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readers, had "Fairy Feza" not been quite so faultless, and if her brother "Herbert" had been less frequently hurried, by his ruling passion, to the extreme of offensive behavior.-"The Boy of Spirit" appears to have been written with the best intentions; and we are pleased, in general, with its style. Its object is to discourage that impatient, rash, and quarrelsome disposition, which so many regard as indicative of a noble nature, and to win love and respect for the opposite qualities of character. The story, we think, is well suited to accomplish the end which the author had in view. It contains two suggestions, however, that seem to us of at least doubtful tendency; one, in the first chapter, apparently commendatory of " James Adair" for saying to his master, "I cannot tell," when requested to give the name of a vicious boy who had perpetrated a crime in school; the other, near the close of the book, where, in the account of "Frank Pierson's" sudden death-bed repentance, reference is had to "that stream which could make his sins, though scarlet, white as snow."-The volume by Miss Abbot contains four stories, "The Lost Wheelbarrow," "The Dance of the Mice," "Little Horace," and "Honest Cuff," which, though not of equal merit, are all told in an easy and natural manner; and the moral impressions they produce are of the best kind. We would suggest to this lady, who, by her manifest love for children and intimate acquaintance with their habits of thought and feeling, as well as by her general intelligence and sound judgment, seems better qualified than most writers to supply the wants of juvenile readers, whether her tales would not be more effective for good, if they were so composed as that each, instead of being very miscellaneous in character, should have for its chief end the enforcing of one great truth or the producing of a single valuable impression.

B.

An Address at the Funeral of the Hon. Thomas A. Davis, Mayor of Boston, delivered in Central Church, on Tuesday, November 25, 1845. By JOHN PIERCE, D. D., Pastor of the First Congregational Church in Brookline. Boston. 1845. 8vo. pp. 24.

Do Justly. A Sermon preached at Dorchester, on Sunday, Dec. 14, 1845. By NATHANIEL HALL, Pastor of the First Church. Boston: Crosby & Nichols. 1845. 8vo. pp. 16. A Word for Peace. A Christmas Discourse. By WILLIAM H. FURNESS. December 25, 1845. Philadelphia. 1845. 8vo. pp. 14.

Peace the Demand of Christianity. A Sermon preached in the South Congregational Church, December 28, 1845. By F. D. HUNTINGTON. Boston: L. C. Bowles. 1846. 8vo. pp. 24.

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The Idea of a Christian Church. A Discourse at the Installation of Theodore Parker as Minister of the Twenty-eighth Congregational Church in Boston, January 4, 1846. Delivered by HIMSELF. Boston: B. H. Greene. 1846. 8vo. pp. 39. The Comparative Importance of Foreign and Domestic Missions; including Statistics of Education, Philanthropy, Crime, &c. in Albany: A Discourse, preached January 7, 1846. By HENRY F. HARRINGTON, Minister of the First Unitarian Society in Albany. Albany. 1846. 8vo. pp. 30. A Sermon delivered before his Excellency George N. Briggs Governor, his Honor John Reed, Lieutenant Governor, the Honorable Council, and the Legislature of Massachusetts, at the Annual Election, Wednesday, January 7, 1846. By GEORGE PUTNAM, Minister of the First Church in Roxbury. Boston. 1846. 8vo. 31. Discourses delivered on taking leave of the Old Church of the East Society in Salem, December 28, 1845; and the Dedication of their New Church, January 1, 1846. By JAMES FLINT, D. D., Pastor of the East Church. Salem. 1846. 8vo. pp. 48.

pp.

A Lecture on the Origin and Development of the First Constituents of Civilization. By FRANCIS LIEBER. Columbia, S. C. 1845. 8vo. pp. 18.

