As through his life, so in his last illness, he manifested the greatest interest in everything relating to Park Street Chapel and society, and to Lord Street School. He seemed never to be tired of talking about them.

Through all his affliction his trust in the Redeemer was firm and strong. Often he said to the writer, "Only Jesus," "None but Jesus," "I trust alone in the merits of Jesus." He felt that he was human as well as mortal, and that nothing of his own

in the past afforded him any ground for confidence or hope. Hence he repeatedly, and with deep feeling, responded to the words

"I the chief of sinners am,

But Jesus died for me."

He was buried in the graveyard of Park Street Chapel, in the vault he only a short time since saw prepared, on February 5th, 1866, aged fifty-two years. May God sustain his bereaved wife! R. C. T.

Temporal Prosperity and Spiritual Decline; or, Free Thoughts on Some Aspects of Methodism. By a WESLEYAN MINISTER. London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co.

WHAT are the present aspects of Methodism? Gaiety and the love of pleasure in our congregations, decorative architecture in our chapels, and a dislike to the spiritual means in many of our members. These are not, indeed, universal, yet prevalent to a degree, we must confess, that excites some anxiety and alarm. Our author takes a wide and comprehensive view of the present aspects of Methodism, and sees an incipient degeneracy, which, if not arrested, will issue in dire apostacy; and he, like a faithful watchman, sounds a loud alarm. The work is ably written, and breathes a good spirit. The author is no cynic-no disappointed place-hunter, uttering lamentations over the maladministration of his brethren. He is a genuine lover of Methodism, an ardent admirer of its economy and polity; but he combines a searching fidelity with his affection, and speaks out on existing evils in language plain and admonitory. Such a work was needed, and, if read with candour, will do much good. We therefore wish for it an extensive circulation. At the same time, we regret to find here and there a harsh expression against the Wesleyan Reformers, amongst whom there are many devout and holy men, who would do honour to any religious denomination. Such a work as the one before us, contemplating as it does the good of all Methodist churches,

should not contain a word to excite party resentments. Let past strife be forgotten, and all endeavour to provoke one another to love and good works.

The Friends of Christ in the New Teslament; or, Faith and Love Exemplified in the Lives of those who Befriended Him when on Earth. By the Re

DR. ADAMS. London: James Blackwood and Co.

WE have here twelve brief discourses: On the wise men from the East Simeon-John the BaptistThe Bridegroom and the Bride of Cana-The Twelve Apostles - The Children in the Temple--The Woman with the Alabaster Box-Martha and Mary-Simon the CyrenianThe Penitent Thief-The Relenting Crucifier-Joseph of Arimathea-The Women at the Sepulchre. They are simple, evangelical, experimental, and practical.

Vermont Vale; or, Home Pictures in Australia. By MAUD JEANNE FRANE. London: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston.

THE work is beautifully written, and is as pious in spirit as beautiful in style. Human life is graphically depicted in its two-fold condition-without religion, and as adorned and blessed with the pearl of great price. The vanity of the world, and its utter insufficiency to render man happy; the gracious influence of experimental piety to fill and satisfy the soul, and sanctify the trials and bereavements of this changeful state, are most instructively exem

plified in the characters delineated before us.

The Leisure Hour and the Sunday at Home for April. Religious Tract Society, London.

The Sunday Magazine for April. London: Strahan and Co.

The Christian Work. A Magazine of Missionary Intelligence. London: The "Good Words" Office.

A VOICE FROM THE DEAD. "I heard a voice from heaven, saying, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord."

I SHINE in the light of God;

His likeness stamps my brow; Through the shadows of death my feet have trod,

And I reign in glory now.

No breaking heart is here,

No keen and thrilling pain

No wasted cheek, where the frequent tear

Hath rolled and left its stain.

I have found the joys of heaven;

I am one of the sainted band;
To my head a crown of gold is given,
And a harp is in my hand.

I have learnt the song they sing,

Whom Jesus hath set free; And the glorious walls of heaven ring With the new-born melody.

No sin, no grief, no pain;

Safe in my happy homeMy fears all fled, my doubts all slain— My hour of triumph come.

Oh! friends of mortal years

The trusted and the true

Ye are watching still in the valley of tears,

But I wait to welcome you.

Do I forget?-Oh! no,

For Memory's golden chain

Shall bind my heart to the hearts below
Till they meet to touch again.

Each link is strong and bright,
And love's electric flame
Flows freely down, like a stream of
light,

To the world from whence I came.

Do you mourn when another star

Shines out from the glittering sky? Do you weep when the raging voice of

war

And the storm of conflict die?

Then why should your tears run down, And your heart be sorely riven,

For another gem in the Saviour's

crown

For another soul in heaven ?

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF

PASSING EVENTS.

Ir is an exceedingly gratifying consideration that, in the midst of surrounding vice and wickedness, there are held, within the limits of the metropolitan area, not less than twentyfour weekly meetings for united supplication and thanksgiving, as well as six daily meetings of a similar character, with one additional meeting on four days of the week. Several of the weekly meetings are identified with special evangelistic efforts. This is the case at Robert Street, Adelphi;

with the Open-air Mission, at the Mission - house, Turnmill Street, Clerkenwell; the Mission - room, Schlater Street; the Young Men's Christian Associations at the Stafford Rooms and Marlborough Street, &c. On these efforts the smile of Heaven rests, and considerable good is being effected.

