lderness than he who lies down on the softest bed of snow, flatters
himself that all is well, and dreams of home, whilst the deadly torpor
creeps over him.

If help and guidance and good cheer for all such be not found in this
little volume, it is certainly no fault of the writer's intention. She
brings to her task the power of profound conviction, inspiring a devout
wish to lead others into the way of truth. Beneath the multiform systems
of theology she finds generally the same firm foundations of
faith,--"faith in the existence of a righteous God, faith in the eternal
Law of Morality, faith in an Immortal Life." None enjoys a monopoly of
truth, although all are based upon it. Each is a lighthouse, more or
less lofty, and more or less illumined by the glory that burns within;
yet their purest rays are only "broken lights." The glory itself is
infinite: it is only through human narrowness and imperfection that it
appears narrow and imperfect. The lighthouse is good in its place: it
beckons home, with its "wheeling arms of dark and bright," many a
benighted voyager; but we must remember that it is a structure made with
hands, and not confound the stone and iron of human contrivance with the
great Source and Fountain of Light.

The writer does not grope with uncertain purpose among these imperfect
rays, and she is never confused by them. To each she freely gives credit
for what it is or has been; but all fade at last before the unspeakable
brightness of the rising sun. She discerns the dawn of that day when all
our little candles may be safely extinguished: for it is not in any
church, nor in any creed, nor yet in any book, that all of God's law is
contained; but the light of His countenance shines primarily on the
souls of men, out of which all religions have proceeded, and into which
we must look for the ever new and ever vital faith, which is to the
unclouded conscience what the sunshine is to sight.

Such is the conclusion the author arrives at through an array of
arguments of which we shall not attempt a summary. It is not necessary
to admit what these are designed to prove, in order to derive
refreshment and benefit from the pure tone of morality, the fervent
piety, and the noble views of practical religion which animate her
pages. It is not a book to be afraid of. No violent hand is here laid
upon the temple; but only the scaffoldings, which, as she perceives,
obscure the beauty of the temple, are taken away. Not