however, did not distinguish it from the adjoining dwellings. There it was, a common cottage, in a street of cottages, so plain that it could not possibly be plainer. How it contrasted with that beautiful old church of the establishment, with its grey stone tower rising from the midst of the picturesque church yard, through which ran a footpath among the graves, shaded by a solemn row of yew-trees, whose age was to be counted by centuries! Surely it must have been something more than whim, and better than pique, which could have induced men to leave such a church, the church of their fathers, guarded all round by their fathers' dust, and assemble in such a shed. It must have been conscience, it must have been honest conviction, it must have been a motive, which, however alloyed by meaner passion, was essentially good and noble. It is to be remembered, also, that the seceders did not, as some of those do, who "sign off" in our own land, ease themselves of a pecuniary burthen, but on the contrary increased it, being obliged to pay their full tax to the establishment, and at the same time to support their own worship. We trust that we should have respected such men, and their little hut-chapel, even though we had differed from them in religious belief, and had been unwilling to join in their worship; but as we did not differ from them in religious belief, we joined with them in their worship while we remained in Sidmouth, and should have done so if we had remained there till this time. We have no idea of deserting our friends, because they assemble under simple thatch, instead of under groined stone; though we also think that we should have been cheerfully willing to pay tithes at Sidmouth, for the pleasure we enjoyed in looking at that old church, and walking through that old churchyard.

Other reminiscences we have, which are connected with other places of worship mentioned in this volume, but space is not given us to relate them in. We cannot break off, however, without noticing one misstatement into which Mr. Murch has fallen. In a biographical notice of the Rev. William Hazlitt, father of Hazlitt the author, he says, " Mr. Hazlitt's visit to this town [Boston] was not, however, in vain; for in a short time he was chiefly instrumental in forming the first Unitarian Church at Boston." Now, though we know that Mr. Hazlitt was active in promulgating the principles of Unitarian belief, while he remained in this country, we are confident that he was not chiefly instrumental in forming the first Unitarian Church at Boston, whatever church that may be. If he did form any church here, it is none which is at present in existence, or of which we have ever heard.

Sermons by Rev. J. B. PITKIN, late Pastor of the Independent Christian Church in Richmond, Va. With a Memoir of the Author. By Rev. S. G. BULFINCH. Boston: David Reed. 1837. 12mo. pp. 352. The writer of these sermons was one of those precocious geniuses whom their friends and the world so often combine to spoil; and Mr. Bulfinch, in the highly interesting biographical sketch which he has given us, has communicated a life-lesson which might be instructive to many. Of the subject of his Memoir he says:

"His life was a peculiar one. It may teach the young and romantic, should these pages meet the eye of any such, to avoid those dangers under which he nearly sunk. It may show the necessity of restraining, in early life, not only the passions, but the too exuberant fancy. It may present a warning to those who act as spiritual directors of others, to temper with gentleness the occasional severity of their official duty, and, like their blessed Master, not to break the bruised reed.

"But other and more cheering lessons are afforded by the life of this young divine. We see him for a time overborne by misfortune, censure, and a consciousness of error, yet not relinquishing the hope of better things, working his way upward to the light, and at length attaining and for years occupying the station of a faithful, successful, and respected minister of the Gospel; wearing out his powers in the discharge of duty, and yielding his spirit at length_tranquilly to God, with entire confidence in his accepting mercy. From this the advanced Christian may learn never to despair for others; and the young struggler with temptation may acquire the more important lesson, never to despair of himself, and never to distrust the providence of God."

We certainly were much impressed ourselves with these important truths, in reading the life in which they are so vividly set forth by fact and example. Simply, clearly, and with Christian feeling, Mr. Bulfinch has spoken of his friend, and unfolded the history of his deviations, conflicts, and final victory. We do not believe that this chapter of real life can be read without profit.

Mr. Pitkin's sermons were composed after the fever of his youth was cured, and the wild dreams of that season were dreamed, and they show the operations of his maturer mind. A controversial vein runs through them, which is owing to the circumstances in which he was placed, ever surrounded by watchers and opposers. But there is no bitterness in his controversy, and the main body and substance of his discourses consist in the weightier matters of the law. They are written in a clear and manly style, which not unfrequently rises into eloquence. We look upon them as a good exhibition of what

may be called practical Unitarianism, and hesitate not to recommend them to our readers.

Vegetable Diet; as sanctioned by Medical Men, and by Experience in all Ages. By WILLIAM A. ALCOTT. Boston: Marsh, Capen, and Lyon. 1838. 12mo. pp. 276. We regret that the incessant labors of Dr. Alcott, and the other great vegetable men of the day, have not produced a more practical and sensible effect on the meat-market. If those cannibals, who are determined to eat flesh in spite of his teeth, could get it at a reasonable price, we should congratulate him and ourselves on the influence of his goose-quill; but so long as we are obliged to pay for beef, pork, and chickens at the abominable rate of a shilling a pound, we fear that there is still too fierce a demand for those gross and deleterious articles, and that he will be under the necessity of writing many more books, before a proper reform is effected. Therefore we beg him to be not at all disconcerted by what some shallow people say of his rapid book-making, but to write on as fast as he can, and bring out a volume of goodly size once a month, nay, if need be, once a week, till something is done in this matter. It will take at least five or six such books as the one before us to produce any appreciable change, in opinion or prices, before Christmas. And as people will be sure to buy anything which relates to the grand subject of eating, whether it be a Cook's Oracle, or a book which would teach and persuade them to dispense with all cooks and cookery, he may be confident that his works will be bought, however fast he may supply them, and whether they contain what is palatable or unpalatable, digestible or indigestible. One piece of advice, however, we cannot refrain from offering, which is, that Dr. Alcott should keep a strict eye on the moral character of those physicians whose evidence he adduces. We are led to say this, by observing that one of them, Dr. Lambe, of London, lays it down as an axiom, that " Man is herbivorous in his structure." Now we must say, that we never saw a more palpable attempt than this, to cheat us out of our eye-teeth, which, of all kinds of knavery, is universally held to be the sharpest. His very name, moreover, begets a suspicion that he is an interested witness on the subject of food and diet. He should be quoted with great