A very singular meeting was lately held in a room in the heart of London. About 300 thieves, the majority of them ranging from fifteen to twenty years of age, were present. How they had been got there we are un

prepared to tell, but there they were; and the meeting was not without an aim and an object. The "roughs " were first to be regaled with good substantial fare, to which, of course, they would have no objection, and then to be addressed on matters pertaining to their social, moral, and spiritual welfare, by a person who styles himself, and who is styled generally by others, "Fiddler Joss." A very graphic picture is drawn by a writer in the Christian World of the appearance and conduct of the strange and motley company. "The hair of the majority seemed to have been dressed by the same barber, and according to prison fashion. Through the short stubble that had been left on their heads, you would have had no difficulty in following a phrenological demonstration of ominous bumps and cavities. The physiognomist, too, would have pointed you to the furtive look of an eye that seemed afraid to open, that glanced for a moment sideways and then sought the ground; to the restless mouth that could not be still for a moment, either open or shut; to a suspicious listening attitude about the ear, as if it caught the sound of pursuing footsteps a long way off; to the general suspicion in which the figure seemed clothed from head to foot. Here, in rags, in ignorance, in every kind of wretchedness, some with a hollow, barking cough, were the seeds of that harvest of crime-of no inconsiderable portion of it, at least-over which all true hearts mourn.

There

was no sound of mourning, however; nothing that indicated the slightest feeling of shame among these thieves at their degraded position. They jeered and joked, whistled, sang snatches of songs, cat-called and bellowed-particularly the younger portion-until at times the din was next to unbearable." The meal over, and the proper time having arrived, Fiddler Joss (whose real name is Joshua Poole) proceeded to address them. He was the very man for the work. He understood the characters he had before him, and how to deal with them. He had himself, before the grace of God arrested him in his mad career, been given up to dissi

pation and all sorts of wickedness. He was converted while in prison, and since that time has been as zealous in the service of Christ as he was previously in the service of the devil. He is a miracle of grace. He has good natural talents, and is a ready, fluent, witty speaker. In his evangelistic peregrinations he visits all kinds of places, and declares out of a full heart what the Lord Jesus has done for him, and what he is ready and willing to do for all others. He appears to be doing a good work among a certain class, and that not a slender one, of the population. Before his conversion his fiddle was his constant companion at public-houses, &c., and he still takes it with him, but employs it in a better, nobler service. On the occasion of which we are now speaking, Fiddler Joss found some difficulty in getting his auditory to listen to what he had to say. A little tact and patience, however, overcame the difficulty; and he gained, not only the ears, but, in a measure at least, the hearts of those whom he addressed. He gave them a brief epitome of his own history, relating, in his own telling style, several affecting anecdotes; warned them faithfully as to the consequences of their present mode of life, and preached to them the Gospel of the grace of God--telling them of the melting love of Jesus, what he had done for them, and how willing and anxious he was to save them all. The majority listened with respectful, and some with evident deep attention; and down a few cheeks tears were seen to trickle. The Christian friends who surrounded the speaker, and who had got up the meeting, must, we should think, have felt gratified with the result. Who knows but in the great day some of those 300 thieves may be found on the right side of the Judge through words addressed to them at that meeting? Who prays not that it may be so?

On the 7th of March, Miss Maria Heald, eldest surviving sister of James Heald, Esq., of Parr's Wood, Didsbury, was called to her reward. She had been a member of the Wesleyan body for upwards of half a

century, and was very highly esteemed, both for her piety and her munificent liberality. Only a short time before her decease she presented the Wesleyan Missionary Society with the noble sum of £5,000, with a special view to the promotion of evangelical labours in Italy, India, and China. She also made benefactions to other charitable and philanthropic objects about the same time. She now rests from her labours, and her works do follow her.

It is a fact that must gladden the heart of every Christian man and woman in our land who becomes acquainted with it, that the London City Mission has at the present time an army of nearly 400 evangelists, holding their services in 500 rooms, besides preaching some 4,000 times a year in the open air. These devoted and earnest men have to labour amongst the most degraded, benighted, and abandoned portion of the metropolitan population. Jehovah blesses their labours, and every rightminded Christian will pray that he may bless them more and more. There are other special agencies at work, to which we have from time to time referred, that must, with the Divine blessing, tell beneficially and delightfully on the same class of the population. Mr. G. W. Macree, of St. Giles's, speaks most encouragingly. "St. Giles's," he observes, "is changing and improving every day old St. Giles's is ceasing to exist, and new St. Giles's is beginning to come."

The Christian Community lately held its ninety-fourth anniversary meeting in the Literary Institution, Aldersgate Street, London. This

useful and time-honoured association is entirely unsectarian in its character, and is doing a good work by the delivery of addresses, the distribution of tracts, &c. The diffusion of Gospel truth and the bringing of men to Christ are the objects aimed at by its members. During the past year 103 men were engaged in this work, 5,296 services were held, 8,170 sermons and addresses were delivered to about 391,000 hearers, and 122,500 tracts were given. All this was done with an expenditure of only £150.

