in like a flood. The power of an implanted righteousness will eventually manifest the great good which our Lord has had in store for us. The social meetings at Deruyter are still continued. The interest there, not the excitement, is plainly on the increase. Our brother, Rev. Mr. F- writes me thus (March 25): "I have not as yet done a great business in the bookselling line since I saw you. The fact is, that people are willing to read what is lent them; but not very ready to buy, till they have first read and become interested. Seeing this to be the case, I have given away one copy of the Four Leading Doctrines; two copies of the "Gems," and am now engaged in circulating the tracts, by loans from one to another; and the Swedenborg Biography is on the run all the while. Brother K--- is as busily engaged in distributing his books and tracts as I have been, and even more so. Mr. A-— gave me an encouraging word the other day, by saying that he would contribute his share of funds towards paying for all the large bound books which you left here, and so forming a New Church library on some plan best adapted to promote the reading of New Church books among us. He has read nearly all the books that he bought of you; also Conjugial Love, and the Swedenborg Biography (by Wilkinson), and is now reading Noble's Plenary Inspiration. We did not look for so much notoriety as the publication of our names as receivers; however, we were not at all ashamed to respond, Amen. Some of the Baptist church here are studiously reading the tracts, and some make favorable reports. I doubt not that you sympathise with us; and we know that our God does. It is his truth and his cause in which we are engaged. I am not at all discouraged, but the opposite, determined to push forward as God leads the way." Another word of encouragement has also just come to hand from Dr. V. W. Mason, of Canastota, from whom I copy the following extracts for your readers: "Mr. Sowter has sold out a number of tracts and smaller works. Besides which I have given away and sold a few tracts; also one copy of Des Guays, one of Heaven and Hell, one of True Christian Religion, and two of Swedenborg's Biography. "We have found a few additional readers ;-one, a lady who read a few weeks with a great deal of interest. She has been attached to the Methodists; but has broken off from them with a determination never to be trammeled by any organization again, but to remain in spiritual freedom. What is this but the dawning of the second advent, and the casting out of the dragon? Mrs. Whas now removed to Oneida Castle. While here she introduced the writings to two nieces, who also became much interested. Mrs. J. Balso expressed a wish to my wife to examine the writings; and she loaned her several works. In return Mr. B. wished Mrs. Mason to read the Berean, a Perfectionist book, by J. H. Noyes. Mrs. B. says, Noyes apparently has taken many ideas from Swedenborg. "Being at Syracuse since I saw you, I called on Mr. Lyman Stephens. He appears to be a full receiver. He told me that they numbered about fourteen, and were beginning to have regular meetings at his house. "Mr. S continues reading, and acknowledges that he can receive 'all but that vision. Many in this life can go no further than this. But if their faces are but turned in this life towards the New Jerusalem, may they not in another arrive at the glorious city? "Mr. N, the Methodist minister, called on me to 'chat, and look over my theological library.' He desired to read, not with any expectation of embracing our views, but to enable himself to expose their fallacies. He earnestly advocates the resurrection of the material body, and loaned me Kingsley's Reply to Bush, and the Tripersonal Scheme. He seems willing to read, and is fair-minded. I loaned him Noble's Lectures, and he said he would read the Apocalypse Explained. "I shall want some more books, such as Des Guays' Philosophy, Wilkinson's, and Rich's Biography of Swedenborg, Heaven and Hell, Last Judgment, Letters to a Trinitarian, and several copies of Bush's Statement of Reasons. I would like to attend the next session of the General Convention, but cannot say." I must also mention that we have one or two more new readers in Verona. We need circulating libraries here much, especially in such places as Canastota, Deruyter, Syracuse, Utica, Buffalo, and all around where are groups of receivers. I do hope that the next General Convention will forbear cripling individual enterprise in propagating the Heavenly Truths. If it does nothing to help us, it surely ought to interpose no obstacles. Yours, for the cause, A. W. From a recent Member of Congress. REV. AND DEAR SIR, March 20, 1850. I would have waited longer but that I want to write to you to claim your congratulations on my purchase of Des Guays' Letters, Clowes' Life, and Address, and the Arcana. These make me rich. I now own all the Theological writings of Swedenborg. I received these books some weeks since, and have read Clowes, Des Guays, and the Arcana to 1966. I frequently stop reading to wonder. I had read enough at Washington to understand Adam, Cain, Abel, &c., and Noah as the Ancient Church. But the revelation of Abraham the Hebrew, Sarai, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac is new, astonishing, clear, beautiful and systematic. O! the Divine goodness has been wonderfully manifested to me in bringing to my notice these great truths. And as you were the cause, I connect you with all my progress, and carry to you personally the tribute of sincere gratitude and affection. Í am especially struck with Nos. 1937, 1941, and 1944. The first and the last teach me how to examine myself, and 1941 tells me