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The present position of the fund is as follows:-We have received in money, £847 3s. 6d., and we have promises to the amount of £160, which we have every reason to believe will be paid in the course of a short time, making in all, £1007 3s. 6d.

The architect for the chapel is J. D. Webster, Esq., of Sheffield; and the builders Messrs. Hallam and Co., of this city, who have entered into a contract to complete the whole for £1,601, 5s. 5d. The style of the architecture adopted is Italian, with a slight Gothic treatment in the mouldings and other details. The materials used in the construction of the walls are red brick, from the neighbourhood, with Bath stone dressings; the arches to windows being relieved with voussons of white and blue brick. The wood work is stained and varnished, and the whole of the materials and workmanship are thoroughly good and substantial, and the design, when completed, will present a very pleasing appearance, and certainly be one of the cheapest buildings of modern days.

Galleries are provided at the sides and one end of the chapel-a portion of the end gallery is proposed to be devoted to the use of children. The galleries are reached by stone staircases.

Behind the chapel, and immediately adjoining, are the schools. On the ground floor is the boy's school, 35 feet by 27 feet; also a commodious kitchen and store room. The upper floor is devoted to the girl's school, which is 45 feet by 27 feet, and is approached by a strong stone staircase: attached to this room are two class-rooms, each 133 feet by 13 feet. The schools and classrooms will be heated by open fireplaces.

Great attention has been paid to

the means of ventilation, which are simple and will be found very efficient.

The schools provide accommodation for about 450 children, and the chapel will have sittings for 700 per

sons.

The total cost, including site, gas fittings, law expenses, &c., will be upwards of £2,100.

We are pleased to state that an offer of £100 has been made by Thomas Crowley, Esq., of Birmingham, on condition that we have not a debt of more than £450 remaining. It is our purpose to meet this offer; to do so it will be perceived that we have £550 to raise more than we have in hand and promises at the present time, and we confidently appeal to the generosity of the Christian public to help us in this great and desirable work."

After the reading of the Report, the Mayor called on J. S. Wright, Esq., to speak. He was followed in Harrison, of Birmingham; W. B. excellent addresses by the Revs. J. Davies, Coventry; Thos. Goadby, B.A., Derby; Jno. Sibree, and W. F. Driver, Wesleyan. Mr. Sibree said that he had that day been looking over the manuscript of the address which he had delivered on the occasion of laying the foundation stone of the present old chapel in White Friar's Lane, Sep., 1824.

It is hoped that our friends, far and near, will send help to the brethren in Coventry in their spirited efforts to reduce the debt on their new chapel to the amount specified, £450. Mr. Crowley's offer ought to be, and must be, met; and as he is of another denomination of Christians, he should be assured of our appreciation of his kindness by the earliest compliance with the conditions on which his offer is made.

Literature.

EVENING BY EVENING; OR, READINGS AT EVENTIDE. By C. H. Spurgeon. London: Passmore & Alabaster. THE sale of twenty thousand copies of "Morning by Morning" has encouraged Mr. Spurgeon to prepare a companion volume. A short text of scripture for every evening in the year, and a single page of exposition, constitute the contents of this devout manual for the family or the closet. He professes to have striven to keep out of the common track, and hence that he has used unusual texts, and brought forward neglected subjects. But this profession is hardly sustained-nearly all his selections of scripture being familiar ones, and their subjects generally known to Bible readers. When, however, he proceeds to say that he has also striven to free his little work from the fault common to those of its class, that is, "the vice of dulness," we can bear testimony to his success. The clearness of his perception-the keenness of his wit-the playfulness of his fancy and the fervour of his feelings, save him from being dull either in speaking or writing. His style, too, which is concise and epigrammatic, is exactly suited to the kind of work in which, since the Golden Treasury of Bogatzky was written, many have preceded him. And thus while they have done worthily he has excelled them all. As a specimen of these evening readings we select the one on Matt. xv. 30.

666 BEGINNING TO SINK, HE CRIED, SAYING, LORD, SAVE ME.' Sinking times are praying times with the Lord's servants. Peter neglected prayer at starting upon his venturous journey, but when he began to sink his danger made him a suppliant, and his cry, though late, was not too late. In our hours of bodily pain and mental anguish we find ourselves as naturally driven to prayer as the wreck is driven upon the shore by the waves. The fox hies to its hole for protection; the bird flies to the wood for shelter; and even so the tried believer hastens to the mercyseat for safety. Heaven's great harbour of refuge is all-prayer: thousands of weatherbeaten vessels have found a haven there, and the moment a storm comes on it is wise for us to make for it with all sail.

"Short prayers are long enough. There were but three words in the petition which

Peter gasped out, but they were sufficient for his purpose. Not length but strength is desirable. A sense of need is a mighty teacher of brevity. If our prayers had less of the tail feathers of pride, and more wing, they would be all the better. Verbiage is to devotion what chaff is to the wheat. Precious things lie in small compass, and all that is real prayer, in many a long address, might have been uttered in a petition as short as Peter's.

