The Boys and Girls of the Bible. By Joseph Hammond,
B.A. 2 vols. (Skeffington and Son. 10s.)—These two volumes are of very considerable merit. Canon Hammond laments in his pre- face that the sermon is so seldom addressed to children. The little ones, he thinks, have a hard time of it. The service is long, and it certainly seems as if the young hearers, who go to it, so to speak, by compulsion, mostly stay away when they come to be their own masters. Try then, says the writer of these sermons, the experiment of preaching to the children ; the sermons must be such as older people will appreciate. Hence, there is no talking down to the level of childish intelligence. The way is to speak as plainly and as simply as possible. This can be done without diminishing the amount of sense and knowledge that is put into the discourse. Canon Hammond succeeds, we think, very well. He talks in a very direct and straightforward manner, is often plain, even homely, in his language, but never fails in tact and dignity. His sermons deserve a wide welcome.
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