It is much to be regretted that so excellent an organization should have its benevolent labours and operations circumscribed and crippled for want of adequate funds, as we understand is the case. Much more would be done in various departments were larger funds supplied. The anniversary meeting was presided over by Lord Radstock, and was addressed by several ministers and lay gentlemen. Our worthy friend, Mr. H. Webber, the book-room clerk, is one of the leading members of this association, and has been a devoted labourer for forty years.

On Tuesday evening, March 13th, the twenty-first annual meeting of the Young Men's Christian Association was held at Exeter Hall. In the unavoidable absence of Lord Shaftesbury, through indisposition, Robert Bevan, Esq., presided. The large hall was crowded with an attentive audience. The report was read by the secretary, Mr. Shipton, and gave an encouraging account of what had been done during the year by Bible classes, held every Sunday afternoon, attended by a weekly average of 2,000 young men, probably by a yearly aggregate of not less than 3,700; by devotional meetings, held thrice in each week; by frequent addresses from ministers of the Gospel; by the distribution of 42,000 tracts and invitations; and by the advantages of its library and reading-rooms, which had been used by 1,006 young men. The branch and other associations founded by its efforts or through its influence existed throughout Great Britain and Ireland, in the principal colonial cities, and in connection with the Reformed Churches over the continent of Europe and in the United States. Satisfactory progress had been made in the extension of the work of the association throughout the country, several new associations having been formed in important commercial towns, while those previously existing were generally prosperous. On the whole, and everywhere, there was cause for praise and rejoicing before God. Several of the addresses delivered at the meeting were of great excellence, especially those of

the Rev. Dr. Jobson and the Rev. W. Brock. We are sorry that the treasurer was reported to be £416 48. 1d. in advance. We hope this balance will soon be liquidated. The importance of the Young Men's Christian Association can hardly be over-estimated, and we trust that, in all its ramifications and branches, it will be more than ever prosperous.

Dr. Cather, well known in connection with his advocacy of systematic beneficence, has conceived the idea of holding a congress for general Christian union; and a meeting was held early in last month (March), at the house of Mr. Culling Hanbury, in Upper Grosvenor Street, London, to give the Doctor an opportunity of explaining his plan. The object of Dr. Cather is a laudable one, but we fear there are insuperable difficulties in the way of its accomplishment at least for a long time to come. The scheme was freely canvassed by the gentlemen present at the above meeting, including Dean Alford, Prebendary Burgess, Lord Radstock, the Rev. W. Chalmers, Dr. Steane, the Rev. Newman Hall, &c. &c.; and, though the meeting was not fully prepared for Dr. Cather's advanced views, the feeling of the meeting was good. Sentiments of a truly catholic character were uttered, which will, no doubt, bring forth fruit at a future day. We would heartily encourage Dr. Cather to persevere in his God-like work. Old Bigotry must come down, and those churches most nearly allied to each other must prepare to present a visible, real union. The Church of God is too much split into sects. Every generous Christian is longing for more intimate union -yea, for amalgamation, wherever it can be consistently effected.

The Queen has written a very graceful letter to Mr. Peabody, in which Her Majesty assures him "how deeply she appreciates the noble act of more than princely munificence by which he has sought to relieve the wants of the poorer class of her subjects residing in London." The writing of such a letter is as honourable to Her Majesty as the "more than princely munificence" to which she

refers, is to Mr. Peabody. The readers of the Magazine will be aware that Mr. Peabody has given the very large sum of £250,000, to be expended in providing improved dwellings for the poor of London.

There is at present considerable excitement in the country on the subject of Parliamentary Reform, arising out of the Bill submitted to Parliament by Her Majesty's Government. Many large meetings are being held. The second reading of the Bill for the abolition of Church-rates was carried in the House of Commons by a majority of thirty-three, in a House of 541 members, with the understanding, however, that there should be some modification of the measure in committee. Other measures of importance have been before Parliament.

The cattle plague, we are thankful to say, is on the wane, and will, we trust, at no distant period, disappear. Days of humiliation and prayer have in many places been observed.

The differences between the two chief German Powers still remain unadjusted. It would be hazardous to say to what these differences may ultimately lead. We sincerely hope the dogs of war will not be let loose.

The Bishop of Capetown has excommunicated Dr. Colenso. Dr. Colenso protests, and expresses his determination to have recourse to legal measures. We shall see what will come of it.

We have still to wait for the result of the Jamaica inquiry. It has been a heavy affair, and has occupied more time than was anticipated. Probably, however, we shall have the official report before the May number of the Magazine appears. It is not very difficult to calculate on what that report must, at least in substance, be.

From America the religious is much better than the political intelligence. The latter is not satisfactory; the former is full of encouragement. The glorious revival, to which we have in previous articles referred, continues and gathers strength. A New York correspondent of Evangelical Christendom observes: "It is doubtful whether there has been so much evidence of the working of the