to hope that after I shall escape from the body, and the world, I may also escape from the deep anxieties, the weakness, and occasions of self-loathing, which now make life almost a weariness, and also from the self-complacency which at times, and for a moment steals upon me in spite of my humbling self-knowledge, historical and exploratory. When I get through the Arcana, I will begin again with True Christian Religion, Divine Providence, Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Love and Wisdom, Conjugial Love, &c. Yours, &c. From a new correspondent in Virginia. DEAR SIR, March 29, 1850. It has now been several years since I have been reading, as my time would permit, the writings of Swedenborg and kindred publications-including all of yours that I have been able to obtain. My motive at first amounted to nothing more than a desire to make myself somewhat acquainted with his character and the leading doctrines of his theological system, just as any intelligent man might feel desirous of doing. But the more I read, the more deeply I became interested-until, finally, his doctrines present themselves to me in a thousand times more rational form than those which prevail amongst the great body of professing Christians. Unless a man has absolutely surrendered his reason to the guidance of others--I mean in matters of religious faith; or unless his mind has become completely moulded by the system he has adopt ed, it does appear to me impossible that he should read these writings with indifference; nay, without great profit. If he will only approach them in the right spirit, he will discover treasures of thought and wisdom which he had not conceived of before. He will feel himself thenceforth to be an object of God's love in all the trials and temptations which may beset him. He will regard himself as living continually in His presence. His heart will open and expand towards all those who, like himself, are pursuing the oftimes wearisome journey of life. He will regard them, equally with himself, as the objects of Divine Love, and as demanding the active exercise of his charities. He will find his capacities to be enlarged-his affections to be more elevated--his reason to be liberated from the thraldom under which it has groaned his mental vision to be indefinitely extended. But he will often be compelled to enjoy these delights in secret. The guests whom he invites to participate with him in the feast will not come. They are otherwise engaged. They look upon him, in fact, with pity if not with distrust. In my own case, perhaps, there were not so many difficulties to overcome as in the case of some others. I had never been able fully to subscribe to the commonly received doctrine of the Trinity, nor yet to regard the Saviour as a mere man, however exalted above all other men. On the whole, however, I confess that the late Dr. Channing was my favorite author. Without adopting his opinions, but yet inclining towards them, his morality was so pure--his efforts to raise poor fallen man from his ignorance and degradation, and to inspire him with a just sense of his dignity and responsibility, were so persevering and unwearied, that I was fain to look up to him as a teacher, and acknowledge him as a friend and benefactor to his species. He had a mind, as you remarked in the notice you took of his biography, eminently receptive of the truth; and I sympathized with you when you regretted that such a man had not become acquainted with the doctrines of the New Church. There can scarcely be a doubt that he would have received them with joy and gladness. But I may not dwell on these interesting themes. With fervent wishes for the continued successful exertion of your talents, I am, with friendly regards, MISCELLANY. For the Anglo-American N. C. Repository. Yours, &c. DEAR SIR, March 16, 1850. Having just seen the twelfth number of the N. C. Quarterly Review, which contains (as a leading article) a review of the "Proceedings of the Seventh Annual meeting of the Michigan and Northern Indiana Association of the New Church," I feel desirous of offering a few remarks thereon; and as that Review is now incorporated with the Repository, I would prefer doing so through your columns. I do not wish to renew the discussion, it has never been pleasant to me, and the position I have taken has been from a conviction of duty, and not from choice. But standing alone (or nearly so) as I have done, I did suppose that those who oppose the ground I have taken could have afforded to do it justice. But because I have been compelled to believe that this has not been done, I wish that it may stand on record, that I object in toto to the manner in which my arguments have been treated. In the first place, when this subject was introduced in the Association, I was sensible of a decided effort being made to put down, by the strongest vote that could be obtained, the Minority Report:-at first there were a number who voted against it, who were not Members of the Association; and when I ob jected to this, then the Ladies were pressed in to vote, a circumstance that had never occurred before. Then it was suggested to me that I should abridge my Report, and after I had made it as short as I could, the authors and friends of the Majority Report published it separately, with a title page prepared for it, and sent it all over the country some time in advance of the publication of the whole "Proceedings," and to parties who would never see both sides of the case! 66 It was thus that you first received the "Majority Report," and made copious extracts from it, without knowing anything of the Minority Report"-and then from the pages of your Repository it was received