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the pomps and vanities of this wicked world!" One would think such a responsibility enough for a Christian, but for an "unbaptized heathen it is overwhelming!"

With regard to Tillotson, says Dr. Brown,

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"If the succession has been broken in all those instances in which bishops and presbyters have been baptized by Presbyterians, and have not been re-baptized, you will scarcely deny that it has been still more seriously injured if any of your prelates have been raised, even to the highest dignity of your church, and yet were never baptized, either by a layman, a Presbyterian, or an Episcopalian. And yet there is reason to believe that this was the case with Tillotson, who occupied for a long time the see of Canterbury, and the primacy of England. No evidence has been produced, though it has been often demanded, of his having been ordained a deacon. Nor will it at all appear wonderful that such irregularities should have been tolerated at that period, when you consider what has taken place almost in our own day. Even in later and more civilized times,' says Dr. Whately, the probability of an irregularity, though very greatly diminished, is yet diminished only, and not absolutely destroyed. Even in the memory of persons living, there existed a bishop, concerning whom there was so much mystery and uncertainty prevailing, as to when, where, and by whom he had been ordained, that doubts existed in the minds of many persons, whether he had ever been ordained at all.'" Dr. Brown adds, "Tillotson was not baptized in his infancy, for his father was a Baptist; and though he was often challenged to produce any evidence of his having been baptized afterwards, none was brought forward; and unless it can be furnished by you, or by some of your friends in the present day, or by some of the clergy of the Church of England, we must consider him as unbaptized. But if the man, who was so long the primate of that church, and who made so many bishops, and priests, and deacons, had not even such baptism as could be obtained from a midwife,-I leave it to you to say what must be the value of your own orders, or of the orders of any of the clergy of your church, who hold your principles, and what must be the virtue of their ministrations, and what the prospects of final salvation to those who hear them?”—p. 279.

The author of an article in the "Presbyterian Review," quoted by Dr. Brown, says, that "in Mr. Percival's catalogues, there occur the following names, of whose consecration there are no records, and no evidence extant: Downham, Bishop of Chester, in 1561; Stanley, of Sodor, 1573; May, of Carlisle, 1628; Loyd, of Sodor, 1600; translated to Chester, 1604; Potter, of Carlisle, 1628; Leorster, of Sodor, 1633; Parr, of Sodor, 1635; Ferne, of Chester, 1666; Rainbow, of Carlisle, 1644; Wilkins, of Chester, 1668; Bridgman, of Sodor, 1671; Smith, of Carlisle, 1684; Strafford, of Chester, 1689; Pearson, of Chester; and Lake, of Chichester." Selden, moreover, mentions an archbishop of Canterbury in the twelfth century, (Rodolph,) who was invested with his office, merely by receiving from the king the pastoral ring and staff, without any consecration. And Godwin says, that "on the death of Piercy, the nineteenth bishop of Norwich, his successor was ordained by the archdeacon, who was only a presbyter."

Our author satisfactorily shows that the Culdees of Iona were merely presbyters, and that this fact is attended with very serious conse

quences to the Puseyite or Romish system of Divine right and sacramental grace. We quote the following passage :

"Not only was the Church of Scotland supplied with ministers ordained by these presbyters, but we have decisive evidence that the greater part of England was planted with churches by zealous and active Christian ministers, who had no other orders, except what they received at Iona. It was they, who, as we have seen, ordained Cormac, Aidan, and Finan; and in addition to them, they sent forth many others, who laboured with great and remarkable success. We have a striking testimony to this fact in a speech delivered in 1176 by Gilbert Murray, then a young Scottish clerk, and afterwards a bishop, before the pope's legate, when the latter attempted to bring the Church of Scotland into subjection to the Archbishop of York, and the kingdom of England. 'It is true,' said he, English nation, thou attemptest, in thy wretched ambition and lust of domineering, to bring under thy jurisdiction thy neighbour provinces and nations, more noble, I will not say in multitude, or power, but in lineage and antiquity; unto whom, if thou wilt consider ancient records, thou shouldst rather have been humbly obedient, or at least, laying aside thy rancour, have reigned together in perpetual love; and now, with all wickedness of pride that thou showest, without any reason or law, but in thy ambitious power, thou seekest to oppress thy mother, the Church of Scotland, which, from the beginning, hath been catholique and free; and which brought thee, when thou wast straying in the wilderness of heathenism, into the safeguard of the true faith and way unto life, even unto Jesus Christ, the author of eternal rest.""

