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was overcome; and he who had been a never-failing source of trouble now became a reformed character, and eventually rose to some distinction. Forgiveness had won the field when every other means had failed -and a noble conquest it was. Reader, if you try this policy, you, too, will find it act well. Then, too, this policy must be glorious because it is Godlike. How like Him to forgive! He delighteth in mercy. Yes, he that can fully forgive a wrong has caught the spirit of his God; and in such proportion as he has done this his character must be glorious. Only by the assistance of the Spirit can we learn and practise these lessons. May it be ours to do so. JOHN T. ALMY.

Fetich in Theology."

A REVIEW.

A NOTICE of this remarkable book has long been due, as much to our readers as to the enterprising publishers who have introduced it to English students. Written by an American, who has devoted "thirty years or more" to the theory of ethics, out of which this work sprang, and who has surrendered his position as a "preacher" in obedience to his convictions, as herein expressed, it deserves the consideration of all who are interested in the honest labours of their fellows to form a true conception of God, and to answer that profoundest of all human inquirers, "who and what is God, and why should men love and worship Him."

But that is not its only or its chief claim to consideration. "Fetich in theology" is one of the most acute, elaborate, logical, and masterly contributions made to modern theology. Its leading positions are stated with luminous distinctness, brevity, and force; its reasoning rarely or never halts; its grip of a fallacy is remorseless; its freshness, keenness, and interest, never flag; and in its effect, viewed as a whole, it is sure to carry forward, in the most satisfactory way, the advance which, for a long time now, has been in progress in the theological conceptions of the Anglo-Saxon race.

The object of the work is to expose and refute the pernicious fallacies of the "Systematic Theology" of Dr. Charles Hodge, and to show that this widely accepted work not only does not present us with a true, reasonable, and biblical idea of God, but actually substitutes for that idea a fetich for men to worship hardly less injurious in its effect on morality than the chance idols caught up at random by the African negroes.

This is a heavy indictment, and ought not to be heedlessly raised. Fetichism is a stupid kind of idolatry, and consists in giving temporary worship to any material object which fancy may happen to select, as a tree or a stone, a post or an animal; but, of course, it is not necessary that the idol should be a material one; it may be a dogma, as well as a stone, a rite or a ceremony as well as a shark's tooth. And Mr. Miller maintains that the effect of Dr. Hodge's theology, if it leads to worship at all, is to lead to the worship of something else than the genuine Deity, and thereby to superstition, weakness, and decay.

* Fetich in Theology; or, Doctrinalism Twin to Ritualism. By John Miller, Princeton, N. J London: Dickinson & Higham. 3s. 9d. nett.

The charge is sustained by a painstaking investigation of the ten leading propositions of the "Systematic Theology." First he demonstrates that "a God all for Himself," who "does everything to display His own glory," who is simply a "sovereign," and makes His own will the ground of moral obligation, is not and cannot be truly worshipped. We admire the opposite. Christ Jesus, the revelation of God the Father, is the most brilliant example of the contrary, i.e., of a Being who does nothing for Himself, and everything for righteousness and for the real welfare of men which is in righteousness.

Dr. Hodge's statements are then dealt with necessarily as follows. First they are tested by other portions of his work, and shown to be absurdly contradictory and grossly bewildering. (2.) Then his proof texts are discussed, and shown to be misapplied, misinterpreted, and altogether misused. (3.) Other texts are next cited and expounded to refute and expose Dr. Hodges's erroneous teachings. (4.) Reason is shown to be in perfect harmony with scripture; and (5.) the doctrine opposed to the Bible and the reason is proved to be nothing less than fetichism. This part of the book is one of the finest examples we know of the true method of tracking an error, and beating it utterly out of all its hiding places. Viewed simply as a specimen of intellectual warfare it is sublime.

The practical drift of Fetich in Theology is to show that in a religion addressed exclusively to the intellect, and dealing with God wholly on intellectual and not on moral grounds and relations, there is the same divorce between morality and religion as in a system which appeals exclusively to the senses, such as ritualism. In this respect this work is as heart-searching, as keenly stimulative to reality, and as vigorous in exposing the shams and hollowness and pretences of goodness into which Christians fall, as it is severe, trenchant, and crushing in its logic.

