, 1866-11-18
EEW PUBLICATIONS

MOUNT CALTARY. With MED1TAT1oNs IN
Sailed fl!ACES. By MATHEW Haze
sx4Tu. Few YORK: Carleton. Chicago: " B,
Keen / Co. 1s5s, pp. set
The peculiar force Of Matthew Hale
Smith as u writer, and the prominent purity
Of bis character as man and minister Of the
Gospel, are too widely known to need any
concentrations at this late day. His some
what erFatic course in search for truth In the
doctrinal dogma Of different church organt.
xations, can In 10 wise detract ffum bis de-
sire TO convey in bis writings au honest en-
couragem ent to motsl ycArniugs, and 1t must
hare been the means Of enlaEgtuE his COM
prehenslon Of those Bible truths, which fur
nlsh the babts OF every durable code Of ethics.
It is only necessary to draw attention to this
volume ar contradIsttnsulshable from alnost
number1esa books Of sermons mud moral
essays, which arc conceived In the best Of
motives, bu. developed with q sameuess that
renders their purpose unatta1Rablc. Tbs
c'ass Of religious books, 10 which we refer
and TO which the title OF 'sMount Calvary"
would naturally commit the present vol
urnes, ares Of that stercotyped character,
which assumes In the premises that the
tac1cancss Of duty must be presented in a
serious. sombrc suit of black, with long
bright colors, sprightlincss Of conversation
ard agreeable mauness are Inconsistent with
tho object tn view. The rr=ult Is that such
IN humanity, merely because they ought not
always to be avoided. But they arc
ncvtr welcomed cordially. There is
lack Of coogeniaity. There Is no feel
ing Of friendship or love In their
acquaintance, Elegantly bound, they re-
main unopened upon the parlor table along
with the Bible and the ianily prayerbook !:
or they are merely read for so
many hours by the clock, IN lieu
Of going to church On rainy Sum
day; OF they serve to snperlnduce sensa-
ton of drowsfnees Immediately before retir-
ing. But where IL the Imagination? Where
the flight Of the souls Where the longing to
know more! Where the Irresistible prompt
Ing to do good for goods sakes Where the
Interest, consonant with our poetic idea Of
truthf All these nre wanting. and in their
absence, the books fall as short OF their par
| pose as their readers are few and uninter~
ested.
In the force Of bis moral thought and novel
style of communicating It,. Matthew ualc
Smith Is, after Henry Ward Bcecher, the
! most successful Of his class Of writer's At the
present day. In Mount Calvary" the
iable interest Of the New Testament is bor'
roWed, in order to give life and reality te
. Meditntions In Sacred Placea.'' These
"Sac.ed Placesr are described with the mi
nuteucss Of the eeogzaphcr and historian
their surroundings arc painted in the cclor
'ngs of the novelist; moral probabilities and
probable morAlitics are deducted from posi-
tive existenccs; the titles Of th'
Biblical novelettes sayor of origin
ality and catch the eye :; once begun
they talk 10 the soul through the ear Of i'm
agtnation, and their intcscs: imprcsses tn
stamp Of worth upon the memory. He dedi
catcs his book to ''Zion's Friends and Mine,
and ends It with the *tPeeulIarities Of th
Last Supper" The book is one that will d
at least the samc amount Of good to thos
who read II, and through It's compa1ativ
visaei,e I'll secure greater number of read
ers than tho majority Of tedious, thoug
n,ornl, tsnvytsx though good books, Issue
:. with the same specific purpose.