"Our extremities are God's opportunities. Immediately a keen sense of danger forces an anxious cry from us the ear of Jesus hears, and with Him ear and heart go together, and the hand does not long linger. At the last moment we appeal to our Master, but His swift hand makes up for our delays by instant and effectual action. Are we nearly engulphed by the waves of affliction? let us then lift up our souls unto our Saviour, and we may rest assured He will not suffer us to perish. When we can do nothing Jesus can do all things; let us enlist His powerful aid upon our side, and all will be well."

SCENES AMONG WHICH WE LABOUR.

By the Wife of a Missionary in Bengal. London: E. Stock.

THIS little book is dedicated by its writer to the young people in our British Churches and Sunday Schools. She has been prompted to furnish the information it contains by having noticed, during a recent visit to England, the eager attention paid to missionary addresses. This information bears not only on the details of missionary work, but also on the customs and habits of the people in India. The whole book is comparatively small in bulk, but it is divided into ten chapters, each having a separate subject, so that it is recommended both by its variety and its brevity. When we have given the subject of each chapter, and said that she has written well upon it, we need not add another word in recommendation. The title is in itself a taking one, and while we rejoice in the lively interest which our young people take in the work of missions, we rejoice that an effort like this should have been made to gratify and sustain it. Let each Sunday school procure for its library a book which graphically describes Calcutta, the city of palaces—

the Bengali Market-the Hindu Village-the Hindu Home-Boat travelling in Bengal-Hindu Women-the Indigenous Schools of Bengal-the Religious Festivals of the HindusHindu Weddings and Hindu Funerals. After the death sentence has been pronounced over the body from which the spirit is departing by the native physician, the relatives begin to mourn him as departed.

"His wife and other female relatives begin their loud wail over him, beating their breasts and wildly tearing their hair. The men draw them away, and lifting the couch on which the body is they bear it to the river side. They may not tarry indoors lest death should overtake the sufferer before he has drunk of the purifying stream, and been cleansed from his sins. They reach the water's edge and lay their burden down. Brahmin priests gather round to invoke the gods, and urge the dying man to pronounce the sacred names with his failing breath. Then taking up some of the muddy water they pour it into his mouth and call again on the gods to cleanse and pardon him. If the man expires with the name of the god on his lips he is considered blessed.

"As soon as death has released the sufferer the brahmins utter certain muntras with a view to propitiate the devils which are supposed to inhabit the air, and to be on the watch to intercept souls on their way to heaven, and carry them to their own dismal abode. The gods are at the same time petitioned to receive the departed spirit. This done the funeral pile is built. If the deceased was wealthy, it is constructed of sandal wood, which is fragrant, and oil is poured upon it. The corpse is then placed on the pile, and the eldest son or nearest relative steps forward to light it. Men stand by with sticks in their hands to beat the body down, when under the influence of heat it rises on the pile. When the pile is consumed they examine the ashes. If the right arm is completely burned they conclude that the deceased was holy in his life; if but partially consumed they infer that condemnation has overtaken him on account of an evil life."-pp. 88-90.

CAN IT BE TRUE? By William Miall.

LIFE AND DEATH. London: E.
Stock.

THE first of these works professes to be an enquiry as to the endlessness of future punishment, and the second undertakes to controvert that "awful doc

trine." It affirms, however, at the outset, in a prefatory note, that the doctrine has not a shadow of support from the Bible, and the idea of endless suffering on the part of any creature is such a terrible libel on the character of the blessed God, that all who love Him should protest against it.

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What may not be expected from such a beginning? Neither the modesty nor the moderation with which all theological questions should be discussed; but the dogmatism which is the bane of biblical literature, and the wresting of Scripture which leaves the Truth itself as impregnable as before, but which recoils destructively on those who are guilty of it. It is bad enough to find such petty publications as the old "Family Herald" and the new Religious Opinion" stuffed with infidel objections to the future existence of those whom the King will call "cursed," and to the certainty of their "going away into everlasting punishment." But to find the so-called Christian press pouring forth volume after volume from the pens of divines, either lay or professional, in subversion of the awful doctrine, is enough to sadden the countenance and sicken the soul. Surely God would be more glorified, and our generation best served, were the time and talent which are mis-employed in the composition of these baleful books consecrated to the work of saving men, by compassionately warning some to "flee from the wrath to come,' and fearfully “pulling others "out of the fire." The true Gospel is glad tidings to the meek, and to all who mourn for their sins; but this new evangel is something that is grateful to the malignant, and to those who " go on still in their trespasses." LET IT BE ANATHEMA!

THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GENERAL BAPTIST CHURCHES. Held on Whit-Tuesday, June 2, 1868.

