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of his character were continually developing themselves. We cannot, therefore, do better than to extract from the volume before us a few paragraphs in which the author himself sums up what he has so well exhibited. Our readers will thus learn most satisfactorily what they may expect to gain by a perusal of the memoir.

"Of the character of Dr. Lobdell, it is hoped, little need be said at the close of this extended memoir. He has spoken it out and acted it out on every page, till it is as perspicuous to the reader as it was transparent in itself. Unless we are quite mistaken, the readers of these pages have been, all the while, not only observing the conduct, but looking into the heart, of a man, a scholar, and a Christian:-a real and true man without any sham, or show, or cant, or false pretence whatsoever-a whole and (to use a favorite word of the Doctor himself) live man, many-sided, and alive on all sides to everything above, beneath, and around him-a self-made and self-controlled man, (so far as one can be in human society and under the divine government,) content, nay, resolved, to be himself, and not a mere duplicate of somebody else, conscientiously determined to be what God intended him to be, ambitiously aspiring to become all that God made him capable of becoming, governed by his own reason, and conscience, and will, with a sovereignty as absolute in himself as it was exclusive of the dictation of others; a scholar, enthusiastic and comprehensive rather than accurate or profound, loving knowledge for its own sake, and at the same time seeking it in the full persuasion that all knowledge is useful; fond of philological and antiquarian researches, but exploring the dusty past chiefly in search of wisdom for the living present, and rejoicing in all the discoveries of science, as not only consistent with, but parts of, the science of God;—a Christian, not by creed and profession only, but in the deepest convictions of his heart, and in the whole spirit and tenor of his life, taught not by the schools, or even by the church, but by the Word and Spirit of God, and making it his daily business to do the will of Christ; a Christian physician, liking his profession well enough in itself, and laboring in it with much success, but valuing it chiefly as a means of alleviating the distresses and saving the souls of men; a Christian minister of the Pauline stamp, reasoning with Jews and Gentiles, in the synagogues and in the marketplaces, week-days as well as Sundays, out of the Scriptures and from the light of nature; becoming all things to all men, passionately desirous to know everything, yet in everything knowing nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified; a Christian missionary, who really believed and acted as if he believed that Pagans and Mohammedans, and mere nominal Christians, were traveling the broad road to destruction, and that nothing could save them but a living faith in Christ;-a Christian patriot, glorying in his birthright as an American, and looking to his country as, under God, the hope of the world, and, for that very reason, longing to see his country's sin and shame wiped away;—a young American, with all the virtues, and not altogether free from the faults, which pertain to that fast age and race;―a Christian philanthropist, fully convinced that the Gospel of Christ is the remedy, and the only remedy, for all the ills that flesh is heir to, and therefore rallying all his own powers, and summoning the best energies of the best minds in Christendom, to determined, unwearied, and self-sacrificing efforts for its universal application." pp. 401-402.

But our notice of this work would be very incomplete, were we to regard it simply as a memorial of individual traits of character, molded and inspired by the inner life of a Christian. Besides being that, it is a valuable and highly interesting chapter in the history of the diffusion of true Christianity, showing how the foundations have been laid for the establishment of the reign of the Redeemer, destined one day to be universal and absolute, at the same time that it involves the truest freedom, and the greatest diversity of manifestation of the "one spirit," in that seat of ancient despotism, that center of primeval civilization, brought into so strangely new associations by the name of the 'Assyrian Mission." It will be found, also, that Dr. Lobdell was fully alive to the historical interest of the late researches of Layard, Rawlinson, and others, on the sites of Assyrian and Babylonian empire, as, indeed, he proved by interesting communications to the Oriental Society, some of which have been published in its Journal. With his ardent zeal for knowledge, his inquisitiveness, his quickness of eye and mind, and his courage and buoyancy of spirit, added to ripening scholarship, could he have reconciled the indulgence of his inclinations in this direction with fidelity to his peculiar work as a missionary of the Cross, he might have become, himself, a distinguished explorer.

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Life of Knill.*-This memoir introduces us to a field of missionary labor which is undoubtedly new to most of our readers. Mr. Knill, for thirteen years, (from 1820 to 1833,) acted as chaplain for the English residents at St. Petersburg. He was there, of course, at a time which will be remembered by Christians in this country, with special interest. Prince Galitzin was President of the Bible Society, and the Emperor Alexander was encouraging the circulation of the Scriptures throughout the empire. The prospect of some great religious movement in Russia were very encouraging. But in 1826, all this was changed. Nicholas, on coming to the throne, placed the Bible Society under the control of the "Holy Synod," and an effectual stop was soon put to its operations. The memoir gives us many glimpses of the state of things in Russia during the residence of Mr. Knill in St. Petersburg, which are very instructive and interesting. An estimate of his character, with a noble tribute to his worth as a Christian and as a preacher,

* The Life of the Rev. Richard Knill. By CHARLES M. BIRrell. review of his character by the late Rev. JOHN ANGELL JAMES. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. 1860. 12mo. pp. 358.

With a

is appended to the book, written by his personal friend, the lamented John Angell James, which proved to be the last literary work that he ever attempted.

LIFE OF VITTORIA COLONNA.*-This is a new volume, the seventeenth, of the very valuable series of biographies which Mr. O. W. Wight is now editing. Vittoria Colonna, one of the most beautiful and gifted women of Italy, the daughter of one of the most celebrated of its great feudal families, the wife of one of the greatest captains of the age, the companion of popes and princes, the friend of Michael Angelo, herself a poetess of no inconsiderable fame, furnishes a theme for the biographer of no ordinary interest. But it is her religious character, and her intimacy and sympathy with those eminent men of her country, who in the sixteenth century strove to bring about a reformation in the Roman Catholic Church in Italy, which will ever make the history of her life peculiarly attractive to all Protestants.

