The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-30 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Mary Bertrand. By Francis Meredith. 3 vols.
Hurst and Blackett.
This is a very pleasing story, that is gracefully
narrated, and can hardly fail to give satisfaction.
Claude, the hero, is a very fine character, and disk
plays many superior qualities as he approaches
manhood. Mary Bertrand is a charming delinea-
tion ; and altogether, with her vivacity, grace, and
intelligence, forms one of those delightful por-
traitures that from time to time irradiate the
pages of fiction, and which are the more attrac-
tive from the consciousness that in real life such
treasures exist, though they may be few and far
between. There is not much plot in the story,
and the interest consists in the skill exhibited
by the sketches of the numerous persons who
figure in its course: Philip Grey is a superior
man, who was an honour to the exalted position
he was called to fill, but who, „.in our first ac-
quaintance with him in a humble sphere, dis-
played those bright and shining attributes which
render a man totally independent of rank to give
him dignity, or of wealth to gain him power.
He was of excellent service to those placed under
his care, and thus his temporary poverty was a
source of satisfaction to many, for in after years,
when he was established in his rich inheritance,
the effects of his labours would be seen in many
a distant home, and blessed by the families whose
sons he had trained up in those lessons of wis-
dom more precious than the richest stores of
knowledge ever garnered in academic walls.
Flora Dashwood is a lively girl, whose sparkling
manners impart a gaiety to the story. She is a
decided contrast to Mary ; but she was well-inten-
tioned, with all her vehemence and excitement of
manner, that led strangers to suppose her indif-
ferent and careless. Mary, in her calm grace,
shone to advantage beside her showy companion,
though sbe was in poverty and loneliness, and
Miss Dashwood is truly described as " radiant
with the consciousness of beauty, wealth, rank,
talents, all that can make prosperous the journey
to the grave." The various members of the 'Hamil-
ton family, Colonel Norton, and his sons, are well
depicted ; and, on the whole, this is a very agree-
able book. Some of the scenes at the beginninc,
are very well described; and Mr. Bertrand, the
father of Mary, is interesting from his melancholy
position. This novel has every prospect of being
a general favourite

Christ in Life : Life in, Christ. By J. C. N.
Bellew. London : Chapman and Hall. Octavo,