AN assembly which has been "called" without intermission for the long space of two hundred and thirteen years has some claim to be entitled venerable. And as veneration is a feeling which may be developed into a virtue, it is proper to cultivate it by fixing it on things good as well as old. The good

ness of this assembly may be a matter of doubt to some who do not know that it consists of Baptists, persons who hold that Christ has appointed that all his disciples in all lands and in every age should profess their own faith in and devotion to Him by being baptized, that is, immersed in water; and who also hold the doctrine of General Redemption, or that Christ died for all, in contradistinction to the doctrine of Particular Redemption, or that Christ died for the elect alone.. General Redemption does not necessarily imply general salvation, or, as it is often called, Universal Restoration, that is, that all men will be saved: it only affirms that the way of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ is open to all; that they are not shut out by any decree or purpose of Almighty God." So runs the designation of the Assembly," and so far it has our hearty approval. But when we are informed that to be designated Unitarian, and to hold the Unitarian doctrine, "is neither a qualification nor a disqualification for communion with" it, our approval ends, and our judgment begins to discern the secret of its diminished numbers and decreasing influence. In the churches, too, this impairing element is traceable, occasioning what the Circular Letter to them calls "the wail of discontent and despondency which has gone up over the nakedness and barrenness with which they are for the most part characterized." The writer of the Letter does not himself attribute the slow decline he deplores to what

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we think has been the occasion of it; yet he virtually concedes the point in his closing exhortation when he says, "Let the genuine and primitive Christianity of the New Testament form the message and animate with living inspiration the utterance of pulpit instruction among us, and it will call forth a glad response in the spiritual consciousness of our people, and win a gradually widening acceptance and ultimate triumph in the world."

The Messengers' Reports read in the Assembly are well written documents, and among these special regard is due to that presented by the Rev. J. C. Means, one of the two gentlemen who were delegated to visit our last Association in Derby. His leading object this year was to recall some of the causes which led to the formation of the New Connexion-to state the existing relations between the New and Old Connexions-and to indicate what he thinks is the course which the Old Connexion should pursue towards the New. As the " Proceedings" have been gratuitously forwarded to many of our ministers and to some of our leading laymen, we forbear to make further quotations from them. earnestly desire to see the body out of which we chiefly sprung "rooted and built up" in Christ, blessed with ministers who show in doctrine uncorruptness, and with an influx of members who will "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

Poetry.

THE DEATH OF SUMMER.

By the lengthening twilight hours;
By the chill and fragrant showers;
By the flow'rets pale and faded;
By the leaves with russet shaded;
By the gray and coloured morn;
By the drooping ears of corn;
By the meadows overspread
With the spider's wavy thread;
By the soft and shadowy sky;
By the thousand tears that lie
Every weeping bough beneath-
Summer, we perceive thy death!

Summer, all thy charms are past;

Summer, thou art wasting fast;
Scarcely one of all thy roses

On thy faded brow reposes.

We

Thrush and nightingale have long
Ceased to woo thee with their song;
And, on every lonely height,
Swallows gather for their flight;
While the wild wind's dreary tone,
Sweeping through the valleys lone,
Sadly sighs with mournful breath,
Requiems for sweet Summer's death.
-Chambers' Journal.

LITTLE FEET.

Two little feet, so small that both may nestle

In one caressing hand

Two tender feet upon the untried border

Of Life's mysterious land;

Dimpled and soft, and pink as peach tree blossoms

In April's fragrant days

How can they walk among the briery tangles
Edging the world's rough ways?

These white-rose feet among the doubtful future
Must bear a woman's load;

Alas! since woman has the heaviest burden,

And walks the hardest road.

Love, for a while, will make the path before them
All dainty, smooth and fair-

Will cull away the brambles, letting only

The roses blossom there.

But when the mother's watchful eyes are shrouded
Away from sight of men,

And these dear feet are left without her guiding,
Who shall direct them then?

How they will be allured, betrayed, deluded,
Poor little untaught feet-

Into what dreary mazes will they wander,
What dangers will they meet?

Will they go stumbling blindly in the darkness
Of Sorrow's tearful shades?

Or find the upland slopes of Peace and Beauty
Whose sunlight never fades?

Will they go toiling up Ambition's summit,
The common world above?

Or in some nameless vale securely sheltered,

Walk side by side with Love?

Some feet there be which walk Life's track unwounded,

Which find but pleasant ways;

Some hearts there be to which this life is only

A round of happy days.

But they are few. Far more there are who wander

Without a hope or friend

Who find their journey full of pains and losses,

And long to reach the end.

How shall it be with her, the tender stranger,

Fair-faced and gentle-eyed,

Before whose unstained feet the world's rude highway
Stretches so strange and wide?

Ah! who may read the future? For our darling
We crave all blessings sweet-

And pray that He who feeds the crying ravens

Will guide the baby's feet.

FLORENCE PERCY.

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