The reader who may happen not to be a zealous Calvinist, will deal with it as the work of a partisan. From first to last there is no mistaking it for anything else. It is throughout the living spirit of partisanship, strong, resolute, and intolerant.

"But for all that it is truth. In fact, the author had achieved a perfection of positivism which is incompatible with dissimulation and concealment. Whatever is done by him and his is so absolutely right, and so valuable as an example and encouragement to others, that the more loudly and fully it is proclaimed to the world the better.

"Of all the revelations in this book, none is more remarkable than its writer's own character. His arrival in Scotland is an important event; all his doings are important in his own eyes as well as in those of others. Whether it be for the adoration of the just, or the malignity of the wicked, John Knox' is ever the conspicuous figure in John Knox's book. When the Regent, Mary of Lorraine, is seized with a fit of untimely exultation, it is against him that she flings. She burst forth in her blasphemous railing, and said, "Where is now John Knox's God? My God is now stronger than his, yea, even in Fife."' Speaking of the last ecclesiastical Council, which attempted the internal reform of the Church, he says: The bishops continued in their Provincial Council until that day that John Knox arrived in Scotland;' as if this conjunction aggravated the audacity of their doings.

"The way in which he thus sets forth his notions, as if he were writing the biography of some great man whose deeds he had the good fortune to witness, might be called egotism or vanity in one less in earnest. But it all comes

of natural impulse, and reads naturally. All the world is astir, and he, John Knox, is the centre of its motion. ile was a man of thorough practical experience, who had seen life in all its grades, from the court to the galley-slave's bench. He was signally acute in penetrating political mysteries, and unfolding the designs of men when these were hostile; but he was as signally blind to the true character of compliant or perfidious partisans. Working with greedy, selfish men, intent on their own aggrandisement, he deemed them to be as completely as himself under the influence of an unselfish religious spirit; and when the evidence of sordidness was all too flagrant, he turned his honest eyes on it with surprise, like one who beholds his sober,

sedate friend take suddenly to drinking, or go ni in a fit of acute madness."

It may be mentioned that in more than one quarter Knox was charged with innovation on the old language of the country, which be ecr rupted by modern additions. When put in a friendly shape. the import of this charge is that he improved the language of his country as he reformed its religion; and it has been pointed out as a singular coincidence that Luther has the fame of reforming the language of Germany, and Calvin of reforming the language of France.

THE TEST OF A GREAT MAN,

There is, perhaps, no juster test of a great min than the impression which he has left, or the changes he has wrought upon his age; and under this view, none is more entitled to this appellation than Knox, who has been deservedly regarded as the father of the Reformation in Scotland. The history of his life is, indeed, little else than the history of this great religious rev lution; and none can deny him the praise of courage, integrity, and indefatigable exertion in proclaiming that system of truth which he believed to be founded upon the Word of God. To this he was faithful to the last; and whatever faults he may at times have committed in the prosecution of his designs, on no occasion do we find him influenced by selfish or venal motives. In this respect he stands alone and pre-eminent over all men with whom he laboured. To extirpate a system which in its every part he believed to be false and idolatrous, and to replace it br another of which he was as firmly persuaded that it was the work of God, seems to have been the master passion of his mind. In the accom plishment of this none who have studied the history of the times or his own writings w deny that he was often fierce, unrelenting, and unscrupulous; but he was also sincere, upriz and disinterested. He neither feared nor flattered the great; the pomp of the mitre or the revenues of the wealthiest diocese had no attrac tion in his eyes; and there cannot be a doubt of his sincerity, when, in a last message to his old and long-tried friend Lord Burghley, he assured him that he counted it higher honour to have beca made the instrument that the Gospel was simply and truly preached in his native country, than to have been the highest prelate in England.

S.L.A.

ENIENT DENOMINATIONAL PREDECESSORS.