In an article in the January Congregationalist MR. DALE complains of the absence of the element of authority in the general conception of God, and asserts that men's minds have been filled with "the idea of an easy, good-natured God." In a sense this is true; but we should prefer to say that the missing element is a real idea of the DIVINE RIGHTEOUSNESS; of that righteousness, as love of men at work for men, to chase out of them sin, and make them righteous as He is, in character and deed and instead of laying the blame of the missing element on "the Argument from Design," we should attribute it to a theology-which, as Mr. Miller conclusively shows, "empties holiness out of God," and thereby threatens with "paralysis everything rational"-which, in effect, puts might before right, and waters down His love till it is mere easy good nature, instead of being a vigorous and rational, though always pitiful, activity to promote man's welfare, which is righteousness.

Our space will not allow us to do more than add that, whilst not endorsing every word or opinion of this "Fetich in Theology," yet we are so convinced of its value that we wish it could be made a text-book in our College, find a place on the study table of every one of our ministers, local preachers, deacons, and teachers of Bible classes; and are quite sure that no one should repeat the reasoning of Dr. Hodge without at least hearing what Mr. Miller has to say against it.

JOHN CLIFFORD.

IT would not be well for the beautiful example of a dear friend just taken from us to be without some loving notice to meet the eyes of many who mourn their loss and the greater number who need to be encouraged in the Christian life.

There are some natures which need always to be helped and sheltered; there are others which in spite of all difficulties are upright, independent of all human aid, and so support and shelter the weak and helpless, like trees of the Paradise of God, a cover from the sun and the storm, with fragrant blossoms and goodly fruit. Very rarely such natures are both strong and sweet. The dear friend we mourn had this rare union, and thus her story should be told as a history of how such a character grew and what it did.

Annie Lee passed her early days at Boston, in Lincolnshire. On her father's death, the charge of her two brothers and her sister fell mainly on her, owing to her mother's weak health. Their means of support was a general shop, and here Annie at the age of nine had often the sole charge. She has frequently spoken of the anxieties and difficulties of this time, and how much she had to bear from the fraud and mischief of many who came to the shop; but these circumstances were only mentioned, and very tenderly, because she loved to dwell on the memory of her first instructor in religion, the Rev. Thos. W. Mathews, without whose friendship she could not have gone through these trials. That noble man, in whom the historical liberality and learning of the Baptist Church were only surpassed by zeal and apostolical simplicity, gave Annie her first religious impressions; and it was by his influence that she joined his communion, having been originally-as he was-a member of the Church of England. During this time of many anxieties, he would often come and encourage her and pray with her; and thus she succeeded in a way she could not explain, but by the belief that she was providentially aided, in supporting the family and really taking her mother's place with the children and a half-sister, the child of her mother's second marriage.

In course of time her second sister took her place at home, and Annie became nurse in a family related to Mr. Mathews and to the writer. When not more than nineteen she had the management of a large family of children (difficult, as having passed their infancy in India), and though she looked almost a child herself she perfectly controlled them and gained their full affection.

From this family she passed to the writer's household in 1870, and for six happy years she was a beloved member of his family, sharing its many joys and its few sorrows, showing an example to all, and so aiding in the home training of the children as to win an influence only second to their mother's. She found time to devote herself to many works of sympathy and kindness, in which she spent her earnings; and it seemed that many of her best friends owed their love for her to their gratitude for help delicately given. Yet she very rarely asked for any aid for those she helped. It was enough for her that she did her utmost herself. Her Sundays were days of real enjoyment, and she spoke of the Rev. J. Clifford, the Rev. Dr. Brock, the Rev. Llewellyn Bevan,

whose chapels she successively attended, with the deepest gratitude and that personal affection that is fostered by the system of fellowship to which a stranger may be allowed to offer a tribute of admiration.

It might be supposed that one whose whole life was religious, and whose chief happiness was in sacred things, would have spoken much of the source of her thoughts and actions. It was not so: ever ready to speak on religion, she rarely began the subject. The truth was that it so thoroughly penetrated all she thought and did that it was never assumed, and a close observer only could have seen what was so deep and universal in her character. It is well to note that she was extraordinarily tolerant, and entirely free from any fear of the results of modern inquiry. It is not less significant that our dear friend was full of cheerfulness, and fond of harmless pleasures, of good books on all subjects, and of lectures. She worked hard at the College for Men and Women in Queen Square, and made the progress that her natural abilities would have led one to expect. In conversation she had unusual facility, and her letters were among the best the writer can recall. She would give a complete picture of the home to the mother when absent from her children with a graphic force rarely attained. Her manners were very sweet, considerate, modest, and trustful, suited to the face that remains in our memory, with the clear, honest forehead, the frank, affectionate eyes, and the expressive mouth, all full of the tender grace of a noble nature lighted up by the Christian energy within.

