Although this book was written during the closing years of its venerable author, yet his mental faculties had been most remarkably preserved; so that we have the re sult of his fully ripened powers, chastened by affliction and thoroughly disciplined by long years of faithful ap plication and diligent use. This consideration has an im~ portant bearing upon that very large section of the book, embracing two chapters on The Controversies of My The bent of his mind, the many years spent in the faithful, earnest, and diligent study of Ecclesiastical Polity, to the teaching of which in the Theological Semi nary he had devoted many years in the very prime of life, furnished him with unusual qualifications for this calm review of those controversies. Truly, he seemed to have been qualified and called of God to write these chapters before he could say, I have finished my course. This feature of the work has been noticed bv others.