THE

HE history of the denomination to which the distinguished pastor of the Metropolitan nacle belongs is in some respects a singury chequered narrative; but at the same time story is closely associated with the names of who were eminent for piety, for genius, and the philanthropy which leaves its mark upon level The Baptists and the Quakers have iways been considered the farthest removed

from the Papacy of all Protestant sects; and hence, in the Reformation era, they naturally attracted the bitterest hatred of all who showed a disposition to retain old abuses, and stand by the old order of things. The records of three, centuries and a half ago are not only very obscure, but what they contain at all is, for the most part, supplied by enemies, who, in those exciting times of fierce controversy and no quarter, were not likely to tell an impartial or

unvarnished tale. There were doubtless indiscretions committed by zealots who chose to attach to themselves a particular name; but these were not committed by one side alone; and in any case the acts of individuals are not sufficient warrant for misrepresenting a whole class. Whatever may have been their general failings, the members of the body in question have been stout-hearted enough to face the gaol, the gallows, or the stake, rather than surrender their belief; and for this reason the roll of their martyrology is somewhat extended, whether reckoned in connection with this country alone, or whether including the wider area of Europe. That roll commences with the sufferings of some of the earliest victims of intolerance, while it includes Edward Wightman, who was burned at Lichfield in 1612, and was the last person executed in England for the crime of "heresy."

Coming to later times, we find that the first pastor of Devonshire-square Chapel, William Kiffen, was important enough to advance Charles II. £30,000; and while in the same century John Bunyan was the most clear-shining star among the preachers, there is presumptive evidence that the author of Paradise Lost belonged to the same sect as the author of The Pilgrim's Progress. In the next century, William Carey rose from the position of a common shoemaker to become one of the most distinguished linguists of his time, and one who devoted energy and talent to the task of translating the Bible into many of the languages of India. Contemporary with Carey was William Knibb, who did more than anyone else to abolish slavery in Jamaica. Belonging to the same age were Robert Hall, a man whom the late Dean Stanley judged to be the greatest preacher England has ever produced; John Foster, who on account of the additions he made to standard literature, is still recognised as the Essayist; and John Howard Hinton, one of the most vigorous theological thinkers of his time, whose son James won equal distinction in the walks of science. These are representatives selected from a large number of others. Mr. Spurgeon himself has frequently referred to his once eminent predecessor, Dr. Gill, the commentator and Hebrew scholar, whose published works fill some ten thousand folio pages.

ANCESTRY AND PARENTAGE.

The family of Spurgeon originally belonged to the Netherlands; but not content to live under the cruel rule of a proud tyrant like the Duke of Alva, they emigrated to the Eastern counties of England during the reign of Elizabeth.

The emigrants who thus found a congenial home in this favoured isle, where the Reformation had permanently struck its roots, did n keep together, however; for while one sectan remained in Norfolk, others went further afie`i to settle in Essex; and from this latter stock the present world-renowned preacher is descended. For generation after generation did these two branches of the family cling with undiagn tenacity to the faith of their ancestors-a faith they have retained in its purity down to our own times. Early in his ministry in London," say Mr. Stevenson, speaking of our immedate subject, he was introduced at a book-store in Paternoster-row to Mr. John Spurgeon, a de scendant of the Norwich branch of the family; and on comparing notes of their respective ancestors, piety, uprightness, and loyalty were found alike in both." About a century after their settlement in England the family had a further taste of persecution; for when the rigorous laws against Nonconformists were in force under Charles II., we find a member of the family, one Job Spurgeon, suffering a long and painful imprisonment at Chelmsford for oorscience' sake. From the earliest times the famy were evidently ranked among the Puritans; azi when Puritanism broke with the Estalled Church in the secession of 1662, they doubtless became Nonconformists.

The Rev James Spurgeon, the grandfather of the popular preacher, is still well remembered by many persons of our acquaintance as an elderly gentleman who dressed after the manner of the old-fashioned school, and who was of spare ha and rather short in stature. Born in 1776, E was of the Independent denomination, and hal been educated for the ministry at Hexto Academy, once an important college of the Dissenters, and the remains of which may st be seen in the chapel still standing in the in teresting High Street of Hoxton Old Town James Spurgeon followed business pursuits unti he was twenty-six, when he relinquished othe worldly prospects for the sake of the Chris ministry. After going through the usual for years' curriculum, he settled at Clare, in Suffolk in 1806; but in 1810 he removed to Stambourn in Essex, where he remained until the time his death in 1864.

