November 26th, 1879, in her sixty-sixth year, from a sudden and severe inflammation of the lungs, and her remains were taken according to her own desire to repose in her mother's grave in Alderley Churchyard. F. S. A.

Reviews and Notices.

No Clergyman's Library ought to be without Dr. Littledale's Plain Reasons for not joining the Church of Rome, which have been recently published by the S. P. C. K. Happily he may not have any of his people who are subject to this temptation, but it will increase his confidence very much to be assured by one who has gone over the whole ground afresh, that even on those points in which the Church of England may have seemed most weak, her position is much better than that of Rome. We have seen for some time past that the evidence in favour of England has been assuming year by year a more conclusive form, as Ecclesiastical history was being better understood, but hitherto no such exhaustive treatment of the subject has been within reach. Now certainly no one, whose eyes are open, ought to be misled in the direction of Rome; and as a matter of fact the only Converts which Rome now makes in this country, are persons of the upper class who from a mere love of independence have systematically rejected the spiritual claims of the Church to which they have nominally belonged, and who then at length, when by private study or controversy their understandings are convinced that the Church is a Divine Institution, sooner than acknowledge their error in the place where they have made boast of their unbelief, prefer as less humiliating to their pride, to accept spiritual authority in connection with a Communion which is not mixed up with the daily affairs of life. They are jealous of the Parish Priest whom they have been in the habit of thwarting at Vestries and other local organizations, whereas an emissary from the Brompton Oratory or from some distant Convent is a much more abstract personage, and to him they can submit without any curtailment of local greatness. To all such, submission to Rome is a just Nemesis on their professed Erastianism; and it is no slight testimony to the progress made by Church principles that thoughtful persons can scarcely remain in the Anglican Communion without realizing the just claims of her historical position as the Church of this land. Refusing to acknowledge this they become either Romanists or Plymouth Brothers. We should much like to see a special appeal made to them; we believe that it would save many from committing the sin of schism. The time ought soon to come when the current will set in the opposite direction, and the English Church will welcome back many of her erring children.

A Volume of Sermons (Parochial and Occasional) by the late Professor Mozley has appeared (Rivingtons.) As Pulpit Discourses they would scarcely

be acceptable to an average congregation; but for devotional reading they will be found most valuable. No writer since Bishop Butler has possessed such a thorough knowledge of man's moral nature as Dr. Mozley, while his power of description is unsurpassed.

We welcome with great satisfaction The Book of Private Prayer put out in a tentative form by a Committee of Convocation. Doubtless it is capable of improvement, and presently we shall offer a few suggestions which occur to us on a first glance; but upon the whole the little book bears a Catholic savour and will be found a material help to devotion. The Prayers are formed on David's model of "Seven times a day will I praise Thee,” and are distributed as follows:-1. The Night Watches. 2. The First Hour (the Resurrection.) 3. The Third Hour (the Gift of the HOLY GHOST.) 4. The Sixth Hour ("The Glory of GOD”—but why this Title ?) 5. The Ninth Hour (the Crucifixion.) 6. Eventide (the Incarnation.) 7. The Lying down to Rest. Nothing we think could be better than this division, and the Compilers have been careful to bring out of their treasures things new and old. In the Prayers for the Days of the Week we are surprised to find that except on Sunday no attempt is made to commemorate the events connected with them either in the Old or New Testament. In the Form for Confession we miss the phrase so significant in the Daily Office of the Prayer Book, “ Restore Thou them that are penitent." The Collection of "Additional Prayers" is very scanty. On the other hand there is a good Scheme for Family Prayer. The book is published by Whitaker-from whom also we have two other useful Manuals from the experienced hand of Canon Ridley—viz. (1) “The Path of Duty," and (2) "On Praying." Both are characterized by that simplicity and straight-forwardness which have made Mr. Ridley so great a favourite in the cottages of the poor.

Under the title of Sunday Snowdrops, (Masters,) Mr. Walter L. Bicknell gives us a small Volume of "Lay Sermons more especially for the use of young Boys." In compositions of this kind greater freedom will of course be looked for than in Sermons preached in Church, and many a Parish Priest will be glad to take hints from them. Anecdotes of course are employed liberally and are chosen rather promiscuously, as e.g. from Charles Kingsley, that noblest of Saints ;" and (what seems to us going rather too far) from one of Dickens' characters. Anecdotes ought really to be confined to the sayings and doings of real persons. But we earnestly recommend the book.

Messrs. W. and A. K. Johnston, (Edinburgh and London,) have brought out a series of Illustrations of Bible Manners and Customs, drawn as well as published by themselves, which are well worthy of being brought before the notice of our readers. The designs and colouring are bold and effective, of a size to look well at a distance when suspended on the walls of schoolrooms or mission chapels, and they can be had either on large sheets, price two shillings, or with rollers and varnished, for four shillings. The specimens that have been sent to us consist of, I. "Drawing water from the well." II. "Gathering the vintage." III. " Camels, the ship of the

desert." IV. "Hauling the fish." V. "The Scapegoat;" and VI. "Threshing and treading out the corn." Of these the first and sixth are perhaps the most striking, and the picture of the scapegoat is full of meaning and pathos; but on the whole the representations of animals are, perhaps, less successful than the figures, although correct throughout.

The Child's Own Creed (S. B. Beal and Co., London) is a poetical paraphrase of the Belief, by W. Chatterton Dix, intended no doubt to impress the spirit of the truths contained therein on the minds of children. It is well adapted for this purpose and with the exception of an occasional weak line, such as the "Bride adorned with grace unpriced" and "Sin's forgiveness I believe," the author's aim has been very satisfactorily attained.

Correspondence.

[The Editor is not responsible for the opinions of the Correspondents.]

To the Editor of the Churchman's Companion.

Answers.

THE STATE OF THE DEPARTED.

SIR,-The condition of the Departed has been the subject of several recent letters in your Correspondence. May I be allowed then to refer any who may be anxious to gain clear views upon it to a new work by a writer wholly unknown to myself, but who appears well qualified to speak. The writer is the Rev. H. M. Luckock, D.D., Canon of Ely, and the book is called "After Death." It is published by Rivingtons. In the first part Dr. Luckock treats "of the good offices of the living in reference to the faithful Departed," and the conclusion to which he comes is this, "that the practice of praying for the faithful dead was universally adopted in primitive times and that though for wise reasons it was allowed to drop almost entirely out of our public worship, yet such a state of things cannot possibly be regarded as permanent." Privately he considers with all our ablest Divines, that it may be freely usedand it may surprise some of your readers, to find among those who have advocated

the practice, the names of Bishop Heber and John Wesley.1

2. On the other side he considers that according to the Vincentian Canon the practice of Invocating Saints Departed cannot be maintained; and he ends with an earnest appeal to those who feel themselves drawn towards it by any real devotional spirit to make a sacrifice of it, "for the common good of the Church." The whole book is written in an excellent spirit and deserves careful study.-Yours, &c. S. T. M.

P.S. The "Hierurgia Anglicana" contains as many as fifteen Epitaphs of the seventeenth century (including that of Bp. Cosin) with the Prayer for Mercy appended.

Queries.

THE CHURCHMAN'S COMPANION" AND
MISCELLANEOUS HELP FOR CHURCH

WORK GENERALLY.

SIR,-Will you kindly allow me to ask if any of your readers happen to have

1 Dr. Luckock does not seem to be acquainted with the passage quoted by one of your Correspondents from Bishop Vowler Short's History of the Church.