The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-06-01 00:00:00

THE FIRST SOUL IN HEAVEN.

" By faith Abel obtained witness that he was righteous,
God testifying of his gifts; he being, dead, yet speaketh."
—ll6. xi. 4. "No man could learn that song but
the redeemed."—Rev. xiv. 3.

bush'd eternity alone
Before all creatures were,
Jehovah held His awful throne
tinworshipp'd by a prayer.
There was no space, nor scene, nor thne,
Nor aught by names we call;
But, center'd in Himself sublime
Was God, the All in All !
But through eternity there ran
A thrill of coming change,
And lustrous shapes of life began
Around His Throne to range.
Radiant with rapture, pure as bright,
Angelic myriads rise,
And glow and glisten in the light
Of God's approving eyes.
In volumed wares of golden sound
Roll from celestial lyres
Those swelling chants, that peal around
From new-created choirs.
But, hark ! amid the shining throng
Of Shapes who arch their wings,
A single Voice another song
With mortal cadence sings :
Alone he seems, and chants apart
In unexpected notes
A music, where the grateful heart
In strains of feeling floats :
A beauteous Soot ! whose seraph brow
Is bright with glory's hue,—
Lo, angels pause to hear hint now
Their harping praise outdo.
Their choral rapture sweli'd as deep
As purity could pour •
But they, who have not learn'd to weep,
May never God adore
With such a burst of whelming love
As earth's first martyr sang,
When, glory to the Lord above!
The voice of Abel rang.
Angelic harps their key-note found
In God, as great and good ;
But Abel's heart did beat and bound
As only sinner's could.
" Worthy the Lamb! who shall be slain;
Redemption crowns my song :
re seraphim ! your notes retain,
But these to me belong."
Thus might the prim:,) soul who came
Forth from its bleeding clav,
Kindle the heavens with His bright name,
Who is our Truth, and Way.
And with that blissful song he blent
A humbling depth of tone,
Which to the ransom'd harper lent
A music all its own.
Angels for bliss and being sang
Their ecstasies on high;
But how the heavens with wonder rang
When MAN awoke the sky
With that new song, Redemption gave
To Abel's pardon'd soul !
Till angels ceased their wings to wave,
Nor let their chorus roll,
But listen'd with entranced ears
To that bright martyr's strain,
Whose notes were born of banisled fears
And breathed of ended pain.
But from the hour when rescued man
Enter'd within the veil,
And heaven's delighted host began
To list redemption's tale,
Myriads of blood-wash'd souls have flown
Where the first spirit went,
Till he, who once hNnin'd Christ alone,
Is now with numbers blent.
Each nation, kindred, Lorne, and clime,
Helps to increase the throng,
Making the heavens grow more sublime
With Earth's redemption-song.
Each minute, guardian angels mount
With some new soul on high,
And hear it, close to Glory's fount,
Deepen that endless cry,—
" Salvation ! through the bleeding grace
Of God's incarnate Son,
Whose merit for a banded race
A more than Eden won."
And louder, louder yet will grow
That song before the Throne,
.As added saints set free from woe
Shall make the strain their own,
Lord I grant that we on earth begin
To tune the heart's deep lyre,
And by prophetic notes within
'Anticipate the choir,
Who ever round Thee chant, and sing
The song no angels can,—
" Hail I Prophet, Priest, and destin'd King
Before the world began,
rr,strate beneath Thy face to fall
And cast our crowns before Thee,
Oh Thou, The Everlasting All,
Be this our brightest glory !"
—Rev. R. Montgomery's " Christian Life."

LITERATURE.

1300 KS FOR REVIEW, &c.—Books, New Prints, Music, &c.,
intended for review, may be left at Mr. C. Mitchell's, Red-
lion-court, Fleet-street, London, addressed " to the Editor
cf the LIVERPOOL STANDARD," when they will be forwarded,
and receive attention.

The Future ; or, the Science of Politics. By
A. Alison, Esq. London, J. Rowsell.
The writer of this work is not the historian
whom the present Chancellor of the Exchequer
nicknamed " Mr. Wordy," but another of similar
name, and no small ability. The short title com-
prehends a vast deal ; but the book is, in a great
degree, true to its title, for the writer speaks in
aphorisms, and thus, by treating of general princi-
ples, gives more matter in a page than others in a
thick pamphlet or a thin Bvo. One of the evils of
the present day is dilution ; the present writer's
feature is condensation. We do not agree with his
views in all cases, but his reasoning is correct in
many; and no one can leave off the perusal of this
little volume without being impressed with the
conviction that its author is an extraordinary man.
The following remarks in reference to the continent
are a specimen of the author's style and sentiments :

" Our friends on the continent are aware that the
whole policy of the Roman hierarchy has ever been
opposed to liberty, and that it is mainly to that power
that the despotic powers have been enabled to keep the
people down. Civil slavery is hard to bear, but the
slavery of the conscience is worse. Because moral slavery
is less felt, it is not on that account less destructive of
peace and prosperity.
" In these circumstances, we call on the friends of
liberty not to confine their efforts to the destruction of
civil despotism, but at the same time to destroy spiritual
despotism. The one cannot be removed, without at the
same time conquering the other. We are too apt to think
that public opinion is nothing, and that bayonets are
everything. Public opinion influencrs and ultimately
rules the exercise of the civil power. Knowledge leads to
the union of the people in behalf of their natural rights.
The advocates of despotism know this, nor are they slow
to suppress the liberty of the press, and load the churches
with images that superstition may maintain its hold over
the conscience.