Retaining till the last a predilection for old school of Calvinistic theologians, this veteri also at times could deal in that species of which is supposed to be characteristic of Puritan ancestry. Subject to a berod affliction, we have heard that when advan

nearly to the end of the ninth decade of his life, he would sit by the fire on a winter night, and rabbing both aching knees, declare that there was a probability of his days being, after all, cut art by rheumatism. He showed the strongest posible partiality for his grandson; and perhaps was never happier than when that grandson "said be announced as the centre attraction of sume coming festival-the preacher of an anniversary sermon. On one memorable occasion, through some disarrangement on the railway, the young orator, eagerly expected, was so long delayed, that the old pastor commenced a sermon himself, but on seeing his relative enter the chapel, a immediately stopped and descended from the pit. When the new-comer had finished his re brilliant discourse, the delighted octoge Larian quietly told the people, that although the rrandson could preach better than the grandfather, he could not preach a better Gospel.

A minister with whom we are acquainted me time ago supplied us with an original

niscence of Stambourne, which shows how decidedly old Mr. Spurgeon was prejudiced in favour of one classic hymn-writer above all #hers. Our friend was appointed to preach on a perial occasion for the octogenarian pastor, and

had hardly entered the chapel before a wellher approached, who, in a tone of nervous erness, ventured to express a hope that the trmns selected for singing were all by Dr. Watts. Irluckily this was not the case; but as time was too pressing to make any alteration without invenience, those selected were allowed to

, let the consequences be what they might. When the first hymn was announced, the aged tastar betokened grave disapproval by a signifi.

at shake of the head; when he discovered the arborship of the second, he closed the book, and rised to join in the singing; and on finding Cat the third was no improvement on its pre

sors, he shook his fist as though he knew of avay of teaching preachers better manners, were summary action held in check by reverence $r times and places. When the people had persed, he approached our friend, and, with twinkling with excitement, gave utterance feelings too long pent up in his soul. Young " he cried, as he gave ominous significance his words by raising a stout stick which he ally carried about,-"young man, if you do et want your brains knocked out, you must sing Watts's hymns!" We are able to vouch for fact that the indiscretion of the morning was repeated in the evening. Elated at this rateful change, the venerable man no longer

clenched his fist; nor was the stout stick any longer in requisition; but on the contrary, venting that extreme satisfaction which now filled his soul, he spoke accordingly, "Right, sir, right," he cried, "I am glad to see you can appreciate the best authors so quickly!"

The Spare Half-Hour, by Mr. Spurgeon, opens with "A tale of my Grandfather," which contains one or two very striking passages respecting a place called Honey-wood Park, whither the old man had been wont to resort at stated intervals for private devotion and meditation; the once secluded retreat being the more sacred to him because there, while passing along, his own father had fallen down and died. On one occasion, as the Rev. J. Spurgeon told his grandson at one of the last interviews the two were privileged to enjoy together, he had to go from Coggeshall to Halstead, and the road passed by the spot abovementioned, to which so many hallowed memories were attached. The narrative goes on to say that "on the previous night he dreamed very vividly that the devil appeared to him, and threatened to tear him in pieces if he dared to go along that footpath and pray under the oak as he had been wont to do. The evil one reminded him that there was another way through the farmyard, and that if he took the farmyard path all would go well with him. When my grandfather awoke, the impression on his mind was overpowering, and he reasoned thus with himself: -Whether it be a dream or a temptation from Satan I cannot tell, but anyhow I will not yield to it, but will show the devil that I will not do his bidding in anything, but will defy him to his face. This was the good man all over. Like Luther, he had a vivid impression of the reality and personality of the great enemy, and was accustomed to make short work with his sugges tions..... My grandfather, then a young man, went on cheerily enough till he came to the stile where the two paths diverged; then a. horrible fear came upon him, and he felt his heart beat fast. Suppose he really should meet the arch-fiend, and should find him too strong for him, what then? Better take the farm-yard path. No, that would be yielding to Satan, and he would not do that for ten thousand worlds. He plucked up co irage, and tremblingly pressed on. The stile was leaped, the narrow track through the wood was trodden with resolution mingled with forebodings. The oak was in sight, the sweat was on his face, his pace was quickened, a dash was made, and the tree was grasped, but there was no Satan there. Taking breath a moment, the young man uttered aloud