pp. 397. 1860.
If we were asked to characterise Mr..Bellew's
sermons by one word, we should say emphatically
it is that of manliness. In all that he writes or
says there is an outspoken frankness which spurns
alike concealment and disguise, which looks neither
to the right hand nor the left, but goes straight home
to the mark it aims at, careless of all consequences
and heedless of all results, so long as the plain
honest truth be declared and good effected. But
when we say that manliness is the distinguishing
feature of these sermons, we are far from implying
by that term any spirit of sternness or narrow-
minded exclusiveness. Sin may be condemned and
rebuked in the strongest terms, and its unfailing
consequences painted in the most vivid colours,
but not thus does he pass sentence of condemnation
on the sinner. Crime may be denounced, but not
the criminal ;—him Mr. Bellew addresses in the
language of gentleness and brotherly kindness,
convinced that no man, who is worthy of the name,
was ever yet frightened into real religion, and that
the spirit of love and charity to all that which
should animate the ministers of Him who has de-
clared that " the bruised reed lie will not break,
and the smoking flax He will not quench." The
new volume of Mr. Bellew's sermons by its title
conveys the nature of its contents. The aspect of
the Saviour's character, exhibited by the various
incidents which marked his earthly career, is that
which is meant by the first part of the title, " Christ
in Life ;" while the aspect of the Christian's life as
he consecrates the events and occupations of the
world to a " Life in Christ" is what is intended
by the second. . The columns of a news-
paper are no fitting sphere for the dis-
cussion of religious differences or controverted
doctrines, and in the quotations we are about to
make from the volume before us, we shall take
care to select such as cannot by any possibility give
offence to men of any creed, however sensitive and
fastidious. Where there are so many beauties in
language and sentiment, it is very difficult to make
selections, and deprived of the vitality lent them
by the charm of voice, eye, and manner when de-
livered, even the most vigorous and impassioned
sentences materially suffer. But even with this
'drawback who cannot but be struck with the
truth and beauty of the following quotations. The
first is from the sermon on New Year's Eve. " How
strange it appears that the higher the creature in
the social scale, the more susceptible he is of being
affected by external causes—the loftier in th 2
ranges of creation and the greater the dependence
of his organs upon one another ! It seems as
though God had resolved that the nearer his
creatures approached to his own nature the more
susceptible they should be to every accident and
influence of earth, thereby being liable through the
slightest causes to be removed from the scenes of
animal life. Man is the nearest approach to God,
and accordingly we find ,it physically true that he
possesses less tenacity of life than any other living
thing. There are creatures possessed of life which
enjoy the elements of the world for centuries. In
the lower ranges of creation there are several
species of animal life which, dissevered and muti-
lated, will not only survive, but in their disunited
members separate life will flourish, and nature will
not only repair her injuries, but complete in the
parts the constitution that once belonged to the
whole. As we rise in the scale of animal Yife and
as it were the earth becomes less earthy so the frame
of the creature becomes more susceptible to external
influence and injury, until at length we arrive at
the paragon of all, and find the animal man linked
to the external world with a cord so finely con-
structed that he is affected by the smallest external
circumstances. The accident over which the reptile
triumphs brings him death, the fierce wind on
which the eagle spreads his pinions wide, and out-
lives for generations with scarce a feather ruffled,
cuts off the life of him who is the monarch of the
eagle and the brute." One of the sermons that has
struck us most is that for Easter-day, on the text—
"We wait for light" (Isaiah lix. 9) ; but it is one
that, from its continuous train of thought and
beauty of illustration, affords less opportunity for
separate quotation, without each detached passage
suffering materially from the absence of the con-
text than any other. We may, however, with less
scruple, make one or two quotations from the dis-
course which bears for its title, "The Mutable and
the Immutable." " I am speaking now of truths as
magnificent as any that have ever occupied the
speculations of philosophers; of truths which, in
the days of Bacon or of Newton, were unestablished,
and, I think I may say, were very dimly appre-
hended, but which the science of later times has
incontrovertibly established, so that to some ears
it may sound like a familiar saying, when I speak
of the certain and perpetual changes of all creation
and of their being referable to unchanging laws ;
whereas I am in reality advancing a truth of such
magnitude, that it is only within the last century
that science has apprehended it, and within
the last half century embraced it. It would
be out of place were I now to enter into any con-
secutive examination of the discoveries of those
various sciences to which I have referred, and
whieh singly and collectively produce evidences of
the fact. I might show how, in astronomy, the
what i n
nebulous theory has establtihsheesdatvhioeurs,cihenotificlaanceeuta-
racy of the declaration
of
114:1 trforbmiri
exhaustible u scontinuallytible
productiveness,form
succes-
sions characterise the changes and decays in the
gand whate
husbandry of the heavens. I might, for the sake
of illustration, refer to the extraordinary revelations
which the pursuits of geology and anatomy have
made. The one has exhibited the inorganic changes
of the globe, the other the simultaneous organic.
In combination they have shown that in different
organic strata of the earth there have been diffe-
rent stages of animal organisation, so that while on
the earth one strata has been passing away to be

succeeded by another, families of living creature
have been passing away to be succeeded by others ;
and as time has passedaway so similarity has passed
away. Ido no more than touch these truths, just
to point to them and then to leave them. Unhappy
the day and the age which grudges to the pulpit
the use of all the resources of knowledge and inves-
tigation which in every other profession are legiti-
mate to illustrate or exhibit truth."