caution.

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One word seriously. We have no doubt that too much meat is eaten by the people of this country; but we cannot think that Dr. Alcott's book is well calculated to make them eat less.

Buds of Spring. Poetical Remains of AUGUSTUS FOSTER LYDE. With Addenda. Boston: Perkins and Marvin. 1838. 12mo. pp. 150. - This little work is not offered to critical examination, but is simply a monument of friendship to the memory of a young man of genius and worth. As such we have looked at it with great interest, feeling that it is good even for strangers to be told of the aspiring spirits which waked for a season in our cold world, and were withdrawn before they could be known. The world, and its life, and its hopes become of more value to us in proportion as we find in it a larger number of the gifted and pure, who have been born in it for a better life. Mr. Lyde seems to have been one of these. Dying at the age of twenty-one, just as he was beginning the labors of his profession, no opportunity was allowed him to offer to men the mature fruits of his mind; but its blossoming was beautiful and full of promise; and we are pleased that the hand of a friend should gather a few of the buds and flowers, and keep his memory fresh for a time in the souls of those who loved him. If he has added to the bouquet a few similar blossoms of his own, who can blame the desire to mingle with the image of the dead the thoughts that were never separated from the living?

The story of his life is told in few words. He was born in 1813, was graduated at Washington College in 1830, studied theology in the Episcopal Seminary of New York, devoted himself to the cause of foreign missions, and sank under a feeble constitution and intense action of mind on the 19th November, 1834. There seems to have been a fine union of earnestness and delicacy in his character. His devotion to the missionary service was very fervent. The description of his last meeting with his fellow students, when he and another were to take leave, is striking.

"Exultation was the first emotion experienced, because there rose full in view the good which was to be done, by their zeal and devotion, to the Seminary in which they were educated, to the Church of CHRIST, and, though last, not least, to the perishing souls of men. But how changed were the feelings when he, who had been the instrument of Providence in beginning the enterprise, rose to bid his brethren adieu! To some, even then, the hand of death seemed laid upon his pallid cheek, and all could not but feel that such might be the case, who saw him choking with emotion, and, amid a flood of tears, scarce articulating, 'Pray for me, brethren; pray that my health may be restored; GOD is my witness, I ask it not for myself, I ask it for China.' We will not stop to describe the gush of feeling which ensued. Suffice it to say, that many a manly countenance was turned away to hide the glistening signs of sympathy and affection." — pp. xvi, xvii.

VOL. XXV. 3D S. VOL. VII. NO. II.

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We are sorry to be obliged, by the contracted space into which we are driven, to curtail our intended notice, and to omit a beautiful extract, which would show that this young man was born with a genius for more than common achievement.

An Address delivered before the Senior Class in Divinity College, Cambridge, Sunday Evening, 15 July, 1838. By RALPH WALDO EMERSON. Boston: James Munroe and Company. 1838. 8vo. pp. 31. It is not likely that we should have noticed this Address, had it not received some public notice already, and caused some stir and speculation. But as we have been asked repeatedly, whether certain strange notions contained in it are regarded as good divinity by the instructers and students of the Divinity School at Cambridge, and whether the gentleman who advanced these notions is to be considered as thereby uttering or representing the opinions of the body of Unitarian ministers, we deem it right to say, and we believe we have the best authority for saying, that those notions, so far as they are intelligible, are utterly distasteful to the instructers of the School, and to Unitarian ministers generally, by whom they are esteemed to be neither good divinity nor good sense. With regard to their reception among the students, we cannot speak so positively; we merely know that the only apparent connexion between the School and these notions is, that a majority of the Senior Class, which consisted altogether of seven students, attracted by Mr. Emerson's reputation as a writer and lecturer, invited him to address them on the occasion of their leaving the School, and perhaps listened to him with pleasure, as to one who seemed to speak a new word. That the notions above referred to will be adopted by their composed thoughts, or the style in which they are expressed be imitated in their own writings, we cannot yet believe. However it may turn out, we are well convinced that the instructers of the School should hereafter guard themselves, by a right of veto on the nomination of the students, against the probability of hearing sentiments, on a public and most interesting occasion, and within their own walls, altogether repugnant to their feelings, and opposed to the whole tenor of their own teachings.

In all this we beg to be understood as not questioning the right of the author of this address to utter his own thoughts in his own way. We have no idea of raising against ourselves the cry of persecution, nor any wish whatever of adding to the present list of martyrs, nor the least desire to fetter the human mind by the bonds of prescription and antiquity. Such flagrant designs we most heartily deny and eschew. But we trust that