The quotation is too long to be continued, but our author, after closing it, adds :

"If the Church of Scotland, when she was governed by presbyters, as was asserted by Murray, without any contradiction from the English prelates, was the mother church of the Church of England, baptized your kings, princes, and nobles, and taught them to read, converted the greater part of your countrymen, and ordained your bishops, and if some of her ministers, who conferred on them their orders, for more than thirty years were invested with the primacy, you will be bold, indeed, if you venture to affirm, that there has always been an uninterrupted apostolical succession of diocesan bishops in your national church. And among all the strange and wonderful things which appear in your own conduct, and that of your followers, in reference to this controversy, it is one of the most extraordinary to see you unchurching the Church of Scotland, and the whole of the other Presbyterian churches, because their ministers received their orders from presbyters, while your own church, after all your high and boastful pretensions, owed its existence, and the very bishops who began your vaunted apostolical succession, were indebted for their orders to men who had been ordained by Scottish presbyters!"-Letter xvi.

We must conclude our notice of Dr. Brown's book, by saying that we know of no better antidote to the fanaticism of the Anglo-Romish doctrines now prevailing; and we should not fear putting it into the hands of any young person who might be in danger of falling under their influence, as decisive of the question.

1. The Wives of England, their Relative Duties, Domestic Influence, and Social Obligations. By Mrs. Ellis. 1 vol. 8vo. Fisher & Co. 2. The English Wife; a Manual of Home Duties. By the Author of the English Maiden. 1 vol. 12mo. Clarke & Co.

3. The Wife and Mother; or, Hints to Married Daughters. By A Mother. 1 vol. 18mo. Tract Society.

4. The Mother Taught from the Sacred Scriptures. 1 vol. 24mo. Tract Society.

5. Lectures to Christian Mothers. By Rev. James Cameron, Portobello. 1 vol. 18mo. James Hamilton.

6. The Mother with her Family. By the Rev. T. Timpson. 1 vol. 18mo. Snow.

7. The Christian Mother; or, Maternal Duties exemplified in the Scriptures. By Mary Milner. 1 vol. 24mo. Simpkin & Co.

WIVES and mothers can no longer plead ignorance in relation to their conjugal and maternal duties. Here are seven volumes, of various sizes and merits, written expressly for their instruction and benefit.

Wives, not yet mothers, and ladies elect, in anticipation of speedily becoming wives, may learn from Mrs. Ellis's admirable volume, the nature and importance of their present or expected conjugal duties, as well as the various responsibilities connected with becoming mistresses of families.

Wives, who have recently become mothers, or who are expecting shortly to be so designated, will find, in the two instructive and interesting little volumes, entitled "The English Wife," and "The Wife and Mother," ample directions concerning their maternal duties. On all points connected with the rearing, education, and government of children, they leave little more to be said, and may, therefore, be regarded as valuable materials for the nursery. There is one passage, in the volume entitled "The English Wife," which we should wish to see expunged from the book, and that relates to a very qualified commendation (but still a commendation) of theatrical exhibitions. Conducted as our theatres are, we cannot, under any circumstances, concede, that it would be a wise or safe experiment for young persons to visit them.

Mothers, who are anxious to learn, feel, and act up to their responsi bilities, we would earnestly and seriously advise to consult and study Mr. Cameron's "Three Lectures to Mothers,"-Lectures, which were first delivered to his own congregation, and afterwards repeated and published, at the very urgent request of many Christian mothers in Edinburgh.

Such mothers as are desirous of seeing how, "in the old time, holy

women" trained their families or failed in their duties, may have their wishes gratified by consulting "The Christian Mother," and "The Mother Taught." While those mothers who wish for Scripture quotations and comments, hymns and prayers, made ready to their hands for Sabbath-evening exercises, will find Mr. Timpson's "Mother with her Family" just the book they need.