An Address on the Annexation of Texas, and the Aspect of Slavery in the United States, in connection therewith: delivered in Boston November 14, and 18, 1845. BY STEPHEN C. PHILLIPS. Boston: Crosby & Nichols. 12mo. pp. 56. Fragments of Medical Science and Art. An Address delivered before the Boylston Medical Society of Harvard University. By HENRY JACOB BIGELOW, M. D., President of the Society. Boston W. D. Ticknor & Co. 1846. 8vo. pp. 54. Harvard College and its Benefactors. Boston: Little & Brown. 8vo. pp. 37.

Letter of the Boston Association of Congregational Ministers, to Rev. John Pierpont, with his Reply. Boston: B. H. Greene. 1846. 8vo. pp. 16.

A Letter to the so-called "Boston Churches," which are in truth only Parts of One Church. By a MEMBER OF THE SAME. Boston Crosby & Nichols. 1846. 8vo. pp. 24. A Letter from the Hollis Street Society, to their Unitarian Brethren, with the Documents relating to a recent call of a Minister, by that Society. Published according to a vote of the Society. Boston. 1846. 8vo. pp. 40.

THE funeral Address by Dr. Pierce embodies his own personal recollections of the childhood and youth of the late Mayor, gives a brief sketch of his life and character, and is an affectionate tribute to the memory of an upright and good man.-The

claims of justice, in its various applications in the conduct of business and in the relations of social life, are treated in Mr. Hall's Sermon with a simplicity and directness, which we should be glad always to find in the instructions of the pulpit. Mr. Furness's Christmas Discourse administers a severe rebuke to the spirit of war which prevails in the seats of political influence, and is timely as well as firm in its vindication of Christian principles. Mr. Huntington, too—as did most of our preachers, we suppose, at the season of Christmas - sounds a peace note, glances at the consequences of war between this country and Great Britain, and utters an animating word for all, who are looking forward with "hope of yet happier days."-Mr. Parker's Discourse gives an exposition of his views of a Christian church and its action, "first on its own members, and then, through their means, on others out of its pale." Setting aside what is peculiar in the writer's speculative theology, the discourse contains a great deal that is good and true; it is a plain-speaking and animated performance, mostly practical, though some censures are expressed or implied, about the justness of which, of course, there will be a difference of opinion.-For the topics of Mr. Harrington's Discourse we must refer our readers to the ample title given above, and content ourselves with saying, that it breathes throughout a spirit of ardent philanthropy, and that a portion of the statistics, that especially, which relates to the public schools of Albany, leaves on our minds a painful impression of the deficiences of the city.-Mr. Putnam urges the necessity of religion to the prosperity of the State, not on the old ground of the union of Church and State, nor on the ground of expediency, for religion must spring from a deeper source; it is not born of calculation; our fathers did not become Christians, that they might establish a "well-ordered-Commonwealth," but being Christians they founded it; and its prosperity depends on the continued prevalence of the Christian element in the hearts of the people. This idea is variously illustrated; the education of the young is referred to, and the topic of religious instruction in our Colleges is treated at some length, with special reference to the late discussions concerning Harvard. -Dr. Flint's two Discourses on taking leave of the old church are, as such discourses should be, historical, with appropriate reflections. That at the dedication of the new edifice passes by a happy transition from "material" to "spiritual renovation," and leads the thoughts up to the great object of Christianity, which is, in the highest sense, to "make all things new.” The three are written in the author's usual easy and agreeable style, and form a valuable record of the religious society of which he is pastor.

Dr. Lieber denies that the elements of civilization have their origin either in instinct, or chance, in conscious action, or inspiration; they arise, he maintains, "out of the relation in which