the exclamation, Ah, cowardly devil, you threatened to tear me in pieces, and now you do not dare show your face!' Then followed a fervent prayer and a song of praise, and the young man was about to go on his way when his eye was caught by something shining on the ground. It was a ring, a very large ring, he told me, nearly as large as a curtain-ring, and it was solid gold; and how it came there it would be hard to guess. Inquiries were made, but no claimant ever appeared, and my grandfather had it made into my grandmother's wedding ring, in memory of the spot so dear to him." The Rev. James Spurgeon celebrated his ministerial jubilee year in 1856; and No. 81 of his grandson's printed sermons is a discourse preached at Stambourne on that occasion. We have dwelt thus long on Stambourne and its associations, because there, in the manse of his grandfather, and under the care of a maiden aunt, the future great preacher spent several of his earliest years.

His own recollections go back to times when, as a child, he used to spend many of his hours in his grandfather's study, sitting on a hassock looking at missionary pictures in The Evangelical Magazine; and when the choicest recreation was to follow horses and dogs on foot, over hedges and ditches, in the hunting field.

John, second son of the above, one of a family of ten children, is the father of the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon. Engaged in business until middle life, he afterwards turned attention to the Christian ministry, and has held pastorates successively at Tollesbury and Cranbrook, at Fetter Lane in London, and at Upper Street, Islington. Though a Pædobaptist, the theology of the Rev. John Spurgeon corresponds with that of his father before him, and also with that of his celebrated son. He married Miss Jarvis of Colchester, who is still living, and who, according to the testimony of all her children, has been one of the best of mothers.

EARLY DAYS AND YOUTHFUL ASSOCIATIONS. Mr. Spurgeon was born at the old-fashioned Essex village called Kelvedon, on the 19th of June, 1834; and with his brother James, who is three years younger, he received his first education at a school in that place. Charles appears thus early to have been celebrated for having a larger head than James, but both were popular with their playmates and schoolfellows. A reminiscence of these earliest days comes from the Rev. John Spurgeon himself. "I had been from home a great deal," he once remarked to an American divine visiting this country,

"trying to build up weak congregations, and felt that I was neglecting the religious training of my own children while I toiled for the good of others. I returned home with these feelings, I opened the door, and was surprised to find none of the children about the hall. Going quietly up the stairs, I heard my wife's voice. She was engaged in prayer with the children. I heard her pray for them one by one by name. She came to Charles, and specially prayed for him, for he was of high spirit and daring temper. I listened until she had ended her prayer, and I felt and said, 'Lord, I will go on with Thy work. The children will be cared for.'" The religious

and moral discipline to which the young people were subject in such a home was, of course, cf unspeakable value; but happily their advantages were not limited to the boundaries of home. The clergyman of the parish, the Rev. Charles Dalton, who held the living for over fifty years, having been a pattern in his profession worthy of ranking with Dr. Primrose in The Vicar of Wakefield. How shall we account for the remarkable manner in which the air of these old Essex manses seems to have promoted longevity. The Rev. James Spurgeon and three others ministered to the same people for two centuries; and Kelvedon was in a way a rival of Stambourne.

At the age of seven years, C. H. Spargen returned to the home of his parents, who were then living at Colchester, and who were anxios that the already precocious child should eng the best possible educational advantages. Ha education, therefore, went forward satisfactorily; for with good masters and kind friends the popl gave evident signs of yielding back at another day something more than good interest for all the trouble expended upon him. We once heari Mr. Spurgeon relate an anecdote of these early days at school, which was very characteristic of himself and his surroundings while he was a school-boy. One extremely cold morning, while engaged with a tutor in the class, the bottom and least honourable place happened to be neat a large stove; and as the grateful warmth seemed to be more desirable than any trans scholastic honours, the wary lad took care not të manifest that knowledge which would have sent him up higher into the cold. Questions continued to be asked to remain unanswered; but being a shrewd observer, the tutor presently detected where the shoe was pinching, and thus mediately ordered a wheel round so that the head of the column should be next the 5-6 That unexpected stratagem had the looked t effect of at once curing Master Spurgeon's