The author of this "Life" is Mr. T. Adolphus Trollope, son of the Mrs. Trollope who, years ago, made herself so famous by her abuse of this country. His style is remarkably clear, and one that cannot fail to keep up the interest of his readers throughout, even when he is unraveling the intricacies of Italian politics. Almost every page has a dash of quiet humor, and occasionally, when least expected, there is a bit of sarcasm thrown in, that is all the more biting from its being half concealed by an air of the most engaging candor. As an instance of what we mean, we quote a single sentence in which the author explains most satisfactorily how it was that Ferdinand of Spain was induced by Louis XII of France to allow him to possess himself of the crown of Naples, when he had acknowledged that he was bound by every tie of honor as a kinsman and as an ally, to protect the rights of Frederick, the reigning king at Naples.

"The Most Christian King thought that the Most Catholic King might very probably find it consistent with kingly honor to take a different view of the case, if it were proposed to him to go shares in the plunder. And the Most Christian King's estimate of royal nature was so just, that the Most Catholic King acceded in the frankest manner to his royal brother's proposal."

*Life of Vittoria Colonna; by T. ADOLPHUS TROLLOPE. New York: Sheldon & Co. 1859. 24mo. pp. 247.

LIFE OF JULIUS CESAR.*-We are glad to find in the eighteenth volume of Mr. Wight's "Household Library," the sketch of the life of Julius Caesar, by Dean Liddell, taken from his large Roman History. It will bring within the reach of multitudes, to whom it would not otherwise be easily accessible, this admirable biography of one of the greatest generals, orators, and writers of antiquity.

WOMEN ARTISTS IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES.t-This book furnishes a mass of information which it is not easy to procure elsewhere, and which will be deemed very valuable by all who are interested in the history of art. There is no work in any language which covers precisely the same ground. The first chapter is devoted to an account of what is known of the practice of the arts by women in ancient times. Then follow several chapters which are taken up with short sketches of the lives of the female artists who lived during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. These are succeeded by more full and elaborate biographies of those who are best known in more modern times. Among the sketches of living artists, those of Mdlle. Rosa Bonheur, and of our country woman, Miss Hosmer, are particularly full and interesting.

BIOGRAPHY OF SELF-TAUGHT MEN.-There are here between forty and fifty short biographical sketches of men who have made themselves useful, and gained distinction and a high position in the world's history, by their own exertions. The book is an admirable one for boys who are beginning to think. Parents who are able to give their children the advantages of the best education, cannot teach them too early that there is one thing which is absolutely essential to success in life that they cannot give to them, and which each person must acquire for himself. The education of the common school, and even that of the college and the professional school is not enough. Besides all these, and equally important-perhaps more important than any of them-is the education which each man must give himself. Parents who wish their children to learn this lesson, will do well to make them familiar with such biographies of "self-taught" men as this book contains.

* Life of Julius Cæsar. By HENRY G. LIDDELL, D. D., Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. New York: Sheldon & Co. 18mo. 1860. pp. 247.

↑ Women Artists in all Ages and Countries. By Mrs. ELLETT. Harper & Brothers. New York: 1859. pp. 377. 12mo.

WARDS.

‡ Biography of Self-taught Men; with an Introductory Essay, by B. B. ED1859. Boston: J. E. Tilton & Co. 18mo. pp. 642. 16

VOL. XVIII.

THE DIARY OF A SAMARITAN.*-This is a singular book, and we hardly know what to make of much of its contents. The Howard Association, of which the author represents himself to be a member, has done a noble work in the care of the sick, and a reliable narration of the experience of any of its members would of course be very interesting and valuable. But the book does not seem to us to be reliable. The author speaks of himself as a sinner after the flippant manner of one who does not think such an acknowledgment amounts to much. He says he writes currente calamo, and his pen is evidently not merely a running, but an erratic one, narrating some things which never could have occurred, and making his patients die in modes which are never seen except in those who die in novels with yellow covers Undoubtedly much of this book is true, but how much we know not. We hardly think that it will accomplish much for the object for which the author says he wrote it, namely, "to uphold the virtue of charity in its fullest sense." Those who will be thrilled or amused by its details, will not be apt to be incited by the perusal to any deeds of charity. Neither the virtue nor the taste of the author is of the refined sort, for he speaks of drinking wine with the inmates of a house of prostitution, as if it were a matter of course, on coming down from a chamber of sickness into the common parlor of the establishment; and many other things might be mentioned of a similar character. True virtuous charity enters, indeed, the abodes of vice, and faithfully performs its kind services to sinning humanity; but it comes out uncontaminated, which can hardly be said of the Samaritan that here gives us his diary. Such familiarity with vice as he indulges in, certainly indicates no just appreciation of either the preciousness or the majesty of virtue.

THREE SISTERS.†-Our readers are aware that the American Tract Society of Boston have commenced their "volume" publications. We have noticed, above, Prof. Tyler's memoir of the lamented Lobdell, who yielded up his life among the Nestorians. The book before us, another volume published by the Society, carries us into one of our smaller inland Connecticut villages, and shows us the development of Christian character in the more ordinary walks of life. The biography of three young sisters

The Diary of a Samaritan. By a Member of the Howard Association, of New Orleans. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1859.

The Sisters: A Memoir of Elizabeth H., Abbie A., and Sarah F. Dickerman. By Rev. ISRAEL P. WARREN. American Tract Society, Boston. 18mo. pp. 283.

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