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man is placed to the material world." These points he argues at considerable length, and with some variety of illustration.Though Mr. Phillips's Address, so far as intended to help in preventing Annexation, like the endeavors of many others, proved unavailing, yet both as a record of honest effort, and as containing much strong argument relating to the "political influences" of Slavery, and its connexion with our present Constitution, it will not only reward a careful perusal, but should be preserved among the documents to which by their character belongs a permanent interest.—The Address of Dr. Bigelow is rich in allusions to the methods and results of past scientific discovery, and endeavors to place theory and facts in their true relations, with special reference to medical study and practice. It is full of thought, and carefully written.-The ably written pamphlet on "Harvard College and its Benefactors" meets, and we think, successfully refutes the "two classes of complaints made against the College," the first arising from the assumption that the College is the "child of the State," and the second from the assumption of its sectarianism. Under the first head it is shown, that the benefactions of individuals to the College have vastly exceeded those made by the State, and yet five-eighths of the Board of Overseers are annually elected by the people, the State thus exerting a comparative weight of influence to which it is not entitled by the amount of its grants. The remarks of the writer on the second charge appear to us perfectly sound, and it is about time, we think, that the complaint of the sectarianism of the College should cease.-Mr. Pierpont having seen proper to submit to the public the correspondence which passed between him and the Boston Association of ministers, originating in their exercise of fraternal feelings at the close of his connexion with them, the public can judge of the spirit in which it was conducted.-The "Letter to the so-called 'Boston Churches" is an attempt, evidently an honest one, to bring about a union between Christians-Trinitarians and Unitarians on the common ground of holiness and love, or "a life of Christ in the soul, wholly distinct from the life of the world, which flowing into many spirits, makes them the true Church." They are true believers in Christ, it asserts, who adopt Peter's confession-"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." There is occasionally a little mistiness in its language, but it breathes a good spirit. - The Letter from the Hollis Street Society contains a statement of recent proceedings, made on behalf of "the Proprietors of the meetinghouse," with their letters to Messrs. Peabody and Fosdick covering an invitation to settle with them, the replies of those gentlemen, and the protests which a minority also addressed to them. We are glad to believe that an unhappy controversy is now brought to a close.

INTELLIGENCE.

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Ecclesiastical Record. — Our readers will observe, on turning to our record a page or two further on, how large a number of ordinations and installations have taken place since our last publication. We already know that in May we shall have occasion to report several more. It is plain, that if in these days the pastoral connexion is too easily dissolved, our congregations are disposed to reestablish the ministry among them as soon as possible. We cannot but hope that the evil of brief terms of professional life, arising from frequent changes in the parochial relations of ministers, has reached its height, and that we may soon witness a return towards the old ways. We have been glad to notice that in one or two recent instances the ecclesiastical Council, called to introduce a minister to his charge by solemn religious services, have prefixed to the usual vote that they would proceed to such services, an expression of their regret that a condition had been included in the terms of settlement, by which the connexion between the minister and the people might be terminated by a simple notice to that effect given by either of the parties. A similar course pursued by other Councils convened for the same purpose might check a practice, which has been permitted to grow up among us, we are confident, without due consideration of its probable effects. The last two months have brought fewer removals than usual within our knowledge. — Rev. Mr. Kingsley of Stow has resigned his connexion with the church in that place. Rev. Mr. Barry, who, as we stated in our last number, was on the point of removing to Lowell to become the minister of the second Unitarian society in that city, has been obliged, by a return of serious physical indisposition, to relinquish all purpose of pursuing the labors of the ministry at present. Rev. Andrew Bigelow, D. D., and Rev. Samuel B. Cruft have become the successors of Rev. Messrs. Waterston and Sargent in the ministry-at-large, in connexion with the Pitts Street and Suffolk Street chapels in this city. The congregation at East Boston which has been for some time attending on the instructions of Rev. C. A. Farley, has been legally organized, under the title of the "Unitarian Society of East Boston." - A new society has been formed at Mattapoisett, a seaport village in the town of Rochester, Mass.-A third Unitarian society has been gathered in the city of New York, under the ministry of Rev. Mr. Wellington, of the commencement of whose labors there we spoke in our last number. They hold their meetings, as we understand, in Grand street, in the Eastern part of the city.

Condition of Unitarianism. - Evidences multiply upon us of the spread of Unitarian opinions, and of the increased ability and stability of our religious societies. Besides the gathering of new churches, we hear of the renunciation of Trinitarianism by ministers who have

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