trate the heart of a full believer. But the Liberal Catholic in Rome does. It is the Marchese Francesco Nobili Vitelleschi, who reminds us of them. And, on the other hand, Professor Massi, in his Life of Pius IX., takes care not to pass them by : Know that thou art the father of princes and of kings, and art the governor of the world." The Pope, the Kings, and the People : by the Rev. W. Arthur, vol. i. pp. 32-33.

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SELF.-Do you want to know the man against whom you have most reason to guard yourself? Your looking-glass will give you a fair likeness of his face.- Whately.

ART.-Michael Angelo says, "Art is the imitation of God."-Modern Doubt and Christian Belief, p. 43.

REVELATION A HUMAN NEED.Fichte, the German sceptic, after having combated revelation, confessed, later on, that reason stood in need of its assistance: "A Higher Being undertook the charge of the first members of our race, just as an old and venerable document containing the deepest and sublimest truths, represents Him to have done and to this testimony all philosophy must revert in the end." Philosophy has arrived at no definite results in theology properly so called, and never laid down any principle as to the nature of God, which has not in its turn been assailed and upset.-Ibid., p. 79.

MISCHIEVOUS RESULTS OF MATERIALISM.-Minute observations of natural phenomena have been brought to an unprecedented degree of perfection, and thereby unveiled more than ever the depths of divine wisdom to the believers in revelation. But he who rejects the light of revelation, and stops short at mere material results, fails thereby to recognise the connection of the whole, and through the material, loses the sense of the immaterial, the spiritual, and the divine. -Ibid., p. 82.

Phenomena of the Months.

TO JANUARY, 1879.

WELCOME, thou first-born of another year; First seen by us beneath the starry sky, When, past the noon of night, all loud and clear,

The bells ring out from every steeple nigh:

All hail, young month, bedeck'd with ice and snow;

Like youthful giant marching boldly by; Not caring much for friend, and less for foe;

We see the glance of thine heroic eye, At which the feeble quail, and to their firesides fly.

The pious meet thee in the house of prayer, When watch-night service ends in cheer

"We have lost during the year by death two members, and one, through peculiar circumstances, has withdrawn from the Association. We now have fifteen benefit members, and twelve honorary members, being, we venture to think, a proportion of honorary to benefit members very creditable to the Nottingham Branch."

The Chairman said he would have been glad to see the room full; but he supposed that what was lacking in quantity was supplied by quality. He would not occupy the time, as there were others to speak who must soon leave the meeting for other duties.

The Rev. Robert Amys, adverting to the small attendance, said many could not leave their business so early in an evening. The first meeting of this description which he had attended was in Hinde-street Chapel, London; and what he saw and heard on that occasion gave him a high opinion of local preachers as a class, and a deep interest in them. He prayed that the blessing of God might rest upon them and their Association.

The Rev. J. Cuthbertson said it gave him very much pleasure to be at the tea on that occasion; and proceeded to speak of local preachers and their work, though greatly disappointed in not seeing a large number of them present. The following is the pith of his excellent address ;

"I have not any knowledge of the Association, more than looking at it in an outer circle. I must be upon good terms with all; but especially with leaders and local preachers. As I am not familiar with the Association, I will say a little on preaching,

and especially on successful preaching.

"What were the causes of apostolic success? and Can we have similar success in our time? The apostles, as preachers, were very successful. Was it their miraculous gifts that made them so successful? It does not seem to have been so. They had the gift of tongues; but they had no need to preach in many languages. They used the Greek language chiefly, because it was spoken every where. The Roman empire of that day embraced nearly the whole world; and they could be understood in preaching in the Greek language any where. The apostles had advantages that we have not on another point, more vital than that: they were inspired men; and we are not inspired men. Inspiration was given to them to enable them to preach and to organise churches. But inspiration is an intellectual power, more than moral. Inspiration was given to enable them to write the Scriptures for universal use. In our days, though we have not inspiration, we have advantages they had not; because we have schools and colleges, and books in abundance on all subjects at prices that make them within the reach of all. It may be said the apostles had power to work miracles: but their success as preachers was not in that power. Most of those who witnessed the miracles they wrought, remained impenitent and unsaved. One thing that contributed very much to their success was their supreme devotion to the work of preaching. If we would be successful we must be like them in that respect. Not that we are to neglect business and secular duty, when a living is to be obtained by a man for himself and his family by some secular calling. Diligent in business he must be; but above all things he must devote himself to preparation for preaching, in order to preach with success. Another thing that secured success to the apostles was their clear and direct method of presenting truth. And if we would be successful we must do the same. Aim at a style that is clear and forcible. Present the truth in a

simple manner, without high-sounding phrases and the use of words not readily understood by plain people. A man who wants to set off his own learning-if he has any-instead of trying to make things plain, and dealing in a direct manner with the people, will fail. When Paul preached before Felix and his wife Drusilla, he spoke in so plain and direct a manner that Felix trembled; and so must we if we are to succeed in our work. Preach to people instead of talking about people. Be very direct. Bring the work home. It requires a great deal of time, study, culture, to do all that. Another thing that contributed to the success of apostolic preaching, was that they depended for success upon God, and God alone. Neither Paul, nor Apollos, nor Cephas claimed the fruit of preaching, but acknowledged that whoever planted or watered, it was God that gave the increase. Apostolic Succession is much talked about by some as necessary to success; but the apostles did not depend upon that, though they must have been in the right succession, for Christ sent them forth to preach. They depended upon the power of God; the convicting and converting power of the Holy Spirit. Suppose every local preacher present were to put the question to himself, How many souls can I bring to Christ during the next year? Then, preaching directly with that object in view, would not success certainly follow? Let our aim be to save souls, and souls will be saved."

