Oliphant. Fourth edition. 1825. 24mo. pp. 366.

THERE are some truths which can in no way be so pespicuously communicated as through the medium of fictitious narrative. Such is the case in regard to the difference between the principles of Papists and Protestants, the true tendency of which may be best perceived in trying circumstances. Learned and able discussions have lately appeared upon the nature of those principles; and, to say nothing of numerous other works on the general question, the replies of Mr. Philpotts, and Mr. Blanco White,

to Mr. Butler's Book of the Roman-Catholic Church, have served to rectify some of the erroneous sentiments which have been industriously circulated upon a controversy which, however old, must never be suffered to become obso

lete, while the decisions of former Popes and Councils remain uncontradicted and unrepealed by the head and members of that corrupt communion. But, while these and similar works are addressed to men of research and leisure, something, a little more closely connected with life and manners, is wanted for the purpose of putting ordinary readers in possession of the practical operation of errors which Protestants reprobate in the tenets of those from whom they have separated. In one particular indeed, Mr. White's "Practical and Internal Evidence against Catholicism" possesses this advantage in an eminent degree; for we have never read any more demonstrative proof of the irreligious tendency of the principal dogmas of the Romish Church than is exhibited in the simple and affecting narrative of that clergyman's own history, with which he has prefaced his inquiry. Still, however, this is the case of a learned and reasoning man, and will not directly illustrate the influence of the sentiments in question upon the unthinking multitude, who are taught to follow the stream; an end, perhaps, best to be answered by putting such cases before the view of the reader as will bring the principles themselves to at least an imaginary test of experiment.

The author of the little work now before us has followed this course*. He has introduced into his fable two priests and two families; the one Popish, the other Presbyterian; and has placed them in circumstances which draw forth and exhibit, in actual exercise, the peculiar principles of their religious systems. The skill of his performance consists in this, that he represents both parties as acting sincerely and in the full spirit of their respective

The work being anonymous, and, we believe, still unacknowledged, we do not think it courteous to seem to appropriate it by adopting a feminine pronoun; but it is generally, and, we presume, correctly, ascribed to a lady in Scotland, lately deceased.