In looking at the seven volumes now before us, we feel constrained to ask, Has the supply of former works created the demand for these, or has the demand for such books created the supply? Are our wives and mothers so deplorably inattentive to their conjugal and maternal duties, or so anxiously alive to their obligations, as to render it necessary that this variety and abundance of instruction should be furnished?

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We will not venture a reply, but express our hope, that, with increased means of instruction, there will be increased attention to the relative duties inculcated. We apprehend that Maternal Associations" have indirectly occasioned the publication of these volumes, and, as such, have done public good. We have sometimes questioned the necessity or propriety of such associations, and have thought that their existence was a tacit reflection on the piety or consistency of Christian mothers. Such an agency could not be necessary, because the Scriptures gave no instructions, furnished no directions, supplied no motives in reference to maternal duties, or because mothers had lost their parental feelings, or had become indifferent to the higher interests of their undying offspring. If the necessity existed at all, it must have arisen from the fact, that the attention of mothers had not been called so often as it might and ought to have been by their ministers, to the infinite importance of their position and duties, and to the direct beneficial consequences to the interests, both of personal and public religion, resulting from a sedulous attention to the duties of maternal piety.

Baxter's opinion, that in Christian countries, more good may be expected to result from family religion, than from the preaching of the Gospel, may be somewhat doubtful in the abstract; but facts prove that, to a considerable extent, it is true. Whence do we obtain the greatest number of our converts ? Consult the history of every Christian church, where purity of communion is preserved, and its records will testify that religion, if not entailed, yet descends in pious families, and that the exertion, prayers, and examples of holy mothers, have been, in numberless instances, rewarded with success.

Maternal associations still exist, but, if they should cease to-morrow, they will have answered a valuable end, in awakening many a mother to a greater sense of her responsibilities, and in inducing many a pastor to preach with more frequency on family religion, and the duties of parents, especially in relation to it.

We are not sure whether too exclusive attention has not been paid by

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our ministers and authors to mothers. Fathers appear to be too commonly overlooked in our discourses and treatises on parental duties. They appear to have been regarded either as perfect or incorrigible, as doing their duty so well to their children, as to need no instruction; or as doing it so badly, as to show that they despised instruction, and therefore the poor mothers must have all the toil of the religious education of their offspring, and all the blame if they do not become pious. This is not wise: human nature is averse to trouble, and is glad to throw off every possible burden on to the shoulders of others. Fathers have congratulated themselves, that the duty of training the children for the skies belongs to the mother, and have willingly transferred their obligations to their wives. We would urge our ministers and authors not to forget the fathers; but to discourse to them on the solemn obligations arising from the important and endearing relationship they sustain to their children.

Some years since, attempts were made to form Paternal Associations, on the same principles, and for the same purpose, as the Maternal,but, after a few meetings had been held, and papers distributed, they were suffered to expire. One of the reasons of their failure was, unquestionably, that to which we have referred, namely, the opinion that it was more the duty of mothers to pray and teach, than of fathers. We believe, however, that, indirectly, the Maternal Associations have been very beneficial in inducing husbands, as well as wives, to seek the salvation of their children; and, we confidently hope that, in a few years, our churches will receive large accessions from the families of the faithful.

We must confess that the titles of the two principal volumes of this series rather amused us. "The Wives of England," and the "English Wife," are somewhat ambiguous phrases, and to foreigners might suggest some odd association of ideas. The duties inculcated in these two interesting and elegant volumes are restricted to no latitudes, and are indispensable in all climes. Every country has its peculiarities of social and domestic order and discipline, and, so far as these peculiarities in English society require distinct consideration, the instructions are specific and wise; but the general principles, sentiments, and directions are suitable to "wives" in all countries on the face of the earth; and our hope is, that in all regions where British ladies are to be found, and where the English language is spoken or known, these volumes will be circulated and read.

There is considerable diversity and resemblance betwixt the style, the opinions, and the scope of the authors. Judging by the style only, we should have decided that the "Wives of England" had been written by a gentleman, and that the "English Wife" had been written by a lady-such judgment would, however, have been false, as the reverse is the case.

Strength and elegance are the characteristics of the style

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