The speaker concluded with a brief recapitulation of the points of his address, forcibly put and earnestly pressed upon the brethren present.

After a suitable solo, delightfully sung by a young lady,

The Rev. Mr. Cornish, of the United Methodist Free Churches, said he was here, as at the meeting of last year, to express his sympathy with the Local Preachers' Aid Association. He was pleased that the friends had gained a few recruits during the year. He had entertained the question, Have local preachers any advantages over a settled or separated ministry? He thought they had. Town congregations are demanding that their

Local

pulpits be occupied almost exclusively by a separated ministry, leaving local preachers the work of ministering simply to village congregations. Town congregations owe a debt of gratitude which they cannot repay to local preachers. Some provision for them in sickness and old age ought to have the fullest support. Local preachers can speak out of the common experiences that come from themselves and the experience of others. If ministers who are given up to the work had to do with the rush and fierce strife of commerce, as many local preachers have, they would be better able than they are to speak to the cases of their hearers. The local preacher talks from the platform of common life; he does not talk from cloud-land. He can speak from the struggles in which he is trying to fashion and develope a religious character, and so help others to maintain the same conflict. preachers should rise to the dignity of their character. They must aim at improvement in their studies in order to effectiveness in their work. There has been an idea that men can gather sermons from the way side, as boys gather blackberries from the bushes; but mental and spiritual culture are necessary to make men able teachers and preachers. Our brethren are doing a work which neither we nor themselves nor the churches can truly measure. A man cannot measure the real results of his work; he cannot estimate the whole effect of his preaching upon those who hear him. The sower in October and gloomy December scattering seed in the furrows finds it but dull work. There is nothing to be seen as the fruit of his labour: but when months have passed away there is something to be seen. In the harvest time, children and men are seen gathering in the sheaves of corn, and load after load is carried off the field, until the last sheaf is gathered, and all the reapers are going home, singing the merry song of "Harvest home!" There would have been no harvest time, and no rejoicing over the ingathering, if it had not been for the lonely man plodding the dreary field and scattering the seed. Let us be

content to do, without anxiety about the result. Let us go forth to our work with high aim, with a noble purpose, with a fixed resolve-not to preach about the truth, but to preach the truth to men. Some men may be heard in the pulpit analysing the truth like a chemist analysing some material substance. Other men we have heard, who went down to the foundation of life, and laid open the whole moral nature of sinners and saints alike. Let us go forth with high aim, noble purpose-with consecrated minds and consecrated hearts -and in the great harvest-time, we who have toiled, and seemingly fruitlessly, shall not be forgotten.

The Rev. Mr. Shepherd said that, until that day he was totally ignorant of the rules of the Association of which his grandfather was a member. He had a pleasant recollection of the genial and happy appearance of one of its former presidents. He was very pleased to be identified with those noble-hearted and sturdy men of Methodism who have made Methodism what it is to-day. Speaking of their characteristics with admiration, he expressed his belief that we are not their equals in zeal and toil and self-denial, and that the Established Church is likely to put us to the blush, by doing work which we are neglecting. Among them are now some of the intelligent, the refined, those in good circumstances, who will take a chair, and go into the streets, and preach the Gospel to the masses. This ought to stir us up. Let the local preachers have the baptism of fire and an ardent love for souls, and they will dare to go any where to preach the Gospel of Christ. The speaker proceeded to advocate the Association, expressing his regret that it had so few members and so little support comparatively in Nottingham, and wishing it greater prosperity in the coming year.

Dr. Lyth expressed regret that he had to leave the meeting, especially as it would prevent his hearing the address of Mr. Aldern an Dowsing, whose name stood with his own, forty years ago, at the bottom of the same plan. The Doctor asked the senior local preacher present to take his

place, whilst he went to meet classes.

We have not space for even an outline of the excellent address given by our President, nor for the speeches of Brothers Hopewell and Thornleythe secretary and treasurer of the branch; nor for Dr. Lyth's remarks after his return. We can only add that the select choir sang hymns fitly chosen, at intervals, and that a most interesting meeting was closed with a hymn, prayer, and the benediction, at about twenty minutes after nine o'clock.

AYLESBURY.

DEAR BRO. SIMS,-We have again given the object of our Mutual-Aid Association an airing in this sylvan vale. On Nov. 21st, our dear brother, W. E. Vernon, Esq., of Towcester, one of the earliest and most eloquent advocates of the Association, preached an impressive and powerful sermon. After tea, a public meeting was held, at which our esteemed superintendent minister, Rev. J. Nicholson, presided, and presented his guinea as an honorary member. The meeting was ably sustained by Messrs. E. Benson, (expresident), R. Durley, C. S. Madder, J. Rose, and W. E. Vernon; the audience was so pleased as to depart quite edified, gratified, and satisfied. It must be added that Bro. Madder, and the Secretary (Bro. Rose), exerted themselves in obtaining subscriptions from the friends, so as to make the effort a greater fiscal success. See financial report.

Yours heartily and truly, in the best of bonds,