We conclude our preserit notice with one beauti-
ful passage which occurs in the sermon on " Mo-
therly Kindness and Charity." Were the sen-
timents it inculcates more generally felt and
acted on, society would present a very dif-
ferent aspect to what it does in general..
" The apostle commends to the Christian's sym-
pathy those who arc of the household of faith, but
ho likewise says in the same breath, Let us do
good unto all men, and especially unto them that
are of the household of faith.' And the point on
which I am particularly anxious to fasten your at-
tention is that we do not act thoroughly and con-
scientiously upon the principle of the great new
commandment given by Christ to men, when we
.allow our charity to be circumscribed or cut off by
religious prejudice. I am well aware upon this
point how hard a struggle it costs a conscientious
man to triumph over such feelings, to conquer them,
and whatever be his own convictions compel him-
self to look with tender compassion upon the neces-
sities of all men, no matter whatever their religious
professions or beliefs may be.• But while I am en-
deavouring to delineate the true character of the
love we should bear a brother in this world, I
should be dishonest, if upon this point I suffered
any man now listening to me to go away without
clearly, and emphatically enforcing upon him that
the great principle which our blessed Saviour has
delivered to us knows no such limitations. Ile
claims the love of brotherhood even for a stranger.
The stranger and the outcast and the man who has
denied God his due, is our brother still, his claim is
still holy, still to be allowed."

Is it not Written? Being the testimony of Scrip-
ture against Roman ism. By Edward S. Pryce,
A.B. London : Smith and Elder.
This little work supplies a want. The matter
and temper of Mr. Pryces book are equally good.
It furnishes a complete account of the controversy
between Protestantism, as,based on the Scriptures,
and Romanism, as based, to use Dr. Wiseman's ex-
pression on the " unwritten word of God equally
with the written word of God." All the most im-
portant points in dispute between the Protestants
and Catholics are discussed with a candour and
moderation rare amongst theological com-
batants, and especially rare in the controversy
of Protestants with Rome. There is not the
slightest breath of the Orange or Protestant,
Alliance spirit in Mr. Pryce's work ; his statements
of the views of Catholics are not selected with the
taste of a Spooner or a Newdegate ; on the con-
trary, he makes use chiefly of the language of the
most able of modern'English Catholics—Dr. Wise-
man. Mr. Pryce's book is not a tirade against
Popery, bnt a calm, Christian, gentlemanly exami-
nation of the topics it discusses ; it is, therefore,
just the work to place in the hands of an intelligent
young person perplexed by the arguments of some
Anglican clergyman, or in the hands of
any one who, without leasure to wade
through large volumes, and whose taste would
revolt from the too frequent tone of Protestant as
well as Roman Catholic disputants, desires to have
a fair account of the whole controversy. Not that
there is any want of firmness of statement and ar-
gument. The writer is as lucid and firm as he is
fair and dispassionate. The subjects of—The
Written Scriptures alone in opposition to the co-
ordinate authority of Tradition—of the Catholic
Church—of Redemption and Justification—of the
Supremacy of the Pope—of Transubstantia-
tion—of the Sacrifice of the Mass—of Pur-
gatory and Indulgencies—of the idolatry of
Romanism, not using the term offensively, but exa-
mining the question—are all fully considered, and
while the reasoning is most careful and conclusive,
we do not remember a page which could make us
reluctant to offer the book to a Roman Catholic
friend as one in which he could find any cause of
offence. Would that all theological contreversy
were conducted in the same spirit, as well as with
the same ability.

LdNCASIIIRE BEFORIIIBR,S' UNION.