A few months since, at her own wish, Annie undertook the charge of a little child in another household. Here she seemed to have a prospect of long usefulness. But a severe chill brought on an attack of inflammation which suddenly ended her life-here-on the morning of the 20th of January. She was not aware of her danger, nor had her family and friends any knowledge of it. Two hours before she departed we were told that the medical attendant had said that day that she was in no danger. There are thus no last words to record. But she was fully prepared. She never feared death, and could not have better said what she said daily, and did daily. Her work was completed. Every one of her family for whom she had worked and prayed was honourably settled. To them, and to the very many friends by whom she was beloved, and beyond their circle, her whole life remains as a comfort and a lesson. She has left us the example of a true gentlewoman and a true Christian. God give us grace to follow it. REGINALD STUART POOLE.

It is one of the purest joys of a pastor's life to know the excellencies, observe the maturing graces, and chronicle the fruitfulness of the members of his flock; and rarely has mine been more full and unmixed than in watching the growing piety and expanding character of the beloved friend whose memory is traced with a skilled and affectionate hand above. Annie Lee's membership was transferred from Boston to Praed Street soon after her arrival in London, and during the whole of her London life she heartily entered into the privileges and shared the responsibilities of Christian communion. All departments of Christian. labour and enterprise received practical proof of her active sympathy, and were generously helped by her willing gifts. It was a joy to her to consecrate her money, as well as herself to God and His kingdom; and in her last wishes she has given the foremost place to the promotion of

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the welfare of the Church of Christ. But her largest and best gift to the Church was herself, in her beautiful piety, serene self-control, chastened courtesy, and winning gracefulness. Few, in her place, have more richly adorned the teaching of Jesus. Without the faintest trace of obtrusiveness, and with the most unerring tact, she filled the atmosphere of her life with the fragrance of an earnest and real godliness and for the glow of her piety, the grace and meekness of her spirit, the strength and balance of her judgment, and the manifold charms of her consecrated life, Annie Lee will always have a sacred dwelling in the memories of her fellow-members of Praed Street Church. JOHN CLIFFORD.

Baptism and Baptistries.

BEFORE leaving England, in hasty transit from America to Egypt, I felt strongly tempted to write you on your own excellent, ringing, opening article for the new year, and the paper on the Administration of Ordinances, by your familiar and exuberant contributor, the "Live Deacon." Being detained here by a little physical indisposition whilst my "personally conducted" friends are gone to measure the height of the pyramids, and pay their respects to the Sphinx, I embrace the opportunity for which I craved in vain both in London and Leicester.

Your own article on the position, prospects, and duties of the General Baptists was the most accordant with my views and feelings of anything I have read in the Magazine for the last quarter of a century, and, as the key-note of the new volume, I could not but wish that its echoes might reverberate from every pulpit in the denomination, and its animating sound be heard and felt like a " mighty rushing wind" in every congregation.

But I was not so well pleased with your "lively" friend of the department of the "Tables," whose financial and economical homilies have often been very amusing, and full of useful practical suggestions. His remarks on Baptism did not accord with my views of half a century, which had been strengthened by six months' association with the "Regular" Baptists of America.

I have not with me here the January number of the Magazine to refer to the exact words of the "Live Deacon," but his fears about sensationalism, and his pleas for privacy and warm water, I could not assent to. I remember the time when "Baptism Sundays" were, what the late Rev. Thomas Stevenson said to me, when grasping my hand at the door of Woodgate Chapel, Loughborough, "these are days of fatness"-a number had just been baptized, and were to be received that day into the fellowship of the church. I recalled the facts of the G. B. history of the first half of the Centennial that was celebrated, too tamely, seven years ago, when in brooks, as at Barton; in canals and rivers, as at Shardlow and Sawley; in ponds, as at Hartshorne, near Ashby-de-laZouch-in face of large congregations; as at dear old Melbourne, and at Derby and Nottingham, and amidst all the flourishing churches of the midland district, baptism days were days of fat things; and it was