and quoted in the N. C. Quarterly, and thus the subject was prejudiced in advance of the reception of the views presented by the Minority. Was this just? And now that the whole of the "Proceedings" have been received (having sent them myself to the Quarterly, as soon as published), has the "Review" manifested the impartiality becoming a Reviewer? Nearly the whole of the "Majority Report" is published in its columns, whilst not more than two or three sentences are quoted from the " 'Minority Report," and these only as marks for censure. To me, I must confess, there appears no evidence of either justice or impartiality. Had the Minority Report been quoted as fully as that of the Majority, the strictures of the Reviewer would not have disturbed me in the least, I am perfectly content that it rest upon its own merits, be they ever so few; but when such efforts have been made to keep them out of view, I am much more apt to think there is really more of forcible argument in them than I had at first imagined. Although I admit that in your own pages there has been done more justice to the two reports than elsewhere, yet even there, justice did not seem to me to be evenhanded, and some views were attributed to me which I did not entertain, but as I did not wish to discuss the subject any more I let them pass. In the N. C. Quarterly, among other remarks I notice the following:"Even the clergy residing at a distance were written to for their opinions and advice, and we find communications on the subject from the Rev. Thomas Worcester, the Rev. M. M. Carll, the Rev. B. F. Barrett, and the Rev. Thomas P. Rodman, all agreeing to sanction a vested authority in the clerical body; but what would have been the result if intelligent laymen had been written to, or if the congregations of these gentlemen had been invited to determine such a matter? And why was not this seen to be an equally legitimate course?" In reply to which I would observe, that application was made to "intelligent laymen" and, I believe, in every instance to the Societies over which the respective clergymen presided, who agreed entirely with the views of their respective Pastors. The editors of the New Jerusalem Magazine were applied to, but they declined responding, although they had in previous editorials endorsed the general views of the "Minority Report;" and Mr. Cabell's views, as recently published, were referred to in corroboration, to which many others might be added, not only in this country, but in England also. All that I would ask for, is fair and impartial treatment, and I am content to leave the subject on its own merits. In my own opinion the " Minority Report" has not been refuted yet, and until it is, no majority of numbers, or multitude of different opinions, will ever make it less than right. Before I conclude permit me to ask how it is that a work of 700 pages, being an elaborate and able work on the Trine in the Ministry by Rev. R. De Charms, has not been so much as even named, in either the N. C. Quarterly, the Intel. Repository, the N. J. Magazine, the Medium, or the N. C. Repository? Surely this is a legitimate subject for your critical pens, and one that I yet hope to see reviewed candidly and faithfully. I remain, very truly, yours in the Lord's New Church, REV. AND DEar sir, For the N. C. Repository. Not long since a New Church friend, in the State of Maine, received a very interesting letter from that well known disciple of the New Dispensation, A. J. Le Cras, Esq., of the Isle of Jersey. Among several interesting particulars which it would be highly useful to publish, one idea, especially, which it contained struck me as somewhat valuable, and I have taken the liberty to request a copy of it for insertion in your pages. Mr. Le Cras has recently met with the loss of his only son, who was formerly associated with him in the Editorship of the "Jersey and Guernsey News." He also held a commission in Her Majesty's Service, and was therefore buried with military honors. His father has caused the following inscription to be placed upon his monument. SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF CLAUDIUS ALPHONSO WESTERN LE CRAS, GENT., THIRD AND LAST SON OF ABRAHAM JONES LE CRAS, Esq., AND MARIA, HIS WIFE, OF ALDERBURY LODGE, LE VAUX, JERSEY, WHO WAS TRANSLATED TO THE WORLD OF SPIRITS, WHERE ALL ARE ASSOCIATED BY THE AFFINITY OF THEIR STATES, On the 19th of Feb. 1848-92, and in the 25th year of his age; are infinitely varied, continually changing, ever fresh, and always new! The idea which this inscription suggests, is that of making the tomb-stones and monuments of departed friends the silent but perpetual preachers of the New Church doctrine of the resurrection. Nothing is now more common than to see frequent reference in the graveyard, to the return of the soul to its material body; and surely few things can be more in place than for a Newchurchman to inscribe on the monuments to departed friends some truth in relation to the spirit-world, and leave it there to meet the eye of the stranger, and offer its teaching of beauty and consolation to his heart. W. B. H. NOTICES OF BOOKS. 1.--THE SECOND ADVENT or, What do the Coming of Christ, the End of the World, the eral Judgment? By APLHEUS CROSBY. 1850. 12mo. pp. 173. Scriptures teach respecting the Second The object of this work is to establish a peculiar theory of eschatology, or, if the term "theory" is not precisely palatable in the connection, to propound and confirm a peculiar interpretation respecting the "four last things" indicated in the title. We wave the use of the word "theory" in reference to the author's views, because we think wrong is often done to a man by applying it to |