T

The adjourned meeting of the council, on the
steps to be taken in reference to the alleged aggres-
sion by the House of Lords, took place yesterday
afternoon at Manchester. r, Bright, M.P., was
present.
Mr. GEORGE WILSON, who presided, said he had
no doubt the committee of the House of Commons
appointed last week would make a report in ac-
cordance with the principles of the constitution
but it would be the most remarkable discovery of
modern times if they discovered any fragment of
authority for the House of Lords to levy £1,200,000
of taxes on the people. (Cheers) He would not
do the House of Lords the injustice of supposing
they were actuated by the reasons assigned for
their rejection of the paper duties repeal. The
proxies used on the vote were prepared beforehand
and indicated a foregone conclusion. (Hear, hear.)
The real motive was opposition to the policy of the
Government, to Lord Palmerston, to Parliamentary
reform, and to Mr. Bright. (Cheers.)
Mr. GOADSBY moved the first resolution
" That this meeting witnesses with great satisfac-
tion the steps taken by the House of Commons to
maintain inviolate its right to determine the sum
of the taxes to be laid upon the people, and pledges
itself to support the house by any means in its
power."
Mr. ASHTON, of Dar wen, seconded the resolution
which was unanimously passed.
Mr. C. E. Rawlins moved and Mr. Alderman
Harvey seconded, the following resolution, which
was also supported by Mr. S. Platt, of Oldham :
" That the various branches of the Lancashire
Reformers' Union be recommended to renew their
public meetings to adopt petitions for presenta-
tion to the House of Commons immediately after
the recess."

The resolution was adopted unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN then moved a vote of thanks to
Lord Palmerston, Lord J. Russell, Mr. James,
Mr. Duncombe, and Mr. Bright, for the course
they had adopted in the House of Commons on
Friday last.
-Dr. WATTS seconded the resolution, which was
passed by acclamation.
Mr. BRIGHT, who was warmly cheered, said the
question now at issue was not one of extending the
frontiers of the ancient realm of English freedom,
but the most unexpected necessity of making a
fight for liberties gained by our fathers. (Cheers.)
The Crown had the same technical right to a veto
on these matters of taxation as the Lords, but ia
the case of the latter there was a division of respon-
sibility which made their egression the more
dangerous. The principle on which the most able
lawyers, as he believed, would state the case, was
this, that the House of Commons had the sole right
of granting to the Crown what the Crown required.
If there had been an inexhaustible chest under the
floor of the house, from which money could be
drawn and handed to the Crown without the
necessity of an act of Parliament; a vote of
the House of Commons could apply that money
and hand it over to the Crown. But the
reason why a _bill went up to the House of
Lords was this, that we required what was
called statutory machinery to establish a
mode by which the sums granted by
the Commons could be raised from the people.
The soul of the matter was in the grant
of the Commons. (Hear, hear.) No other
power could grant than the Commons; no other
power could accept or apply than the Crown ; and
the Lords, being one of three estates of the realm,
gave their assent to the machinery which was
enacted in the various clauses of the acts which
passed to regulate the raising of the money. (Hear,
hear.) But in the present case the whole of this
principle was entirely overturned. It was not
merely that the House of Lords disapproved some
mode of raising, or approved some other, but they
acknowledged an entire condemnation of the whole
budget. Lord Derby, as he understood him, would
have opposed all those changes, or mainly those,
which had been rendered necessary by the Fiend)
treaty. Therefore it was not a mere question of
conjunction
hereafter
machinery, but it was the greatest of all questions,
whether the Chancellor a the Exchequer, acting on
behalf of his colleagues and in the name of the
House ums
matter
t ot
efr Lords,whie
Crown,shall n 0 iwn
actiodn j
ththe
determine h
bad been thus determined
always for 200 year past.
He attributed mainly to the abstention of the House
of Lords from interference
with questions of finance
that harmonious co-ope
ration which had so long
existed between our representative body and our pri-
vileged legislator
e. Such a step as that now taken by
the House of Lords was hardly on record, and if the
people now did their duty he ventured to say such a
step would never be heard of again fora very long
period ; but if the people failed now to resist it was
extremely likely we should witness a similar interfer-
ence almost every session. A privileged order of
rulers was only to be restrained from acts of tyranny
by this most effectual check, the consciousness of
danger to its ownexistence. (Cheers.) It was our
duty, therefore, to stand by the Government—as-
suming, as of course he did, that the present
Cabinet had no desire to be known in history as
the feeble Ministry that surrendered without a
struggle those rights -of the Commons which had
been maintained for centuries, and which lay at the
very foundeition of English freedat