" Superstition and oppression must stand or fall
together.
" Our [Roman] Catholic brethren must demand an im-
mediate reformation of their church, if they will be freemen.
The clergy must demand the abolition of the unnatural,
immoral, and unscriptural law of celibacy. Let obedience
to truth be preferred to mere worship and devotion,
which are not Christianity. Evil and sin come from
ignorance, and preferring the religion of the feelings to
the religion of the understanding. The religion of mere
feeling debases the intellect; it fosters ignorance, and
retards the progress of civilisation and liberty. The
system in which men are educated often holds them in
bondage against their will, and the influence of habit and
feeling often triumphs over their better reason ; but if the
[Roman] Catholics will be guided by the truth as it is in
Jesus, it shall make them free.

" The [Roman] Catholic Church has gone through
many changes. At times she has reformed herself, and
risen from the lowest depths of degradation ; at other
times the tendency has been downwards. At present
a favourable opportunity occurs for a great reformation
in the [Roman] Catholic Church, which shall astound
the world. Let the clergy and laity vie with each other
in the holy work of reformation, and the result will be
universal good and harmony. Why should there be
Protestants and Catholics ? Do not both serve the same
Master? Let both be reformed. Let Protestants and
[Roman] Catholics forget the errors of the past, and
in meeting on the neutral ground of truth, both will make
concessions, not to man, but to God.
" The images which disfigure the churches and roadsides
must be torn down. If the Bible, which denounces image
worship, be freely circulated among the people, the
worship of the host, or of any other than God, will cease.
Carry back the thoughts to ancient Greece and Rome.
See the altars raised to gods represented by images of wood
and stone; and you, like St. Paul, will be moved to see
the ignorance of that superstitious age. Then look at the
ignorance of the nineteenth century, manifested in dumb
idols everywhere meeting the eye. These images you are
told to adore, as representations of gods and saints. This
was precisely the doctrine of paganism ; and while a people
is devoted to idols there can be no freedom.
" In nothing does England show her superiority over
the continent more than in the absence of images; from
Penzance to John O'Groat's no image offends the piety of
the traveller. Even in Mahometan countries, no such
ignorance disgraces their religion. It is painful to dwell
on the weak points of humanity ; and we hope we have
said enough to call the attention of [Roman] Catholics
to the great subject of church reform.
" To the Protestants we say, re-echo the call of England
for a reformation of religion. Know
that your disunion
is the strength of Rome ; adopt then a test of truth, and
he united. Remove from your several creeds obsolete
doctrines, which have no other effect than to keep Pro-
testants apart from each other, while they strengthen the
reign of superstition and scepticism. England calls upon
you to join her in a united effort to reform all churches,
and put an end to the reign of ignorance, error, and

suffering.
"To the friends of liberty at home and abroad we say,
no longer confine your attention to civil revolutions, but
go to the root of the evil, and while you do not neglect
the physical defences of society, remember that, unless
public opinion is improved and maintained in a healthy
state, it Will defeat the best plans of reform that can be
formed."

The Revolt of Tartarus. A Poem. By Charles
Heavysege. London: Simpkin,
Marshall, and Co.
This is a little Wino. book of about 150 pages,
in blank verse, by a local writer. His subject bears
so close a resemblance to that of Milton, as to
make it difficult to dismiss the conviction that the
whole was suggested by reading " Paradise Lost."
This is truly a noble exemplar ; but there are mo-
derns who exemplify the fable of the ancients---by

flying too near the sun, the was of their wings is
melted, and down they fall. There is evidently
good material in the writer ; but he should be fami-
liar with poetic composition before attempting the
grand epic.

Ancient Halls of Lancashire, from original draw,
ings. By Alfred Rhymer, Architect. Liverpool
Deighton and Laughton.

A thin 4to, consisting of twenty lithographs
of local antiquities, by a young- architect of this
town. He has travelled over some of the most
rustic spots of the county, for the joint purpose of
pleasure and instruction ; and he has given us here
some of the fruits of his skilful pencil. We are not
sufficiently acquainted with the localities to be able
to speak as to the correctness of the drawings, but
there is a vraise;nblance about them which gives us
that impression. The letterpress is small in quan-
tity, amounting only to five pages.

Pr otestaat Ballads. By the Rev. Jas. A. Page,
8.A., Incumbent of Tintwistle, Cheshire. Lon-

don Whittaker and Co.

Mr. Page's Protestant Ballads have been expected
for nearly twelve months, and, now that the book is
before us, we can pronounce it a valuable addi-
tion to the literature of Protestantism. It is dedi-
cated to the Rev. Dr. M`Neile, and contains fifty-
three chaunts, identified with almost every fact in
the history of Protestantism. The author says in
the preface, that "be is more ambitious of being
considered a good Protestant than a good poet ; "
but we think most of his readers will agree that
few will question his excellence in either respect.
His little poem entitled " My Church of England,"
printed as a tail-piece to the book of a brother
clergyman, would of itself secure him immortality.

Guide to the 7'l_l;f. Spring Edition for 1852. By

W. Ruff. London : R. Ackerman.

This little book contains a large amount of infor-
mation respecting horses, races, riders, prizes, suc-
cessful horses and owners, the rules of the turf,
&c. It is exceedingly well got up, and very care-
fully arranged. It is said that the interest taken
in horse-racing is greatly on the increase, since
railways have become so numerous ; and those who
wish to go beneath the surface of things must take
advantage of a book of reference like this.