business of some sort, was sure to be added to the work of the pulpit and the duties of the pastor."

Passing over what the Discourse says of his labors as an editor and an author-in both of which capacities he was a diligent and successful laborer-we pause over the acknowledgment of his great labor-the raising of the Tufts College fund.

"One of the most important and difficult labors of Dr. Skinner in the educational department, was securing the funds necessary to the endowment of Tufts College, amounting to $100,000. Many believed that, at that time, it would be impossible to obtain so large a sum for this purpose; but he entered upon the work in full faith, and continued to solicit and collect subscriptions to the fund in all parts of the country, for several years, in the face of indifference, discouragements and positive refusals, which would have discouraged most men; till the last round in the ladder of difficulties was reached, and he stood on the height of his aims and his ambition. In some respects he was peculiarly fitted for this labor-patient, persevering, hopeful, of pleasant address, ingenuous in presenting the claims of the Institution, never disheartened by denials, nor disturbed by discourtesy or rudeness; he succeeded in many cases where almost any other man would have failed. The friends of Tufts College will never forget the debt they owe to him who did so much in laying the foundation of its prosperity and usefulness; and his name will henceforth be closely and feelingly associated with its early history and struggles."

The merit of Dr. Skinner's success in this great enterprise is the greater, from the circumstance that he commenced it at a time when the denomination had received but little training in habits of giving for educational purposes. He was obliged to convert the brethren to a belief in the necessity of the institution; and in this, his efforts were often arduous and discouraging. Our own eyes and ears have been witness to his toil in this direction; and we can testify, that it was often discouraging in the extreme. Still he kept up courage; he persevered; and he succeeded. The name of Skinner is forever associated with those generous patrons of our infant college, Tufts and Packard.

The Discourse very justly selects as the distinguishing element in the character of Dr. Skinner, his goodness of heart.

"This goodness of heart showed itself in every way, on all occasions. He was genial and amiable in disposition, frank and cordial in his manners, kind in feelings towards all, helpful to every one who sought his aid, the companion and counsellor of youth, the comforter of the aged and the sick, the loving and laborious pastor, and the faithful minister of Christ and his gospel.

He was precisely the man to love. It is not of many men you can use this word love. You like them; you have a regard for them-but every body who knew Mr. Skinner well, loved him. Wherever he labored the people became attached to him; and he had troops of affectionate personal friends not only among his own brethren, but outside of society and denomination lines. Those who differed from him in religious belief, even when opposed, bore testimony to the kindness of his nature, the courtesy of his manners, and the purity of his motives. Ministers of the gospel, whether acquaintances or strangers, found a fraternal welcome to his home, which he and his amiable family never failed to make pleasant to all who came. But it was the pastoral relation which more especially revealed his goodness of heart, and the strength and delicacy of his sensibilities. In his visits to his parishioners, in the Sunday School, with the wayward and erring, in the homes of the poor, at the bedside of the sick and dying, Dr. Skinner was a man who had few equals; and that minister may be counted happy who, after he has gone hence, shall hold so large a place in the affections of the people among whom he has labored in holy things."

The Discourse closes with a description of the death-scene written by one who was present. Few can read those touching lines without emotion. We have room for but a brief paragraph.

"Never shall we forget the impressive scene; never before had we so felt the dignity of death. The strong soul triumphed over the perishing body, and bore our departing brother onward through the valley of death, with the tread of a conqueror. There was no stir about his couch, for there was nothing to do but to watch with him till the Angel of the Land of Peace should seal his eyes in dreamless slumber; there were no loud lamentations around him, no clamorous grief, only silent tears wiped quickly away, lest they should cause a pang to the beloved husband, father and friend; and the few brief, whispered words were those of affection to the dying, or of strength and consolation to the living, suffering the anguish of separation. To the very last moment our brother retained his consciousness; and peacefully passed on beyond mortal vision, out of suffering into rest-out of death into life.""

"So lived, and labored, and died, a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord.' He has gone in the strength of his manhood, in the meridian of his days, in the midst of his usefulness. His death is a serious loss to our denomination, in the work of which no man was more active. The men of reputation, the strong men among us, are continually

falling at the post of duty. Within the year three of the most laborious, and the most weary, of our workers have gone to their rest-Dr. Whittemore, Dr. Ballou, and now Dr. Skinner. We who remain a little longer, must toil all the more diligently while the day lasts."

2. History of Civilization in England. By Henry Thomas Buckle. Volume II. From the Second London Edition. To which is added an Alphabetical Index. New York: D. Appleton & Company. 1861. 8vo. pp 476.

A writer may be presumed to have extraordinary gifts who makes such grave topics as history and philosophy not merely instructive, but also fascinating. And if he continues to fascinate, while he shocks not only our prejudices, but our moral instincts, and also our sense of logical propriety, and of the necessity of caution in generalizations, the evidence of unusual gifts is so much the more conclusive. We read every word in Mr. Buckle's first volume, and to the end our interest was unbroken. We find the second volume not less attractive. We do not recall a paragraph that we should characterize as dull, as commonplace, as sinking to the level of mediocrity. His style is wonderfully fresh, always forcible, frequently eloquent. His sentences are burdened with matter, but they are never heavy. His faculty to give an air of novelty to familiar thoughts is, so far as our reading goes, unrivalled. And there is a tinge, sometimes a large tinge, of the romantic in his forms of statement and illustration. He instructs, edifies and amuses as few writers on sober themes have been able to do. But the defects of this wonderful writer are as numerous and as palpable as his merits. His reading has been too general and varied, to be profound. He has made himself familiar with so many branches of knowledge, that it is mentally impossible, that he can be a master of any one. The same intellect cannot at once command history, poetry, theology, metaphysics, and all the physical sciences. Yet, Mr. Buckle undertakes to put all these departments of knowledge under contribution with a view to a theory of civilization. We are not surprised therefore to find in his volumes gross misapprehensions, almost childish generalizations, specimens of logic that force a smile, and assumptions which sometimes stir a feeling of indignation. For example: Spain is a mountainous country, is troubled with earthquakes, and other phenomena that excite the imagination. These physical characteristics incline the population to superstition, and so dwarf the intellects and make them the victims of priestcraft! The historical fact that Spain has ever been a priest-ridden nation—that it gave birth to the order of Jesuits and the Inquisition-has thus a philosophical explana

tion! Again: Scotland has been a land of intense bigotry though in a Protestant form. Mr. Buckle has a ready explanation of the fact. The Scotch philosophy is deductive; the deductive method of thought tends to bigotry; and in Scotland the style of philosophizing has infected the dominant theology!

It will be seen, that our author has a poor opinion of the deductive method. He is Baconian-facts, he tells us, will explain everything. Yet he formally commences his great work with a statement of a theory; and then proceeds to ransack all departments of knowledge with a view to confirm and illustrate his theory! We cannot name an instance more glaringly deductive-one less Baconian. Finally, our author writes about civilization. Of course, he means civilization among men. Yet his two volumes do not recognize the existence of such a being as man. That is to say, his theory supposes man to be a thinking vegetable; and the same as a gardener would speculate about the growth and quality of a cabbage, referring everything to soil, air, and other "circumstances," so the growth and character of man will be arbitrarily determined by such circumstances as mountains, volcanoes, influences of the sky, the atmosphere, and so on. There is no such thing as will-a cause-a power-in his theory of man. Of course, there is no place in such a theory for religion, faith, worship. Sometimes these things get a left-handed recognition, but generally they come under the head of ignorance, superstition, or priest-craft. Mr. Buckle worships the intellect-his great emancipator and saviour is knowledge, the knowledge of facts. Years ago, we read somewhat in Hobbes-enough to identify the source, direct or indirect, in the inspiration which glows with such intensity in the brilliant pages under notice. Indeed, Mr. Buckle gives ample proof that while he may have read Reid, Stewart and Hamilton, he has studied authors of the materialistic school. argument against the testimony of consciousness simply moves our contempt. He is unable even to define the term. Yet with all his faults, and such faults, Mr. Buckle is a man of geniushas very rare faculty as a writer-and will have for readers, men of intelligence and culture. We have but room to add, that his second volume is mainly devoted to characteristics of the Scotch intellect.

His

3. The Gospel Psalmist; A Collection of Hymns and Tunes, for Public, Social and Private Devotions. Especially designed for the Universalist Denomination. By J. G. Adams and S. B. Ball, Boston: J. M. Usher. 1861.

In connection with this volume of Hymns and Music, is another volume containing the Hymns without the Music; thus

leaving it optional with the purchaser to take either. Of course, the Hymns are numbered the same in both editions. The especial purpose of the new collection, is to provide the means of Congregational Singing. The compiler has, of course, made selections from the hymus of Watts, the Wesleys, Cowper, Mrs. Steele, Montgomery and Bowring: also from authors of a much earlier date, both Catholic and Protestant; and, as a feature somewhat new, from German authors. Due regard has been had to the reformatory manifestations of the times; and special prominence is given to the destinctive doctrines of the denomination. Whenever practicable to do so, hymns of denominational authorship have been selected. The number of hymns-nine hundred and ninety-six-is sufficient for ample variety; every taste, if not unreasonably fastidious, may easily select from the collection. The compiler has evinced good judgment and patient industry in his difficult task. We are pleased to notice, that most of the hymns are short-we recognize few exceeding five stanzas. There is a large collection of Closing hymns and Doxologies a very convenient as well as useful feature. Of the Music we can say but a word, for here our taste is not critical. We need no one to inform us respecting the merits of Duke Street, Old Hundred, Balerma, Dundee, Pleyel's Hymn, and kindred tunes inwrought with our earliest. recollections of sacred 'song, and which no musical compiler for devotional purposes will ever feel at liberty to omit. But we recognize many tunes with which we are not familiar; and these we must hear before we can appreciate. We may say, however, that the compiler ranks among the first in his profession; that he is reputed for his skill as a composer, and for his success as a teacher of sacred music. We can defer to his judgment with confidence. The mechanical execution of both volumes is excellent, Handsome, sound type, clear white paper, and substantial binding make then all that could be asked. Both volumes will commend themselves.

4, The Southern Rebellion and the War for the Union. New York: 1861.

A condensed history of the War as it progresses-comprising the salient features of the rebellion, and the characteristic events. We think highly of the plan and purpose of this work. To select from the numerous details with care, and to distinguish between the authentic and the doubtful, is the editor's task, and we think he performs it with discretion.